"RFK Jr.: Chronic Diseases Deserve More Attention Than Infectious Illnesses Like Measles and COVID"
Update News Today April 29,2025,2:00 pm
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doubling down on his belief that chronic diseases are being overshadowed by infectious diseases in public discourse and media coverage.
“Every kid who gets a diabetes diagnosis—that should be a headline,” Kennedy said in an April 28 interview with Dr. Phil McGraw on MeritTV. “Every kid who gets an autism diagnosis—that should be a headline. But you never read about them. The media is obsessed with infectious disease.”
Kennedy’s comments come amid a growing measles outbreak in the U.S. As of April 24, the CDC reported 884 confirmed cases across 30 jurisdictions. Still, Kennedy praised the CDC’s handling of the situation, especially in contrast to other countries.
“I would say that we’re doing well,” he said. “Canada has roughly the same number of measles cases, but one-eighth of our population. Europe has ten times the amount.”
Canada, with a population of about 40 million, had 916 confirmed measles cases in 2025—slightly more than the U.S. total.
While Kennedy has long emphasized prevention and the root causes of chronic disease, his controversial views on vaccines continue to draw criticism. Public health experts agree chronic diseases deserve more attention—especially as they account for 90% of the nation’s $4.5 trillion in annual healthcare costs—but many reject Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism and unsupported health claims.
Kennedy has frequently blamed the rise in chronic conditions on processed foods and pharmaceutical industry influence. During his 2024 presidential campaign and now as HHS Secretary, he has repeatedly linked food additives to ADHD, obesity, and other chronic illnesses.
On April 22, Kennedy and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya announced the FDA's plan to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the U.S. food supply—part of a broader effort to address environmental factors linked to chronic disease.
His push for reform also includes autism. In 2022, one in 31 children in the U.S. was diagnosed with autism by age 8, up from one in 36 in 2020. Kennedy called the trend “an epidemic running rampant,” and has set a September deadline for the NIH to identify causes behind the rise.
Asked why he’s dedicating $50 million to autism research, Kennedy told Dr. Phil, “It’s an epidemic that is a thousand times more costly than COVID.”
In February, President Donald Trump established the Make America Healthy Again Commission, appointing Kennedy as chair. The commission is charged with investigating the root causes of America’s health crisis, with an initial focus on childhood chronic disease.
“When I was a kid, the average pediatrician would see one case of diabetes in a career,” Kennedy said. “Today, 38% of teens are prediabetic or diabetis.
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