RFK Jr. Incorrectly Denies Past Remarks on Vaccine Safety and … – FactCheck.org

In a PBS NewsHour interview, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly denied previously saying that no vaccine is safe and effective. But Kennedy said exactly that on the Lex Fridman podcast in July.

Kennedy, who is a former Democrat, also repeated a favorite but incorrect talking point that vaccines are the only medical product that is allowed to get a license without engaging in safety tests. As weve writtenbefore, when detailing many of the misleading or false claims Kennedy has made about vaccines while on the campaign trail, all vaccines undergo safety testing prior to authorization or approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Kennedys false statements about his past comments on vaccines occurred about two-thirds of the way into aninterviewwith PBS NewsHour co-anchorAmna Nawaz, when he objected to her description of him being part of the anti-vaccine movement and having controversial views on vaccines.

Nawaz, Nov. 7: Let me ask you, if I may, let me ask you about a specific concern your family has expressed in the past, which is your controversial views on vaccines and being part of the anti-vaccine movement.

(Crosstalk)

Kennedy: Well, what are my views on vaccines?

Nawaz: Well, you have said previously that no vaccine is safe or effective, which is

(Crosstalk)

Kennedy: I have never said that.

Nawaz: You did say that in a podcast interview in July.

Kennedy: No, I never said that.

Nawaz: You did say that. There are quotes, and that recording is there.

Kennedy: You are wrong. And youre making something up.

Kennedy proceeded to deny saying no vaccine is safe and effective when he avoided answering Nawazs question of whether he believes in the statement.

Nawaz: So you do not believe the statement that no vaccine is safe and effective?

Kennedy: I never said that.

Nawaz: According to these reports and the recordings, you have, in a podcast interview in July.

(Crosstalk)

Kennedy: Thats the problem. If you are reading reports about me in the mainstream media, including this network, theyre almost all inaccurate.

Kennedy ended the exchange by asking for Nawaz to show him a statement, not evidence of a statement.

Kennedy, in fact, made the claim in a July episodeof the Lex Fridman podcast.

Fridman, July 6:Youve talked about that the media slanders you by calling you an anti-vaxxer, and youve said that youre not anti-vaccine, youre pro-safe vaccine. Difficult question: Can you name any vaccines that you think are good?

Kennedy:I think some of the live virus vaccines are probably averting more problems than theyre causing. Theres no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.

At the time, Fridman pushed Kennedy on the issue, noting that those were big words and asked about the polio vaccine. Kennedy then misleadingly suggested that the polio vaccines given to his generation caused cancer despite no evidence that this is true.

Kennedy:The polio vaccine contained a virus called simian virus 40, SV40. Its one of the most carcinogenic materials that is known to man. In fact, its used now by scientists around the world to induce tumors in rats and guinea pigs in labs. But it was in that vaccine 98 million people who got that vaccine, and my generation got it, and now youve had this explosion of soft tissue cancers in our generation that killed many, many, many, many more people than polio ever did.

So if you say to me, The polio vaccine, was it effective against polio? Im going to say, Yes. And if you say to me, Did it kill more people did it caused more death than averted? I would say, I dont know, because we dont have the data on that.

As weveexplainedbefore, a portion but not all of the approximately 100 million Americans vaccinated between 1955 and 1963 for polio received vaccines that were contaminated with SV40. But the virus, which causes cancer in rodents, has not been shown to cause cancer in humans. And there isnt evidence that people who were vaccinated developed cancer at a higher rate than those who were not.

In the course of denying his past statements in the PBS NewsHour interview, Kennedy also repeated a go-to line about vaccine safety testing.

Im happy to say that my views are that vaccines should be tested, like all other medications are tested. They should have placebo-controlled trials prior to licensure, he said. Its the only medical product, the only medical product or medical device that is allowed to get a license without engaging in safety tests.

This is incorrect or misleading on several fronts, as weve explainedbefore. All vaccinesundergo safety testingprior to authorization or approval. But just as with drugs the safety tests do not have to be placebo-controlled trials that use water or saline as a placebo.

There are valid scientific and ethical reasons not to use placebos, such as when debuting a newer version of an existing vaccine. Moreover, numerous vaccines most notably theCOVID-19 shots were in fact tested in placebo-controlled trials.

After authorization or approval, vaccine safety continues to be monitored, as no medical product is 100% safe, and even very large trials may not be able to detect rare side effects. This ensures the benefits of a vaccine outweigh the risks.

Editors note: SciChecks articles providing accurate health information and correcting health misinformation are made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.orgs editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.

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RFK Jr. Incorrectly Denies Past Remarks on Vaccine Safety and ... - FactCheck.org