The GOP-controlled Senate voted Thursday to substantiate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, to steer the nation’s strongest well being care company.
Kennedy was confirmed because the secretary for the Division of Well being and Human Companies on a largely party-line vote of 52-48. Nevertheless, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., broke ranks on yet one more of President Donald Trump’s Cupboard nominees, becoming a member of all Democrats in opposition.
McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, stated Kennedy had a “record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions.”
A lot of Robert F. Kennedy’s views are controversial and out of doors the mainstream. Here’s a record of a few of his controversial well being coverage views.
VACCINES
Kennedy has lengthy been a vaccine skeptic, and he and Trump have falsely claimed that childhood vaccines are harmful and tied to rising autism charges. His opposition to vaccines is broad, and he has stated that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.”
The idea that vaccines can result in autism has been disproven since a examine that claimed this was revealed within the Nineteen Eighties. In 1988, British physician Dr. Andrew Wakefield revealed a report the place he linked the MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) vaccines to autism in youngsters — a part of a examine that used a considerably small pattern measurement of 12 youngsters. Since then, there have been quite a few large research — together with one with 530,000 youngsters and one with 1.8 million youngsters. No hyperlink was discovered. In 2011, it got here to gentle that Wakefield and his colleagues faked the analysis.
For its half, the scientific neighborhood has lengthy stated that vaccines are protected and efficient. The U.S. has a long-standing security system in the case of vaccines.
On its web site, the Heart for Illness Management and Prevention observe: “Vaccines are very safe. The United States’ long-standing vaccine safety system ensures that vaccines are as safe as possible. Currently, the United States has the safest vaccine supply in its history. Millions of children safely receive vaccines each year. The most common side effects are very mild, such as pain or swelling at the injection site.”
REMOVAL OF RAW MILK RESTRICTIONS
Kennedy indicated earlier than the election that he could be eager to finish the Meals and Drug Administration’s “aggressive suppression” of uncooked milk. The FDA and the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention have referred to as uncooked milk one of many “riskiest” meals folks can devour due to the likelihood for contamination.
“Raw milk can be contaminated with harmful germs that can make you very sick,” the CDC says on its web site.
From 1998 to 2018, the CDC documented greater than 200 sickness outbreaks traced to uncooked milk, which sickened greater than 2,600 folks and hospitalized greater than 225.
Uncooked milk is much extra probably than pasteurized milk to trigger sicknesses and hospitalizations linked to harmful micro organism similar to campylobacter, listeria, salmonella and E. coli, analysis reveals.
Earlier than milk requirements had been adopted in 1924, about 25% of foodborne sicknesses within the U.S. had been associated to dairy consumption, stated Alex O’Brien, security and high quality coordinator for the Heart for Dairy Analysis. Now, dairy merchandise account for about 1% of such sicknesses, he stated.
REMOVAL OF FLOURIDE FROM DRINKING WATER
Kennedy has stated he desires the federal authorities to advise native governments towards placing fluoride of their ingesting water. The CDC has stated small quantities of added fluoride in ingesting water stop cavities and tooth decay.
In 1950, federal officers endorsed water fluoridation to stop tooth decay, and the addition of low ranges of fluoride to ingesting water has lengthy been thought of one of many best public well being achievements of the final century.
Fluoride can come from quite a few sources, however ingesting water is the primary supply for People, researchers say. Almost two-thirds of the U.S. inhabitants will get fluoridated ingesting water, in accordance with CDC knowledge.
There’s a really useful fluoridation degree, however many communities exceed that, generally as a result of fluoride happens naturally at increased ranges in sure water sources.
Opposition is nothing new, although for many years it was thought of a fringe opinion. Adherents included conspiracy theorists who claimed fluoridation was a plot to make folks submissive to authorities energy.
VIEWS ON MEDICARE AND MEDICAID
As the brand new well being and human providers secretary, Kennedy will oversee the implementation of Medicaid, along with Medicare and the Inexpensive Care Act.
Nevertheless, throughout his affirmation listening to, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the rating member of the Finance Committee, urged that he did not appear to know the distinction between Medicare and Medicaid.
“Most people who are on Medicaid are not happy,” Kennedy responded. “The premiums are too high, the deductibles are too high, the networks are narrow.”
Kennedy additionally claimed that Medicaid isn’t producing “positive health outcomes” for folks.
A 2022 examine revealed in The Lancet discovered that Medicaid enlargement from the ACA led to a discount in deaths from all causes. An earlier examine discovered Medicaid enlargement improved bodily well being for older adults.
Kennedy has criticized prescription weight reduction medicine like Ozempic, saying higher-quality meals might remedy the weight problems drawback within the U.S., however in December he pivoted, saying the medicine “have a place” in ensuring persons are not overweight, along with life-style adjustments.
VIEWS ON ABORTION
Kennedy has beforehand expressed assist for abortion rights, which contradicts the beliefs of most of the Republican lawmakers who confirmed him, although he has stated that he’ll observe Trump’s directives on the subject.
He is in a little bit of a bind on the difficulty. About 6 in 10 voters in November’s election stated abortion ought to be authorized in all or most instances, in accordance with AP VoteCast, a survey of greater than 120,000 voters. About one-third stated it ought to be unlawful in all or most situations. However just like the Republican senators who will probably be questioning him, conservative voters see the difficulty otherwise. Amongst Republican voters, about 6 in 10 stated abortion ought to be unlawful in no less than “most” instances, and solely about 4 in 10 stated it ought to be largely authorized.
RESTRICTIONS ON INGREDIENTS IN PROCESSED FOODS
Nevertheless, not all of Kennedy’s proposals are seen as considerably controversial. One in all Kennedy’s concepts is widespread throughout the board: getting some chemical compounds out of processed meals. Kennedy has vowed to ban sure meals components and crack down on ultra-processed meals which can be tied to weight problems and diabetes charges.
About two-thirds of People “somewhat” or “strongly” favor limiting or reformulating processed meals to take away elements like added sugar or dyes, in accordance with an AP-NORC ballot. That is an space the place Democrats and Republicans agree: About 7 in 10 in every group favor the restrictions.
Assist is especially excessive amongst U.S. adults with the next family earnings, although analysis from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being has indicated that ultra-processed meals are consumed at increased charges in low-income teams. Roughly 8 in 10 adults with a family earnings of $100,000 or extra per yr assist the restrictions, in contrast with about half of People with a family earnings of $30,000 or much less.
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Author : newyork-news
Publish date : 2025-02-14 00:47:53
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