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Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Don't believe the hype: MAGA knows that RFK's "endorsement" of vaccines is phony
Reading mainstream media headlines over the weekend, one would think that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy has finally learned his lesson on vaccines. After a second child died in Texas due to a measles outbreak, Kennedy, a long-time opponent of the measles vaccine in particular, posted a statement on X declaring, "The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine." This was enough to trigger a cascade of laudatory coverage of Kennedy for meeting the bare minimum of common sense. "Kennedy announces support for measles vaccine amid outbreak," declared Politico's headline. Kennedy "advocated for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine during a visit to West Texas on Sunday," Axios reported. "RFK Jr. after Texas visit: MMR vaccine 'most effective' way to prevent measles spread," blared the USA Today headline. "Health secretary RFK Jr. endorses the MMR vaccine," exclaimed the NPR headline, with the enticing promise that this is "stoking fury among his supporters." Big, if true! But while Kennedy — or someone working for him — technically wrote those words down, those paying closer attention will notice that is not the message sent to the MAGA base by Kennedy's visit to Texas. If one looks past Kennedy's rote words to his actions, a much different picture emerges, and it becomes clear that he thinks vaccines are for weak, lazy parents. Superior parents, Kennedy suggests, toughen kids up by putting them through the measles instead. For one thing, Kennedy spent most of his time in Texas celebrating parents who refuse to vaccinate, highlighting how many kids they have who didn't follows efforts by Kennedy's anti-vaccine group, misnamed Children's Health Defense (CHD), to present parents of kids who die of measles as advocates for letting more kids die this way. After the first child died from this outbreak, CHD released an ad featuring the parents of the dead girl explaining why they're happy with their choices, because they believe "she's better off where she is now" and falsely claiming the disease made their surviving children stronger. (In reality, measles weakens the bodies — and especially immune systems — of its victims.) Kennedy continued the message by arguing that the Mennonites who refuse vaccination are "resilient, hardworking, resourceful, and God-loving people," with the unsubtle implication that people who do vaccinate are less virtuous. Kennedy also spent the trip pushing "healers" as an alternative to prevention, even though the practitioners he cited use dangerous "treatments" that don't work — such as overdosing kids with vitamin A — but are instead sending kids to the hospital with liver damage. If this playbook sounds familiar, it should. Donald Trump, who appointed Kennedy to HHS, used the same two-faced strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the same purpose: to trigger headlines portraying him as a responsible steward of public health, while signaling to his followers that they should reject the advice of medical experts. For those who have memory-holed that traumatic period, a short recap: In official channels, such as the White House briefing room or during interviews with respectable news outlets, Trump would playact a science-respecting leader, urging Americans to follow social distancing guidelines and wear masks. But on social media and in his personal behavior, he would mock masks, tout fake "cures," celebrate people who refused to follow public health measures and throw indoor rallies and parties. When he inevitably contracted COVID-19 pre-vaccination, he lied about how sick he was and dramatically flung off his mask on camera. Trump is a profoundly stupid man, but he is clever at being two-faced — a lifetime of practicing fraud will improve anyone's skills — so his strategy worked. The press dutifully reprinted his empty repetitions of the public health advice from experts. Meanwhile, the MAGA base heard his real opinion loud and clear. They dutifully followed his implied instructions to refuse all precautions. Even after he left office, the GOP base continued to show loyalty to Trump by risking sickness, usually by rejecting vaccinations. There's a sinister and probably accidental genius of this say-one-thing-do-another messaging strategy. Mainstream media, especially the kind that fancies itself "objective," prefer words over actions. What someone says can be quoted directly. A person's actions, however, can often have some plausible ambiguity that bad faith actors can exploit to muddy the waters. Kennedy's Texas trip is a good example. MAGA spinsters will read this article, for instance, and insist that I'm falsely interpreting the message of Kennedy's visit with the family, ignoring the fact that MAGA spinsters are in the mentions of that same post, praising his anti-vaccination message. But his empty pro-vaccine quote can be reprinted without getting into a quibble-fest with dishonest actors, making it a lot easier for journalists seeking that gold ring of "objectivity." The two-faced strategy also provides the advantage of allowing the MAGA leader to paint himself as a brave truth-teller being suppressed by the mysterious but all-powerful "deep state" forces out to get him. The MAGA audience understands that the pro-vaccine message is just what "they" are "forcing" Kennedy to say, and that his anti-vaccine gestures are his real message. That gives the anti-vaccine message an allure of "forbidden" knowledge, making it even more powerful than if he just came right out and said what he really thinks. Kennedy's anti-vaccination actions aren't just about messaging, though that is bad enough. In his role at