On the eve of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings, his physician niece has shared a trove of private emails in the hopes of derailing his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

The exchanges show RFK Jr. making false claims about Covid-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic, citing online articles by fellow vaccine skeptics, linking childhood immunizations to autism, and raising doubts about the flu shot. The emails span more than two years, starting in late 2020. While many of his controversial beliefs have been publicly examined, the emails — provided to STAT on Tuesday — show him in unguarded, personal moments.

His niece, Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, a primary care physician at NYC Health + Hospitals in New York City, told STAT that she had struggled with whether to release the emails publicly, knowing that they could further stir “family drama.” But in the end she said she decided it was vital for the public — and U.S. senators — to better understand what she described as her uncle’s misguided views and conspiracy theories.

As President Trump’s top health official, RFK Jr. would have broad power to shape U.S. vaccination policy, and a bully pulpit from which he could discourage — or encourage — people to get vaccinated. Both Republican and Democratic senators have expressed concerns about RFK Jr.’s history of criticizing vaccines, and he is likely to face probing questions on the topic in his hearings.

In the exchanges, Meltzer takes...

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