Since anti-vaxxer Health Secretary RFK Jr. recently posted photos on Xitter of himself swimming in bacteria-infested waters on Mother’s Day in D.C.’s Rock Creek with his grandchildren, the chances of anyone taking medical advice from him with an IQ above that of a walnut are slim.
Kennedy Jr. was dodging a question posed by Democratic Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan during a House Appropriations Committee Wednesday about vaccines and whether he would choose to vaccinate his children today against a number of diseases, saying, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.”
He inadvertently admitted he can not do his job, but we knew that already. Robert told Pocan he would “probably” vaccinate his children against the measles today, but added, “My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,” even though he has stirred up controversies over vaccines.
Pocan then asked Kennedy if he would vaccinate his kids today against chickenpox and polio.
Refusing to answer, Kennedy said, “I don’t want to give advice.”
NBC News reports:
In her closing remarks, ranking committee member Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., criticized his comments about vaccines, emphasizing that both Kennedy and HHS “makes medical decisions every day” and pointed to the two children in the U.S. who died from measles this year.
“You’re the secretary of HHS. You have tremendous power over health policy,” she said. “Really horrifying that you will not encourage families to vaccinate their children, measles, chickenpox, polio. Vaccines are one of the foundations of public health. Vaccines, yes, save lives, and the fact that the Secretary of Health and Human Services refuses to encourage children to be vaccinated is a tragedy.”
Public health experts also pushed back on Kennedy’s response.
While Kennedy has no medical training, “the problem is that the top line of his job description is the nation’s chief health strategist,” Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said during a call with reporters Wednesday. “His job is to give people the best advice that he can.”
“I wonder what it would be like if the transportation secretary refused to answer a question about whether he would fly,” said Dr. Marissa Levine, a professor of public health practice at the University of South Florida said on the same call.
Don’t you all feel better now? And to think that MAGA hated our country’s top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci. I’m starting to see the pattern here. Don’t worry, Bobby, most of us would never take your unqualified advice. I don’t even want to fly with Sean Duffy as Secretary of Transportation.