A prominent pediatrician told CNN Friday that trying to explain the science behind autism to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was "an exercise in frustration" that did not stop Kennedy from spreading anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
Dr. Peter Hotez with Texas Children's Hospital, who is often consulted on the science behind vaccines, said he was asked by the National Institutes of Health in 2017 to set Kennedy straight on the issue.
We embarked on long cell phone discussions, and then it reverted to emails. It was mediated by a third individual. And, he didn't seem very interested in the science to me, because I would go through all of these things, and I would explain the genetic basis of autism.
We have over 100 autism genes now. We have the gene, for instance, for my daughter Rachel's autism and intellectual disability. So autism is a series of neurodevelopmental processes that begin before a baby's born, before a baby ever sees a vaccine. And then they continue to to accelerate.
Interestingly, I did mention to him, because he did have a history as being an environmental attorney, "By the way, there are medications if you take them early in pregnancy, they could affect the autism genes and cause conditions that resemble autism after birth." For instance, valproic acid, an anti-seizure medication, does that, if you give it early in pregnancy. And he had no interest in that. He kept pushing the fake vaccine narratives. So, I found it an exercise in frustration. I guess he was frustrated with me, as well.
RFK Jr. was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to head up the Department of Health and Human Services in the new administration. In his Person of the Year interview, TIME reported that Trump drew "false links between vaccines and autism" and said he would have "big discussions" about it with Kennedy.
This week, a lawyer helping Kennedy select top health officials to serve with HHS, petitioned the Federal Drug Administration to revoke approval of the polio vaccine.
"We've got polio in the wastewater in New York state in 2022," Hotez said earlier in the CNN interview. "So this is a very fragile vaccine ecosystem, and these illnesses can come roaring back. And it's all based on nonsense. "