Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lashed out as he was repeatedly corrected by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), who accused him of breaking his confirmation hearing promises to the committee, during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
Secretary Kennedy repeatedly interrupted Senator Murphy, forcing the Connecticut Democrat to declare that “none” of what RFK Jr. had said was true.
“You … promised Chairman Cassidy that the FDA would not change vaccine standards from ‘historical norms,’ but what happened as soon as you were sworn in?” Senator Murphy declared. “You announced new standards for vaccine approvals that you proudly referred to in your own press release as a radical departure from current practice, and experts say that that departure will delay approvals. You also said specific to the measles vaccine that you support the measles vaccine, but you have consistently been undermining the measles vaccine. You told the public that the vaccine wanes very quickly, you went on the Dr. Phil’s show, and said that the measles vaccine was never fully tested for safety. You said there’s fetal debris in the measles vaccine.”
Kennedy interjected: “All true. All true,” he insisted. “You want me to lie to the public?”
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“None of that is true,” Murphy replied.
“Of course it’s true,” Kennedy said.
After more back and forth and an interjection from the Republican Chair, Murphy continued:
“Just this morning in front of the House of Representatives, you also said that you, in fact, would not recommend that kids get vaccinated for measles, you said you would just lay out the pros and cons. So this is the summation of everything that you have said to compromise people’s faith in the measles vaccine, in particular, is contrary to what you said before this committee.”
“You said you support the measles vaccine,” Murphy added, “but then you have laid out a set of facts that are contested, and I will submit information for the record from experts who contest what you have said about the vaccine, and the result is to undermine faith in the vaccine. It’s kind of like saying, ‘Listen, I think you should swim in that lake, but, you know, the lake is probably toxic, and there’s probably a ton of snakes and alligators in that lake, but I think you should swim in it.'”
Senator Murphy went on to challenge Secretary Kennedy, asking him point-blank, “Are you recommending the measles vaccine or not?”
Kennedy replied that during his confirmation he would “tell the truth,” and have “radical transparency.”
“Are you recommending the measles vaccine?” Murphy again asked.
“I am not going to just tell people that everything is safe and effective. If I know that there’s issues, I need to respect people’s intelligence,” Kennedy replied.
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“You’re answering the question. I think you’re answering the question,” Murphy concluded, calling Kennedy’s remarks “really dangerous for the American public and for families in this country.”
Professor of Medicine and Surgery Dr. Jonathan Reiner, weighed in, saying: “The measles vaccine has 60 years of safety and efficacy data and was tested in a placebo controlled trial. There are no fetal parts in the vaccine. It doesn’t wane quickly. Sec Kennedy consistently misstates the facts about this vaccine. No amount of scientific data will convince him otherwise. It’s an obsession.”
Watch the video below or at this link:
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