Rough ride on the RFK, Jr. rollercoaster
Just one week of reflection is remarkable
Each day we’re swamped with strange health/science policy news out of Washington, DC, bit by bit. We may tend to tune out because we have limited bandwidth to deal with it all. But sometimes it’s important to step back and take a macro view of the mind-numbing messages coming from, and about, the new US Secretary of Health & Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The following items are all from the last week or so.
The American Public Health Association said Kennedy “is a danger to the public's health and should resign or be fired." Separately, nearly 2,000 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine stated, "We see real danger in this moment. We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nation's scientific enterprise is being decimated."
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/publichealth/115048
Unaware of $11 billion cuts?
Kennedy said last week that he was unaware that his agency is trying to take back more than $11 billion from state and local health departments. Eleven billion dollars in proposed cuts of which he is unaware!?! Is he then also unaware of the impact?Who’s in charge? Has he bitten off more than he can chew?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-sweeping-cuts-health-programs-employees-exclusive-interview/
“Miraculous & instantaneous recoveries”
The Guardian reported that Kennedy claimed that two anti-vax physicians had treated and healed “some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children.” No evidence was given. One of the MDs was once disciplined by the Texas Medical Board for his “inappropriate treatment of patients with intravenous antibiotics and other medications.” The other MD, the Guardian reported, “has a vaccine-free ‘wellness practice’ at a converted barn building where he promotes better nutrition and treats patients with cod liver oil and vitamins to control the measles outbreak, according to NBC News.” Kennedy had previously publicly praised the pair for achieving “almost miraculous and instantaneous” recoveries with steroids or antibiotics. Kennedy told CBS News last week: “What I’m gonna do is make sure that we have good science so that people can make an informed choice.” Why not show the American public the “good science” behind those miraculous and instantaneous recoveries?
Vitamin A, touted by Kennedy to prevent measles spread, can have toxic side effects. And now there’s news that “poison control centers have received more reports of vitamin A exposures than usual -- a trend that lines up with the growing measles outbreaks in Texas and other states.” One poison control center medical director said:
"Vitamin A cannot prevent measles. Vaccines prevent us from getting measles. … It is markedly concerning to see an increasing trend of pediatric exposures this year already. As a society, we must assure accurate medical information is relayed to the public and emerging misinformation is corrected rapidly to avoid harm to the adults and children of our country."
“This is another example of Kennedy being an ignoramus about vaccination, if not other things as well,” said one vaccine scientist. Read the STAT News story to get full details.
An important reminder from ProPublica, which reports: “The dramatic cuts to public health funding and staffing could heighten the risk. And the elevation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, to the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, several experts said, has only compounded matters.”
“The cuts spared at least some workers who furnish documents in response to court orders in Freedom of Information Act lawsuits involving the FDA division that regulates vaccines, which includes litigation brought by an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s who represents anti-vaccine interests, according to four current or former agency employees.” Well, isn’t that a convenient conflict of interest for RFK, Jr.?
The Washington Post reports that public health experts were alarmed by the implications of Kennedy’s remarks, “saying they suggest that Kennedy may limit access to health care based on personal behavior. … “Kennedy’s ideas are predicated on the notion of an extraordinarily intrusive government getting into every aspect of your lives,” said Joan Alker, executive director and co-founder of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. “Where does it stop? Is the government now going to say anybody who drinks any alcohol, since there’s more evidence coming out that that’s a carcinogen, anybody who eats any sugar?” It is noted that Kennedy has cut the staff of CDC’s office on smoking. “It’s unclear how you can stop the flood of chronic diseases without turning off the faucet that is tobacco,” said a staff member in that office who was among about 120 people fired or retired, referring to Kennedy’s goals to combat chronic disease.
Saving the worst for last
At a Cabinet meeting last week, Kennedy said:
"“We’ve launched a massive testing and research effort that’s going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world. By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures.”
On Fox News he said:
“We are going to look at vaccines, but we are going to look at everything. Everything is on the table. Our food system, our water, our air, different ways of parenting, all the kind of changes that may have triggered this epidemic.”
Let’s read that back. In 5 months - 150 days - he’s going to involve hundreds of scientists around the world, looking “at everything,” and will then “be able to eliminate those exposures.” Almost sounds like he already knows the answer, doesn’t it?
The Washington Post reported: “The pledge also surprised Trump health officials, who said that they share Kennedy’s optimism but that he exaggerated the timeline.” And the paper quoted healthy skeptics:
Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds autism research, said the Trump administration’s autism campaign seems to be building to a predetermined conclusion.
“It would be a great disservice to our families if, despite plentiful and robust evidence to the contrary, the administration announces vaccines cause autism, declares the case closed and stops funding critically needed autism research that is providing valuable information about the true causes,” said Singer, who has a daughter with profound autism.
“It’s like saying, ‘By September we are going to know the cause of cancer,’” said Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and the author of “Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism,” a book about his daughter that examined the evidence around the genetic basis of the condition. “Autism is every bit as complicated as cancer, and that’s how it needs to be discussed.”
The Autism Society, an educational and advocacy organization, said Kennedy’s vow seemed unrealistic and misleading. “We are deeply concerned by the lack of transparency around this effort — who is leading it, what methods are being used and whether it will meet established scientific standards,” Christopher Banks, president and chief executive of the organization, said in a statement.
Recap of last week’s RFK, Jr. news
“the nation's scientific enterprise is being decimated."
He says he’s unaware of $11 billion in proposed cuts to state/local public health departments - a sign he’s bitten off more than he can chew.
He talks about “good science” in one breath, and about “miraculous and instantaneous recoveries” in the next breath - without evidence.
He’s been touting Vitamin A to prevent measles spread and now poison control centers report a rise in Vitamin A toxicity cases.
Not just measles, but whooping cough cases rising as vaccinations decline. History will not be kind to this story.
He ignored evidence when he said some vaccines have never worked.
Conflicts of interest apparent in who gets canned and who gets to stay.
Kennedy’s statements suggest that he wants to limit access to health care based on personal behavior.
History won’t reflect kindly on this statement, either: “By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures.”