In a contentious interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several false, misleading, and baseless claims about the origins of Lyme disease and the respiratory syncytial virus, the COVID-19 pandemic, and what the science shows about autism, vaccination, and acetaminophen use during pregnancy.
On the Aug. 2 show, Kennedy had several disagreements with host Dana Bash, with Bash challenging the health secretary’s assertions and Kennedy saying that Bash was wrong. We’ll sort out the facts.
- Kennedy baselessly claimed that Lyme disease and respiratory syncytial virus infections came from lab research. There’s no evidence for this, and the diseases have long affected humans.
- The U.S. doesn’t have “the highest death rate from COVID of any nation on Earth,” as he said. It has the highest rate among large, wealthy nations, but is 14th among all nations, per one analysis.
- Kennedy asserted that effective treatments were suppressed during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely referring to ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, as he has before. Multiple clinical trials have shown that neither drug improved outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
- He falsely suggested that COVID-19 vaccines don’t protect children from the virus, asking Bash to cite “one study that shows that children were protected.” Multiple studies have shown that vaccination reduces the odds of infection and severe disease among children and adolescents.
- Kennedy said he has “never questioned the efficacy of the MMR,” or measles, vaccine. But on a few occasions, he has suggested the vaccine wasn’t that effective or that it wasn’t necessary.
- He brought up an unproven link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism. While some studies have found an association, they don’t establish causation, and a growing number of studies point away from acetaminophen as a cause of autism.
- Kennedy misleadingly said that scientists have not tested vaccines other than the MMR vaccine for autism. Scientists have tested many vaccines while investigating specific hypotheses for how the shots might cause autism. None of the studies has shown any credible link.
We sent HHS several questions about Kennedy’s claims, but we haven’t received a response.
