RFK Jr. Wants to Access Medical Data of All Americans To Study Vaccines And Autism Links

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US Health Secretary, is seeking access to vast amounts of Americans' medical records to investigate possible links between vaccines and autism.

The decision came after months of behind-the-scenes discussions between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), state-run health information exchanges, and federal advisers exploring whether large-scale patient data could be used for vaccine safety research.

US News reported that officials familiar with the talks say the project has been framed as part of Kennedy's 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda, though details of what data is being collected remain unclear.

Kennedy and his allies argue that fragmented medical data is holding back meaningful research. Critics say the approach risks breaching privacy protections and revisiting a scientific question long settled by decades of evidence.

RFK Jr.'s Medical Data Push For Research

Nearly every US state operates some form of health information exchange, digital systems that allow hospitals and clinics to share patient records in real time. These networks are typically governed by state laws and managed by private or non-profit operators. They are used for routine care, emergency treatment, and in some cases, infectious disease monitoring.

Federal officials have held meetings with several of these networks to explore whether they could supply large-scale datasets for federal research purposes.

Some proposals reportedly envisioned access to data covering up to 90 per cent of the US population within a few years, with systems feeding information continuously to federal agencies.

Supporters of the idea argue that such datasets could help identify trends in vaccine safety and chronic illness more quickly than existing systems. One state health data leader involved in discussions said officials asked whether the networks could support vaccine research on a national scale, highlighting interest from HHS in building a more unified data picture.

But those conversations have also exposed resistance.

In Maryland, leaders of one health information exchange declined to share additional data for vaccine-related research, citing legal and contractual limits. Craig Behm, who leads the Maryland system, said any such move would require extensive approvals from hospitals and oversight bodies.

Kennedy's Interest in Vaccine Safety

Kennedy's stated interest in examining whether vaccines are linked to autism, a connection rejected by mainstream medical research for years, is the main driver of the said proposal. But critics are pushing back over data privacy concerns.

An HHS spokesperson defended the initiative, saying it is intended to strengthen public health monitoring and better understand chronic disease trends. 'Americans deserve robust systems to monitor the drivers of chronic illness,' the spokesperson said, adding that the department remains committed to safeguarding patient information.

Critics within the public health community warn that the scope of the project also raises serious questions. Some argue that identifiable medical records could include sensitive details such as prescriptions, doctors' notes, and mental health information. Others say the legal framework for accessing such data at a national scale remains unclear.

Can RFK Jr. Legally Access Patient Data?

Nearly all US health information exchanges already allow limited sharing with public health agencies in cases such as infectious disease outbreaks. Expanding that role to include national research, however, is proving far more contentious.

In the US, medical records are protected mainly under laws like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which strictly limits who can access identifiable patient data. Government agencies like HHS can access health data, but usually only in narrow, regulated ways—for example, disease surveillance, hospital reporting, or anonymised research datasets.

Government officials, however, do not normally have unrestricted access to individual medical records nationwide.

What makes this controversial is that the proposal described in the reporting involves potential access to identifiable, state-level health records across millions of people, not just anonymised data. That raises concerns because even within government, access must usually be justified, legally authorised, and tightly controlled, with oversight from ethics boards and state agreements.

Critics argue that the risk is that sensitive information could be exposed or repurposed beyond its original intent.

Kennedy, meanwhile, has continued to argue that the current system of medical record keeping is fragmented and inefficient. He said that improved access to health data would allow more robust research into chronic illness and vaccine safety, while acknowledging that states have so far been cautious in their cooperation.