Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump attended a campaign event hosted by the conservative group “American Turning Point” in Duluth, Georgia, the United States, on October 23, 2024.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Donald Trump A clear commitment has been made as to who can help take on the task The government’s healthy reins If he wins the presidency: notorious vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorists Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The former president said last week that Kennedy it’s over He launched his own independent White House campaign earlier this year and endorsed Trump, will have a Play an ‘important role’ in healthcare in his government. Last month, Trump said he would let Kennedy Healthy “crazy”food and drug supervision.
It’s unclear exactly what Kennedy’s role would look like, but the possibility has set off alarm bells in the broader health community. Some health experts say elevating Kennedy’s status, even to an informal position in the Trump administration, could have serious consequences for patients, drugmakers and the nation’s public health.
Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who has been a vocal critic of Kennedy, told CNBC: “I think it’s going to be a turned-down world.” “Things won’t be based on scientific truth, but just on him or his.” It’s going to be a free-for-all. It’s going to be chaos.”
He said the “chaos” could manifest in declining vaccination rates, an increase in preventable diseases and growing distrust of federal health agencies., Examples include the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This could exacerbate existing public health challenges in the country, such as Childhood vaccination rates decline For several preventable diseases, some experts say. Among other high-income countries, the United States has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest prevalence of multiple chronic diseases, and the highest maternal and infant mortality rates, according to a study of high-income countries. 2023 report Funded by Commonwealth Fund, an independent research group.
Kennedy, who has no medical or scientific credentials, believes drug companies and the federal health agencies that regulate them are causing Americans to suffer from declining health. He suggests taking some vaccines off the market – Trump’s position Monday is not excluded.
The former environmental lawyer could also create uncertainty for the pharmaceutical industry, which relies on federal health agencies to approve new products, keep older ones on the market and, in some cases, fund research and development. It would be difficult for Kennedy to change the drug approval process, but experts say he could gain a new platform to politicize some treatments he opposes and promote others that have not been proven safe and effective.
Top leadership positions, such as FDA commissioner, require Senate confirmation, which some experts say could pose obstacles for Kennedy. But Kennedy has met with Trump’s transition officials and may adopt a broad White House “health czar” stance without Senate confirmation. “Washington Post” report Saturday.
Drew Altman, president and CEO of the health policy group KFF, said that whatever the position looks like, Kennedy will likely get “a new platform to spread his views.”
“This gives one of the leading architects of health misinformation a national platform with the support of the president,” Altman told CNBC. “More people will hear what he says, believe what he says and take action. This could pose a risk to their health.”
Kennedy’s team did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Vaccine rhetoric and acceptance
A second Trump term could allow Kennedy to ramp up his anti-vaccination rhetoric, regardless of whether he holds a key position in a federal health agency.
Health experts say that could prevent more Americans from receiving COVID-19 shots and routine immunizations against a variety of diseases that have saved millions of lives and prevented serious illness for decades.
“By elevating his message, people, parents, can opt out of the vaccination program,” said Genevieve Kanter, associate professor of public policy at the University of Southern California. “I think we can reasonably predict vaccination rates among children. “It’s going to go down, and maybe overall vaccination rates will go down.”
Cynthia Blancas, 42, of Lynnwood, receives a Covid-19 vaccine shot from pharmacist Deep Patel (right) at CVS in Huntington Park on Aug. 28, 2024.
Christina House | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
real world data Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that routine vaccination rates among kindergarteners have declined during the pandemic and have yet to rebound. Experts say that if Kennedy manages to lower these rates even further, vaccine-preventable diseases like polio and measles could return.
For companies that make vaccines, an increase in anti-vaccination rhetoric could lead to lower revenue. Drug manufacturers such as Pfizer and modern are still recovering from a drop in U.S. coronavirus vaccination rates, which has dented their profits over the past two years.
Some experts say Kennedy could also impact the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to respond to another outbreak if he has the power to decide how much federal money should go toward vaccine development. he told NBC News last year If faced with another pandemic, he would not prioritize vaccine research, manufacturing or distribution, wrongly adding that “vaccines may cause more deaths than they prevent”.
Kennedy’s record as a vaccine skeptic is extensive: He has a long history of misleading and misrepresentation Regarding the safety of injections, there are claims, for example, that injections are linked to autism, despite numerous studies decades ago debunking this link. Kennedy is the founder of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense Organization, the most well-funded anti-vaccination organization in the United States.
“He misled children and caused children to suffer or die, but he stood by and took no responsibility,” Offit said.
