HHS nominee RFK Jr. defends vaccine skepticism, still wont take sides on 9/11 in fiery final confirmation hearing

Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F.Kennedy Jr.

defended his long record of vaccine skepticism — maintaining he did not believe he was wrong to cite links between immunizations and rising childhood rates of autism — in his fiery and final confirmation hearing on Thursday.Kennedy also fielded questions from members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee about mounting health care costs, high US rates of obesity, his “Make America Healthy Again” movement, Lyme disease as a possible “bioweapon,” fatalities due to COVID-19 vaccines and “conspiracy theories” about 9/11.“I’m pro-safety; I’m pro-good science.… I believe vaccines have saved millions of lives and play a critical role in health care,” Kennedy told members of the HELP panel, adding that MAHA moms were partnering with him on “one of the most powerful and transcendent movements” to end chronic disease in the US.But the three-hour tour into the mind of the 71-year-old environmental attorney and recovering anti-vaccine crusader left several Republican and Democratic senators unconvinced he was ready to be the nation’s chief public health advocate at HHS.“There are many things you and I agree on,” conceded committee chairman Bill Cassidy.

“We need to address hyper-processed foods and reduce obesity, which leads to other chronic diseases and shorter lifespans.This will be a priority in the Committee and I look forward to collaborating if you are confirmed.”“But I do have reservations with your past on vaccines and some other issues,” Cassidy (R-La.) added.The Louisiana Republican went on to recount how as a doctor, decades before he ran for Congress, one of his patients developed “acute hepatitis B” and had to be flown on a helicopter for an emergency liver transplant.“An invasive, quarter-of-a-million-dollar surgery — in 2000 — that, even if successful, would leave this young woman with a lifetime of $50,000 pe...