Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb expressed reservations on Friday regarding Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plans for the Department of Health and Human Services.
In reference to Kennedy, whom President-elect Donald Trump has stated he will pick for health secretary, Gottlieb told CNBC, “I think if RFK follows through on his intentions, and I believe he will, and I believe he can, it will cost lives in this country.”
Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination rates will decline, Gottlieb, who oversaw the FDA during Trump’s first term, continued. And as I mentioned, there will be significant measles outbreaks if we lose an additional 5%, which might occur in the upcoming year or two. There will be one fatality for every 1,000 pediatric measles cases. Additionally, our nation’s diagnostic and treatment capabilities for measles are lacking.
Kennedy will oversee the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the FDA, which is responsible for evaluating and approving new vaccinations, if he is confirmed as HHS secretary.
Kennedy’s lengthy history of vaccine skepticism, which included unfounded allegations that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines can cause autism, was cited by Gottlieb.
The theory was first proposed by a discredited researcher in the 1990s who eventually lost his medical license, but it has since been repeatedly refuted.
As of right now, research indicates that immunizations are not linked to autism spectrum disease, according to the CDC. Kennedy has also questioned the Covid vaccinations’ efficacy, despite the fact that medical professionals claim they are overwhelmingly safe.
Kennedy unjustly referred to the coronavirus vaccination as the scariest vaccine ever created during a 2021 conference with state lawmakers from Louisiana.
Kennedy said NBC News that he would not attempt to impose a unilateral ban on vaccines in the days following Trump’s predicted retake of the White House.
I will not take away vaccines if they are effective for someone. According to him, people should have a choice, and that choice should be based on the best available facts. Therefore, I will ensure that scientific safety and efficacy studies are available so that people may determine for themselves whether a product will be beneficial to them.
Gottlieb also hinted at some of Kennedy’s other contentious beliefs, such as his stance on abortion, as reasons why some Republican senators could be hesitant to support his confirmation in January.
According to Gottlieb, there is more cynicism in the Republican caucus than the media is currently portraying.
Senators from [agricultural] states will be worried about his effect on food costs. “There will be a number of senators with a strong interest in public health who are deeply concerned about his position on vaccines, and there will be principled pro-lifers who are concerned about his position on abortion,” the former FDA commissioner continued.
“I’m not sure that people really understand how Kennedy’s intention is going to translate into policy and how serious he is,” Gottlieb added, refuting the notion that Kennedy would not impose significant changes to U.S. health policy.
Gottlieb used a statement made by Del Bigtree, one of Kennedy’s sadvisers, in November to support his argument: Bobby wasn’t dragged through the mud for more than ten years in order to compromise his morals once he entered the castle.
Gottlieb went on to say that although he does not speak for the president-elect, he is certain that Trump does not hold the same views as Kennedy on vaccines.
According to Gottlieb, during my first term, I discussed vaccines with President Trump. These policy initiatives, in my opinion, don’t adequately represent his opinions. The president, in my opinion, would prefer a return of whooping cough in this nation than a resurgence of measles. God forbid that there are polio cases in this nation. That is not what he wants to see.
A request for comment to Gottlieb’s comments was not immediately answered by representatives of the Trump transition team.
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