January 19, 2026
Statement on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Upcoming Appearance in Harrisburg
Reports and event promotions indicate that the secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to appear in Harrisburg on Wednesday, January 21. If he is coming to speak about health, Pennsylvanians deserve the complete truth about what has occurred at the federal Department of Health and Human Services under his leadership, and what those decisions mean for families, patients, and frontline providers here in the Commonwealth.
Since becoming secretary, Kennedy has overseen actions that have weakened basic public health systems, disrupted care delivery, and eroded trust in the nation’s health infrastructure. These actions include 10,000 sweeping layoffs across HHS and the shutdown of offices connected to addiction services and community health resources.[1] On vaccine policy, Kennedy has also used his authority to bypass long-standing scientific processes. In May 2025, he announced that COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.[2] In June 2025, he removed every member of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee (ACIP).[3] And in August 2025, HHS moved to wind down and terminate roughly $500 million in mRNA vaccine development projects, raising alarms about U.S. preparedness for future outbreaks.[4]
The consequences of this instability are already being felt. Pennsylvania saw renewed measles activity in 2025, with 16 reported cases after several years with no reported infections between 2020 and 2022.[5] Preventable outbreaks put our communities at risk and force schools, child care providers, hospitals, and local health departments to divert time and resources to emergency response, contact tracing, and vaccination outreach instead of focusing on prevention and routine care.
Pennsylvanians want and deserve safer communities, healthier children, and a health care system they can afford. Achieving that requires public health leadership grounded in science, transparency, and competence. Not policies that destabilize public health systems or distract from the real challenges facing working families.
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[1] Amanda Seitz, “Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and close agencies in a major restructuring,” AP News, March 28, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/health-human-services-layoffs-restructuring-rfk-jr-fa4e89285e668a3939e20b6cf4c26fd4 (accessed January 19, 2026).
[2] Mike Stobbe, “CDC removes language that says healthy kids and pregnant women should get COVID shots,” AP News, May 30, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccines-cdc-kennedy-fd6ab0c7303a4a1698b319885a02ef54 (accessed January 19, 2026).
[3] Laura Ungar and Amanda Seitz, “RFK Jr. ousts ACIP group that advises CDC on vaccines,” AP News, June 9, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9 (accessed January 19, 2026).
[4] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development Under BARDA” (press release), August 5, 2025, https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-winds-down-mrna-development-under-barda.html.
[5] Jessica Hagen, “Measles vaccination rates in most Pennsylvania counties lag below herd immunity,” Axios Philadelphia, January 8, 2026, https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/01/08/measles-vaccination-rates-in-most-pennsylvania-counties-lag-below-herd-immunity (accessed January 19, 2026).