Washington (AP) – The man who hopes to be the secretary of health of President Donald Trump has repeatedly asked to see the “data” or “science” showing that vaccines are safe – but when a republican senator Influent showed him evidence, he rejected it.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent two days this week to insist on senators that he is not anti-vaccin. He said that he rather supports vaccinations and followed science by supervising the department of $ 1.7 billion of health and social services, which, among other functions, oversees the research, approval and recommendations of vaccines.
But Kennedy has repeatedly refused to recognize the scientific consensus according to which infant vaccines do not provoke autism and that COVVI-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives, and he falsely said that the government had no Good monitoring of vaccine safety. While seeming to ignore dominant science, he cited defective or tangential research to assert his arguments, as suggesting that blacks may need different vaccines of whites.
His responses have aroused concerns among health experts that Kennedy lacks basic skills necessary for work.
“He ignores science. He picks cherries sometimes fraudulent studies. Sometimes he takes well -made studies and takes small songs out of context, “said Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
He fears that Kennedy would no longer harm public confidence in vaccines and “we will see the return of diseases from which we have really not seen much and unfortunately children will suffer”.
Kennedy “in many ways has shown his lack of ability to really understand certain details on science and the evidence that I think he would really need to know,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association.
Science on vaccines is clear for doctors and scientists – but not for Kennedy
Senator Bill Cassidy, a republican and doctor of Louisiana, said that science is clear that measles and other infant vaccines are safe and not linked to autism.
Kennedy said that if the data was shown, he would recommend these vaccines and “not only will I do it, but I will apologize for all the declarations that have misleaded people differently.”
Cassidy therefore withdrew and has read permanent conclusions permanently that vaccines do not cause autism. Kennedy rejected it, mentioning a recent article rather that external experts qualified fundamentally defective – and Cassidy agreed “to problems” – in an attempt to counter decades of rigorous studies.
The senator told Kennedy that his story to “undermine confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me” – and risks launching “a shadow on the inheritance of President Trump” if people die from prudently diseases Vaccines should become health secretary.
Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said that there was real branching to “invine and barber from established sciences” – diverting money and time that could be devoted to the search for the real cause of Autism.
Kennedy ignored science showing that COVVI-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives
Kennedy said there was no good surveillance system to know that COVVI-19 vaccines are safe and saving.
US follows vaccine safety via several surveillance systems, including electronic medical records from a list of health systems. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also check how vaccines are international, as during the pandemic when large databases in Israel and the United Kingdom have helped to strengthen that new mRNA vaccines were safe and lowered the deaths of the coronavirus.
“You apply for the position – you should clearly know,” said Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. “The scientific community has established that coasty vaccines have saved millions of lives and that you are throwing out.”
Kennedy refuses to support a vaccine that prevents cancer in women
AAP’s O’Leary said there were around 35,000 cases of cancer linked to the HPV virus which could be prevented by this vaccine, including 4,000 deaths per year. “We are already seeing a decrease in the number of cases of Cancers linked to HPV due to vaccination by HPV.”
Kennedy did not respond directly when he was asked if he was standing next to the statements that the HPV vaccine could cause cancer or other diseases. Rather, he raised an in suspense trial and suggested that a jury – non -scientific – would decide.
Kennedy’s baseless commentary on breed and vaccine times
Senator Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, questioned Kennedy about the previous comments that blacks may need a different vaccination calendar from that of whites. Alsobrooks, who is black, asked how Kennedy thought she should have been vaccinated differently.
Kennedy referred to certain previous articles suggesting that people of African-American descent had a stronger immune response to measles and rubella vaccines than whites.
Vaccination recommendations are not based on breed but on organic factors such as age and risk of a specific disease. Some studies show that black Americans are more hesitant than whites to receive certain vaccines.
“It’s so dangerous,” said Alsobrooks in Kennedy.
“There is no evidence that there must be a different vaccine calendar based on the breed,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Such statements could make it wrongly different populations “well, I may not need as many vaccines” as recommended.
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The medical writer AP Carla K. Johnson contributed.
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