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What RFK Jr. means for your health
A vaccine skeptic is now running the Department of Health and Human Services.
Joey Sendaydiego for Vox
Patrick Reis was the senior politics and ideas editor at Vox. He previously worked at Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, Politico, National Journal, and Seattle’s Real Change News. As a reporter and editor, he has worked on coverage of campaign politics, economic policy, the federal death penalty, climate change, financial regulation, and homelessness.
Welcome to The Logoff. Today I’m focusing on new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’ll now run some of the government’s largest agencies — and whose policy decisions will affect the health of every American. (Special thanks to Dylan Scott, who helped me wrap my head around this unconventional nominee.)
What’s the latest? The Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Kennedy. All Democrats and both independents voted no, as did Republican Mitch McConnell. The other 52 Republicans voted yes.
What will he be in charge of? Kennedy will oversee basically any place where the federal government touches health care or public health, including Medicare and Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration, and the federal hubs for disease research and prevention (the CDC and NIH). The FDA also oversees the approval of new vaccines.
What is Kennedy’s stance on vaccines now? Kennedy has long vociferously spread the lie that vaccines cause autism. He was also publicly skeptical of the Covid vaccines. Since his nomination, Kennedy has downplayed that opposition, instead emphasizing that he wants people to have a choice about vaccinations.
What else should I know about RFK Jr.? On some issues, such as food safety and nutrition, Kennedy’s criticisms of the status quo echo what many experts are saying: that our food system is prone to disease outbreaks and leaves us in poor health. But medical experts have been sounding the alarm about his embrace of conspiracy theories — both on vaccines and elsewhere.
What don’t we know yet? Will Kennedy go after vaccine development and approval, or stick to pushing back on vaccine mandates? Will he have the sway within the administration, which includes many pro-business voices, to go after the food system in the way he has promised? We’ll get some clues soon, as Trump appoints Kennedy’s top deputies, but as of today, we’re headed into the great unknown.
And with that, it’s time to log off …
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