Family of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slams his views on vaccines as 'tragically wrong'

Kennedy, the son of late presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, is one of the more notable anti-vaccine activists. He wrote a book in 2014 about mercury in vaccines and lobbied Congress to give parents exemptions from state requirements for vaccinating their children.

Wednesday's Politico op-ed — written by former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former US Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II and Maeve Kennedy McKean — pointed to the latest outbreak of measles in the United States and worldwide.

"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Joe and Kathleen's brother and Maeve's uncle — is part of this campaign to attack the institutions committed to reducing the tragedy of preventable infectious diseases," the authors wrote.

WHO warns over spread of measles in Europe as 34,000 cases reported in 2 months

Across the United States, 764 cases of measles have been reported since January 1, according to the latest numbers shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"These tragic numbers are caused by the growing fear and mistrust of vaccines — amplified by internet doomsayers," the three members of Kennedy Jr.'s family wrote.

They argued that Kennedy Jr. "helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines."

While affirming their love for Kennedy Jr., the three family members said he's "wrong" on vaccines and his work against vaccines is "having heartbreaking consequences."

"We are proud of the history of our family as advocates of public health and promoters of immunization campaigns to bring life-saving vaccines to the poorest and most remote corners of America and the world, where children are the least likely to receive their full course of vaccinations. On this issue, Bobby is an outlier in the Kennedy family," they said.

According to the World Health Organization, vaccination "is one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease" and prevents 2 million to 3 million deaths a year.

The organization included "vaccine hesitancy -— the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines" -— on its list of 10 big threats to global health in 2019.

CNN's Dan Merica and Debra Goldschmidt contributed to this report.

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