But the earlier record of discrediting vaccines and its relationship with the anti-school movement was the main point of adhesion for democrats and a handful of Republicans. Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts suggested on Wednesday that Kennedy can cut vaccines by introducing changes in the country Immunization schedule. In response, Kennedy said: “I support vaccines. I support my childhood schedule. “I’ll do it. The only thing I want is good learning and that’s all. “
Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Susan Collins from Maine also emphasized the importance of vaccines and asked Kennedy to promise that he used his position to promote trust in them. “We can’t go back without our vaccines,” said Murkowski.
The best Republican, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, said during Thursday’s hearing that he was “fighting” with Kennedy’s nomination. “As a doctor who was involved in vaccination programs, I saw the benefits of vaccinations. I know they save lives – he said. “I am concerned with your past undermining trust in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments. Can I trust it in the past? Can data and information change your opinion or will you only look for data confirming a predetermined application? “
This past was not so long ago. Kennedy’s claims associates autism with vaccines, but in 2023 he said in Interview with Fox News“I believe that autism comes from vaccines.” Many big studiesHowever, they did not find any connection. IN The appearance of the podcast In the same year, Kennedy said: “There is no vaccine that is safe and effective.”
Kennedy earlier raised doubts about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines and the shot HPV and questioned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines when children should be vaccinated. In the years 2015–2023 he presided over Children’s Health Defense, an organization of activists who distributed vaccine disinformation and filed for arduous vaccines.
This week, Kennedy tried to return many of these controversial comments, saying that some of them were taken out of context, but repeatedly avoided questions whether vaccines cause autism after the grill by Cassidy and Senator Bern Sanders, independent of Vermont. Instead, Kennedy asked why CDC did not do more to examine the causes of autism. “Why don’t we know the answer after a 30 -year increase in the autism indicator? Why don’t we know the answer to this? We should know the answer. “
In fact, scientists believe that there is no one cause of autism, but they believe that there is a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as exposure to pollution or viral infections. The boost in autism indicators is probably caused by a greater awareness of neurodevelopmental disorder and more tests in recent years.
For many republican senators, Kennedy’s earlier comments on vaccines did not seem to be a problem. Senator Rand Paul, a republican and an ophthalmologist from Kentucky, decided not to ask Kennedy any questions on Thursday and instead he came to his defense. “The discussion about vaccines is so simplified and stupid that we are never really reaching true truths,” he said. “We don’t know what causes autism, so we should be more humble in what we say.”
Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma repeated Paweł’s feelings, saying: “I don’t understand why my colleagues suddenly say that we can’t question the study.” Tommy Tuberville from Alabama said that his son and daughter -in -law “conducted research on vaccines” and that his granddaughter “will not be Pincushion.”
It is not clear from his interrogations that Kennedy will receive the American nation as the secretary of HHS – the one who gains public trust in vaccines or the one who openly supports them. And despite reasonable, double -sided positions about obesity and chronic diseases, its confirmation may depend on the vaccine question.
It is expected that the Senate Financial Commission will vote next week whether to develop Kennedy’s nomination for a full senate, which will make the final decision on his confirmation. If this is confirmed, Kennedy would lead a huge agency with Budget 1.7 trillion dollars This includes CDC, Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health as well as Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.