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In News

STATEMENT: Republicans Refuse to Extend Health Care Tax Credits in CR

Allowing the Inflation Reduction Act’s Enhanced Premium Tax Credits to Expire Will Result in 5 Million Losing Insurance and Premium Hikes for 20 Million Americans

Washington D.C. — Yesterday, Congressional leaders released the text of their short-term spending bill. After weeks of negotiations, Republicans refused to extend the health care enhanced premium tax credits for one year. These tax credits, which lowered the cost of health care for millions of people purchasing coverage on their own, are set to expire at the end of 2025. If Congress fails to act, an estimated 5 million Americans would become uninsured and costs would skyrocket for millions more. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement: 

“Republicans have made clear that they support premium hikes for 20 million Americans. They are more focused on delivering tax breaks to their wealthy friends than keeping health care affordable for their constituents. Republicans will force middle-class families to spend up to 90 percent more for their health insurance. As a result, health care costs will skyrocket for small business owners, people living in rural areas, farmers, people with pre-existing conditions, and older adults. If Republicans let these tax credits expire, the GOP will own this premium hike for middle-class families and the coverage losses for millions that come with it.” 

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In Roundup, News

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: Republicans Threaten Deep Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare

“Everything Is On The Table” As Republicans Enter The New Year With A Government Trifecta

Republicans have been eyeing key health programs like Medicare and Medicaid for budget cuts – and now they finally have the power to push them through. For over a decade, top Republican Senators like Rick Scott pushed infamous budget proposals proposing massive cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. Recognizing just how unpopular health care cuts are among the American people, they attempted to distance themselves from radical proposals like Project 2025, but they’ve been saying the quiet part out loud ever since Trump won the election. With a Republican trifecta in charge, “everything is on the table,” from a higher retirement age to new requirements for Medicaid to cut enrollment numbers. Republican Senators are looking for savings wherever they can to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Don’t just take our word for it:

  • Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): “We’re Going To Look For Savings Wherever We Can, And That Might Include Health Issues.” On Dec. 16, Sen. Grassley told Axios, “I think we’re going to look for savings wherever we can, and that might include health issues. There’s hardly anything except Social Security and Medicare that can’t be on the table.”
  • Rep. James Comer (R-KY): “Everything Is On The Table.” On Dec. 12, House Oversight Committee Chair Comer told CNN, “Everything is on the table. Every big expenditure over the past four years is on the table. There’s money in the infrastructure bill. There’s money in Covid bills that haven’t been spent yet. We’re going to look at that. And then you look at improper payments — that’s a big issue — where the government sends money to people fraudulently in Medicare, in Medicaid, where they send money fraudulently in unemployment insurance.”
  • Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) Called For “A Strict Work Requirement Back In All Of Those Entitlement Programs.” During a Dec. 11 House Budget hearing on the U.S. fiscal crisis, Rep. McClintock asked, “Shouldn’t we put a strict work requirement back in all of those entitlement programs for able-bodied adults?” He added that members “need to do it now.”
  • Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO): “We Can Move The Retirement Age Back A Little Bit.” On Dec. 9, Rep. Alford told Fox Business, “We’ve got to right this ship and it’s gonna mean cuts. It’s gonna mean cuts to the 24 percent of the discretionary spending that we have. And it’s also going to mean looking long term at the front end of some programs like Social Security and Medicare – not taking anyone off of what they’ve paid into so far, but there is some waste, abuse, and fraud in Medicare that we can take those numbers back and add to our general coffers in our treasury. And on the front end of Social Security, I think there’s a way, when people are living longer and they’re tiring later, that on the front end we can move the retirement age back a little bit.”
  • Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): “I’m For Looking At The Entitlements.” On Dec. 6, Sen. Paul told Fox News “I’m for looking at the entitlements, the waste, everything because it’s such an enormous problem that if you put military off the table, you put entitlements off the table, all you have left is 16% of the budget. If you eliminate that, you don’t get anywhere close.” 
  • Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC): Elon and Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Are “Going To Put Everything On The Table.” On Dec. 5, Rep. Norman told Fox Business after meeting with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, “Nothing is sacrosanct. They’re going to put everything on the table” The Fox host reported, “That’s what they told lawmakers. Everything is on the table, and that includes Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.” 
  • Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI): “It Doesn’t Have To Be Just The Discretionary Spending. We Can Get At Some Of The Mandatory Spending Too.” On Dec. 5, Rep. Tiffany told Real America’s Voice, “We have to do something about the over-spending in Washington, DC and start to get responsible. And by the way, it doesn’t have to be just the discretionary spending. We can get at some of the mandatory spending also. Food stamps and some of those things, that’s mandatory spending. I think some of the benefits that are paid in regards to work requirements, some of that is under the heading of mandatory spending. We can deal with some of that too.” 
  • Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX): We Need A “Responsible And Reasonable Work Requirement For Medicaid.” On Nov. 20, Rep. Arrington – who leads the House Budget Committee – told reporters that he favored a “responsible and reasonable work requirement” for Medicaid. 
  • Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “Block Grants Make A Lot Of Sense.” On Nov. 20, Senator Cornyn said of Medicaid, “We ought to look at whether we’re doing it the right way.” He said he supported “block grants,” in which states get lump sums, regardless of how many people sign up for the program. “We can’t just keep doing things the way we’ve been doing them,” Cornyn said. “I’m not advocating for Social Security or Medicare in the absence of a bipartisan consensus because we know that will be a futile effort. There’s a lot of other spending we should consider … We ought to look at whether we’re doing [Medicaid] the right way. Block grants make a lot of sense.”
  • Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) Supported A Per Capita Cap On Medicaid. On Nov. 20, Rep. Guthrie told Axios he is interested in reviving a proposal from the 2017 Affordable Care Act repeal bill that would cap Medicaid spending on each enrollee, known as a “per capita cap” or allotment. “We offered Medicaid reform in reconciliation in the repeal-and-replace package, and it was per capita allotments, which didn’t cut Medicaid but it does limit the growth,” Guthrie said. “I do think it has to be discussed as part of the package [next year],” Guthrie said, adding that he hadn’t yet discussed the idea with leadership.
  • Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) Said Congress Should Consider Block Granting Medicaid. On Nov. 14, Rep. Murphy, a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus who sits on the Ways and Means Committee, reportedly told Politico that Congress needs to consider block grants for Medicaid.
ashoup
In News, Statement

