Covidiots

The Hill reports: The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to end debate on Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a key step that puts him on the precipice of confirmation later this week. The 53-47 vote came as Democrats have been forcing Republicans to use up all debate time on President …

The Washington Post reports: A Senate panel voted Tuesday to narrowly advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the nation’s health agencies. Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist seeking to run the Department of Health and Human Services, has been the focus of an intense lobbying campaign, with public health leaders calling him a …

Mediaite reports: A woman who worked with the anti-vaccine nonprofit run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused him of sexual misconduct and was paid a nearly $1 million settlement as part of a nondisclosure agreement in late 2020, multiple sources told Mediaite. In recent days, Kennedy admitted under questioning from Senate Democrats to two misconduct claims against him, which he …

The Associated Press reports: Samoa’s top health official on Monday denounced as “a complete lie” remarks that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made during his bid to become U.S. health secretary, rejecting his claim that some who died in the country’s 2019 measles epidemic didn’t have the disease. “We don’t know what was killing them,” Kennedy said during tense U.S. Senate …

The Associated Press reports: A letter submitted to the U.S. Senate that states it was sent by physicians in support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services includes the names of doctors who have had their licenses revoked, suspended or faced other discipline, The Associated Press has found. The letter was meant to lend …

Bernie Sanders: “There have been, as I understand it, dozens of studies done all over the world that make it very clear that vaccines do not cause autism. Now, you just said, if I heard correctly, well, if the evidence is there. The evidence is there! That’s it. Vaccines do not cause autism. Do you agree with that?” Robert Kennedy: …

ABC News reports: Chairman Bill Cassidy, a Republican, kicked off Thursday’s hearing by saying he agrees with Kennedy’s view on the need to tackle ultra-processed food and its impact on Americans’ health. But he quickly admitted he has some concerns about his nomination. “It’s no secret I have some reservations about your past positions on vaccines and COVID issues,” the …

The New York Times reports: In a tense exchange with Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. displayed a surprising lack of familiarity with Medicare and Medicaid, the government programs responsible for covering more than 150 million Americans. At times, Mr. Kennedy seemed to confuse the two programs. Medicare is a federal program that provides coverage to …

The New York Times reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose antipathy toward vaccines has raised alarms among health experts and galvanized the “medical freedom” movement, will testify Wednesday at the first of two Senate committee hearings as he seeks to become the nation’s health secretary. Until now, Mr. Kennedy has had only closed-door meetings with senators. His appearance Wednesday before …

“The two candidates I helped elect, Senator Raphael Warnock and Senator Jon Ossoff, please know I will be watching your votes very closely. I will make it my personal mission that you lose your seats in the Senate if you vote against the future health of America’s children. “And more than that, I also want to say to Senators Mitch …

Mother Jones reports: In the early 2010s, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went through a contentious divorce with his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy. It was ugly. Richardson had found a diary RFK Jr. kept that chronicled multiple extramarital affairs he had engaged in—possibly numbering in the dozens—and she was enraged and tormented by his infidelity. She was drinking and racked …

The New York Times reports: Caroline Kennedy wrote a letter to key senators on Tuesday, calling her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a “predator” who is addicted to the attention he gets from airing dangerous views on vaccinations. She called on lawmakers to reject his nomination. She cited his lack of experience, misinformed views on vaccines and personal attributes. In …

From the New York Post editorial board: On Thursday, Senate hearings begin on RFK Jr.’s nomination as secretary for Health and Human Services. But nothing has changed about Kennedy from last spring. He’s still a radical left lunatic who is anti-energy, a “big time” taxer and completely incoherent about our nation’s health. No Republican can vote for this guy. No …

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: Most troubling is his long record of anti-vaccine advocacy. In the past he has claimed that the measles vaccine causes autism despite reams of studies that have found no causative link, and that the polio vaccine might have killed many more than the actual virus. Deadly infectious diseases disappeared because of better hygiene, …

Fox News reports: President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to reinstate service members booted from the military for declining to get COVID-19 vaccine jabs, according to the White House. Those reinstated will be returned to their prior rank, and be provided back pay and benefits. The White House fact sheet indicates that just 43 of the over 8,000 …

The Washington Post reports: The CIA said Saturday that it now favors a Chinese laboratory leak as the mostly likely origin of the coronavirus pandemic, the latest development in the still-simmering debate over the virus and the nation’s response. Several other intelligence agencies continue to favor the natural-origin theory, and there is no evidence SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic, …

The Daily Beast reports: President Donald Trump has decided to put all federal health agencies on hold until his Department of Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gets his confirmation hearing. The Washington Post reported that dozens of current staffers have been instructed to halt all external communications, including health advisories, social media posts, publishing of …

Reuters reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. played an instrumental role in organizing mass litigation against drugmaker Merck over its Gardasil vaccine, a strategy that faces its first test in a Los Angeles court next week, according to two attorneys close to the case and court filings. Kennedy awaits confirmation as U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. The role would …

The New York Times reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice to lead the nation’s health agencies, formally asked the Food and Drug Administration to revoke the authorization of all Covid vaccines during a deadly phase of the pandemic when thousands of Americans were still dying every week. Mr. Kennedy filed a petition with the F.D.A. in …

Radiology Business reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump first announced his HHS selection in November, with Kennedy slated to serve as the commander in chief’s principal advisor on all health matters. However, the Committee to Protect Health Care, a national advocacy organization, is now pushing lawmakers to derail his confirmation. The group had garnered signatures from more than 19,000 physicians as …