Amid a record-breaking measles outbreak and days after former Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before a Senate committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. encouraged Americans to get the MMR vaccine ahead of back-to-school season and blamed COVID-19 lockdowns for the measles cases.
On Sunday, Kennedy joined CNN for a conversation largely marked with personal attacks and scientific debate about studies which may or may not link vaccines to autism.
“You probably don't understand this because you're not a scientist,” Kennedy said to CNN's Dana Bash in a back-and-forth about the secretary's prior claims that vaccines are linked to autism.
"Well you're not either," Bash replied, noting the secretary's lack of
a medical or scientific background.
Fauci and COVID-19
Kennedy said that the United States had the worst outcomes of any other country during the COVID-19 pandemic – a fact contested by Bash as not accurate. He blamed lockdowns for the damage and said that President Donald Trump wanted to reopen the country.
“In fact, in Anthony Fauci's diaries, he talks about how President Trump is calling him every day, trying to get him to reopen the country," Kennedy said.
On Wednesday, July 29, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Fauci testified – or rather pleaded the fifth – before a Senate committee that aimed to talk about the infectious disease expert's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fauci did not answer questions, instead invoking his right against self-incrimination. Under fire was his diary, released days prior to the hearing by Sen. Rand Paul, in which Fauci called Trump "out of control," and lamented his own personal fame.
Kennedy also said that in addressing a future pandemic, "constitutional rights" must be the "number one priority." He slammed gain-of-function research – a method involving genetic alteration and regarded by many experts as useful in pandemic research, though controversial due to biosafety concerns – as not working. On Tuesday, July 28, the Trump administration announced plans to end the research.
The measles outbreak
Measles cases are at the highest level in 35 years, and Kennedy – a known vaccine critic – said parents should get their kids the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
“I never questioned the efficacy of the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy said.
He said he "absolutely" does not take responsibility for the rising numbers of cases when asked about his vaccine skepticism. Kennedy actually blamed rising rates on the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, citing Fauci's diary.
“In his diaries he says this is going to cause massive outbreaks of measles and more children, he says this, are going to die,” Kennedy said.
Fauci said in his diary that the group who "missed their measles vaccinations because of the shutdown" could lead to "far more excess deaths from measles among children than coronavirus deaths among children."
MAHA wins on processed foods
Kennedy is working on reforms for processed foods, a priority of his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda. He denied allegations that members of the administration are working to block his reforms due to lobbying from the food industry.
The secretary shared he is "confident" that in a month, both his changes to the ultra-processed food definition and "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) rule will be out to the public
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. pushes measles vaccine and blames Fauci's COVID-19 handling