Republican Reconciliation Bill Threatens Health Care For Millions With Drastic Medicaid Cuts

“Everything Is on the Table,” as Republicans in Congress Narrow in on Slashing Health Care for the Most Vulnerable.

Washington, D.C – New reporting indicates that Republicans are targeting Medicaid for deep budget cuts in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. As a result, millions would lose coverage, including children, new moms, seniors, and people with disabilities. These cuts would come as part of a reconciliation bill early next year. 

The news follows a new letter from more than 30 patient advocacy groups, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Heart Association, calling on Congress to reject any cuts to Medicaid. The letter states: “Any efforts to cut Medicaid, including through restructuring Medicaid’s current financing, Making other federal funding cuts that shift costs to states, reducing eligibility or benefits, or adding barriers to coverage, would severely harm the people we represent and must be rejected.” In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:

“The GOP war on Medicaid is alive and well as Republicans have made clear that massive Medicaid cuts are a top priority for 2025. Once again, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more concerned about taking care of their wealthy friends like Elon Musk than protecting the health care of millions of Americans. By prioritizing the wealth of the ultra-rich and big corporations, millions of Americans will have their health care ripped away. Families will lose the care they need to stay healthy, seniors will struggle to age with dignity and control their financial future, and millions of kids will be left behind. These cuts will throw our entire health care system into chaos.”

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In News

NEW: Protect Our Care Announces Mobile Billboard As Part of Week of Action to Stop RFK Jr.

Protect Our Care Launches Mobile Billboard in Washington D.C.

Watch the Mobile Billboard Here.

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, December 17, a mobile billboard will circle Capitol Hill, calling on senators to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This week, Protect Our Care’s “Stop RFK War Room” is running a multi-media campaign to educate people on why RFK Jr. is unfit for the job and the insurmountable damage he could do if confirmed. Yesterday, the “Stop RFK War Room” released 18 billboards in seven states as well as paid digital ads that will continue to run in key states and Washington, D.C. The campaign comes as RFK Jr. is set to meet with at least 20 Republicans as part of the confirmation process. 

The “Stop RFK War Room” is focusing its events and activities on the following Senators: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Jim Justice (R-WV).

“We are working to make sure everyone on Capital Hill understands the catastrophic consequences of this nomination that will touch nearly every household in the nation.” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “RFK Jr.’s focus will be pushing radical policies that put millions at risk. He believes no vaccine is safe or effective and has pledged to stop funding research for treatments and cures to deadly diseases. His beliefs could lead to a deadly resurgence of preventable childhood illnesses like polio and measles. RFK Jr. won’t follow the science or trust the experts – he embraces fringe ideas and promotes conspiracies. That’s the last thing we need in charge of America’s health care.”