He pointed out Kennedy’s misinformation about the safety of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. connected A severe measles outbreak occurred in Samoa in 2019, killing dozens of children.
FDA and CDC regulatory processes
Changing the way vaccines and other treatments are approved, recommended and regulated may be harder for Kennedy — even in a leadership role at the FDA, CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees both agencies.
This could be good news for both patients and drugmakers.
A sign outside the U.S. Food and Drug Administration headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, on August 29, 2020.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
“The approval process is very clear and run by civil servants,” USC’s Kanter said. “I don’t think he will have a lot of influence in terms of day-to-day product approvals because that’s not how the FDA is organized. It’s not the role of the FDA commissioner, so in this process, I think we can trust that to remain unchanged.”
Recommendations for vaccine approval, use, and coverage under certain federal health programs are made by FDA and CDC advisory groups composed of outside public health and medical experts. The same applies to other treatments and medical devices.
Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told CNBC that Kennedy may try to include people on those committees who hold similar views on vaccinations or other treatments to undermine “the traditional regulatory oversight that protects us.”
But members of these panels must go through a rigorous nomination process. If someone sympathetic to Kennedy’s views joins the panel, many states that rely on the advisory committee’s recommendations on vaccination timelines and mandates may also choose to ignore those recommendations.
Kennedy’s other proposals for reforming federal health agencies may be difficult to implement. He proposed cutting funding or staffing at the FDA, but those changes would likely have to come from Congress.
Last week, Kennedy warned Posts on X “The FDA’s war on public health is coming to an end,” and hinted at plans to purge staff who disagree with his views.
He accused the agency of “actively suppressing the promotion of hallucinogens, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapy, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunlight, exercise, nutraceuticals, and anything else “Things that are healthy for humans and promote human health” will not be patented by Pharma. “
Kennedy has previously claimed Hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin are effective against COVID-19, although some studies suggest they are ineffective. Hydroxychloroquine is an immunosuppressive drug, while ivermectin is used to treat infections caused by parasites.
“He received a number of therapies, some of which have unproven uses and some of which have been questioned,” Kanter said.
chronic
Both Kennedy and Trump have been vocal about addressing the root causes of chronic diseases rather than spending resources treating them with pharmaceutical industry drugs. Details are scarce on what this means for drugmakers and what it means, but experts say Kennedy made misleading claims about factors that contribute to chronic disease.
The prevalence of chronic conditions that last a year or more and require ongoing medical care is a real problem in the United States
According to the agency, an increasing number of Americans suffer from multiple chronic conditions, with about 42% suffering from two or more chronic conditions. Department of Disease Control. More than 40% of school-age children and adolescents have at least one. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity are also major drivers of U.S. health care costs, accounting for about 90% of the $4.1 trillion in annual U.S. health care spending, the CDC said.
Sources close to the former president’s campaign told NBC News last week that Kennedy would likely spearhead Operation Warp Speed, which targets childhood chronic diseases, under the Trump administration. This is the name of the plan to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine during Trump’s first term.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage during an Operation Turning Point campaign rally in Duluth, Georgia, on October 23, 2024.
Anna Money Tree | Getty Images News | Getty Images
It’s unclear what the new plan or Kennedy’s role will look like, but the focus on chronic illness goes hand in hand with what he calls “Make America Healthy Again” Platform.
The initiative, a riff on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, aims to eliminate chemicals from food production, eliminate “root” causes of chronic disease, eliminate conflicts of interest in medical research, and other largely unpopular Priorities with bipartisan support. Environmental factors such as air pollution and diet contribute chronic health conditions, but Kennedy made unfounded claims about certain food ingredients and minerals.
Last week, Kennedy also recommended All U.S. water systems recommended to remove fluoride from drinking water, False claims that it is an “industrial waste” have been linked to a variety of conditions, including thyroid disease and neurodevelopmental disorders. Trump later said the idea sounded “ok for me”.
But fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil, water and plants. Adding low levels of fluoride to drinking water is widely considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century for its role in preventing tooth decay.
USC’s Kanter also said “there is a danger of oversimplifying complex health problems” and attributing them to a few “root causes,” especially when they are not supported by science. Kanter said chronic disease is a complex condition that can be caused by multiple factors, such as a patient’s genetics and socioeconomic status.
Kennedy’s Nonprofit groups mistakenly link vaccines For chronic diseases, misleading articles and studies were cited that suggested unvaccinated populations had fewer chronic diseases than vaccinated populations.
