APHA Calls Upon RFK Jr. To Resign

Georges Benjamin and the "leadership staff" of American Public Health Association (APHA) have called upon Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign.  They appear to be upset primarily with his positions on vaccines.  The APHA was a major force behind the discredited COVID-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns five years ago:

https://www.statnews.com/2025/04/09/rfk-jr-call-for-resignation-american-public-health-association-georges-benjamin/

National public health group calls for RFK Jr. to resign, citing ‘complete disregard for science’
Georges Benjamin of American Public Health Association cites litany of actions taken by health secretary
By Elizabeth Cooney - April 9, 2025

A national public health organization is calling for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign the federal post he assumed just weeks ago, citing “implicit and explicit bias and complete disregard for science.”

Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said in a statement on Wednesday that concerns raised during Kennedy’s confirmation hearing last month have been realized, followed by massive reductions in staff at key health agencies.

After presenting a litany of Kennedy actions the group disagrees with on measles, fluoridation, FDA staffing, and other matters, he wrote, “As a physician, I pledged to first do no harm and to speak up when I see harm being done by others. I ask my colleagues to join me and speak up. Secretary Robert Kennedy is a danger to the public’s health and should resign or be fired.”

In an interview with STAT, Benjamin said he issued the statement on behalf of the group, following discussions with leadership and staff. The call for resignation is to Benjamin’s knowledge a first for the APHA, a 150-year-old nonprofit that is the oldest and largest association of public health professionals in the world, with tens of thousands of members. It meets regularly about policy and practice and publishes the American Journal of Public Health.

“The things that he has done have not only not been helpful, but I believe that many of the things he’s articulated have been hurtful,” Benjamin told STAT. “I think people are going to die because of what he’s doing.”

STAT has contacted HHS for comment.

Before last week’s job cuts, Benjamin said, Kennedy had forced the resignation of Peter Marks, who oversaw vaccine regulation as head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, where he was a key player in development of the first Covid-19 vaccine through Operation Warp Speed in the first Trump administration.

Kennedy is criticized for his response to the widening Texas measles outbreak, including his failure to encourage vaccination while promoting unproven remedies such as vitamin A, known to have harmed some children.

Benjamin’s statement also lists as grounds for resignation naming a known vaccine critic to study the debunked theory connecting childhood vaccines to autism, and planning to tell CDC not to recommend fluoridation of water supplies.

Kennedy’s views on vaccines and response to the measles deaths of two children disturbed the APHA leadership as inappropriate and not evidence-based.

“I was very disturbed when he began promoting vitamin A and I happened to know that there were a lot of people behind the scenes telling him, don’t talk about vitamin A,” Benjamin said.

He contrasted his experience as a public health official for the state of Maryland and for Washington, D.C.

“I know what the words of a health leader mean. I’m careful here at APHA for the same reason because you carry the mantle of being the government, the trusted messenger, and the assumption is that what you’re saying has been fully vetted and is evidence-based,” he said. “I just felt as a physician and I got my staff here to agree and the other leaders here to agree. We have to say this guy’s bad news.”

Presumably, they will attack Dr. Jayanta "Jay" Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D. next.  APHA spent a good deal of 2020 and 2021 trying to suppress the dynamic Great Barrington Declaration trio.