A resurfaced video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misinformation about the Gardasil HPV vaccine has triggered a wave of expert rebuttals affirming its safety and effectiveness in preventing HPV-related cancers.
A resurfaced video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the US health secretary, has revived false claims about the HPV vaccine Gardasil, which public-health experts say remains both safe and effective in preventing infections that can lead to cancer.
In the clip, Kennedy repeats arguments long associated with anti-vaccine groups, saying Gardasil is “the single worst mass vaccine that we’ve ever seen”. He also claims children who receive it are more likely to die from the vaccine than from cervical cancer, and argues that the product was not properly tested because it was not compared with a “true” placebo. Public-health specialists and vaccine regulators say those assertions do not stand up to scrutiny.
According to the Canadian Press fact check, Gardasil protects against human papillomavirus, or HPV, a common infection that can cause cancers of the cervix, anus, penis, vulva and vagina. Deborah Money, a professor and head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of British Columbia, said the vaccine is “safe” and works “really well” to prevent HPV-related cancers. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says HPV vaccination has been monitored for more than 15 years and has shown safe, effective and long-lasting protection against cancers caused by the virus.
Kennedy’s comparison of deaths in clinical trials with deaths from cervical cancer is misleading because it treats all deaths reported during trials as if the vaccine caused them. Stephana Julia Moss, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at Dalhousie University, said that is not how clinical-trial data are interpreted. The Gardasil package insert records 40 deaths across its studies, but none were linked to the vaccine, and the deaths were consistent with those expected in healthy adolescent and adult populations, according to the insert cited by the Canadian Press. The National Cancer Institute says cervical cancer still causes deaths, but the rate in women is far lower than Kennedy’s claim implies.
The safety record is backed by multiple surveillance systems. The World Health Organisation’s vaccine-safety committee found no safety concerns in clinical trials or after licensing during reviews covering 2007 to 2017, while the CDC says most reported side effects are mild, such as soreness, redness, swelling, nausea or headache. Serious adverse events are described as exceedingly rare. Health Canada gives similar guidance, noting that common reactions are usually short-lived and that severe allergic reactions are very uncommon.
Kennedy’s claim about a lack of a proper placebo also misrepresents how the studies were designed. Money said early trials used an aluminium-based adjuvant in the control group to preserve blinding, a standard approach in vaccine research. Moss said that can help researchers distinguish effects caused by the vaccine itself from reactions linked to other ingredients or the injection process. For later studies of Gardasil-9, the newer version of the vaccine was compared with the earlier formulation. Reuters reported in 2025 that Kennedy himself had played a key role in litigation against Merck, the maker of Gardasil, underscoring his long-standing opposition to the product.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
