“A sicker America”: Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary | In Senate hearings, Kennedy continued to express anti-vaccine views.

From the article: The US Senate on Thursday confirmed the long-time anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The vote was largely along party lines, with a tally of 52 to 48. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.), a polio survivor and steadfast supporter of vaccines, voted against the confirmation, the only Republican to do so.

Before the vote, Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) claimed that if there had been a secret ballot today, most Republicans would have voted against Kennedy. “But sadly, and unfortunately for America, Republicans are being strong-armed by Donald Trump and will end up holding their nose and voting to confirm Mr. Kennedy… What a travesty,” Schumer said.

Senator Mike Crapo (R–Idaho) shot back, supporting Kennedy’s nomination and chastising his colleagues for their continued “attacks” on Kennedy. “He has made it very clear that he will support safe vaccinations and just wants to see that the research on them is done and done well,” Crapo said, seemingly not acknowledging the vast wealth of high-quality research that has already been done on vaccine safety and efficacy.

As the top health official for the Trump administration, Kennedy says he will focus on improving nutrition and reducing chronic diseases, in part by cracking down on food additives, processed foods, and the influence of food and drug makers on federal agencies. Prior to his confirmation, he campaigned on the slogan “Make America Healthy Again,” aka MAHA, which he has moved to trademark.

While his stated goals have drawn support and praise from some lawmakers and health advocates, his confirmation has been highly controversial because he is one of the most prominent and influential anti-vaccine advocates in the country. He has worked for decades to erode trust in safe, life-saving vaccinations as the head of the anti-vaccine organization he founded, Children’s Health Defense, and spread misinformation and conspiracy theories. Upon seeking the confirmation, he transferred his trademark application to an LLC managed by Del Bigtree, another prominent anti-vaccine advocate who has spread conspiracy theories.

In Senate committee hearings last month, Kennedy tried to claim that he was a proponent of vaccines, yet he refused to say that vaccines do not cause autism (a fact supported by extensive, high-quality research conducted over decades). He did not deny previously saying that the health workers who run our country’s vaccine program should be in jail or comparing them to Nazis and pedophiles. In 2021, Kennedy petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke the authorization of all COVID-19 vaccines and block all future approvals, an act he defended in the hearing despite evidence that the vaccines saved the lives of more than 3 million people in the US.

It was a done deal once Cassidy and Collins signaled they would vote for him last week because of “off the record assurances”. Little do these fools realize that once confirmed, he doesn’t have to honor anything he said. Cassidy being a physician and having run vaccination campaigns for hepatitis when he was in active practice is particularly shameful.

under RFK jr, we could see illness and death far worse than what Covid brought. And with the administration already heavily attacking any form of healthcare protection, no one will afford to get treatment. what a fucking mess

I hope for the next pandemic we instantly stop all flights to and from America.

The upside is Trump/RFK policies will eliminate the voting bloc that landed us in this situation in the first place.

Boomers apparently want The Stand. They won’t be part of the 5%.

He’s not anti vax. He just wants better, more comprehensive testing on vaccines.

The guys kids are all vaccinated. If he’s an anti-vaxxer then he’s a pretty terrible one.