A prominent healthcare advocacy group is calling for US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to step down from his post after he downplayed Covid-19 risks by saying: “I’m not scared of a germ. I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats.”

Kennedy, who was appointed secretary of the federal health and human services (HHS) department despite his avowed anti-vaccine activism, made that remark on the 12 February episode of Theo Von’s podcast This Past Weekend.

The president of Protect Our Care, Brad Woodhouse, issued a one-word statement on Kennedy’s comments: “Resign.”

The group added that Kennedy’s comment about cocaine – which as recently as 2023 was involved in nearly 30,000 overdose deaths in the US – “continues to lay bare why he is the most dangerous … person ever to lead such an important federal agency”.

Kennedy on the podcast mentioned the drug in reference to his continued attendance at in-person recovery meetings during the pandemic. “Like, if I don’t, if I don’t treat it, which means for me going to meetings every day, it’s just bad for my life,” said Kennedy, who has spoken publicly about past struggles with drug addiction.

The commentary marked another controversial moment for Kennedy during his first year as health secretary for the Donald Trump White House. He has also faced criticism over his handling of US measles outbreaks that have left several people dead from a disease that had been declared eliminated from the country in 2000.

Amid those outbreaks, Kennedy has portrayed measles vaccination – long proven safe – as a personal choice rather than universal need, instead boosting spurious treatments.

The health secretary’s new dietary guidelines have also spurred worry that his prioritizing of meat and dairy will cause health problems. Critics add that pushing for meat-heavy diets will deal a blow to the environment, with forests razed to make way for agricultural land.

Meanwhile, public trust in Kennedy and the American healthcare system has dropped.

A recent KFF poll determined “that a majority of the public continue to disapprove of [Kennedy’s] performance as [health] secretary and his handling of US vaccine policy”.

Democratic representative Diana DeGette of Colorado criticized Kennedy’s tenure in a post on X, saying: “public health can’t survive another year of this.”

Asked for comment, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said: “Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS is exercising its full authority to deliver results for the American people.”

“In 2025, the Department confronted long-standing public health challenges with transparency, courage, and gold-standard science … HHS will carry this momentum into 2026 to strengthen accountability, put patients first, and protect public health,” he added.