Whatever mask RFK Jr. was attempting to wear to convince the world he isn’t a pure anti-vaxxer clown is now officially off. The man who has spent his time as Secretary of HHS overseeing the worst outbreak of measles in America in decades, who just can’t stop citing fake health studies and misinterpreting others, who appears to have lied to Congress during his confirmation hearings, and who has find new and interesting ways to harm Americans’ health throughout the country will be giving the keynote speech at an upcoming conference in D.C. put on by the Children’s Health Defense organization that he co-founded.
The CHD, an organization that is regularly completely full of shit and adores spreading misinformation about diseases and vaccines specifically, is also an organization that Kennedy attempted to distance himself from in his confirmation hearings.
During one memorable exchange, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) displayed images of baby onesies sold by the anti-vaccine organization that read “Unvaxxed, Unafraid” and “No Vax, No Problem.”
“Are you supportive of these onesies?” Sanders asked.
Kennedy said he had nothing to do with the merchandise and noted he had resigned from the group.
“I am supportive of vaccines,” Kennedy said at the time.
All of the above from Kennedy was misleading at best, of course. He is absolutely not supportive of vaccines. That one is plainly obvious. And, while he did in fact resign from CHD because he had to when joining the Trump administration, he also has both listened to demands from that group and hired ranking members of the group into HHS as well. Claiming this resignation answers any questions about Kennedy’s loyalties while he’s busy elevating the group’s members directly into government is a complete non-sequitur.
Kennedy isn’t the only government employee speaking at the event. And not the only dangerous peddler of vaccine misinformation, either.
Aside from Kennedy, the event will feature speeches from lawmakers including Republican Sens. Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), as well as GOP Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.).
The event will also feature Andrew Wakefield, a doctor whose medical license was revoked and who is credited with starting the argument that modern vaccines cause autism.
Wakefield is either a wildly unethical former doctor, a complete and total fraud, or both. To quote Mike Masnick in a post from fifteen years ago:
Last year, Wakefield lost his license to practice medicine in the UK, after he was found guilty of “serious professional misconduct.” That was because of serious ethical lapses in how he conducted the study. He apparently did invasive tests that were unnecessary and without the proper permission. He also tested a new vaccine — which was going to be sold by a company Wakefield had set up — on a child, without telling the child’s doctor, or mentioning the test in the child’s medical notes. And the kicker: “He was also found to have unethically arranged for his son’s friends to have blood samples taken from them during his birthday party — for which he paid them £5 each.”
The latest news is that a study of the original research has concluded that the problems with the original report do not appear to have been mere mistakes, but were almost certainly fraud. The report states that there is clear evidence that the data was falsified.
Kennedy was never very good at pretending he isn’t a full-blown anti-vaxxer lunatic, to be sure. But any attempts at playing make believe appear to be over. Speaking at this event at all, never mind giving the keynote address there, makes it clear where he stands on vaccines, on science, and on medicine. He’s a liar and a charlatan of the highest order. He’s speaking at an event for the group he founded and which is responsible in large part for the very crises of health this country is currently suffering through.
End this. End it now. Someone. Literally anyone. Get him out of office by any and all peaceful and legal means. This is that important.