A Kennedy goes haywire on vaccines

America has had many political dynasties over the past 75 years. I recall the Browns in California and the Landrieu family in Louisiana. There are many others, but none can compare to the Kennedy family and the dominant role it has played in our nation’s history. Sadly, almost all of the well-known Kennedys are gone, with the exception of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his legacy has taken a dark turn from that of the rest of his famous family.
The Kennedys were known as activists who supported important causes, from the Special Olympics to health care for all. With his name, the son of the late Sen. Bobby Kennedy, who represented New York, could have gotten involved in dozens of worthwhile efforts that would be a continuation of decades of family good deeds. But instead, RFK Jr. has become the hero of the anti-vaccine movement, which is both puzzling and surprising.
He travels around the country, spreading his gospel that vaccinations are a threat to your health. According to The Boston Globe, Kennedy preaches, “the COVID vaccine is dangerous for your children.” He claims it is “criminal malpractice to give a child one of these vaccines.” He has also called the Covid jab “one of the deadliest vaccines ever made.”
And his fixation with vaccines isn’t limited to those created for the coronavirus. He argues, without proof, that vaccines in general are linked to autism, food allergies and a host of other medical problems. For many years he asserted that the inoculations for measles, mumps and rubella caused autism and other neurological disorders, and according to the Associated Press, he claims that public health officials “knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children.”
Kennedy is the darling of anti-vax groups all over the country, and is welcomed into the homes of the wealthy and influential, where he rails against the shots with no medical backup for virtually anything he says. He claims he is doing this as a public service, but his anti-vaccine foundation, Children’s Health Defense, recently reported more than $6.8 million on hand. Kennedy states that there is no profit motive for his ant-vaccine activity. When asked if he was being paid for his efforts, Kennedy told Fox’s Tucker Carlson, “I am getting unpaid for this.” But records show that in 2019, he earned $255,000 from the foundation.

Kennedy has used social media to spread his opinions, and has spent big dollars to back them up. His nonprofit is one of two buyers accounting for 54 percent of anti-vaccine content on Facebook. He has a large following on Facebook and Twitter, but his Instagram account was removed last year for “repeatedly sharing debunked claims about Covid vaccines.”
To add to the strangeness of Kennedy’s crusade, his 2021 book “The Real Anthony Fauci” promotes unproven Covid-19 treatments such as ivermectin, which is meant to treat parasites in animals, and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, and he claims that the current vaccines have never been safety tested, even though the Food and Drug Administration requires three phases of testing that involves thousands of people before a childhood vaccine is approved.
There is no shortage of stories about concerned parents who believe that all vaccinations are suspicious or dangerous. I do not challenge their beliefs. But considering the many positive paths that so many Kennedy family members have taken over the years, the one that RFK Jr. has taken is a disturbing one. He is a true believer in his misguided cause, but he bears no resemblance to his legendary late father.

Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? JKremer@liherald.com.