RFK Jr skips Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral to roll out children’s vaccine revisions
WASHINGTON, DC: Robert F Kennedy Jr did not attend the funeral of his cousin, writer and environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, who died at age 35.
On the same day that many members of the Kennedy family gathered in New York City to mourn her loss, Kennedy, serving as United States Department of Health and Human Services secretary, announced changes to childhood vaccine requirements, a decision that drew additional public attention.
Schlossberg had previously been critical of her cousin’s views on vaccines.
RFK Jr misses Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral
Robert F Kennedy Jr was notably absent from the funeral service for his cousin Tatiana Schlossberg on Monday, January 5, as family members gathered to honor her life. Schlossberg died on December 30, 2025, after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
Instead of attending the service at The Church of St Ignatius of Loyola on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Kennedy announced a sweeping revision to the nation’s childhood vaccination policy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated immunization schedule reduced the number of recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, marking a major shift in federal public health policy.
The revised schedule continues to protect against diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Hib, pneumococcal disease, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, HPV, and chickenpox.
However, it scales back recommendations for vaccines targeting RSV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, and meningococcal disease, limiting them to high-risk groups. Parents are now advised to consult physicians regarding vaccines for rotavirus, Covid-19, influenza, and certain hepatitis and meningococcal shots.
According to a CDC press release cited by Kennedy, President Donald Trump directed his health secretary to review immunization schedules in other developed nations, including Denmark, Germany, and Japan, and to adjust the US schedule if those countries demonstrated superior health outcomes.
During the funeral service, while Kennedy was making the announcement, his department’s official X account posted a promotional video featuring him with animated laser beams emanating from his eyes, tied to his “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again) agenda.
Tatiana Schlossberg’s criticism of RFK Jr
Before her death, Tatiana Schlossberg penned an essay for The New Yorker in November 2025 announcing her terminal diagnosis and speaking candidly about her life and concerns.
In the essay, she criticized her cousin's stance on vaccines and his influence on federal health policy, describing his views as an “embarrassment” to her and her immediate family. She also described a growing sense of uncertainty as she faced illness: “Suddenly, the health-care system on which I relied felt strained, shaky.”
Schlossberg, who was married to urologist George Moran, also highlighted concerns within the academic medical community, noting that “Doctors and scientists at Columbia, including George, didn’t know if they would be able to continue their research, or even have jobs.”
She added, “Bobby is a known skeptic of vaccines, and I was especially concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get mine again, leaving me to spend the rest of my life immunocompromised, along with millions of cancer survivors, small children, and the elderly,” citing the health secretary’s past remark that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.”
The daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, and the granddaughter of former President John F Kennedy, Schlossberg was remembered by her family at the funeral.
Immediate family members, including her parents, siblings Rose Schlossberg and Jack Schlossberg, and her husband, George Moran, attended, along with other members of the Kennedy family and public figures. The service was held at the same site as the 1994 funeral of Schlossberg’s grandmother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
