It was, in fact, Robert F Kennedy Jr, now an icon of vaccine distrust, who attempted to halt COVID-19 vaccinations in 2021, shortly after vaccinations were initiated. It was when the pandemic had just reached its peak and thousands of people were still dying from it that Kennedy petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to rescind emergency use authorizations for the shots. He further demanded that the approval of all future COVID vaccines be put on hold.
The petition, which was filed on behalf of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense that Kennedy founded and led, claimed that the dangers of the vaccines outweighed the benefits. He argued that instead of the vaccines, alternative treatments for COVID-19, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine drugs that then-President Donald Trump endorsed, should be given priority. These alternative treatments, however, have since been dispelled by experts in public health; on the other hand, vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna saved millions of lives by being proved effective against reducing the virus’s severity.
Kennedy’s request follows President Trump’s statement of FDA approval of the vaccines by Operation Warp Speed, a $20 billion initiative from the administration to fast-track vaccine production. The views that Kennedy holds on vaccination would be central to his confirmation process in the Senate, where he will be questioned about his anti-vaccination inclinations.
In related news, another pro-vaccine advocate, Bill Gates, also spoke about insights from a dinner recently shared with Trump, portraying the president-elect as open to the idea of accelerating vaccine development. Gates discussed global health concerns and breakthroughs in vaccine innovation, including attempts to eradicate polio, where there are distinct views on health policy.
