Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary cleared a key Senate committee today.
Should Big Pharma be worried? Analysts believe it bodes poorly for vaccine makers. But Pfizer (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla said he doesn’t think so, in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
In fact, he said that RFK’s views on vaccines are not as radical as publicly perceived.
And he isn’t the only one to have had closed-door meetings with RFK and left with the same conclusion. Bourla said that he met with Kennedy and President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago prior to Trump taking office. Trump brought up the topic of vaccines.
“Mr. Kennedy had very modest views. So, he tempered his views on vaccines, at least in our discussions, very much. If he will do things to try and undermine the capability of vaccines, I think the medical community, the payers … will all oppose him,” Bourla told Yahoo Finance.
That has already been the case. Kennedy became a controversial Trump pick last year when he was first nominated for the position of HHS secretary, spurring opposition campaigns from doctor and science groups alike. Despite his past actions against the medical and science communities, including lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, Bourla and others who have had closed-door discussions with RFK and Trump are swayed to back him. That includes Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who voted to support RFK’s nomination after several meetings, despite having concerns as a physician with 30 years’ experience and a clear understanding of the value of vaccines.
But the hazards of rescinding childhood vaccine recommendations appear to be a key reason why RFK may be publicly trying to establish a more moderate tone.
Trump “doesn’t want another health crisis in one of his terms,” Bourla said.
That was evident during the confirmation hearings in both the Senate Finance as well as Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committees, where RFK claimed he would support the childhood vaccine schedule.
But he also declined numerous opportunities to declare vaccines safe and effective and denounce the claim that vaccines cause autism — despite ample evidence to the contrary. When asked by Sen. Bernie Sanders if the COVID-19 vaccine saved millions of lives, RFK said he didn’t know.
“I don’t know, we don’t have a good surveillance system, unfortunately. I don’t think anybody can say that. If you show me the science that says that…” Kennedy replied, before being cut off by Sanders’ retort that he should know the science himself, since he’s applying for the job.
