Trump said this week that he would discuss ending child vaccination programs with Bob Kennedy, the whackadoodle health nut and anti-vaccine activist he wants to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Via Salon:
Asked if he would approve of any decision by Kennedy to end vaccination programs — insofar as he has that power, which is largely delegated to the states — Trump cited autism as a reason why he might. "We're going to have a big discussion," he said. "The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it." His administration would get rid of some vaccinations if "I think it's dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial," Trump added.
Trump and Kennedy have long invoked a connection between autism and vaccines, even though studies continue to show there is none; most experts believe there are statistically more autistic individuals now than before because of improved diagnostic practices.
Many of the claims that vaccines cause autism can be traced back to a retracted 1998 study in The Lancet that has been widely discredited by subsequent research. Their debunked views on a range of medical topics — and Trump's promises to listen to Kennedy's counsel — have alarmed the scientific community over the possible implications on people's health and safety.
