RFK Jr. wants federal health data so he can show vaccines are unsafe, Trump transition co-chair says

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A co-chair of Donald Trump’s modulation squad said Trump protagonist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants entree to national wellness information truthful he tin show vaccines are unsafe and lead to them being pulled from nan marketplace successful a 2nd Trump administration.

Howard Lutnick echoed a number of Kennedy’s debunked anti-vaccine talking points successful a CNN question and reply Wednesday, including falsehoods astir nan vaccine schedule and nan disproven mentation that vaccines origin autism. Trump has talked often astir really Kennedy, who suspended his ain statesmanlike bid and endorsed him successful August, will person a large domiciled to play if nan erstwhile president returns to nan White House.

While Lutnick said Kennedy would not beryllium chosen arsenic caput of wellness and quality services, he was not circumstantial astir what Kennedy’s domiciled mightiness be. Lutnick made nan comments nan aforesaid time that Kennedy told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including nan U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nan National Institutes of Health, nan Food and Drug Administration and immoderate agencies nether nan Department of Agriculture.

The comments by Lutnick raised contiguous concerns among nationalist wellness experts that giving power to 1 of nan most salient anti-vaccine activists successful nan world could lead to what 1 said would beryllium “severe wellness consequences” for Americans, particularly children. They travel conscionable days earlier the Nov. 5 election and arsenic Trump, a Republican, and Democrat Kamala Harris are vying to sway late-deciding voters to their side.

Lutnick, nan CEO of nan financial services institution Cantor Fitzgerald, told CNN that Kennedy wants entree to information “so he tin opportunity these things are unsafe” and that will extremity nan sales.

“He says, if you springiness maine nan data, each I want is nan information and I’ll return connected nan information and show that it’s not safe. And past if you propulsion nan merchandise liability, nan companies will yank these vaccines correct disconnected of nan market. So that’s his point,” Lutnick said.

It was unclear what information Lutnick was referring to since extended information and investigation connected vaccine safety is publicly available.

The World Health Organization has estimated that world immunization efforts person saved at slightest 154 cardinal lives successful nan past 50 years.

In caller days, Trump has said he would fto Kennedy “go wild” connected health, nutrient and medicines. Kennedy has said repeatedly that he plans to workout his power complete a wide scope of policies if Trump wins and said Trump had promised him power complete wellness agencies and told him he wanted him to reorganize them.

Asked astir Kennedy’s comments and his domiciled successful a Trump administration, Jason Miller, a elder advisor for nan run said nan only point Trump and his run are focused connected is winning connected Nov. 5.

“Everything aft that is aft that, and President Trump has made clear that Bobby Kennedy will play an important role,” Miller wrote.

It would beryllium “extremely dangerous” to put Kennedy successful a position of powerfulness wherever he could make decisions aliases person nan expertise to alteration regulatory policy, said Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for nationalist wellness believe astatine nan Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Removing vaccines from nan marketplace would lead to terrible wellness consequences for America,” said Sharfstein, a erstwhile lawman commissioner of nan U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “We spell astir our regular lives successful nan United States not worrying astir a batch of preventable diseases for illustration bales because of nan protection that nan vaccines provide. But if location were to beryllium a systematic effort to usage nan devices of nan national authorities to undermine vaccination, children won’t beryllium safe. Full stop.”

Even if Kennedy is fixed a lesser domiciled wherever he provides input and comments but doesn’t person power complete policy, it could still beryllium damaging, according to group who person served successful nationalist wellness roles successful government.

“Advisers for illustration Scott Atlas person demonstrated nan important power they tin wield without legislature oversight, raising fears of misinformation and harm,” Trump’s ain surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, wrote successful an email, referring to Trump’s erstwhile COVID-19 pandemic advisor, a radiologist pinch nary inheritance successful infectious disease, who advocated for nan wide discredited herd immunity strategy.

Adams said he believed it was improbable that Kennedy could beryllium appointed to lead a awesome wellness agency because he has nary aesculapian expertise, it would apt beryllium difficult for him to walk a inheritance cheque for a apical concealed clearance and he’d apt deficiency support successful Congress — though Trump circumvented nan inheritance cheque strategy during his first management and stocked his Cabinet pinch acting officials who had not received legislature approval.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine statement has a suit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to place misinformation, including astir COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is connected time off from nan group but is listed arsenic 1 of its attorneys successful nan lawsuit.

Republican lawmakers person agelong enjoyed – and reciprocated – support from pharmaceutical companies, moreover vowing to dismantle a rule signed by Democratic President Joe Biden that allows nan authorities to discuss nan value of medicine narcotics for Medicare enrollees. Republicans person based on nan rule will wounded nan businesses and stifle invention successful nan industry. But vaccine skepticism, increasing crossed nan country, has go deeper among conservatives.

In summation to people’s wellness and well-being, nan anticipation that Kennedy’s power would consequence successful debunked ideas for illustration a vaccine nexus to autism being again dredged up and wasting time, power and money disheartened nationalist wellness advocates.

“Trump helped bring nan vaccine to market, and he took nan vaccine. ... I don’t cognize why he’s giving this personification this mouthpiece,” said Amy Pisani, CEO of Vaccinate Your Family, noting Trump’s Operation Warp Speed helped bring nan COVID-19 vaccine to market, though Kennedy has relentlessly attacked it.

Vaccinate Your Family is simply a nonpartisan group co-founded by erstwhile first woman Rosalynn Carter and erstwhile Arkansas first woman Betty Bumpers that has worked connected vaccine programs pinch some Republican and Democratic statesmanlike administrations for nan past 30 years.

“I don’t want to spell backmost 30 years to fighting nan anti-vaccine activity again,” Pisani said. “To spell backmost successful clip and discarded millions and millions of payer dollars connected this witch hunt again is conscionable untenable.”

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Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz successful Washington contributed to this report.