Consumers’ vaccine skepticism and RFK Jr.’s pending HHS appointment could spell trouble for Big Pharma

The data: As of January, some 46% of US adults say they have heard or read that more people have died from COVID-19 vaccines than have died from the virus, which is up from the 41% who said the same in June 2023, according to the KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust. For context, this claim is false.

• Republicans are largely driving this shift. 52% say they have heard or read this claim, up from 35% in June 2023.
• Democrats indicate the opposite. The 43% who report hearing this falsehood is down from the 46% who said they did approximately a year and a half ago.

KFF surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,310 US adults in January.

Digging into the data: The share of US adults who think that COVID-19 vaccines are more deadly than the virus has also risen. Some 18% think this is probably true (up from 14% in June 2023) and 8% say it is definitely true (up from 6%).

Consumers’ growing distrust of vaccines extends to other shots, too.

• 25% of parents say the risks of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) outweigh the benefits, up from 17% in December 2022.
• And 61% of consumers are uncertain whether the claim that MMR vaccines are proven to cause autism is true. For context, this claim is also false.

Our take: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) takes place this week, and the pharmaceutical industry will be intently watching.

As a noted vaccine skeptic, Kennedy’s unorthodox views could be bad news for some pharma companies’ bottom lines, especially at a time when drugmakers are already contending with a rise in vaccine hesitancy generally.

• For instance, Kennedy has endorsed debunked theories blaming vaccines for causing autism and certain chronic diseases, even going as far as accusing the CDC of covering up evidence, per NPR.
• If confirmed by the Senate, he could use the HHS platform to deter more Americans from taking their recommended shots.

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