Mobile Billboard Script:

Narrator: Robert F Kennedy Jr. is no health care leader. He’s a threat to your family’s health. RFK Jr. spreads deadly lies about vaccines, calling them unsafe and ineffective. His conspiracy theories fueled a measles outbreak in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly babies and toddlers.

CNN Clip: RFK went and rallied that country against vaccinations. It resulted in the deaths of 83 innocent children. 

Narrator: Now he’s been nominated to oversee America’s health care system – Medicare, Medicaid, vaccines, research. The health of every American is at stake. 

RFK Jr.: There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective. 

Narrator: He’d defund life-saving research and drug development, gut the FDA, let diseases like polio and measles resurge. This isn’t leadership. It’s a death sentence. Tell your Senators: reject RFK Jr. He’s not just unfit, he’s dangerous.

ashoup
In News

SHOT/CHASER: RFK Jr. Lies Through His Teeth to Cover His Disastrous Vaccine Record While Visiting Capitol Hill

RFK Jr. Has Said He Believes “There’s No Vaccine That Is Safe and Effective”

SHOT: RFK Jr. Claims He’s “All For The Polio Vaccine” After Decades Of Work Undermining Vaccine Access. “RFK Jr., Trump’s pick for HHS, arrives at Capitol Hill to meet with Senators and gain their support. As he made his way to Sen. Rick Scott’s office he was asked about the polio vaccine and he mumbled ‘I’m all for the polio vaccine.’” [Cristina Corujo (CBS News), X, 12/16/24]

CHASER: RFK Jr. Spread Conspiracy Theories That The Polio Vaccine “Cause[d] More Death Than It Avert[ed].” During a July 2023 interview with Lex Fridman, when asked about the polio vaccine, Kennedy launched into a conspiracy-laden tirade: “Well, here’s the problem. Here’s the problem. Yeah, here’s the problem. The polio vaccine contained a virus called simian virus 40. SV40. It’s one of the most carcinogenic materials that is known to man. In fact, it’s used now by scientists around the world to induce tumors and rats and Guinea pigs in labs. But it was in that vaccine, 98 million people who got that vaccine. And my generation got it. And now you’ve had this explosion of soft tissue cancers in our generation that killed many, many, many more people than polio ever did. […] If you say to me, ‘Did it cause more death than it averted?’ I would say, ‘I don’t know, because we don’t have the data on that.” Kennedy’s organization, Children’s Health Defense, also spread false reports calling into question the safety and necessity of polio vaccinations during a 2022 resurgence in the virus.

LIME: RFK Jr.’s Lawyer Petitioned the FDA To Revoke The Polio Vaccine. “The concerns have amped up in recent days following a report that an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a citizen petition in 2022 to revoke the approval of polio vaccines for infants and children. Attorney Aaron Siri has also joined Kennedy in questioning and choosing candidates for top health positions, the New York Times reported, citing an unnamed source who witnessed the interactions.” [Axios, 12/16/24]

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In News

ROUNDUP: Republicans, Experts, Americans Are Increasingly Concerned with RFK’s Dangerous Views on Vaccines

Republican senators have increasingly raised concerns about the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his dangerous views over lifesaving vaccine programs. RFK Jr. has said “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and he helped fuel a devastating measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people, mostly infants and children. Donald Trump recently said he would discuss ending childhood vaccination programs with RFK Jr. Additionally, one of RFK Jr.’s top transition team advisors openly called for the FDA to revoke the polio vaccine’s approval. More and more Republicans are becoming concerned about the dire ramifications of an RFK Jr.-led HHS, including top Republican leadership.

