Takeaways from RFK Jr.’s first confirmation hearing as Trump’s nominee for health secretary

But before he was nominated, Kennedy sought to discredit vaccines. He has said “ COVID shots are a crime against humanity,” told FOX News he still believes in the debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism, and urged people in 2021 to “resist” CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.

And during the hearing Kennedy said that “most experts agree” that 6-year-olds shouldn’t get COVID-19 vaccines because they’re not at risk. That’s not true of the experts who set vaccine policy: The Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 shots for children as young as age 6 months and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children get vaccinated.

“Most experts agree that COVID vaccines are safe and effective for children,” Dr. James Campbell of the American Academy of Pediatrics said after hearing Kennedy’s remark.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, grilled Kennedy about changing his position.

“There is no reason that any of us should believe that you have reversed the anti-vaccine views that you have promoted for 25 years,” she said.

Kennedy was pressed on his shifting views on abortion

Kennedy’s nomination has been met with criticism from both abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion forces as his stance seemed to have shifted.

During the hearing, several Democrats pushed Kennedy about changing his views to better appeal to Trump.

“I’ve never seen any major politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when Trump asked you to be HHS secretary,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, questioned Kennedy’s shifting views on abortion by quoting his previous statements that abortion should be left up to the pregnant woman, not the government.

Hassan said she was confused: “You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is: Do you stand for this value or not?

Kennedy repeatedly leaned on the phrase: “I have always believed abortion is a tragedy” — including during questioning from Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.

Republicans expressed hope Kennedy could fix a troubled health care system

In his opening remarks, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, the Finance committee’s chairman, praised Kennedy’s “commitment to combatting chronic conditions” and said prioritizing disease prevention “ will save lives, reduce costs and build a healthier, stronger country.”

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who was vocal in criticizing vaccine requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, brought up a conversation he had with Kennedy when the former Democrat was considering joining forces with Trump. The senator called it an answer to his prayers.

“We need to heal and unify this divided nation,” Johnson said. “Can’t we come together as a nation and do this?”

Kennedy repeatedly called for “more research” on long-established therapies

Again and again on Wednesday, Kennedy suggested he simply wants to do more research on vaccines, drugs and other products that have already been vigorously studied by government and independent scientists.

Kennedy said that Trump asked him to study the safety of mifepristone, the abortion pill that has been used more than 6 million times in the U.S. to terminate pregnancies.

The FDA approved the drug in 2000 after a four-year review and has repeatedly reaffirmed its safety after reviewing dozens of studies in tens of thousands of women.

“Here are the safety studies that tell us mifepristone is safe and effective,” Hassan said, brandishing a pile of what she said were 40 of them.

Kennedy again called for additional research when questioned about his unsupported claims that increased school shootings could be related to higher prescribing of antidepressants.

Kennedy said his remarks were misrepresented and that he was suggesting antidepressants might play a role among other factors, such as social media.

“I don’t think anyone can answer that question right now” Kennedy said.

Antidepressants and other prescription drugs are subject to multiple, large clinical trials that evaluate their safety and efficacy before they are approved. Additionally, the FDA has multiple systems for monitoring emerging side effects with drugs after they are on the market and regularly issues updates and alerts to address risks.

On Alzheimer’s, Kennedy also misstated the state of the science and research.

A sticky gunk called amyloid plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease but Kennedy wrongly claimed the National Institutes of Health ignores any other potential culprits.

“The NIH shut down studies of any other hypothesis,” Kennedy said.

But the NIH’s $3.8 billion budget for Alzheimer’s and similar dementias includes researching a range of other factors that may underlie how Alzheimer’s develops.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/rfk-trump-health-hhs-vaccine-abortion-b785e44f341691684b4daa711dae8c85