Whopper of the Week: RFK Jr. Wants to Remove Aluminum from Vaccines and Endanger Americans' Health

THIS WEEK'S WHOPPER: 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wants to Remove Aluminum from Vaccines and Endanger Americans' Health

IN SUMMARY:

This summer, a Danish study of 1.2 million children found no evidence that vaccines with aluminum increase the risk of developing 50 different chronic health problems. Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy did not want to believe the results. Kennedy tried to sow doubt by posting on X that the study was “a devastating indictment of aluminum-containing vaccines.” On Trial Site News, he wrongly accused the study of being biased, and claimed that authors had conflicts of interest, and that they hid damning data. Kennedy even requested that the journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, remove the article, but its editor-in-chief refused, responding that the journal found the study “to be among the strongest research currently available on the subject.” Secretary Kennedy is upset about the Danish study because it shows vaccines with aluminum-salts do not cause any major health problems in children.

WHY IS THIS A WHOPPER?

Aluminum salts have been safely added to vaccines, like diphtheria and tetanus, for over 70 years. Compounds, like aluminum hydroxide, are added to vaccines in tiny quantities to help the body to make a better immune response. They allow doctors to give vaccines in smaller doses that have fewer antigens (or viral particles), while still giving people strong disease protection. Aluminum salts are used as an immune-boosting ingredient in common vaccines like DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, HPV (human papilloma virus), and the pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines.

The very small amount of aluminum used in vaccines is safe. Aluminum is found naturally, in plants, soil and many foods. Adults consume about 7-9 milligrams of aluminum a day, which is the equivalent of a third of a grain of rice in weight. A single dose of vaccine contains less than 0.5 milligrams of aluminum salt. A study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that the risk to infants from aluminum in vaccines over the first year of life is very low. Children are exposed to more aluminum through food than they are through the current vaccine schedule. The trivial quantities of aluminum in vaccines is too small and breaks down too quickly to cause a toxic effect.  

Vaccines using aluminum salts were all tested for safety and effectiveness in clinical trials, which is Kennedy’s “gold standard” for evidence. Once vaccines are approved for use by doctors, vaccine safety is monitored by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the FDA. No studies have found that vaccines with aluminum salts harm health. In a 2004 study of the DTaP vaccine, there was no difference in the health of the children who received aluminum-containing vaccines and those who got aluminum-free vaccines. One study in 2022 suggested a possible association between aluminum levels and the development of asthma by toddlers, but Dr. Paul Offit explains that it failed to control for important environmental factors and family history. The 2025 Danish study, found no increased risk associated with higher intake of aluminum-salts, for the development of auto-immune, allergic (including asthma), or neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood.

WHY IT MATTERS:

Secretary Kennedy does not have any evidence that vaccines with aluminum cause  autism, allergies, asthma or other health issues. Even so, in October, he asked an advisory panel at the CDC to study whether vaccines with aluminum increase the risk of asthma. In July, the CDC stopped recommending vaccines that included the preservative thimerosal, also at Kennedy’s request. Experts fear the CDC could use the same playbook to decide to stop recommending childhood vaccines that contain aluminum.  

If the US government suddenly decided to ban aluminum, seven childhood vaccines would suddenly need to be made in a new way, re-tested and re-approved. The vaccine makers could not just "remove" aluminum salts as the vaccines would no longer work. For several years, parents would have trouble accessing childhood vaccines recommended by their doctors and millions of infants and children would be at risk of catching serious and sometimes deadly diseases. Major changes to the childhood vaccine schedule should be done carefully, and only when there is a real problem to fix, based on solid scientific evidence.

Help spread the word: the case for removing aluminum from vaccines is incredibly weak.

Contributors to this post are:  Miriam Rabkin, MD, MPH, Benedicte Callan, PhD.