Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of the Department of Health and Human Services, downplayed the seriousness of an ongoing measles outbreak in Texas, falsely claiming that people had been hospitalized “mainly for quarantine” and misleadingly stating that the situation is “not unusual.” The Texas outbreak is already larger than any single outbreak last year and has led to the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015.
Issues: vaccination
FactChecking RFK Jr.’s First Interview as HHS Secretary
FactChecking RFK Jr.’s Other Health Claims During HHS Confirmation Hearings
RFK Jr. Cites Flawed Paper Claiming Link Between Vaccines and Autism in HHS Confirmation Hearing
In his second day of confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, refused to say that vaccines do not cause autism — despite a large body of evidence showing there is no link. He also pointed to a flawed paper to suggest that there is credible evidence to claim vaccines cause the disorder.
Kennedy Repeats False and Misleading Claims in Confirmation Hearing
Whoppers of 2024
Fox News Commentator Had Aggressive Cancer Before COVID-19 Vaccines Were Available
Fox News health commentator Dr. Kelly Powers was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in July 2020, months before COVID-19 vaccines were made available in the U.S. But social media posts are baselessly linking her death on Dec. 4 to the vaccines. There is no evidence that the vaccines cause or worsen cancer.