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IF ROBERT F Kennedy Jr is given a senior health role in the Trump administration, it could have a major negative impact on trust in vaccines and scientific institutions globally, an Irish expert has warned.
Dr Catherine Conlon, a doctor and former director of human health and nutrition at Safefood (the all-Ireland public body responsible for raising awareness related to food safety), told The Journal Kennedy’s “anti-science ethos undermines the trust in public health”.
Trump has pledged to give Kennedy, a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement, a “big role” in healthcare in his administration, saying he would let him “go wild”.
Kennedy’s exact role in the administration is yet to be determined, but there is much speculation he will be offered the position of secretary of health and human service.
During his victory speech early on Wednesday, Trump said Kennedy will “make America healthy again”.
Three days before the election, Trump refused to rule out banning certain vaccines. He told NBC News he would consult with Kennedy and others on the issue before making a decision.
RFK Jr is an environmental lawyer who does not have qualifications in medicine or public health. He originally ran as an independent in the US presidential election but withdrew from the race in August and endorsed Trump.
Kennedy is the son of the late Robert F Kennedy, a former US attorney general and senator, and the nephew of former US president John F Kennedy.
During his victory speech, Trump said Kennedy “wants to do some things, and we’re gonna let him go to it”. The only thing off the table, Trump said, was Kennedy imposing any sanctions on the oil and gas industry.
“Other than that, go have a good time, Bobby,” the president-elect said.
Speaking to NBC News later on Wednesday, Kennedy said he hasn’t yet decided what his role in the new administration would be, but floated the idea of being a “White House health tsar”.
"I think fluoride is on the way out" -- RFK Jr pic.twitter.com/7SG3l645y9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 6, 2024
Kennedy spoke out against vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic and has repeated erroneous claims that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine causes autism.
British doctor Andrew Wakefield published a study in the Lancet medical journal in 1998 that linked the MMR vaccine to autism. However, the findings were later disproved. In 2010, the study was retracted and Wakefield was struck off the medical register in the UK.
Conlon noted that the purported link between autism and the MMR vaccine was “completely unfounded”.
Kennedy has also expressed a desire to cut funding for major US health organisations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – accusing them both of being corrupt.
Conlon said there “isn’t any evidence” to suggest either group is corrupt but, by repeating this unfounded claim, Kennedy is seeking to undermine trust in organisations founded on science.
During the NBC interview, Kennedy denied he was anti-vaccine, saying: “I’m not going to take away anybody’s vaccines.”
He then added: “People ought to have a choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information.
“So I’m going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Kennedy, like Trump, promoted ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as alternatives to official vaccines – despite numerous studies saying these treatments didn’t work.
He also claimed that Covid-19 vaccines killed more people than they saved – again, something which was disproven.
Conlon said Kennedy’s rhetoric is worrying – he’s implying that vaccines currently aren’t rigorously tested.
“He says he’s going to increase the rigour of the scientific trials before vaccines, for instance, are released. But all vaccines, in the US and globally, go through rigorous scientific trials and are tested on thousands of people before they are released.”
She said suggesting there’s currently a lack of scientific rigour “has a huge impact in terms of the level of trust within the population” in health institutions that have built up trust, based on scientific evidence, over decades.
What he’s saying is just completely undermining that trust, which has a massive impact.
Conlon noted that, post-pandemic, there is a lower uptake of certain childhood vaccines.
“We’re seeing the results of that now, even now here in Ireland, with outbreaks of pertussis [whooping cough] and measles right across Europe. So that’s a direct result of vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccine feelings post-Covid.”
Measles vaccination averted 57 million deaths between 2000 and 2022, according to the World Health Organization.
Despite the fact a vaccine is widely available, there were an estimated 136,000 measles deaths globally in 2022, mostly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of five.
Kennedy has repeatedly said he wants to remove fluoride from the US water supply – he has linked it to various illnesses, despite major medical associations supporting water fluoridation as safe and beneficial to public health.
During the NBC interview, Kennedy said he thinks fluoride is “on its way out”.
“I think the faster that it goes out, the better. I’m not going to compel anybody to take it out, but I’m going to advise the water districts about their legal liability, their legal obligation to their constituents.”
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral used to strengthen teeth and prevent cavities. It’s added to local water supplies in many parts of the US and other countries including Ireland. It’s safe when consumed in appropriate amounts, research has shown.
Last Saturday, three days before the election, Kennedy tweeted that the Trump administration will in January “advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water”.
He went on to claim that fluoride is linked to arthritis, bone cancer and IQ loss, among other issues.
On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease. President…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 2, 2024
Conlon said there has been some evidence in recent years of a link between fluoride and lowering a person’s IQ by a few points, “but that’s very high levels of fluoride, more than twice the levels that are in naturally fluoridated water”.
She said fluoride has long been proven to strengthen people’s teeth and prevent decay.
Aside from being added to the water supply in some countries, fluoride is also added to dental products like floss and toothpaste, Conlon noted.
“The issue here is that if you remove the fluoride from the water, it’s the low-income groups that are going to suffer dental caries – people who can’t afford to go to the dentist, who can’t afford expensive toothpaste and other dental treatments that have the supplements in them.”
Conlon said Kennedy’s stance on fluoride is another example of him not “following the science”.
Contains reporting from © AFP 2024
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