Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who President-elect Donald J. Trump has suggested would have a “big role” in his second administration, wasted no time laying out potential public health measures he would oversee if given the chance.
Mr. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer who has no medical or public health degrees and has promoted anti-vaccine conspiracies for years, told NBC News on Wednesday that he would not “take away anybody’s vaccines,” but that he wanted Americans to be informed with the “best information” available so they “can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them.”
“People ought to have choice,” he said, adding that he has “never been anti-vaccine.”
Mr. Kennedy has been a prominent critic of the childhood vaccination schedule and has frequently linked some vaccines to autism and other health issues. Studies have long shown no such connection.
On the topic of adding fluoride to drinking water, which helps to protect teeth, Mr. Kennedy said the mineral was “lowering I.Q. in our children,” despite decades’ worth of studies that show its efficacy and safety. “I think fluoride is on its way out,” he said. “I think the faster that it goes out, the better. I’m not going to compel anybody to take it out, but I’m going to advise the water districts about their legal liability.”
The treatment of public water with small amounts of fluoride has been widely hailed as one of the most important public health interventions of the past century; the American Dental Association has said that it reduces dental decay by at least 25 percent.
Mr. Kennedy also said that if he were given a position in Mr. Trump’s administration, he would focus on eliminating corruption at public health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some departments, including those focused on nutrition, “have to go,” he told NBC. “They’re not protecting our kids.”
“Once Americans are getting good science and allowed to make their own choices, they’re going to get a lot healthier,” he added. As president, Mr. Trump would have only limited authority to make some of these changes, and some would need congressional approval. But on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump said he would let Mr. Kennedy “go wild on health.”
“I want to be in the White House, and he has assured me that I’m going to have that,” Mr. Kennedy said this week.
Those are finally some good news 👍
Tell me how you believe it’s “good news” that someone who has no education in health care is best suited to tell people they should do whatever they want when it comes to their health care needs? Tell me how it’s “good news” that someone with no understanding of science is the best person to tell parents with no health care education that they should do whatever they want for the health of their children? How is it “good news” that the person being considered to run our nation’s health system believes “good science” is the stuff that has been scientifically proven false?
In don’t speak Russian, so I’ll just tell you in English. The word “news” is singular.
There are indications that things like abortion bans will affect the number of present and futures doctors/specialists in particular in places like Texas. Perhaps if doctors and dentists come to the table in large #'s with meaningful pushback the damage can be mitigated.
I sincerely hope RFK’s promised position proves to be largely ceremonial, because his proposals could really impact nation-wide quality of life. Especially for kids who have no choice or voice.
It seems RFK Jr is walking back some of his previous statements about vaccines. Notably, that he doesn’t seem to want to ban them all anymore. From just two days ago:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/04/election-trump-rfk-jr-vaccines-fluoride
He’s still planning on making everyone’s teeth rot though.
Even if all they do is make it illegal for school districts to require enrolled students to be vaccinated (or at least have a waiver), then the result is that vaccines will be dramatically less effective at preventing disease.
This quote from your link really pisses me off:
“He says, ‘If you give me the data, all I want is the data, and I’ll take on the data and show that it’s not safe,’” Lutnick said. “Let’s give him the data. I think it’ll be pretty cool to give him the data. Let’s see what he comes up with. I think it’s pretty fun.”
THAT’S NOT HOW FUCKING SCIENCE WORKS! You don’t get to start with the premise “it’s not safe” and then go looking for data to support your premise. You start with the data and go where it leads you. That data is already available, BTW, and has been for ages. RFJ Jr has already been shown the data and refused to accept it many times. He’s convinced that some nameless agency is hiding the Truth from him.
Also, the idea of completely upending agencies that deal with public health so you can enforce your personal pet conspiracy theories is not “pretty fun.” It’s nightmare fuel.
America played SHITHEAD bingo and marked every fucking spot. I fucking hate every person who voted for these fuckbags.
Both? I live in Texas we played blackout fuckitup bingo and marked every fucking spot. Ted goddamn Cruz is back… and everyone hates that fuck head.
Anyone else read this as a veiled threat? Like “we’re not going to tell you to stop adding fluoride, but it sure would be a shame if your grant money stopped”
