US Senate confirms RFK Jr as health secretary

The confirmation paves the way for him to be sworn in to lead the massive Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing multiple high-profile agencies, including the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy, 71, is an environmental lawyer and a former Democrat who has long harboured scepticism about the safety and efficacy of vaccines that have helped curb disease and prevented deaths for decades.

He will now run an HHS department that directs more than $US3 trillion ($A4.8 trillion) in healthcare spending.

Also under HHS purview are the Medicare and Medicaid programs that provide health insurance for more than 140 million people in the US and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy had made pledges to protect existing US vaccination programs in a bid to secure votes of hesitant lawmakers.

The Republican party has largely embraced Kennedy's vision to "Make America Healthy Again" by directing the public health agencies to focus on chronic diseases such as obesity.

with AP