RFK's 'Show Me the Data' Game
Thursday, February 06, 2025
Former Vice President Mike Pence correctly states "RFK's hearings remove all doubt: He's not fit to lead a key federal health agency," in an editorial for which my only criticism is that it doesn't go far enough.
While it is true that Kennedy's views about vaccines are enough alone to disqualify him, Pence makes a common, wrong concession in his argument:
True, he does support some worthwhile lifestyle changes that can make folks healthier -- like better diets and exercise.Does he really understand, let alone support the "good parts?" I'm not so sure.
But there's too much wackiness in his background to trust America's health to such a figure.
I happen to know, for example, that Kennedy advocates "sustainable" agricultural policies that would lead to famine if implemented consistently for very long. He also rails against "ultra-processed" foods without ever defining the term, and as an advocate of the nanny state, would happily take the decision to avail ourselves of such convenience out of our hands.
But let's set that aside for a moment, and even grant that he has a few suggestions about diet and exercise that would promote health, if practiced: He does, after all, look pretty good for someone his age.
The below, which he says about vaccines, would make me hesitant to take advice of any kind from him:
"Will you reassure mothers -- unequivocally and without qualification -- that the measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism?" the would-be HHS boss was asked.This is not someone who actually cares about "the data" on vaccine safety, of which there is an overwhelming amount, all freely available.
"If you show me data, I will be the first person to assure the American people that they need to take those vaccines," he responded.
Uh, has he heard of Google? [bold added]
And if he's going to ignore this data, while pretending to be receptive to it, why should we believe he approaches anything else differently? Anything "good" coming from his mouth will be by chance, and in spite of the way his mind normally functions.
Some people do compartmentalize, but for a post with so much influence, we need someone who is as rational as possible across the board.
Kennedy is not only obviously wrong about vaccines, his whole approach to science is suspect, and disqualifies him from possessing authority over even a small part of HHS.
-- CAV
2 comments:
I've seen some interesting recent research that may indicate that vaccines (and, specifically, the aluminum adjutants used with some vaccines to produce lasting immunity) may actually have a contributory effect to the development of NDDs (neurodivergent disorders).
According to what I read, they have been able, recently, to establish a causal link between what is called a "maternal immune event" and later development of NDDs. Basically, when the fetus is in the womb, if the mother has a really powerful immune system reaction due to fighting off some nasty disease, this can cause permanent inflammation in the fetus's brain that later leads to the development of an NDD. They also discovered that strong immune system reactions in the young child can also have this effect.
Some other findings were that the aluminum adjutant added to some vaccines (such as, I believe, polio) can produce this kind of immune system reaction. In addition, they observed that macrophages responding to the inflammation will pick up the aluminum and carry it through the blood-brain barrier, which was previously thought to be impossible. When they examined the brains of people known to have had autism, they found extremely elevated levels of aluminum present.
This is interesting to me, because it's increasingly becoming clear that I have strong symptoms of BOTH ADHD and Autism, and I also had pneumonia twice before I was 1 year old, sick enough to be hospitalized.
I don't see this as anything against vaccines--hundreds of millions would have died without them. Perhaps some extra cases of ADHD/Autism/etc. are a small price to pay (although possibly quite large for any single person/family who has to deal with it, of course). But it does mean that there might be good ways in future to reduce the impact and frequency. You can't really do much about women getting sick while pregnant other than to inform them that they should do their best to avoid it, if possible. And there definitely is a genetic component, with some people being more susceptible than others.
I consider it interesting, but far from definitive. If someone is in a family where they know there's a susceptibility, it might be worth it to slow down the rate of vaccine exposure (and pursue options that don't contain aluminum).
I am not familiar enough with the relevant literatures to comment one way or the other regarding your reading of the research, although I am leery of many popular claims regarding the epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders, given that screening for them is relatively recent, and it is unclear to me how well-defined they are.
That said, it's worth noting that your speculation and conclusions differ in kind to what RFK does. (1) He persists in pushing the long-since discredited thimerosol-autism connection; (2) he often will claim that a vaccine (including for polio, IIRC!) takes more lives than it saves, and (3) has a very long record of casting doubt on the safety of vaccines, which is far different from what you are doing here. It is one thing to say that perhaps some people with known risk factors should avoid a vaccine; it is quite another to, for example, get people in Samoa to skip the measles shot entirely.
It should come as no surprise that he is a trial lawyer who sues vaccine makers. This is an enormous conflict of interest, and it should be noted that the standards for winning a tort case (hoodwinking a jury of laymen) are very different from establishing a causal connection between something like a vaccine ingredient and a serious side-effect through rigorous testing and peer review.
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