HHS, he's been waging war on decades of federal efforts to maintain and improve vaccination rates. Kennedy-aligned leaders at the Centers for Disease Control suppressed a report showing vaccine refusals are behind the current measles outbreak. Programs at the Food and Drug Administration to roll out new vaccines — including one to make COVID-19 vaccines less painful — were cut. And Kennedy has ordered a "study" into the long-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism to be headed by a disgraced scientist who has peddled lies about vaccines for decades. Kennedy may not be able to take vaccines away entirely, but he can use his power to make them much harder to get. Kennedy's Texas trip is a terrible reminder of what a skilled propagandist he is. The message behind the trip was not "get vaccinated," no matter what the headlines say. It was about romanticizing vaccine refusal as courageous resistance against decadent, weak liberalism, which is about as fascist a framing as one can find. It was about normalizing children's deaths as necessary sacrifices for the MAGA cause. Whatever the mainstream media reports, the MAGA base gets Kennedy's message: don't vaccinate.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. Touts Bogus Measles Treatment Hours After Burying 8-Year-Old Child
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the work of two controversial 'healers' Sunday—just hours after advocating for vaccinations and attending the funeral of a child who died as part of a measles outbreak taking over Texas. Kennedy praised Dr. Richard Bartlett, who, according to CNN, has a history of using unconventional treatments and who was disciplined for 'unusual use of risk-filled medications' by the Texas Medical Board in 2003. While none of the patients at the time had measles, the Texas Medical Board found that Bartlett had misdiagnosed his patients and mismanaged their care. He was cleared to return to practice in 2005. Kennedy then touted the work of Dr. Ben Edwards, who, according to The New York Times, is a vocal antivaxxer and who has a 'wellness clinic' that dishes out vitamin C supplements and cod liver oil, both as a lemon-flavored drink and unflavored soft gels. In his latest X post, Kennedy was flanked by two families affected by the measles outbreak. 'In Seminole, Texas, with Jake and Tina Fehr whose 2-year-old daughter, Helena was just discharged after three weeks in the ICU, Peter and Eva Fehr whose daughter, Kayley, 6, passed in February, and Pete and Eva Hildebrand whose daughter, Daisy, 8, we buried this afternoon,' Kennedy wrote. 'I also visited with these two extraordinary healers, Dr. Richard Bartlett and Dr. Ben Edwards who have treated and healed some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children using aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin.' Kennedy went to Gaines County, he said, to comfort the family of 8-year-old Daisy Hildebrand, the second child in the U.S. to die from the outbreak that has swept 22 states. 'It was a heartbreaking day, but I felt so much warmth and love from the entire Mennonite community. I have bonded with many of these resilient, hardworking, resourceful, and God-loving people over the past three months and it was good to finally meet them in person,' Kennedy wrote. Hildebrand was unvaccinated and had no underlying health conditions, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement. She tested positive for measles and hospitalized, but passed away last Thursday from what the child's doctors described as 'measles pulmonary failure,' the statement read. Hildebrand's death marked the second death of a child in Texas since the beginning of the outbreak, which began in January. School-aged Kayley Fehr—who was also unvaccinated—died in February. Hildebrand's funeral took place on Sunday. Kennedy was spotted outside a Mennonite church where the services were held, but he did not speak at a later press conference. Instead, he wrote on X that, 'I came to Gaines County, Texas, today to comfort the Hildebrand family after the loss of their 8-year-old daughter Daisy... my intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief.' He added that he 'got to know the family of 6-year-old Kayley Fehr after she passed away in February. I also developed bonds with and deep affection for other members of this community during that difficult time.' Kennedy has been vocal for years about his opposition to vaccines. He has previously described vaccinations as a 'personal choice' and downplayed the severity of the current measles outbreak, describing it as 'not unusual.' Prior to this year, the U.S. had not recorded any measles-related deaths in a decade. 'It does cause deaths every year,' Kennedy said about the MMR vaccine to Sean Hannity on Fox News earlier this year. 'It causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, etcetera. And so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves.' Kennedy has also claimed that vitamin A and cod liver oil are effective treatments for measles. So bold were Kennedy's claims, they forced the American Medical Association to release a statement last month urging: 'As parents, our instinct is to do everything we can to keep our children safe. In the case of measles–a highly contagious disease that can cause severe health problems—that means getting your children vaccinated today. The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is extraordinarily safe and effective." However, Kennedy struck a different tone on Sunday, urging residents to get vaccinated. 'The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine. I've spoken to Governor Abbott, and I've offered HHS' continued support. At his request, we have redeployed CDC teams to Texas. We will continue to follow Texas' lead and to offer similar resources to other affected jurisdictions.'
