OPINION:
The Washington Times published two opinions in recent days that engaged in not-so-subtle attacks on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his policies regarding vaccines (“Trump’s health team must rebuild trust without fueling vaccine hysteria” Web, Aug. 13 and “Kennedy’s dismantling of vaccine policy risks lives,” Web, Aug. 14).
Both pieces stress the fear of a health crisis if vaccines are hampered in any way, with the latter going so far as to accuse Mr. Kennedy of disinformation and hiring ideologues.
Let’s look at the “horrendous measles outbreak” given as the reason in both op-eds as the reason why we must stop questioning the efficacy of all vaccines. After all, according to the second piece, we have just had the worst measles epidemic in 33 years! The record shows, however, that so far this year there have been 1,356 confirmed cases of measles in 40 states. Neither op-ed mentions this relatively insignificant number.
Let’s compare the number to the record on vaccines. According to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, in the U.S. there have been more than 1 million adverse reactions from the COVID-19 vaccine, thousands of deaths and thousands of permanent disabilities. These numbers are far higher than the adverse reaction, death and permanent disability numbers from other vaccines.
What action were the victims able to take? None. Our government provided blanket immunity for the manufacturers. There is a special “court” that handles claims for vaccine injuries, but very few have been approved in the past decade. No other product in America has that protection. (Imagine the money Ford would have saved if it could have used that immunity for the manufacture of its Pinto in the 1970s.)
Yes, vaccines have saved lives when it’s come to smallpox, polio, etc. But the pharmaceutical companies have been pumping out too many vaccines too fast, with no reason to be careful concerning harmful side effects. Worse, the federal government has not protected Americans from dangerous vaccines. That’s is the problem Mr. Kennedy is attempting to correct and why he is being attacked.
GREGORY MCCARTHY
Rancho Palos Verdes, California
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