Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr clashed with lawmakers over vaccines during dual Congressional hearings to defend the Trump administration’s proposed $30billion cut from the health agency’s budget.
Kennedy has for years sowed doubts over the safety and efficacy of vaccines, specifically the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, which offers long-term protection against the measles virus.
As the worst measles outbreak America has faced in 30 years rages on in Texas, Kennedy has been slammed for what lawmakers and health officials have called a weak endorsement of the life-saving vaccine. So far, the virus has infected more than 1,000 people and killed two unvaccinated children.
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, began his allotted time at the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee by reminding RFK Jr he had promised in his confirmation hearing that the FDA ‘would not change vaccine standards from “historical norms.”‘
But, Sen Murphy said, after taking office, RFK Jr introduced vaccine approval standards Kennedy himself called ‘a radical departure from current practice’ — a shift that experts warned could slow down critical immunizations.
Sen Murphy added that despite claiming to support the measles vaccine, Kennedy has repeatedly undermined it by spreading false claims about rapid waning immunity, unproven safety testing, and the debunked myth of fetal tissue in its ingredients.
RFK Jr interjected: ‘All true! Do you want me to lie to the public?’ He went on to say that Americans have lost faith in federal vaccine guidance ‘because they’ve been lied to by public officials for year after year after year.’
The MMR vaccine affords people lifelong protection against the virus. There is no fetal debris in the vaccine and immense research has determined there is no link between vaccines and autism.
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. sparred with lawmakers over vaccines while defending proposed $30B budget cuts to his agency during back-to-back hearings
After a reminder and bang of the gavel from the chairwoman to return to a normal level of decorum, Sen Murphy referenced statements Kennedy had made to the House Appropriations Committee earlier that day.
One of the most intense exchanges in that earlier hearing came when Democratic Rep Mark Pocan of Wisconsin directly asked Kennedy whether he would vaccinate his own child against measles today. After a noticeable hesitation, Kennedy responded with a single word: ‘Probably.’
He added: I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me,’ and he avoided giving straight answers about whether he would vaccinate his children today against chickenpox or polio.
To that, Pocan said: ‘Okay, but that’s kind of your jurisdiction, because the CDC does give advice.’
As secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr would be overseeing the CDC.
In referencing his earlier testimony and past statements, Sen Murphy insisted that Kennedy has consistently flip-flopped on his vaccine guidance.
Kennedy told the public on X last month that the ‘most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,’ while also promoting cod liver oil, aerosolized budesonide (a corticosteroid), and clarithromycin (an antibiotic) as cures for the viral infection.
With limited time left, Murphy said: ‘I don’t necessarily want to spend the remaining 20 seconds in an argument over the science, but do you at least understand that that’s the consequence of what you’re saying, and are you actually still recommending people get the vaccine or are you not?’
Connecticut Sen Chris Murphy countered that while Kennedy professes support for measles vaccines, he actively undermines them by pushing false claims—including exaggerated waning immunity and the debunked fetal tissue myth
RFK said: ‘Senator, if I advised you to swim in a lake I knew there to be alligators in, wouldn’t you want me to tell you there were alligators in it?’
He added: ‘I’m going to tell the truth about everything we know and don’t know about vaccines. I am not going to just tell people something is safe and effective if I know that there’s issues.’
Kennedy’s children are vaccinated against measles, a decision that he said he now regrets.
Sen Cassidy, a medical doctor and chairman of the committee, later corrected Kennedy: ‘The secretary made the statement that no vaccines, except for Covid, have been evaluated against placebo. For the record, that’s not true.
‘Rotavirus, measles and HPV vaccines have been, and some vaccines are tested against previous versions. So just for the record, to set that straight.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .