Article Summary:
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced intense bipartisan scrutiny at a Senate committee hearing as he defended his efforts to roll back COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and explained the turmoil he has created at federal health agencies. Kennedy claimed the fired CDC director was untrustworthy, stood by his anti-vaccine rhetoric, and disputed reports of people struggling to get COVID-19 shots.
Medical groups and Democrats called for Kennedy’s dismissal, and his exchanges with senators frequently devolved into shouting matches. Some Republican senators also expressed unease with his changes to COVID-19 policies, noting his conflicting views on the safety and use of the mRNA vaccines developed through Operation Warp Speed.
Kennedy accused CDC leaders who left the agency of deserving to be fired, criticizing the agency’s pandemic response and claiming they “failed to do anything about the disease itself.” Democrats accused him of stacking a vaccines advisory committee with “skeptics and conspiracy theorists.”
The ousted CDC director accused Kennedy of trying to weaken public health protections, though he denied making such demands. Kennedy engaged in heated exchanges with numerous senators, dismissing their questions and concerns.
Kennedy has voiced distrust of research showing the COVID-19 vaccines saved lives and said federal health policy would be based on “gold standard science,” though he admitted he wouldn’t wait for studies to be completed before taking action. Medical groups have condemned Kennedy’s policies, warning they will drive up rates of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Article Excerpt:
A number of medical groups say Kennedy can’t be counted on to make decisions based on robust medical evidence. In a statement Wednesday, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and 20 other medical and public health organizations issued a joint statement calling on him to resign.
“Our country needs leadership that will promote open, honest dialogue, not disregard decades of lifesaving science, spread misinformation, reverse medical progress and decimate programs that keep us safe,” the statement said.