RFK Jr. seeks to peek at Americans’ medical records for clues on autism and vaccines

Key Points:

• U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is seeking federal access to most Americans' medical records via state health information exchanges to research a disputed link between vaccines and autism, a connection rejected by the medical community.
• Some public health leaders have raised legal, privacy, and ethical concerns about sharing detailed, identifiable patient data with the federal government, and many state exchanges have declined or hesitated to participate without clear data-sharing frameworks.
• Nebraska’s health information exchange, CyncHealth, has been cooperative, receiving significant CDC and state funding to support Kennedy’s initiative, although officials emphasize the project is a proof-of-concept aimed at improving health outcomes, not specific autism research.
• Kennedy and his advisers have expressed frustration with limited federal access to medical records and have proposed new data-sharing systems, but experts caution that electronic health record data may not provide definitive answers on vaccine safety or autism causes.
• The Health and Human Services Department has not publicly detailed the scope, privacy protections, or funding of this data collection effort, while Kennedy continues to promote vaccine safety studies despite widespread scientific consensus affirming vaccine effectiveness and safety.