ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., the secretary of health and human services, made so many misleading or false statements during his testimony before the Senate Finance Committee last Thursday that it was genuinely difficult to keep track—but here are some of the biggest:
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He once again endorsed discredited claims about the dangers of immunization, reaffirming his belief that there is no such thing as a “safe and effective” vaccine.
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He denied making statements tying school shootings to the use of antidepressants, just weeks after announcing that the department would be investigating the association.
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He said anybody can still get COVID-19 shots, amid widespread reports from sixteen states where pharmacies confused by HHS guidance aren’t dispensing them without a prescription.
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And he said the impetus for his forcing Susan Monarez out as head of the CDC in late August was her confession, in a meeting, that she was untrustworthy.
That last claim was so implausible that a few of the aides sitting behind senators on the committee dais laughed. Others just stared in bewilderment, which was my reaction too.
But the Kennedy claim that really stuck with me was an argument he made in his opening statement, as a pre-emptive response to questions about the firing of Monarez and the subsequent resignation of four senior CDC scientists:
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