# RFK Jr. headlines an anti-vaccine conference

> The health secretary who swore he was pro-vaccine is keynoting the movement he helped build.
- Title: RFK Jr. headlines an anti-vaccine conference · Ars Technica
- Summary: The health secretary who swore he was pro-vaccine is keynoting the movement he helped build. Kennedy is done pretending distance from the anti-vaccine…
- Keywords: vaccines, rfk jr, public health, misinformation, politics, technology, science, RFK, headlines, anti-vaccine, conference, Ars Technica
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/09/rfk-jr-headlines-sold-out-anti-vaccine-conference-alongside-andrew-wakefield
- Published: 2026-09-14T22:06:24+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: vaccines, rfk jr, public health, misinformation, politics, technology, science
## The health secretary keynotes
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will give the keynote at an anti-vaccine conference in Washington, DC this week. The host is Children's Health Defense, the group he used to lead.
## Wakefield shares the stage
Also speaking: Andrew Wakefield, who lost his medical license over a fraudulent, retracted study tying the MMR vaccine to autism. A medical board found he mistreated vulnerable children.
## A lie with a long life
Wakefield stayed a hero in anti-vaccine circles long after medicine cast him out, and CHD and Kennedy spent years amplifying the autism claim he invented.

> a tireless advocate for parental choice
## Senators on the agenda
Sen. Ron Johnson and Sen. Rand Paul are billed alongside MAHA Institute president Mark Gorton, an Epoch Times senior editor, and CHD CEO Mary Holland.
## Sold out at $250
In-person tickets are gone. Overflow seating runs $125 and a livestream pass costs $100, for an event pitched as a "pursuit of a more perfect future."
## The mask comes off
Kennedy cut ties with CHD before becoming health secretary and told his confirmation hearing he was pro-vaccine. Headlining this event follows reports that Trump pushed him to press the autism claim harder.

> pro-vaccine
## Key takeaway

Kennedy is done pretending distance from the anti-vaccine movement, and he now runs federal health policy.