True to Donald Trump’s words, Robert F Kennedy Jr, a known vaccine sceptic, has done exactly what his critics feared—removed all vaccine committee members.
In an opinion column of The Wall Street Journal, the US health secretary on Monday announced that he ‘retired’ all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, colloquially known as the Acip.
The Acip is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and wields enormous influence on the country’s immunisation programme.
About 8 were appointed in the last days of the Biden administration, and most are practicing doctors and experts attached to major university medical centres.
There are already fears that Kennedy Jr’s new appointees might detract from the country’s decades-old standard immunisation programme and perpetrate his controversial health stance.
This is because Kennedy Jr has a history of disseminating false or misleading claims about many medical issues. Here are some of his most outlandish claims.
Kennedy Jr, who is the founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defence, has routinely questioned the efficacy of vaccines and immunisation programmes.
He has publicly questioned the effectiveness of hepatitis B vaccines, and erroneously claimed that getting flu shots would weaken the immune system, that would overreact to future infections.
In fact, just days after taking charge as the health secretary, Kennedy ordered the CDC to scrap a major flu shot campaign, which was designed to encourage high-risk individuals to get vaccinated.
Kennedy has long lobbied to end the practice of mixing fluoride in water supplies—a long-standing practice that is used to prevent tooth decay.
He wrongfully claimed that fluoride was “associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease".
According to the CDC, the only documented risks are cosmetic issues such as discoloured tooth enamel or small holes in the teeth.
Apart from labelling Covid vaccine as ‘the deadliest vaccine ever made’, Kennedy at an event last year claimed that the coronavirus could have been a bio-weapon designed to target Caucasians and Black people.
In his first press conference this year, Kennedy called autism an ‘epidemic’, claiming that it was caused by an “environmental toxin”. He did not explain what toxin he was referring to.
He has often claimed that modern vaccines are responsible for a rise in autism diagnoses.
Kennedy has repeatedly amplified baseless claims that an increase in prescription of antidepressants, like Prozac, was linked to the rising number of school shootings.
He said there were “no good studies” on the role of psychiatric drugs in school shootings and that it should have been studied “years ago”.
