Today was the second day of confirmation hearings for Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F Kennedy. Kennedy appeared in front of the Senate Health Committee, chaired by Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy. Cassidy questioned Kennedy about his stance on vaccines, asking him if he thought measles and Hepatitis B vaccines caused autism.
“(Kennedy): Senator, I am not going into the Agency with any – (Cassidy): ‘Well that’s kind of a YES or NO question, because the data is there. And that’s kind of a yes or no. And I don’t mean to cut you off, but that really is a yes or no,'” Cassidy said.
Cassidy, a physician, challenged Kennedy on his past statements regarding vaccine safety and efficacy, emphasizing the role of vaccines in preventing diseases and saving lives.
“Now what concerns me, is that you’ve cast doubt out on some of these vaccines, recently, but the data has been there for a long time. I’ve been in Congress for sixteen years, and this data was, in large measure, generated before I came to Congress,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy asked if approved to Secretary of HHS and presented with data showing vaccines are safe would he support and recommend those vaccines.
“If you show me data, I will be the first person to assure the American people that they need to take those vaccines,” Kennedy Jr. said.
At the end of today’s hearing, Cassidy said he’s struggling with Kennedy’s nomination because he did not publicly come out and say vaccines do not cause autism. Kennedy says he’ll only do so if the evidence proves otherwise.
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