Kennedy is a dangerous pick

 Robert Kennedy, Jr., was confirmed this week as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). He is a dangerous choice for the job as he has advocated a number of bizarre conspiracy theories over the last three decades. 

Perhaps the most troubling conspiracy theory that Robert Kennedy, Jr., has advanced is that vaccines are linked to autism. This debunked theory did not start with Kennedy, but in the aftermath of a small study conducted by Dr. Anthony Wakefield in the United Kingdom. His 1998 study, published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, concluded that vaccines were connected to autism. A later investigation called the findings of Wakefield’s study into question, and the study was retracted by The Lancet. But that did not deter the growing anti-vaccination crowd. Kennedy joined the anti-vaxx bandwagon by claiming that the vaccine preservative thimerosal was linked to the autism. Further, Kennedy charged that the government knew of the link by “knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children.” Research by a number of centers, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) could find no link between vaccines or their preservatives and autism. 

Kennedy has been a major promoter of “raw milk” – unpasteurized milk that can contain the same nutrition as pasteurized milk, but contains dangerous germs as well. Kennedy has charged that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) engages in “aggressive suppression” of products “that advance human health and can't be patented by” the pharmaceutical industry. Towards that end, Kennedy has announced that he will seek a ban on pharmaceutical advertising. 

Kennedy is very much against the fluoridation of water. Fluoride has been added to the public water system since the 1960s to prevent tooth decay. He tweeted on November 2, 2024, that “fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.” He based his views on a 2024 report that linked high levels of fluoride to lower IQ scores in children. But the levels of fluoride used in fluoridation programs is much lower than the levels in the 2024 report. Further, research over the last 60 years has shown the used of fluoride in water to be safe. 

Kennedy also has suggested that Wifi and 5G technologies cause health problems. He claimed on a June 2024 Joe Rogan podcast that Wifi “radiation” will “open you blood brain barrier” to toxins. His charge runs counter to considerable research that demonstrates that neither Wifi nor 5G is linked to any illnesses. 

Kennedy has promoted other conspiracies, such as AIDS is not caused by HIV or that mass shootings are linked to anti-depressants such as Prozac. But perhaps the most controversial recent conspiracy has been that Kennedy proposed in a 2023 video where he declared that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” The health community pushed back hard on Kennedy, stating “The claims of Robert F Kennedy Jr are very damaging given they do not follow scientific evidence.” Research clearly demonstrates that differences in COVID infections among ethnic groups is related to inequalities. 

What is remarkable is that even one of these bizarre medical beliefs should have disqualified Kennedy from even being Secretary of HHS. Instead, he was narrowly confirmed. It’s going to be a dangerous time in health care.