• Trump plans to tap Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become his health and human services secretary.
• Kennedy spread misinformation about vaccines, fluoride, raw milk and other topics.
• Here’s what Kennedy has said in the past about 11 health issues.

President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to tap Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services caused panic in much of the public health world, given Kennedy’s history of false or misleading claims regarding vaccines, fluoride and other topics, NBC News reports.

Health care was a centerpiece of Kennedy’s presidential bid, which he suspended over the summer. At the time, its main issues included reducing the influence of pharmaceutical companies over government agencies, combating chronic health problems among children, and improving food safety. In promoting these causes, he has advanced a mix of ideas – some backed by science, others that have been repeatedly debunked.

After endorsing Trump in August, Kennedy continued to promote a similar agenda called “Make America Healthy Again.”

Trump said last month that if elected, he would let Kennedy “run wild” on health, nutrition and medicine. Around the same time, Kennedy declared that a future Trump administration would end the Food and Drug Administration’s “aggressive suppression” of vitamins, raw milk, stem cells and certain drugs.

Kennedy’s team did not respond to a request for comment. Trump’s team has not commented on Kennedy’s past claims and instead referred NBC News to Trump’s statement announcing his choice.

If confirmed as HHS secretary, Kennedy would oversee 13 federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Here’s what Kennedy said about 11 health concerns.

Vaccines

Kennedy, the founder of a major anti-vaccine activist grouphas repeatedly questioned the safety and effectiveness of routine vaccinations, such as those against hepatitis B and influenza. In particular, he reiterated a completely debunked theory that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism. The theory is linked to research from the 1990s that was later discredited and retracted; its author, Andrew Wakefield, lost his medical license. Many subsequent studies have found no link between the vaccine and autism.

Kennedy also called the Covid vaccine “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” despite the data. showing that it is extremely safe.

He is against school vaccination mandates, but Kennedy told NBC News this month, he doesn’t want to get rid of vaccines completely. “I’m going to make sure that scientific studies on safety and effectiveness are available and that people can make individual assessments,” he said.

Kennedy expressed doubt that the existing scientific literature on approved vaccines shows they are safe and effective. Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick told CNN that Kennedy wants to “take hold of the data and show that it is not safe.”

Raw milk

Kennedy said he only drinks raw milk. This puts people at risk of foodborne illness because pasteurization kills pathogens. Up to 30 states allow the sale of raw milk, but the FDA regulates its sale across state lines.

Raw milk currently poses a particular threat, given the widespread outbreak of avian flu among dairy cows. THE The CDC warned that it could be possible contract bird flu from drinking raw milk.

Pesticides

Kennedy called the United States review its standards for pesticides, emphasizing a list of 72 authorized pesticides which are banned or in the process of being phased out in the European Union.

He particularly drew attention to glyphosate – a weedkiller which, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, is “probably carcinogenic to humans”. The Environmental Protection Agency found no evidence supporting this link, but its the methodology differed of the IARC. Some experts say more research is needed. Verdicts in trials on the chemical’s alleged link to cancer are mixed.

Kennedy also suggested that the pesticide atrazine might be linked to gender dysphoria and changes in children’s sexual identities. As proof, he cited a study that found some male frogs exposed to atrazine in the laboratory could produce viable eggs. There is no evidence that atrazine can have the same effect in men, let alone impact sex or sexuality.

Fluoride

Kennedy wants remove fluoride from drinking watertelling NBC News that “the sooner it gets out, the better.” He recently claimed on that fluoride is associated with arthritis, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.

But the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other health organizations have said the fluoride levels in drinking water are safe and help reduce cavities. According to the CDC, the only documented risks are cosmetic problems such as discoloration of tooth enamel or small holes in the teeth.

Stem cells

In a posted on X last monthKennedy referred to the FDA’s “aggressive suppression” of stem cells. He did not provide further details, but the comment could refer to some for-profit clinics offering stem cell treatments which have not been approved.

The FDA has said the field of stem cell therapy shows promise for treating diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. But he has called some clinics for making misleading claims about unproven treatments, and in some cases this has took steps to stop clinics to administer them.

Heavy metals

Kennedy denounced the presence of heavy metals in food and falsely claimed that a mercury-based preservative no longer used in childhood vaccines was linked to autism. The CDC says there is no proof of that.

Kennedy claimed in 2012 that he suffered from mercury poisoningmaybe by eating too much fish. After the health scare, he said, he underwent chelation therapy, which removes heavy metals from the blood. Last month, he suggested that the FDA had removed this form of therapy. The agency approved chelation therapy for specific uses, such as treating lead poisoning, but warned against companies marketing unapproved over-the-counter versions.

Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine

During the pandemic, fringe groups have touted two antiparasitic drugs as treatments for Covid: ivermectin, typically used for worm infections, and hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria and some autoimmune diseases. The FDA briefly issued emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid, but revoked that authorization after data showed it was ineffective.

Studies of ivermectin have also shown that it is not an effective treatment for Covid. Neither drug is approved by the FDA for this purpose.

But Kennedy cast doubt on those findings, saying without evidence that the drugs were being discredited because various groups hoped to make money from Covid vaccines.

Covid and race

At an event last year, Kennedy promoted a racist and anti-Semitic theory that Covid “ethnically targeted” whites and blacks, but not Ashkenazi Jews or Chinese. Even though Black, Hispanic and other minority groups have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, there is no evidence that race affects immunity to the coronavirus. Instead, public health experts found that socioeconomic factors made it harder for certain groups to access vaccines and medical care.

Cell phone radiation

Kennedy told podcaster Joe Rogan last year, cell phone radiation could cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has said this type of radiation is possibly carcinogenic, but the FDA and the National Cancer Institute say there is not enough evidence to support this.

HIV and AIDS

Kennedy has falsely suggested that AIDS was caused in part by “heavy recreational drug use among homosexual men and drug addicts.” Scientific research has established that the cause of AIDS is the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.

Antidepressants

Kennedy amplified baseless claims suggesting a link between antidepressants like Prozac and school shootings. “Before the introduction of Prozac, we had virtually none of these events,” he told billionaire Elon Musk last year.

But research shows that most school shooters had never been treated with psychotropic medications — and even when they were, there was no connection between those medications and the shootings.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News: