The man who hopes to be President Donald Trump香蕉视频直播檚 health secretary repeatedly asked to see 香蕉视频直播渄ata香蕉视频直播 or 香蕉视频直播渟cience香蕉视频直播 showing vaccines are safe 香蕉视频直播 but when an influential Republican senator did so, he dismissed it.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent two days this week insisting to senators that he香蕉视频直播檚 not anti-vaccine. He said that he instead supports vaccinations and will follow the science in overseeing the $1.7 trillion Department of Health and Human Services, which, among other duties, oversees vaccine research, approval and recommendations.
But Kennedy repeatedly refused to acknowledge scientific consensus that childhood vaccines don香蕉视频直播檛 cause autism and that COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives, and he falsely asserted the government has no good vaccine safety monitoring. While appearing to ignore mainstream science, he cited flawed or tangential research to make his points, such as suggesting Black people may need different vaccines than whites.
His responses raised concern among health experts that Kennedy lacks basic skills needed for the job.
香蕉视频直播淗e ignores science. He cherry-picks sometimes fraudulent studies. Sometimes he takes well-done studies and takes little pieces of them out of context,香蕉视频直播 said Dr. Sean O香蕉视频直播橪eary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
He worries that Kennedy could further damage public confidence in vaccines and 香蕉视频直播渨e will see return of diseases that we really haven香蕉视频直播檛 seen much of and unfortunately children will suffer.香蕉视频直播
Kennedy 香蕉视频直播渋n many ways demonstrated his lack of capacity to really understand some details around science and evidence that I think he would really need to know,香蕉视频直播 said Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association.
The science on vaccines is clear to doctors and scientists 香蕉视频直播 but not to Kennedy
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and physician, said the science is clear that measles and other childhood vaccines are safe and not linked to autism.
Kennedy said if shown the data he would recommend those vaccines and 香蕉视频直播渘ot only will I do that but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise.香蕉视频直播
So Cassidy pulled out and read aloud definitive scientific conclusions that vaccines don香蕉视频直播檛 cause autism. Kennedy rebuffed him, instead mentioning a recent paper that outside experts have called fundamentally flawed 香蕉视频直播 and Cassidy agreed 香蕉视频直播渉as some issues香蕉视频直播 香蕉视频直播 in an attempt to counter decades of rigorous studies.
The senator told Kennedy his history of 香蕉视频直播渦ndermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me香蕉视频直播 香蕉视频直播 and risks casting 香蕉视频直播渁 shadow over President Trump香蕉视频直播檚 legacy香蕉视频直播 if people die of vaccine-preventable diseases should he become health secretary.
Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said there香蕉视频直播檚 a real-world ramification for 香蕉视频直播渞e-litigating and churning settled science香蕉视频直播 香蕉视频直播 diverting money and time that could be spent finding the real cause of autism.
Kennedy ignored science showing COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives
Kennedy claimed there香蕉视频直播檚 no good surveillance system to know that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and lifesaving.
The U.S. tracks vaccine safety through multiple monitoring systems including electronic medical records from a list of health systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also checks how vaccines fare internationally, such as during the pandemic when large databases from Israel and the U.K. helped reinforce that the new mRNA vaccines were safe and lowering deaths from the coronavirus.
香蕉视频直播淵ou香蕉视频直播檙e applying for the job 香蕉视频直播 clearly you should know this,香蕉视频直播 said Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. 香蕉视频直播淭he scientific community has established that COVID vaccines saved millions of lives and you香蕉视频直播檙e casting doubt.香蕉视频直播
Kennedy declines to back a vaccine that prevents cancer in women
AAP香蕉视频直播檚 O香蕉视频直播橪eary said there are about 35,000 cases of cancer related to the HPV virus that could be prevented by that vaccine, including 4,000 deaths per year. 香蕉视频直播淲e are already seeing decreases in the number of cases of HPV-related cancers as a result of HPV vaccination.香蕉视频直播
Kennedy didn香蕉视频直播檛 answer directly when asked if he stood by claims that the HPV vaccine could cause cancer or other disease. He instead brought up a pending lawsuit and suggested a jury 香蕉视频直播 of non-scientists 香蕉视频直播 would decide.
Kennedy香蕉视频直播檚 unfounded comment about race and vaccine schedules
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, asked Kennedy about prior comments that Black people might need a different vaccination schedule than whites. Alsobrooks, who is Black, asked how Kennedy thought she should have been vaccinated differently.
Kennedy referred to some earlier papers suggesting people of African-American ancestry had a stronger immune response to measles and rubella vaccines than white people.
Vaccination recommendations aren香蕉视频直播檛 based on race but on biological factors such as someone香蕉视频直播檚 age and risk of a specific disease. Some studies show Black Americans are more hesitant than whites to receive certain vaccines.
香蕉视频直播淭hat is so dangerous,香蕉视频直播 Alsobrooks told Kennedy.
香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 no evidence that there needs to be a different vaccine schedule based on race,香蕉视频直播 said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Such statements could make different populations wrongly believe 香蕉视频直播渨ell, maybe I don香蕉视频直播檛 need as many vaccines香蕉视频直播 as are recommended.