In Harrisburg, RFK Jr. kicked off his “Take Back Your Health” Tour

Sporting his signature tan and flanked by prominent Pennsylvania Republicans, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off his “Take Back Your Health” Tour at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg this morning to promote new federal dietary guidelines, along with the Trump administration’s deals on prescription-drug prices and its stated commitment to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Kennedy’s half-hour-long speech leaned into many of his well-known talking points, including “ending the coercion” around vaccines and lambasting America’s rates of chronic diseases. “When I was born, America had the healthiest children in the world. Today, we have the sickest,” said the 72-year-old secretary, eliciting jeers from hecklers. “That’s why the Trump administration is changing course.”

In recent months, Kennedy spearheaded dramatic changes to the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of federally recommended shots from 17 to 11 – though he emphasized that anyone who wants all 17 can still get them. More recently, Kennedy’s department released new dietary guidelines that upended the traditional “food pyramid” both literally and figuratively, with red meats and full-fat dairy on top alongside vegetables, and whole grains at the bottom.

Eating more “real” food, Kennedy explained, is a key component of the administration’s preventative efforts to reverse what he described as a national epidemic of chronic disease – from obesity and cancer to food allergies and autism. He added that his department is also championing reductions in screen time and upgrades to infant formula to improve children’s health.

“When I was a kid and my uncle was president,” the secretary said, referring to President John F. Kennedy, “juvenile diabetes was practically unknown.” Pointing to the statistic that one-third of American children are now diabetic, he called such poor health “a national security issue,” since chronic disease is a disqualification for military service. 

Kennedy also voiced support for the president’s recent negotiations with 16 pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices – although, according to an NPR analysis, January’s annual drug price lists reveal the same 4% average increase as last year. 

“Americans will be paying the lowest costs of any country in the world,” asserted Kennedy, explaining that the savings are partly offset by higher European prices negotiated through Trump’s tariffs. 

Closer to home, the secretary’s mention of federal investments to bolster rural health drew nods of approval from Republicans in attendance, including state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is running for governor, and state Reps. Robert Leadbeter and David Rowe, who represent rural Central Pennsylvania counties.

Preceding the event – as a crowd of protesters braved 18-degree cold on the Capitol steps – state Democrats denounced Kennedy’s actions on healthcare. “RFK Jr. has spent the last year trying to make it harder for Pennsylvanians to get vaccines,” wrote Gov. Josh Shapiro on X. “So I signed an Executive Order to safeguard your access to vaccines and make sure our state recommendations follow decades of trusted science. We protect the freedom to make your own health care decisions in this Commonwealth.”

The Pennsylvania General Assembly’s lone physician, Democratic state Rep. Arvind Venkat, issued a statement accusing Kennedy of “a deliberate effort to undermine vaccine access and America’s public health as a whole.” Venkat, an emergency physician, sponsored a 2025 bill that would mandate insurance coverage for vaccines recommended by the state Department of Health.