Notorious anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said that he was told from the White House that “a vaccine safety commission” will eventually be established.
At a National Press Club event with fellow anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert de Niro, Kennedy stated that three aides to Trump suggested that the panel was still in the process of being created and the details still needed to be ironed out.
“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen,” Kennedy said.
Before Trump was sworn in as president, Kennedy claimed that he spoke to Trump over the phone in January, and the president-elect promised that he was “not going to back down” on the issue even if the pharmaceutical industry tried to push back against it.
Kennedy has also previously claimed that Trump asked him to chair a “vaccine safety and scientific integrity” committee.
The Trump administration has denied that they ever extended such an invitation to Kennedy and stated that there hasn’t been a decision yet on the vaccine panel.
Still, Trump’s previous statements on vaccines do warrant concern on the issue, as the Daily Beast has noted that Trump has previously tweeted that he was against a “massive dose” of vaccines and that he was “proven right about massive vaccinations—the doctors lied. Save our children & their future.” Therefore, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that Trump would reach out to Kennedy to head a vaccine panel.
The Daily Beast also points out that there are two main ways that Trump could adversely effect vaccines: slash funding for the Vaccines For Children Program that “purchases vaccines at a discount and distributes them to states to inoculate poor children” as well as influence parents not to vaccinate their children due to the conspiracy theories promulgated by Trump and Kennedy.
Of course, the science is clear-cut that vaccines are perfectly safe and effective, which is what makes Trump’s alleged overtures to Kennedy worrisome. This is definitely something to keep an eye on going forward.
Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter @bandlersbanter.