Are vaccines safe? The overwhelming scientific consensus is “Yes.” Despite the insistence of some that vaccines cause autism, the study claiming this has been thoroughly debunked on a repeated basis, year after year. Furthermore, vaccines are getting rid of horrible diseases like polio, strep throat and Ebola. However, the Trump administration believes there are still questions about vaccine safety and has appointed a vaccine skeptic to investigate them.
The Hill reports Robert Kennedy Jr. — who hails from America’s most prominent Democratic political family — will be leading a commission on vaccine safety. Trump, despite his tweets and the activity of the Trump foundation, is not in fact a member of the anti-vaxx movement. Instead, Trump has stated a belief that children receive too many vaccines too early in their lives, which qualifies him as a “slow vaxxer.”
Kennedy, however, despite no formal medical training, is against the use of the preservative thiomersal in vaccines, as he believes the mercury in it causes autism in children, and has held this belief for more than a decade. A Salon article written by Kennedy more than a decade ago alleged a government cover-up of the connection between thiomersal and autism, which required multiple corrections and was ultimately retracted in 2011.
Kennedy’s opinions on thiomersal are a moot point, although it has been cleared of these accusations by later research. Thiomersal is no longer used as a preservative, except in some flu shots. It is not clear, precisely, what Kennedy will be investigating in regard to vaccine safety, as the false science promoted as “proof” was based around thiomersal. Kennedy will hopefully provide guidance about the committee at a later date.
(Via The Hill)