US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will deliver a keynote address at an anti-vaccine conference being held in Washington, DC, later this week and hosted by the anti-vaccine organization he once led, Children’s Health Defense (CHD). The organization announced Monday that Kennedy had signed on to the event.
Kennedy will appear alongside other high-profile figures in the anti-vaccine world, including Andrew Wakefield, the disgraced former doctor who was stripped of his medical license over a fraudulent, now-retracted study that falsely claimed a link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. An investigation by a medical board found that Wakefield had mistreated vulnerable children and that his actions amounted to serious professional misconduct.
Despite being ostracized from the medical community, Wakefield has become an enduring figure in the anti-vaccine community. His dangerous falsehood that vaccines cause autism has also endured—with significant help from CHD and Kennedy, who have embraced and widely promoted the erroneous link.
The online registration site for the CHD’s conference hails Wakefield as a “tireless advocate for parental choice.” For Kennedy, CHD’s cofounder and former leader, the site describes him as “a uniquely powerful and celebrated champion for those whose voices have long gone unheard.”
Overall, CHD’s conference is billed as a “pursuit of a more perfect future” and will discuss the current risks and opportunities for the “health freedom movement.” The event’s sessions and talks will be held on September 17, with an opening reception the night before.
Other speakers on the agenda include Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), who has been a vocal critic of vaccines; Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); Mark Gorton, president of the Kennedy-aligned MAHA Institute; Jan Jekielek, a senior editor at the right-wing outlet Epoch Times; and a number of CHD staff, including CEO Mary Holland.
In-person tickets to the conference, priced at $250, are sold out, according to the website. But limited passes for seating in an area of the main conference room are available for $125, as are tickets for livestream access at $100.
Kennedy formally separated from CHD when he pursued his current role as health secretary around the start of 2025. He has since publicly tried to distance himself from CHD and his anti-vaccine views, repeatedly claiming in his confirmation hearing that he is “pro-vaccine”—despite his clear and lengthy record of being an anti-vaccine activist.
Kennedy’s decision to headline a starkly anti-vaccine event appears to be a shift toward openly embracing his ideology and agenda. That shift comes shortly after reports that President Trump has urged Kennedy to aggressively pursue the falsehood that vaccines cause autism.
