Elizabeth Warren Would Like To Know If RFK Jr. Thinks 'Nutrition' Is A Substitute For Vaccines
He said as much in an op-ed published this weekend.
This weekend, Fox News published an op-ed from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in which the longtime anti-vaxxer and current secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services appeared to take a more nuanced view of the MMR vaccine in light of the recent measles outbreak in Texas that recently led to the death of an unvaccinated school-aged child.
“All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine. The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” he wrote, which was not great, but a slight improvement over “VaCcIneS cAuSE AutIsM!”
But given the seriousness of the outbreak — and the fact that some families are even responding to it by holding measles parties — it’s not enough. Especially since Kennedy also stated that “Good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses. Vitamins A, C, and D, and foods rich in vitamins B12, C, and E should be part of a balanced diet.”
And you know what? Elizabeth Warren was not impressed. The op-ed inspired the senator to write RFK Jr. a letter in which she accused him of already not living up to the promises he made in his confirmation hearing to “maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [(ACIP)] without changes” and to “base vaccine recommendations on data-driven, evidence-based, and medically sound research.”
Specifically, Warren pointed out that he has “already begun planning to replace members of ACIP” and postponed their first scheduled meeting with him; that he “cancelled the next meeting of the Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC)” at which they were meant to discuss what strains of the flu should be included in next year’s flu vaccine; and that he had already announced that the HHS is considering pulling funding for a bird flu vaccine.
She also, clearly, was not too fond of his op-ed, saying that it “failed to contain a strong call for vaccination, undercutting any support by noting that ‘parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine,’ and that ‘the decision to vaccinate is a personal one.’
Eating healthy is great, but it’s obviously not a viable alternative to vaccines. Were that the case, it seems unlikely that the virus would be specifically spreading so much in Amish communities, where — shoofly pie aside — people eat a whole lot healthier than your average American. Clearly, healthy, organic foods are no substitute for actual vaccines.
True to her fashion, Warren also included a list of 10 questions and requested that Bobby Jr. answer her by March 10.
Here are some of the best:
1. In your March 2nd op-ed responding to the Texas measles outbreak, which has already killed one unvaccinated child, you failed to include a strong call for vaccinations. Instead, you claimed that “good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious diseases.” Do you believe good nutrition is a better defense against measles than the MMR vaccine?
2. Will you change course and tell American parents to vaccinate their children to protect against measles, yes or no? […]8. Why have you chosen to allow your “Make America Healthy Again” commission to investigate childhood vaccinations as a potential cause of chronic disease, given the lack of evidence for any link between vaccines and chronic disease?
9. Why have you directed HHS to reevaluate its contract with Moderna for a bird flu vaccine?
10. What impact will this reevaluation have on the availability of a vaccine in the event of a bird flu pandemic?
I think we would all enjoy hearing his answers to these questions, no?
It’s of of course unlikely that he will answer her, but if he doesn’t we will also have it on record that he failed to do so, which says about as much as it would if he actually did try to bullshit his way through the questions.
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!
Hey, you know what would be AWESOME, even beyond pushing the dumbness that "nutrition is your best defense against viruses?" Giving people the actual means to have nutritious food. But nah, that's "taker" talk and certainly the brainworm guy isn't gonna make waves over Elno's firing and cutting every single benefit to fight food insecurity. So yeah, measles... once again, another way to blame poor people for something both through false claims and over which they have no control.
Liz Warren would have made a damn fine President.