Fox News: Health experts prep Dem lawmakers on anti-vaccine arguments ahead of RFK Jr's confirmation hearings

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Health experts prep Dem lawmakers on anti-vaccine arguments ahead of RFK Jr's confirmation hearings

Public health experts answered questions from Democratic Senators about whether vaccines cause autism, whether manufacturers should be immune from liability for vaccine injuries, whether vaccines are adequately studied, and more, during a round table discussion about anti-vaccine "misinformation" ahead of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearings.......                    ...                        ...A group of Democratic senators previewed several anti-vaccine arguments during a roundtable discussion, including a claim that vaccines cause autism, several days before You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login scheduled confirmation hearings later this week.......Even though Kennedy's name was "not supposed" to come up during the hearing, according to at least one of the health experts present at the discussion, his nomination to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was invoked frequently by lawmakers seeking answers about how to combat anti-vaccine claims and so-called "misinformation," including arguments about vaccines that Kennedy has promoted in the past.......One claim the senators asked the public health experts at the roundtable about was whether vaccines cause autism, a claim Kennedy has discussed publicly in interviews......."This is something that I hear a concern about quite a lot," Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., asked the panel. "What, if any information, can you give us to help us push back against that?" ......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......The doctors on the panel explained the lack of robust studies proving this link while highlighting the wide breadth of studies that have shown no links between vaccines and autism......."Academic researchers, pediatricians, scientists took that concern seriously enough to spend tens of millions of dollars to answer the question," said Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician with an expertise in virology and immunology. "The more impactful part of your question is how do you get that information out there, because frankly, once you've scared people it's hard to unscare them." ......Offitt added that since there is no clear cause of autism, it makes it harder to refute claims from Kennedy and others. Dr. Joshua Sharfstein of Johns Hopkins pointed lawmakers to preeminent medical authorities within the U.S., such as the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login as places they could go for evidence that vaccines do not cause autism.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......The Democratic group of lawmakers, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who caucuses with You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login asked questions about, and learned ways to refute, other anti-vaccine claims, such as whether vaccine manufacturers are immune from being held accountable for vaccine injuries.......The experts pointed out the presence of a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program that allows certain vaccine injury victims to receive compensation from the government, but they suggested that if Kennedy upended the current system and opened up more companies to liability, it could potentially put vaccine manufacturers out of business.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......"Am I right that the HHS secretary has some discretion about removing You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login from that list [and opening them up to civil litigation] if they were to choose?" asked Sen. Time Kaine, D-Va. "Because if that were the case, I would obviously worry about – that would be one worry I would have and a set of questions I might like to ask people nominated for positions within HHS."......Other questions from lawmakers that the health experts helped answer included queries about how to distinguish between vaccine side effects versus vaccine complications, how to combat claims that vaccines are not studied enough, questions about how the government monitors the safety of vaccines, questions about how undermining vaccine efficacy can impact public health and more. ......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......Kennedy will face tough questions about his stance on vaccines this week during his You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login in front of both the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).......The chair of the Senate's HELP committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., called Kennedy You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login during an interview earlier this month. ......Democrats, meanwhile, have been more pointed about their criticism. During the roundtable discussion with public health experts, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called Kennedy "dangerous" and "unqualified" for the position of HHS secretary. ......"The bird flu, if it explodes, we're going to need to have some confidence, especially in those people who should be vaccinated, that they can trust the government when they say that it's safe, they can trust the medical community, and I'm just very afraid of Robert F. Kennedy's candidacy," Markey said. ......"Say goodbye to your smile and say hello to polio," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said after news of Kennedy's nomination to head HHS. "This is a man who wants to stop kids from getting their polio and measles shots. He's actually welcoming a return to polio, a disease we nearly eradicated."...

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