What Republican Senators Are Saying: 

  • Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell issued a warning to Robert F. Kennedy saying, “Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts [revoking the polio vaccine’s approval]… Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous.” [CBS News, 12/13/24]
  • Senator Mike Rounds said in an interview, “Look, I believe in vaccines. I think they’ve saved millions of lives… If he has a different point of view, then he’ll have to explain them to us.” [The Washington Post, 11/20/24]
  • Senator John Cornyn stated it clearly when asked about his concerns with RFK Jr.’s vaccine stances, “I realize Covid got to be pretty controversial, but vaccinations are an important part of our public health, starting with the requirement that kids get vaccinations before they go to school.” [Politico, 12/10/24]
  • Senator Lisa Murkowski told the Independent explicitly, “I happen to believe particularly childhood vaccines are something really important… As a parent, I want to make sure that I protect my kids from measles or mumps or rubella or whatever it is…” [The Independent, 11/23/24]
  • A former top staffer told Axios that Senator Bill Cassidy is “balancing what’s good for his reelection against his health care expertise, including what Kennedy would do if there is another pandemic… When asked if he thought the 2026 race would impact how Cassidy approaches Kennedy, [Mitt] Romney said, ‘I don’t think in his case, no.’” [Axios, 12/6/24]
  • Senator Roger Marshall, an OB/GYN, chose not to answer a question on whether RFK Jr.’s promotion of health misinformation would affect his support for the HHS nominee, instead saying, “I think it’s a long answer, and I’m late for a meeting, so I’m not going to give you an answer.” [The Independent, 11/23/24]

What Health Experts Are Saying

  • A group of 77 Nobel laureates signed a letter urging Congress to reject RFK Jr. stating, “The leader of [HHS] should continue to nurture and improve – not threaten – these highly respected institutions and their employees… placing Mr Kennedy in charge of [HHS] would put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in health sciences, in both public and commercial sectors.” [The Guardian, 12/10/24]
  • James Hodge, a public health law expert at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, put RFK Jr.’s potential reign over HHS succinctly in an interview stating, “The litany of things that will start to topple is profound… We’re going to experience a seminal change in vaccine law and policy.” [North Carolina Health News, 12/14/24]
  • The executive director of the American Public Health Association, Georges Benjamin, has warned that RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine will harm children the most saying, “The reason we think Mr. Kennedy is the wrong guy for the Secretary of Health and Human Services is we do not think that somebody who has been the source of so much death and disability amongst the nation’s children should have any seed of prominence in the health world.” [The Hill, 12/14/24]
  • Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb warned that a Kennedy-run HHS disincentivizing or creating barriers to vaccine access “will cost lives in this country… For every 1,000 cases of measles that occur in children, there will be one death.” [Reuters, 12/12/24]

What Republican’s Constituents Are Saying

  • Brent Sherard, the former director of the Wyoming Department of Health and a constituent of John Barrasso expressed his frustration with any support for RFK in a letter to the editor stating, “In a recent political ad, Dr. Barrasso proudly claims to be “Wyoming’s Doctor.” If he truly holds that title, why would he support someone like RFK Jr., who has consistently spread misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines… The stakes are too high to endorse someone who could potentially undermine our entire vaccination program.” [Cowboy State Daily, 11/26/24]
  • George Bishop Jr. lives in Louisiana and is represented by two Republican Senators. He writes about the RFK Jr. nomination, “RFK Jr. has no experience or expertise in health care, medicine or public policy, but he does have opinions not tied to real data. His appointment reflects Trump’s lack of concern for the American people, who he repeatedly told that the COVID virus would just go away. It hasn’t, and a key reason is low vaccination rates by people who listen to RFK Jr. and Donald Trump.” [New Orleans Advocate, 12/16/24]
ashoup
In News

NEW: Protect Our Care Launches Multi-Media Campaign to Urge Key Senators to Protect Americans’ Health and Reject RFK Jr.’s Nomination for HHS Secretary

Watch the New Digital Ad Here.

Washington, D.C. – On Monday, December 16, 2024, Protect Our Care’s “Stop RFK War Room” is launching a multi-media campaign across key states to call on senators to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The campaign features paid ads and 18 billboards in seven states on Monday as RFK Jr. is set to meet with at least 20 Republican senators as part of the confirmation process. Throughout the week, Protect Our Care will be releasing new research and polling in addition to hosting events with advocates and experts to highlight RFK Jr.’s danger to the American people. 

The “Stop RFK War Room” is focusing its events and activities on the following senators: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Jim Justice (R-WV).

“America’s health is in deep peril if RFK Jr. is confirmed,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “If RFK Jr. gets his way, every American will be put at risk. He believes no vaccine is safe or effective and wants to decimate funding for research into treatments and cures His beliefs could lead to a deadly resurgence of preventable childhood illnesses like polio and measles. RFK Jr. doesn’t have the experience and skills to run major health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid that over 125 million Americans rely on for their health care. We’re working to make sure every senator understands the catastrophic consequences of this nomination that will touch nearly every household in the nation.”

