Tag Archives: health

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s DEADLY OBSESSION

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[This article first appeared at Common Dreams on September 1, 2025.]

by Steven J. Harper

Vaccines have saved millions of lives. But for decades, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pursued a single-minded crusade against them. Numerous scientific studies have debunked his false claim that vaccines cause autism. But now he’s weaponizing the nation’s public health system to promote his ideological quackery.

Once a Crackpot, Always a Crackpot – But Now Possessing the Power of Life and Death

· In a 2021 podcast, Kennedy urged Americans to “resist” CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.

· In 2021, Kennedy said, “I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, better not get them vaccinated.”

· In a video promoting his non-profit organization’s anti-vaccine sticker campaign, Kennedy appeared onscreen next to a sticker that declared “IF YOU’RE NOT AN ANTI-VAXXER YOU AREN’T PAYING ATTENTION.”

· In a July 2023 podcast, he said, “There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician, knows that Kennedy’s anti-vaccine claims are bogus. But Kennedy assured him that he would protect “the public health benefit of vaccinations” and maintain without changes the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). That committee of outside experts reviews the most recent data on all vaccines to assess safety, efficacy, and clinical need. It develops a recommended guidance schedule for all vaccines, including seasonal flu shots and COVID boosters. Physicians rely on that guidance in counseling patients, and insurance companies and government programs use it to determine the vaccines they will cover.

Based on Kennedy’s promises, Sen. Cassidy cast the deciding vote to confirm him as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Timeline of Destruction

In RFK Jr.’s mission to spread his lies, he has systematically gutted the world’s premier public health organization.

[To continue reading, please click here to reach my Substack page (No paywall)]:

https://stevenjharper.substack.com/p/robert-f-kennedy-jrs-deadly-obsession

RFK Jr.’s GUIDE TO MAKING AMERICA SICK AGAIN

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[This article first appeared at Common Dreams on June 15, 2025.]

RFK Jr. STRIKES AGAIN – AT AMERICANS’ HEALTH

by Steven J. Harper

Someone should have told Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy that President Donald Trump’s mishandling of the last pandemic probably cost him the presidency in 2020. Building on his longstanding anti-vaxxing crusade, Kennedy has followed a three-step program that will worsen the next outbreak.

Step 1: Reduce vaccine availability. Three weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – one of Kennedy’s HHS agencies – announced that for healthy Americans under 65, COVID vaccines will not be approved until they pass large scale and time-consuming clinical trials. That is a daunting obstacle.

Step 2: Reduce vaccine eligibility. The following week, Kennedy announced that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would no longer recommend the COVID vaccine for children and pregnant women. Within days, the CDC had to walk it back somewhat, stating that whether to vaccinate a child should be the product of “shared decision-making” involving parents and physicians. But pregnant women remain in the limbo world of “no recommendation.” In any event, the negative impact on overall public health will be enormous.

Step 3: Eliminate vaccine expertise. On June 9, Kennedy fired the entire CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) – all 17 of them. This committee of outside experts reviews the most recent data on all vaccines to assess safety, efficacy, and clinical need. It develops a recommended guidance schedule for all vaccines, including seasonal flu shots and COVID boosters. Physicians rely on that guidance in counseling patients, and insurance companies and government programs use it to determine the vaccines they will cover. Committee members received their termination notices via email sent two hours after Kennedy announced their firing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

With Kennedy’s selection of his first eight replacements on June 11, we’re getting a sense of the disaster that will accompany Step 4.

[[To continue reading, please click here to reach my Substack page (No paywall)]:

https://stevenjharper.substack.com/p/rfk-jrs-guide-to-making-america-sick