WASHINGTON — Health and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. couldn’t say Wednesday if he’d vaccinate his youngsters at present towards polio, the extremely contagious and lethal virus that was as soon as the main reason for paralysis amongst youngsters.
Throughout testimony earlier than a Home subcommittee, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) requested Kennedy, who’s infamous for spreading disinformation in regards to the security of vaccines, whether or not he’d vaccinate his youngsters at present, in the event that they have been nonetheless youngsters, towards plenty of vaccine-preventable illnesses. Pocan began with measles.
“For measles?” Kennedy stated, pausing. “Probably for measles.”
“Would you vaccinate your child for chicken pox?” requested Pocan.
“I don’t want to give advice,” Kennedy replied. “I can tell you in Europe they don’t use the chicken pox vaccine.” (That is not true.)
What about polio, requested Pocan, which was eradicated from the U.S. in 1979?
“I don’t want to be giving advice,” stated Kennedy.
The well being and human providers secretary insisted his opinions on vaccinating youngsters have been irrelevant to his job, which is actually to form America’s well being coverage.
“I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me,” Kennedy stated.
“Everybody can make that decision” on whether or not to vaccinate their youngsters, he stated, and the issue with the well being and human providers secretary giving recommendation on vaccinations is that “it will seem like I’m giving advice to other people and I don’t want to be doing that.”
“But that is kind of your jurisdiction,” Pocan replied with a puzzled smirk. “Because [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency Kennedy oversees] does give advice.”
Kennedy has made every kind of harmful claims about vaccines for years. He stated the HPV vaccine could improve the chance of cervical most cancers and that the shot is “dangerous and defective,” at the same time as analysis persistently reveals the vaccine is secure and extremely efficient in stopping cervical most cancers.
He bizarrely claimed that the measles vaccine “contains a lot of aborted fetus debris and DNA particles,” and falsely stated “natural immunity” is more practical than a vaccine at offering lasting safety towards the measles.
Kennedy is probably finest recognized for spreading the false declare that vaccines are linked to autism, a notion that has been debunked time and time once more.
His refusal to assist the polio vaccine on Wednesday is especially bonkers. Polio causes everlasting paralysis and demise, and the vaccine, which happened within the mid-Nineteen Fifties, has resulted in an estimated 20 million extra individuals having the ability to stroll at present who would in any other case have been paralyzed. It’s additionally prevented an estimated 1.5 million youngsters from dying.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the highest Democrat on the committee, was visibly horrified by just about every thing Kennedy was saying.
She known as his views on vaccines “quackery” and ripped his unserious response to the present U.S. measles outbreak. Since January, circumstances of measles have surpassed 1,000 individuals for the primary time in 30 years and unfold to no less than 31 states. Three individuals have died, all of whom have been unvaccinated.
This outbreak is spreading “while you peddle unfounded and dangerous vaccine skepticism, spread lies and misinformation,” DeLauro stated.
“I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.”
– Health and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The 2 briefly sparred after Kennedy’s declare that HHS is “doing a better job at CDC today than any nation in the world at controlling this measles outbreak.”
DeLauro took challenge along with his definition of “Europe” as a degree of comparability. She stated he retains saying “Europe” when he really means the World Health Group’s regional workplace for Europe, which contains 53 international locations in Europe and Asia, together with some with low vaccination charges which have by no means eradicated measles.
The U.S. declared measles eradicated in 2000 after a profitable vaccination marketing campaign.
“If you compare us to Western [European] countries that we often compare ourselves to, like Great Britain, they have seen no measles deaths this year,” she stated.
By the tip of the listening to, DeLauro informed Kennedy it was a “tragedy” that he isn’t advising dad and mom to guard their youngsters towards vaccine-preventable illnesses. She was baffled by his declare that individuals shouldn’t look to him for medical recommendation.
“HHS makes medical decisions every day. You’re making medical decisions every day. You’re the secretary of HHS,” stated the Connecticut Democrat. “You have tremendous power over health policy.”
“I’m really horrified that you will not encourage families to vaccinate their children,” she stated.