Ad Script:

Narrator: Robert F Kennedy Jr. is no health care leader. He’s a threat to your family’s health. RFK Jr. spreads deadly lies about vaccines, calling them unsafe and ineffective. His conspiracy theories fueled a measles outbreak in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly babies and toddlers.

CNN Clip: RFK went and rallied that country against vaccinations. It resulted in the deaths of 83 innocent children. 

Narrator: Now he’s been nominated to oversee America’s health care system – Medicare, Medicaid, vaccines, research. The health of every American is at stake. 

RFK Jr.: There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective. 

Narrator: He’d defund life-saving research and drug development, gut the FDA, let diseases like polio and measles resurge. This isn’t leadership. It’s a death sentence. Tell your Senators: reject RFK Jr. He’s not just unfit, he’s dangerous.

Billboards:

The billboards will appear in:

Boise, ID
Baton Rouge, LA
New Orleans, LA
Charlotte, NC
Greensboro, NC
Sioux Falls, SD
Rapid City, SD
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
Huntington, WV

ashoup
In News

Sen. Baldwin, Wisconsin ACA Enrollees and Advocates to Join Protect Our Care Wisconsin to Promote ACA Open Enrollment Deadline of December 15 for Plans Starting January 1st

***FRIDAY DECEMBER 13, 2024 AT 1:30 PM CT // 2:30 PM ET***

Tax Credits at Risk of Expiring, Meaning Health Care Costs Could Rise for Millions of Americans

WISCONSIN – Today, Friday, December 13th at 1:30 PM CT // 2:30 PM ET, Senator Tammy Baldwin and Wisconsin enrolled in the ACA marketplace will join Protect Our Care Wisconsin to promote the open enrollment period – Sunday is the deadline to secure marketplace coverage that takes effect January 1st.

Speakers will also discuss the urgent need for Congress to stop Republican premium hikes. During this Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period Wisconsinites will continue to save thousands of dollars on their health care thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s enhanced premium tax credits. Thanks to these savings passed by the Biden-Harris administration and Democrats in Congress, a record number of Wisconsinites enrolled in ACA Marketplace plans in 2024. But, these tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025.

Millions of Americans are depending on lower premiums. According to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, if Republicans in Congress do not take action to extend the Inflation Reduction Act’s savings, an estimated 61,000 Wisconsinites will see their premiums increase.

PRESS CALL

WHO:
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley
Jane B., NE Wisconsin resident

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Friday, December 13th at 1:30 PM CT // 2:30 PM ET

WHERE: Register for the Zoom here [Registration required]

ashoup
In News

STATEMENT: Trump Says He and RFK Jr. Will Discuss Ending Childhood Vaccination Programs

Washington, D.C. — In an interview with Time Magazine, Donald Trump confirmed he is open to working with RFK Jr. to end lifesaving vaccination programs for children. When asked if he would approve of RFK Jr.’s efforts to end childhood vaccination programs, Trump said he would be open to investigating a disproven conspiracy theory linking vaccines to autism: “We’re going to have a big discussion. The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there’s something causing it.” In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement: 

“These statements by Donald Trump prove just how dangerous Robert F Kennedy Jr. is to the American health care system. If RFK Jr. gets his way and stops or impedes childhood vaccination programs, it will lead to a resurgence of illnesses like polio and measles. People will die. The idea of ditching already settled science by ending childhood vaccinations is extremely disturbing and affirms that RFK Jr. should never be confirmed to any position related to our nation’s health care, especially Secretary of HHS.”

Reuters: Trump to Discuss Ending Childhood Vaccination Programs with RFK Jr.

