By Riley Dauber
Editor-in-Chief
After President Donald Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20, the United States watched in anxious anticipation to see who he would pick to fill his cabinet.
President Trump suggested that Matt Gaetz become Attorney General, according to NPR, and chose Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education despite her lack of experience in education, according to prior Elm coverage. After these announcements, the American public were certain he would continue to nominate cabinet members who lacked the necessary skills, experience, and tact for the position.
These assumptions proved correct when President Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Feb. 13.
Kennedy, the son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, is an environmental lawyer who switched from the Democrat to the Independent party during the 2000s and 2010s. He also started supporting conspiracy theories, including the belief that vaccines lead to autism and that prescription drugs are linked to mass shootings, according to Forbes.
Even though these theories proved false, Kennedy still believes them to be true, which will most likely influence his decisions in his new role.
“Republicans are choosing to pretend like it is in any way believable that RFK Jr. won’t use his new power to do exactly the thing he has been trying to do for decades: undermine vaccines,” former committee chair Senator Patty Murray said in a news conference.
Kennedy’s lack of support for vaccines is especially concerning at a time when measles cases are on the rise, specifically in Gaines County, Texas, despite the fact that the disease was confirmed to be eradicated in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website.
However, due to low vaccination rates in Texas, 146 people have tested positive for measles in the last month, according to The Texas Tribune.
“I think there’s less political will now. Texas is such an independent state. People don’t want to be told what to do, forgetting that what they do can affect others. And measles is an example of that,” infectious disease epidemiologist at UTHealth Houston Catherine Troisi said.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services is supposed to focus on U.S. citizens’ health, yet Kennedy believes vaccines will not protect us.
The recent uptick in measles cases shows that unvaccinated individuals are at a higher risk of catching the disease. Plus, if more adults are vaccinated, they are able to protect children who may be unable to receive the vaccine until they reach a certain age.
Along with measles, Kennedy was rumored to want to get rid of the polio vaccine. According to CNN, he has since declined these claims, most likely to improve his image and chance of receiving the cabinet position.
Following the Feb. 13 vote, polio survivor and Senator Mitch McConnell shared his concern about Kennedy’s vaccine beliefs.
“In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” Sen. McConnell said in a statement.
Sen. McConnell, despite his infamous reputation and support for President Trump, was the only Republican to vote against Kennedy, according to NPR. His opposition to Kennedy’s beliefs emphasizes how harmful his new position actually is.
Along with vaccines, Kennedy could also impact the future of Medicaid, Medicare, and medical research databases, according to NPR.
At the end of January, many databases that discuss gender affirming care, tuberculosis, and natural disasters disappeared from government mandated websites, which prevents the public from finding reliable information. While the removal of anything related to transgender issues is connected to a bigger concern of gender affirming care restrictions, the erasure of other issues is not only confusing but harmful.
According to the Infectious Disease Society of America, “Access to this information is crucial for infectious diseases and HIV health care professionals who care for people with HIV and members of the LGBTQ community and is critical to efforts to end the HIV epidemic.”
This removal of information blatantly ignores these pressing issues and prevents the general public and qualified members of the health field from educating themselves on these medical concerns.
Even though the lack of vaccines may lead to an increase in physical illnesses, spreading of conspiracy theories and scrubbing of government websites will negatively affect the public’s knowledge.
While joking about Kennedy’s claim that he had a worm in his brain may serve as a nice distraction, the public cannot look away from the fact that he is now controlling the Health and Human Services committee even though he has no experience in the medical field and has continued to spread incorrect conspiracy theories throughout his career.
The lack of trust in vaccines leads to increased cases of specific diseases, as seen in Texas with the recent measles outbreak, so if Kennedy continues to spread the conspiracy theories that vaccines cause autism or do not protect individuals, he may be harming the public’s health instead of helping.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services despite lack of experience and controversial history.