Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Study Possible Link Between Childhood Vaccines and Autism as HHS Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said on Dec. 8 that he will give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the freedom to investigate the potential link between vaccines and autism if the latter gains Senate confirmation to become Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Kennedy has said for years that autism is likely tied to childhood vaccines.

He was nominated to serve as HHS secretary by Trump last month and has promised sweeping changes to agencies under the HHS, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In the Dec. 8 interview with Meet The Press, Trump noted that autism cases have increased in recent decades. When asked if Kennedy would explore the issue, Trump said he is “open to anything.”

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“When you look at some of the problems, when you look at what’s going on with disease and sickness in our country, something’s wrong,” Trump said.

“I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.”

Fighting chronic disease, improving children’s health, and addressing corporate influence on government agencies were vital parts of Kennedy’s campaign platform when he ran for president as a Democrat and then as an independent.

Under the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, Kennedy intends to curtail what he calls the chronic disease epidemic by addressing the so-called “corporate capture” of federal health agencies and removing toxic chemicals from the nation’s food supply, among other objectives.

Leading to announcing his presidential bid in April 2023, Kennedy was chairman of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization devoted to removing toxic exposures that harm children and promoting vaccine safety.

The World Mercury Project became Children’s Health Defense in 2018. The organization’s four pillars include advocacy, education, litigation, and science.

“One of my most important priorities is to have the agencies I oversee provide better access to minority scientific and public policy views,” he wrote.

“I promise you and the members of CHD to bring a new openness and inclusion to the health and science part of the government, both in receiving input from the public and all stakeholders, and disseminating information and the data collected by these agencies.”

Several Republicans have praised Trump’s move to nominate Kennedy as HHS secretary.

Some critics opposed the nomination because they considered Kennedy to be anti-vaccine or anti-science—characterizations that Kennedy has said are not true.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) called Kennedy a conspiracy theorist and said that “he will destroy our public health infrastructure and our vaccine distribution systems.”

Peter G. Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement that the center “opposes this nomination“ and that ”nominating an anti-vaxxer like Kennedy to HHS is like putting a Flat Earther at the head of NASA.”

Kennedy has consistently said that he isn’t against vaccines and that he advocates vaccine safety and informed consent.

For parents and vaccine safety advocates like MaryJo Perry and Scott Shoemaker, extensively studying potential links between childhood vaccines and autism is long overdue.

“I don’t understand the hysteria over his plan to thoroughly study the issue and finally settle it,” said Perry, who is president of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights. “Why would anyone be afraid of knowing the truth?”

Shoemaker’s son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 15 months, and he said he reversed the condition by removing toxic metal poisoning.

“Shouldn’t we as parents want to know whether or not what we are allowing to go into our children’s bodies is safe?” said Shoemaker, who is president of Health Freedom Ohio.

“My son had an MMR shot. He was in bed for two weeks when he got home. At the time, I wasn’t concerned because the doctor said before the shot that some kids have problems with it and they might feel sick,” Shoemaker said.

“He was different after the shot. He didn’t talk or look us in the eye. It was hard to get his attention. I experienced what most parents of vaccine-injured children experience from medical professionals. We are gaslit and told they don’t know what caused the autism, but it’s not the vaccines that caused the problem.”

Signed by President Ronald Reagan, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986 eliminated potential liability of vaccine manufacturers because of vaccine injury claims. Perry and Shoemaker would like to see pharmaceutical companies held liable if their products injure recipients. They also hope that, under Kennedy, the CDC’s vaccine schedule is addressed.

“That needs to happen,” Perry told The Epoch Times. “There is no liability and no accountability for pharmaceutical companies. That needs to change.”

Perry said that she believes no vaccine should be mandated.

“If it’s good and safe, parents will use it. You won’t have to coerce parents if it’s good and safe,” she said.

Shoemaker agrees.

“The bottom line is we want the truth. We want safe products for our kids. We don’t want big pharma to just say vaccines are safe and effective and they can’t show non-partisan studies,” he said.

“We’re told by government agencies that the science is settled, but that is contrary to the purpose of science—to test, retest, study, and evolve.”

Shoemaker said Kennedy is the right person to bring the changes parents like him would like to see.

“He is not tied to big pharma. He just wants the truth and he is someone who is not afraid to do what is needed to get to the truth,” Shoemaker said.

Kennedy will face confirmation hearings with the Senate Finance Committee, which is scheduled to be led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The full Senate will vote on his nomination if he is approved by that panel.

Kennedy said he believes little will change until the influence of giant or private corporations on the FDA, the CDC, and the Department of Agriculture is addressed.

During an interview with The Epoch Times last year, he explained his stance.

“I’ve never been anti-vaccine. People should have choice, and that choice should be informed by the best information possible,“ he said. ”I’m going to ensure that there are science-based safety studies available and people can make their own assessments about whether a vaccine is good for them.”