Branded an anti-vax conspiracy theorist and science denialist by at least one leading US doctor, Robert F Kennedy Jr has finally been confirmed as the nation’s Health Secretary.

Mr Kennedy’s appointment was considered a foregone conclusion given the Republican majority in the US Senate, which voted to confirm his appointment last week.

The only Republican to vote against him was a polio survivor, Senator Mitch McConnell, who pointed to Mr Kennedy’s “record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions”.

Dr Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, echoed the sentiment.