5 days after being sworn in as the brand new Secretary of Well being and Human Companies, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Feb. 18 gave a speech by way of video hyperlink to employees members of the Division of Well being and Human Companies, making clear that he would use his publish to problem broadly accepted norms round medication and science, however promising HHS staffers that he would take heed to their enter.
As POLITICO’s Chelsea Cirruzzo and Adam Cancryn wrote on Wednesday afternoon, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. implored federal well being company employees on Tuesday to ‘let go’ of preconceived notions of him and begin from ‘sq. one,’ however he additionally promised that ‘nothing goes to be off limits’ in his pursuit to cut back power illness.” They quoted Kennedy as stating that “Among the doable elements we’ll examine have been previously taboo or insufficiently scrutinized. I’m keen to topic all of them to the scrutiny of unbiased science.”
Cirruzzo and Cancryn famous that “Kennedy’s feedback — his first prolonged remarks since being confirmed final week — come as Washington reels from firings and funding cuts pursued by the Elon Musk-led Division of Authorities Effectivity. Among the many businesses Musk has focused are these at HHS, leaving profession officers and lawmakers fearful in regards to the affect on public well being. Kennedy made no point out of the dismissals,” they famous, “solely hinted towards his earlier feedback threatening the roles of federal company employees proof against his reforms. “Those that are unwilling to embrace these sorts of concepts can retire,” they quoted him as saying, and noting that he added that he trusts “the idealism of most people who work at HHS.” The speech was supposed to be considered stay by HHS staffers, however quite a few members of the press discovered methods to entry the handle stay as nicely.
In the meantime, the New York Occasions’s Sheryl Homosexual Stolberg and Christina Jewett wrote on Wednesday afternoon that “In a sign of how he plans to make use of his new authority, Mr. Kennedy additionally made clear that he would prod the division, and the ‘Make America Wholesome Once more’ fee established by President Trump that he’ll lead, to prioritize matters he cares about however that he stated have been ‘previously taboo or insufficiently scrutinized’ by mainstream scientists.”
Additional, they quoted “Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine knowledgeable at Youngsters’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who’s amongst Mr. Kennedy’s most vocal critics,” as saying that “the remarks urged that Mr. Kennedy did, the truth is, have preconceived notions. Dr. Offit additionally famous that there was a variety of explanations for power illness that Mr. Kennedy didn’t point out: genetics; modifications within the intestine microbiome, the microbes that populate the intestinal tract; the usage of sure medication; and the truth that Individuals reside longer and thus going through power illnesses that include age,” they added.
“He’s saying that every one the scientists earlier than him who’ve weighed in on the validity of those causes have all been within the pocket of any person — however not him, he’s going to look behind the scenes, he’s going to inform us what the actual reality is,” Dr. Offit instructed the Occasions reporters.
With regard to supposed coverage modifications, ABC Information’s Anne Flaherty on Wednesday afternoon quoted Kennedy stating throughout his speech that “We’ll convene representatives of all viewpoints to review the causes for the drastic rise in power illness. Among the doable elements we’ll examine have been formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized.” And he or she wrote that “He then gave a listing of those ‘doable elements’ to analyze together with the childhood vaccine schedule and “SSRI and different psychiatric medication,” referring to federally accredited medication that assist deal with such situations as melancholy and nervousness. Research don’t counsel vaccines or SSRIs are responsible for power diseases, resembling autism or weight problems. Critics argue Kennedy’s rhetoric might create extra doubt and public distrust of those medicines,” she added. And, she wrote, “Additionally on his listing was electromagnetic radiation, herbicides and pesticides, ultra-processed meals, synthetic meals, allergic reactions, microplastics and long-lasting chemical compounds used within the manufacturing of non-stick pans. Scientists are actively exploring the doable well being impacts of environmental toxins, with some research suggesting they may play a job in power diseases.” And, she wrote, “Kennedy’s willingness to revisit the childhood vaccine schedule seems to be at odds along with his Senate testimony in January wherein he instructed skeptical lawmakers that he particularly supported federal suggestions.” At the moment, she famous, he testified to the Senate that “I assist vaccines. I assist the vaccine schedule. I assist good science.”
Flaherty quoted Kennedy as extending an olive department to HHS staffers, telling them, “Let’s all depoliticize these points and reestablish a standard floor for motion, and renew the seek for existential reality with no political impediments and no preconceptions. I promise to be keen to be unsuitable.”
