The announcement that President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the brand new chief of the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers has introduced renewed consideration to many feedback the nominee has made about public well being.
Kennedy was introduced as Trump’s choose on November 14. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he’ll lead a division that oversees myriad companies that regulate vital public well being packages and conduct scientific analysis. The record consists of the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, the Meals and Drug Administration and the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. That implies that Kennedy may have a hand in drug and vaccine approvals, meals security and extra, points that contact nearly everybody.
Lots of Kennedy’s views on well being points run counter to many years of analysis and broad scientific and medical consensus, but he has gained a public following. Right here’s a have a look at the established science behind a number of the key points Kennedy has raised prior to now and that could be impacted underneath the brand new administration.
Truth: Vaccines save lives
Kennedy is a dominant power within the anti-vaccine motion (SN: 5/11/21). He advised podcaster Lex Fridman in a July 2023 interview, “There’s no vaccine that’s, you understand, secure and efficient.”
Not true. When it comes to effectiveness, the World Well being Group says, “vaccines have saved extra human lives than another medical invention in historical past” — reward that’s backed by ample proof.
In america, a slew of infectious illnesses, together with polio, diphtheria, measles and smallpox, brought on tons of of 1000’s of instances of sickness within the twentieth century. By the top of that century, instances had dropped by 95 to one hundred pc, primarily because of the widespread introduction of vaccines.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19 vaccination prevented 14.4 million deaths globally within the first 12 months it was obtainable, from December 2020 to December 2021, researchers reported within the Lancet Infectious Ailments in 2022.
And analysis on the useful affect of vaccines retains coming. Since 1974, vaccination towards 14 pathogens has prevented 154 million deaths worldwide, most of them amongst youngsters: Immunization averted 146 million deaths amongst youngsters youthful than 5, researchers reported within the Lancet in Could.
In america, routine childhood immunizations for youths born from 1994 to 2023 may have staved off an estimated 508 million instances of sickness, stopped 32 million hospitalizations and prevented 1.1 million youngsters from dying, researchers reported within the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in August.
The unfold of misinformation and disinformation on vaccine security has a protracted historical past however now reaches many extra individuals by way of social media (SN: 11/11/21). Kennedy’s personal Instagram account was taken down from 2021 to 2023 for posting debunked claims concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines. Frequent misinformation concerning the security of vaccines has been refuted by a big physique of proof. For instance, vaccines don’t diminish the physique’s capability to mount an immune response.
Vaccines are examined in individuals for security and effectiveness earlier than being licensed by the FDA. After approval, a number of nationwide surveillance techniques proceed to watch vaccine security.
“Vaccines are the most secure and most cost-effective approach to shield youngsters, households and communities from illness, incapacity and dying,” Benjamin Hoffman, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, mentioned in a press release on November 15.
Truth: The measles vaccine doesn’t trigger autism
Anti-vaccine advocates together with Kennedy proceed to push the debunked notion that vaccines trigger autism. A paper printed in 1998 within the Lancet presupposed to discover a hyperlink between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism. The paper, primarily based on falsified knowledge, was later retracted, however the harm was achieved, and the concept vaccines basically may trigger autism took off (SN: 5/11/21).
The science is settled: There’s no proof that implies vaccines — or any of the elements in them – trigger autism spectrum problems.
The causes of autism aren’t identified, however they’re doubtless complicated (SN: 10/16/18; SN: 7/29/11). Present considering is targeted on variations in mind growth early in life, most likely even within the womb. Scientists are exploring genetic variations and variations in how neurons develop as doable hyperlinks, and are investigating methods to search for the dysfunction early in life (SN: 2/27/14; SN: 1/11/19; SN: 4/10/17).
Truth: Fluoride in water strengthens tooth
Earlier this month, Kennedy introduced his aim of eradicating fluoride from ingesting water.
A naturally occuring mineral, fluoride has a particular superpower: It could possibly rebuild tooth. When acid from micro organism eats away at tooth enamel, fluoride can breach the hole and entice different sturdy minerals akin to calcium and phosphate to latch on. This course of, referred to as remineralization, retains cavities at bay.
That’s why fluoride has been added to water provides in america for the reason that Forties – a transfer described in 1999 by the CDC as one of many 10 nice public well being achievements of the twentieth century.
Kennedy and different fluoride skeptics argue that the mineral damages the rising brains of youngsters. And in excessive doses, it could actually. There have been studies of fluoride toxicity from all over the world. However because the saying goes, the dose makes the poison. In america, the optimum dose of fluoride is about at 0.7 milligrams per liter of water, nicely beneath ranges which were linked to hurt.
Some communities which have eliminated fluoride from municipal water provides have famous an increase in tooth decay. In Canada, youngsters in Calgary, the place fluoridation was stopped in 2011, had extra decay than neighboring youngsters in Edmonton, the place fluoride stayed in water. Related traits of extra dental decay have turned up in Israel, which stopped fluoridating water in 2014, and in Juneau, Alaska, the place fluoridation was stopped in 2007.
Cavities can result in ache, hassle speaking and consuming, social and psychological hurt. Untreated tooth decay, in youngsters and adults, could cause dying. Fluoridated water is backed by medical organizations together with the World Well being Group, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dental Affiliation.
Truth: Microbes in uncooked milk could make individuals sick
In an Oct. 25 submit on X, Kennedy accused the FDA of “aggressive suppression” of a laundry record of drugs, one in all which was uncooked milk.
Uncooked milk hasn’t been pasteurized, a course of that heat-treats meals merchandise to kill dangerous microbes (SN: 11/18/22). Proponents record a wide range of causes to drink uncooked milk, together with the declare that some micro organism in uncooked milk may very well be useful for intestine well being. However these micro organism come from cows or the farm setting, and solely microbes that come from individuals will be an asset to our well being.
Pasteurization to kill the dangerous stuff is vital for meals security, in accordance with each the FDA and CDC. Individuals who drink uncooked milk may very well be uncovered to foodborne micro organism akin to E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria, all of which might trigger extreme sickness.
What’s extra, genetic traces of fowl flu have proven up in milk amid an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows (SN: 4/25/24). Whereas pasteurization kills the virus, it may stick round in uncooked milk and pose an an infection threat. Mice that devour virus-spiked milk can get contaminated with fowl flu, for instance, suggesting people is likely to be in danger, too.
Truth: Hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin don’t deal with COVID-19
Hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, two medication that gained notoriety in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been additionally listed in Kennedy’s Oct. 25 X submit. Whereas early research achieved on cells in dishes raised hopes that the remedies may assist COVID sufferers, myriad research have since proven that hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, and ivermectin, an antiparasitic, are ineffective towards the coronavirus (SN: 8/2/20).
Regardless of the immense proof towards the medication’ use for COVID, some individuals, together with Kennedy, proceed to falsely declare that they might have saved lives in the course of the pandemic. In a July 2023 interview with Fox Information, Kennedy mentioned that fewer individuals would have died if hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin had been obtainable to deal with COVID. The FDA had approved hydroxychloroquine for emergency use within the pandemic’s early days. However the company pulled that authorization as a result of research confirmed it was no higher than a placebo at stopping or dampening the illness (SN: 6/15/20).
