Dem lobby group projects anti-RFK Jr. messages onto HHS building

 Protect Our Care, a Democrat lobbying NGO, on Tuesday projected two critical messages onto the facade of the Health and Human Services (HHS) building in Washington, D.C., blaming HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for policies they say are making Americans sicker.

“RFK JR: MAKING AMERICA SICK AGAIN,” read one message, projected outside the building.

Another message read: “MEASLES HQ.”

Kayla Hancock, director of Public Health Watch at Protect Our Care, told The Hill that the messages 'aim to raise awareness of the resurgence of Measles and to push the Trump administration to act with greater urgency to encourage vaccination.'

 “Secretary Kennedy has been busy doing anything and everything but addressing or even acknowledging the worsening measles outbreak that is almost exclusively harming unvaccinated children,” Hancock said.

“We hope that shining a literal spotlight on the HHS will spur the Trump administration to raise awareness of the proven safety and efficacy of the measles vaccine,” she continued. “It’s the least RFK Jr. can do after he helped cause this mess by spreading dangerous, fabricated lies about the shot that likely scared many parents out of vaccinating their children.”

The messages on the HHS building came the same day the U.S. met a key condition required to lose its measles elimination status, which the country has had for more than 25 years.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional office for the Americas, considers Jan. 20, 2025, the date marking the beginning of consistent measles spread in the U.S. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, said it’s too soon to declare an end to the country’s measles elimination status, noting that the exact chain of transmission must first be determined.

Ralph Abraham, a former Louisiana surgeon general who was sworn in as the CDC’s principal deputy director last month, said it’s unclear whether the West Texas outbreak in January is related to the ongoing spread in states such as South Carolina, which has reported more than 600 cases since October.  

Protect Our Care held a virtual news conference earlier Tuesday, when Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D), who is also a physician, said the Trump administration “laid the foundation for mistrust and distrust of vaccinations over the course of this year, and … now you’re seeing the terrible outcomes.”

“What’s happening today with Measles is absolutely public health malpractice, and it’s completely preventable,” Green said earlier Tuesday.

“It’s unconscionable that HHS is allowing this to happen,” he added. “I don’t criticize them for everything that they do, but this, more than anything, is a tragedy, because it’s completely, completely preventable.”

HHS pushed back on the group’s claims, calling them “baseless” in a statement to The Hill. 

“Under Secretary Kennedy, CDC surged resources, and multiple states declared measles outbreaks over in 2025. Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent measles, and the Secretary has been clear and consistent on this point. All vaccines on the CDC schedule, including MMR, remain covered by insurance, so families do not need to pay out of pocket to get vaccinated. Additionally, the U.S. continues to fare better than Canada, Mexico, and Europe in overall measles burden. This is an international problem,” Emily Hilliard, HHS press secretary, said in a statement. 

Hilliard also noted that declines in vaccine rates and confidence in public officials did not begin with the Trump administration. 

“Declines in measles vaccination rates and erosion of public trust began well before this Administration. Public confidence in health institutions was significantly undermined during the COVID era, particularly in states that imposed prolonged mandates and delivered inconsistent messaging,” she said. “Those effects continue to be felt today.”

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5698149-protect-our-care-protests-kennedy/