"Whenever presented with copious evidence and scientific studies that vaccines do not cause autism… or whatever health condition he attributes to them, it is never enough; [RFK, Jr] always moves the goalposts, demanding still more evidence."
Dr David Gorski, professor of surgery at Wayne State University and managing editor of the site Science Based Medicine.
"What do you do with people like Robert Kennedy Junior?... When he raises the question: 'Could this vaccine do harm?', and then excellent studies are done showing that it doesn't. And he just refuses to believe them, because he just claims conspiracy at every turn."
Paul A. Offit, MD, iDirector of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
"Measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years… To save even more lives and stop this deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable, we must invest in immunization for every person, no matter where they live."
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.
“I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.”
A Trump campaign pledge.
Anytime a Republican reaches into the worn-phrase storage locker, you know where he (mostly) or she is going. Creeping socialism. Incent the job creators. Entitlements. Work for Healthcare. Radical Left. The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. A rising tide floats all boats. They’re patriots. Murderers, rapists… Woke. Climate change doesn’t exist. Tariffs are paid by the country we assess them against. Vaccines are more dangerous than the disease they are trying to prevent. Massive waste, fraud, and abuse. Deep state. All false statements. And when a presidential appointee to a cabinet post, a sub-cabinet post, the federal judiciary or high military rank who is dramatically unqualified and inexperienced, often with conspiracy theories as to his or her claim to fame, beware of “we need an outsider to clean house” justifications.
And while President-Elect Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy, Jr (who has no medical credentials), claims he is not focused on stopping vaccines, he actually is. Kennedy said in a 2023 podcast interview that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and told Fox News that he still believes in the long-ago debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism. In a 2021 podcast he urged people to “resist” CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.
“He has pushed the long-discredited claim that the MMR (measles/mumps/rubella) vaccine causes autism. A 2005 screed alleging the link, published jointly by Rolling Stone and Salon.com, was so stuffed with falsehoods that it was retracted by both publications. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, November 20th. So, in 2023, “The surge in [measles] cases has led to devastating consequences. In 2023, measles claimed an estimated 107,500 lives, mostly children under the age of 5—a death toll described by the CDC as ‘unacceptable’ in a statement.” Newsweek, November 15th. The children who died were virtually all unvaccinated.
“President-elect Donald Trump has also picked Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a key federal agency that oversees health insurance coverage for more than 150 million Americans… ‘I have known Dr. Oz for many years, and I am confident he will fight to ensure everyone in America receives the best possible Healthcare, so our Country can be Great and Healthy Again!’ Trump said in a statement on Tuesday [11/19]. ‘Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing Disease Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country.’… Trump, who is also seeking to slash spending in the federal government and has long had Medicaid in mind for reductions, also promised Oz would take a scalpel to the massive agency…
“Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality, ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2022 in Pennsylvania with Trump’s backing. He lost to Democratic now-Sen. John Fetterman.” CNN, November 19th. But Dr Oz seems to like money and fame more than making sure America is the healthiest nation on earth. His wellness products (as the image above suggests) have made him quite wealthy. But the Trump mandate to both RFK, Jr and Oz is to deregulate, pull as much of government out of routine medical care (but no work to help trans people, support birth control or a woman’s right to control her own body… oh, no!), and get of as many staffers in their respective departments as they can. Conspiracy theories are the “people’s medicine.” Oz’s investments in “wellness” and “healthcare” companies also create a massive conflicts issue that must be resolved.
Interestingly, Trump’s appointments to medically sensitive posts are also heavily laden with those with lots of conservative media exposure, beyond Dr Oz. FDA Commissioner appointee is Dr. Marty Makary, public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, who is also a regular medical contributor to Fox News. Trump named another Fox News personality, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, as his pick for U.S. Surgeon General. Nesheiwat is a practicing doctor who was on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic treating thousands of Americans. She may, however, be the least controversial pick in this health and medically related field. We see a many such TV-savvy appointees in other arenas of Trump appointments, and some who have served in Congress. For example, former Florida Congressman, Dr. Dave Weldon is Trump’s choice as director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who, as a House member, argued for a separate independent office on vaccine safety, mirroring RFK, Jr’s vaccine concerns.
Looking at the big picture, we should note that “private advisory” DOGE mandate to slash and burn federal expenditures is heavily focused on those traditional GOP “entitlement” designated categories, aimed at cutting or vastly reducing programs like the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid… culling the herd any way they can and reducing programs that support the elderly and the poor.
The discredited “work for Medicaid” is regaining popularity among both state legislators and the new GOP-dominated Congress. “In a rational world, this idea would have been consigned to the dumpster long ago, and forever. It’s billed as a way to reduce joblessness, but doesn’t. It’s billed as an answer to the purported complexity of Medicaid, but makes the system more complicated for enrollees and administrators. It’s billed as a money-saving reform, but adds to Medicaid’s costs… Democrats view Medicaid as a health insurance program that helps people pay for health care...Republicans view Medicaid as a government welfare program.” Michael Hiltzik, writing for the November 20th Los Angeles Times. Notions of a MAGA replacement for the Affordable Care Act suggest that those who have pre-existing conditions be forced to pay higher premiums than those with fewer issues. It is estimated that 40% of Americans have relevant pre-existing conditions. If you are not awash in extra cash, the future of healthcare coverage in this nation may be particularly challenging.
I’m Peter Dekom, and as much as the big picture fiscal issues were high on the list of voter concerns, I suspect making healthcare less affordable and governed by medical luddites was not what voters really expected.
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