(AFP) – US health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began on Thursday a marathon series of hearings before federal lawmakers, questioning set to scrutinize the vaccine skeptic’s agenda that has outraged the medical community. The testimony before US congressional committees is related to Republican President Donald Trump’s budgetary plan to cut 12 percent from the health department, which Kennedy had already worked to downsize dramatically since taking it over last year.
But the spate of hearings will also serve to crystallize fierce debates over US health policy — including the secretary’s efforts to overhaul the pediatric vaccine schedule to universally recommend fewer shots — in the run-up to November’s midterm vote. In the first of seven such hearings that began Thursday, Kennedy delivered opening remarks that sought to downplay the most controversial of his initiatives, in particular those related to immunization.
He instead highlighted his push to eliminate some food dyes and the administration’s new dietary guidelines, which urge eating less processed food but also more red meat and dairy. He emphasized what he deemed the shortcomings of his predecessors. “We’re ending the era of federal policies that fueled the chronic disease epidemic and replacing them with policies that put the health of Americans first,” Kennedy told the House Ways and Means panel.
Kennedy will appear before more congressional committees later this week and into next. Questions from Republicans were mostly softballs, but some Democrats took the opportunity to push Kennedy on the surge in diseases, notably measles, which have long been proven preventable by vaccine. “Kids have died because measles is running rampant under your watch, in large part because President Trump allowed your conspiracy theories to run our public health,” said Mike Thompson, a Democrat from California.
– Tumultuous tenure – Kennedy’s tenure overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services has been tumultuous. He has long been known for espousing vaccine skepticism and fringe views that bleed into conspiracy theories. Since becoming US health chief, Kennedy — who allied with Trump after his own 2024 presidential campaign tanked — has pushed reforms that have stoked confusion over longstanding medical advice and diminished the global standing of US institutions.
He has sown doubt about long-proven vaccine safety, notably rolling out sweeping changes to federal recommendations on which vaccines should be recommended to children, a move prominent medical experts have said is endangering public health. These vaccine policies put forth by the Trump administration are now blocked by a US court, which has paused implementation pending further legal process after finding the reforms were pushed through without following required protocol.
Kennedy’s health department — which has faced massive layoffs and resignations — has also slashed research funding and weakened disease prevention programs, even as the US experiences its worst measles outbreak in years.
© 2024 AFP