By Tim Reid and Michael Erman // December 12, 2024

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in an interview published on Thursday said he will be talking to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, about ending childhood vaccination programs.
When asked if he would sign off if Kennedy decided to end childhood vaccinations programs, Trump told Time magazine, “we’re going to have a big discussion. The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there’s something causing it.”
When asked if the discussion could result in his administration getting rid of some vaccinations, Trump said: “It could if I think it’s dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial, but I don’t think it’s going to be very controversial in the end.”
Asked in the Nov. 25 interview if he thinks childhood autism is linked to vaccines, Trump said: “No, I’m going to be listening to Bobby,” referring to Kennedy. Trump said he had a lot of respect for Kennedy and his views on vaccinations.
Kennedy, who opposed state and federal COVID-19 restrictions and was accused of spreading misinformation about the virus, has for years sown doubts over the safety and efficacy of vaccines, including asserting a debunked link between vaccines and autism.
Trump has suggested in the past that vaccines might be linked to autism. “I want to see the numbers,” he said. “At the end of the studies that we’re doing, and we’re going all out, we’re going to know what’s good and what’s not good.”
Retracted and Discredited
Many of the claims that vaccines cause autism can be traced to a retracted 1998 study published in medical journal The Lancet. The paper, written by British doctor Andrew Wakefield, has been widely discredited.
Research, including a 2014 meta-analysis, opens new tab of studies involving more than 1.2 million children, found no association between vaccines and autism.
Autism advocacy group Autism Speaks says it “remains aligned with the scientific consensus, which confirms that vaccines do not cause autism.”
Former FDA commissioner and current Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb has said if Kennedy follows through on his intentions to end vaccine mandates “it will cost lives in this country.”
He said lower vaccination rates could lead to large outbreaks of once nearly eradicated diseases like measles. “For every 1,000 cases of measles that occur in children, there will be one death. And we are not good in this country at diagnosing and treating measles,” Gottlieb told CNBC last month.
Kennedy disputes the anti-vaccine tag, but chaired the Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization that focuses on anti-vaccine messaging.
“He (Kennedy) does not disagree with vaccinations, all vaccinations. He disagrees probably with some,” Trump said.
If he is confirmed to run HHS, Kennedy would oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which controls what vaccines are recommended for Americans and when they should receive them. It also runs the Vaccines for Children program that provides free vaccines for some children.
The remarks are in line with a comment Trump made in an interview with Meet The Press on Sunday in which he said that the potential risks from vaccines should be studied.
“I think vaccines are — certain vaccines — are incredible. But maybe some aren’t. And if they aren’t, we have to find out,” he said.
During a presidential debate in his 2016 White House campaign, Trump appeared to embrace the debunked autism link. He said he was “totally in favor of vaccines,” but suggested spreading out recommended inoculations over a longer period of time. “And I think you’re going to have, I think you’re going to see a big impact on autism.”
ashoup
In News

TIMELINE: RFK Jr.’s Deadly Visit to Samoa

The Devastating Events That Followed RFK Jr.’s Visit to Samoa in 2019 Could Be a Preview of What’s to Come Under His Leadership at HHS

Kennedy with anti-vaccine activists Edwin Tamaese and Taylor Winterstein in June 2019
[Photo: Children’s Health Defense]

RFK Jr’s anti-vaccine efforts in Samoa played a direct role in the deaths of 83 people, mostly children, during a measles outbreak in 2019. In 2018 and early 2019, Children’s Health Defense, an RFK Jr.-led organization, made posts on Facebook undermining the safety of vaccines and paid for Kennedy’s trip to Samoa where he spread anti-vaccine rhetoric in meetings with government officials and other anti-vaccine activists. The vaccine misinformation, which was directly tied to Kennedy’s visit, was detrimental to the Samoan government’s efforts to contain the measles outbreak.The World Health Organization estimated that in 2018, only 31 percent of infants in Samoa received the measles vaccine, a drop from 60 to 70 percent in previous years. Samoa now requires compulsory vaccination of children before starting primary school and measles vaccine rates have risen to 95 percent.

The Timeline:

2018

  • Two children in Samoa died after receiving their MMR vaccine. Two nurses improperly mixed the vaccines with a liquid muscle relaxant instead of water. The nurses were sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter.
  • RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense posted on Facebook questioning the safety of measles vaccines.
  • The World Health Organization estimated that in 2018, only 31 percent of infants in Samoa received the measles vaccine, a drop from 60 to 70 percent in previous years.
  • RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense never updated the public about the true cause of the babies’ deaths.

2019

  • While vaccination rates were dropping, Kennedy traveled to Samoa in June 2019, meeting with the Prime Minister and other government officials. The trip had been arranged by a prominent Samoan anti-vaccine activist, and paid for by Children’s Health Defense. RFK Jr. appeared with government officials and local anti-vaccine activists.
  • The measles outbreak began in September 2019.
  • A state of emergency was declared in November 2019, closing all schools, keeping children under 17 away from public events, and mandating vaccines.
  • The anti-vaccine activists with ties to Kennedy used misinformation and harsh rhetoric to oppose the government’s efforts in containing the outbreak.
  • By January 22, 2020, 5,707 measles cases and 83 measles-related deaths were reported. 87 percent of the reported deaths were children younger than 5 years.
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