Summary

  • Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has previously claimed that vaccines cause autism and has been openly critical of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, faced Democrat and Republican senators this week in his bid to be appointed as US President Donald Trump’s secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
  • Despite trying to assure the senators that he would promote vaccines, he did not directly answer whether he still believed in the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism.
  • His difficult questioning on Medicare and Medicaid highlighted exactly how important the role of HHS secretary would be.
  • Kennedy attempted to distance himself from previous pro-choice statements he made as a Democrat but agreed with Trump that states should control abortion.
  • The actual impact of his appointment on pivotal healthcare issues remains obscure, and his confirmation could hinge on his views on vaccination.

Original Article