U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited Concord on Friday to discuss a new health initiative to prevent and combat Lyme disease.

The visit was part of the “Take Back Your Health” campaign tour, a multimillion dollar initiative to promote dietary changes and exercise as preventative measures for chronic illness. Kennedy has been traveling the country to outline projects, including changing federal dietary guidelines, gut microbiome research, and addiction recovery.

Kennedy said his goal was to reduce Lyme disease by 25% by 2035.

Kennedy announced that over $2 million of federal funding will be up for grabs for projects focused on the prevention and treatment of Lyme disease. The grants, through a program called LymeX, will be available to businesses, scientists, and the public.

At the press conference Friday, Kennedy said the grants will go to projects including education tools and public awareness campaigns, front-line solutions like medication, and AI technology.

“This initiative will harness artificial intelligence and open data to help patients with Lyme disease and other invisible illnesses. Get answers faster and connect to care sooner,” he said.

Lyme in NH

New Hampshire has long been one of the epicenters for Lyme disease. The state has the seventh highest rate of Lyme disease in the country, according to the most recent data from 2023.

Read more: It’s tick season in New England. Here’s how to stay safe.

Tick season is a well-established time of year in New England, with an increase in cases and hospital visits in April and May. Research from Dartmouth shows half of adult blacklegged ticks in the Northeast carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

In a health advisory issued on Wednesday, State Epidemiologist Benjamin Chan pointed out that Lyme disease is one of the most common infections spread through tick bites. Other tick-borne infections include anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus.

Lyme is also the most common tick-borne illness in America, with an estimated 476,000 people getting the disease each year nationwide, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Service.

Kennedy’s record on Lyme disease

In the past, Kennedy has promoted a conspiracy theory that Lyme disease was bioengineered by the U.S. military. Late last year, he advocated for an investigation into a possible link between the military and the disease as part of a provision in a new defense bill, Scientific American and Politico reported.

Around that time, Kennedy said many patients’ claims were ignored, and he announced that “the gaslighting of Lyme patients is over.”

As an anti-vaccine activist, Kennedy launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 2024. He then ran briefly as an independent before quitting and endorsing Donald Trump.

Trump later nominated him for health secretary, and he was confirmed by the Senate in early 2025 on a party-line vote.

Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, and a son of Robert F. Kennedy, who was slain during his campaign for president in 1968. In his own bid for the White House, RFK Jr.’s name was never on the ballot in New Hampshire. In mid-2024, a UNH Survey Center poll found he mustered only 3% support among likely voters.

More resources

What to do if you’ve been bitten by a tick: Step one, don’t panic.

Tick season: How not to get bit

Editor’s Note: This is the latest installment in a series honoring Seacoast veterans’ military service and the organizations who support veterans sponsored by Service Credit Union. It appears each Friday. Nominate a veteran you know to be profiled by clicking on this link or using the form below.  More than 85,000 veterans live in New Hampshire, according to the state’s Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services. Here are some of the many services available to veterans, their families, caregivers and supporters in the state. 

New Hampshire Division of Veterans Services 

This is the state’s starting point for veterans’ assistance. It can be reached by phone at 603-624-9230 or 800-622-9230, and online at nhveterans.nh.gov/veterans-services.  On this site, you can find an important guide to services for veterans and their families. The N.H. Guide to Veterans’ Services is a PDF that can be viewed online or downloaded and printed out, and contains a plethora of important information about all aspects of a veterans’ life.  https://www.nhveterans.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt401/files/inline-documents/2021-07/nhes-031320-vets-dir-guide-final.pdf  

N.H. Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services 

New Hampshire’s Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services (DMAVS) has mission to oversee and support the Service Members of the New Hampshire National Guard (NHNG) and to provide quality services to the state’s veterans and their families, according to its website. Call 603-225-1200 or find it online at https://www.nhveterans.nh.gov.  There is a list of the state’s regional Veterans Services Officers and how to reach them or make an appointment at nhveterans.nh.gov/veterans-services/vsos-and-sites 

Veterans Count 

Veterans Count, a program of Easterseals NH Vets Count, provides mental health counseling, care coordination, housing stabilization, substance use treatment coordination, benefits and resources connection, and emergency financial assistance to all who have served in the military regardless of service era, discharge status or VA eligibility. The program connects veterans and their families with the help and resources they need confidentially. Email intake@vetscount.org or call 603-315-4354 or learn more at vetscount.org.  The statewide Veterans Count program has four regional chapters. You can reach the Seacoast chapter at vetscount.org/chapters/seacoast.  Vets Count presents local events and fundraisers like the upcoming Veterans Count Pack & Boots 5K Road Race on Sunday, July 5 from 8 to 11 a.m. beginning on Pierce Island in Portsmouth and ending in Prescott Park. Service members, veterans and community members are invited to participate in the fitness event designed for all ages and abilities, which will include a Survival Run-All, where runners carry a pack equal to 10% of their body weight; a Kids Fun Run 100-Meter Dash, and a 5K Road Race. Register at https://vetscount.org/events/veterans-count-pack-boots-5k-road-race/ 

A New Hampshire man has been charged in connection with two Harvard University assaults and breaking into a Massachusetts Institute of Technology dorm room last week.  

On May 19 around 5:30 p.m., a woman was walking with a friend to her dorm at Lowell House on Holyoke Place. She entered the building and noticed someone was behind her, so she figured it was another student and held the door for them, according to prosecutor David Witter. The alleged victim told police that the person followed her up to the second floor, and when she went to open her dorm room, he grabbed her by the waist. The woman thought that it was a friend “playing a joke,” but she turned around and did not recognize the man, according to Witter. He then allegedly shoved her into the room.  

The woman told police she was able to keep the door open somehow and clawed her way back to the entrance while screaming “no.” The victim told police she was thinking, “I can’t believe this is happening.”  

Arthur Krogman, 31, then allegedly attempted to cover her mouth with his hands but was unable to. 

“She was still able to yell. The alleged victim started yelling, ‘Help! Help! Help!” Witter said in court. 

The victim’s scream for help garnered the attention of other residents in the building who entered the dorm hallway. Krogman then rushed out of the building using the stairway, according to prosecutors. 

On May 27, Harvard University Police said that another victim had come forward saying that they were approached by a man near Peabody Terrace. The man allegedly grabbed the person by the wrist and tried to drag them towards a residential building while saying “Come here,” according to a police report. The man fled after the victim was able to release his grip on her wrist. 

Police were then able to connect the suspect to another incident at MIT by using surveillance video, which identified Krogman’s green New Hampshire Subaru Outback at both campuses. 

MIT Police said in an alert on May 19 that there was a man “acting suspiciously” and had attempted to follow a woman into the Sidney-Pacific graduate student dorm building around 5:45 p.m.  

Krogman was identified after police ran his face through a DHS biometric database, which pulled up an Instagram post of a New Hampshire lacrosse team. The team’s coach, Chris Hettler, identified the suspect as Krogman. He also used to work as an EMT in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, where he lives.

Krogman was arrested and charged with kidnapping, witness intimidation, assault and battery, indecent assault and battery, and breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in court but appeared remotely. The judge did not require him to show his face. Krogman will be held without bail until his next court hearing on June 5.  

Students celebrating commencement on Thursday said the incident had left them rattled when they first learned of it. 

“I was very scared for my safety. I know a lot of people that kind of leave their doors unlocked or open, so I instantly ran back to my place to make sure all my stuff was good,” new graduate Zach Caudill said. “We are still a really strong community and we still just try to make sure it’s a great place to be.