RFK Jr. Doesn't Actually Believe Germs Are Real, Which Seems Like Terrible News For Everyone Going On A Cruise This Year
Gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships hit a 12-year high in 2024, and 2025 has been even worse, with cruise lines seeing an entire year's worth of outbreaks in only the first quarter of the year. So it was hard to understand why Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. decided it was the perfect time to get rid of the people at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who investigate outbreaks and ensure cruise ships are properly sanitized, especially with a new Norovirus strain running rampant. Now it all makes sense, though — RFK doesn't believe germs are real.
That's a serious claim, and we have so much evidence that germs cause disease, you probably don't have a category in your brain for a real person in real life who actually believes germ theory is wrong, much less the person in charge of our nation's health. And yet, as Ars Technica recently pointed out, that claim is based on RFK's own words that he published in his book The Real Anthony Fauci. You just have to look at the Miasma vs. Germ Theory section of the chapter he titled "The White Man's Burden." Yikes. On so many levels.
Read more: These Should Be The Next Mail Trucks When The Post Office Gets Privatized
In that chapter, Kennedy wrote, "'Miasma theory' emphasizes preventing disease by fortifying the immune system through nutrition and by reducing exposures to environmental toxins and stresses," which, as Ars Technica also pointed out, also demonstrates a misunderstanding of the long-debunked miasma theory that disease is caused by "noxious mists and vapors." Apparently, according to Kennedy, germ theory wasn't based on actual evidence but instead got popular because it "[mimicked] the traditional explanation for disease—demon possession—giving it a leg up over miasma."
By embracing germ theory, Kennedy argued doctors wrongly began to focus on "the pharmaceutical paradigm that emphasized targeting particular germs with specific drugs rather than fortifying the immune system through healthy living, clean water, and good nutrition." Kennedy has also bemoaned the "$1 trillion pharmaceutical industry pushing patented pills, powders, pricks, potions, and poisons, and the powerful professions of virology and vaccinology led by 'Little Napoleon' himself, Anthony Fauci, fortify the century-old predominance of germ theory."
Independent journalist Talia Lavin also posted a screenshot (embedded above) from the chapter, where Kennedy claimed Louis Pasteur, aka the "father of microbiology," made a deathbed confession that he'd been wrong about germ theory. The source of that claim? A book titled Virus Mania that also claimed Ebola, bird flu and hepatitis don't actually exist, either. Again, the top health official in the U.S. wrote this stuff in his own book, and you can probably check it out at your local library if you're brave enough.
If Kennedy doesn't actually believe that germs make you sick, then his decision to fire the health officials in charge of the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program and gut the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice finally makes sense. He isn't worried about Norovirus outbreaks because he doesn't believe the Norovirus is real.
"I thought 'it now all makes sense'... I mean, it all adds up," Children's Hospital of Philadelphia pediatrician and infectious disease expert Paul Offit told Ars Technica after reading the chapter in question. "It's so unbelievable, because you can't imagine that someone who's the head of Health and Human Services doesn't believe that specific viruses or bacteria cause specific diseases, and that the prevention or treatment of them is lifesaving."
Unfortunately for everyone involved, while you can and probably should avoid cruises for the foreseeable future, our Health Secretary's unscientific belief that germs don't actually cause disease will likely have far worse consequences than a bunch of cruise-goers losing it from both ends up and down the ship. What's been described as a near-religious-level belief that everyone who disagrees with him is in the pocket of Big Pharma--pushing the theory that germs make you sick so they can get rich--is a threat to modern medicine and health in this country, as well as across the world.
Are clean air, regular exercise, and a healthy diet that includes a variety of vegetables important? Absolutely. But germs are still real, people still actually suffer and die from the diseases germs cause, and it's almost beyond comprehension that someone who doesn't believe in something as foundational as germ theory is our country's top health official. And yet, somehow, it's true.
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Chicago Tribune
15 hours ago
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. dismissing experts creates deadly vaccine hesitancy
Since 1964, pediatricians have looked to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to provide evidence-based recommendations regarding childhood vaccines. We represent more than 80 years of experience as pediatricians in Nashville and have benefitted from ACIP throughout our careers. On June 9, our clinic days were disrupted by the news that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had dismissed all 17 ACIP members. These members are academic clinicians, epidemiologists, immunologists and infectious disease experts. Their service was driven not by money or fame, but by a commitment to the collective health of Americans. ACIP meetings were transparent, being broadcast live and then archived on YouTube, while agendas were posted well in advance of each meeting. The public could request to ask questions at meetings as well as review slide decks that were presented. Kennedy's implication that he was reconstructing the committee to prevent conflicts of interest is far from the truth. In order to preserve objectivity and limit corporate influence on their recommendations, ACIP members already disclose any potential conflict of interest in advance. If a member has a potential conflict, they are not permitted to participate in vaccine discussions, or to vote on that vaccine or any vaccine that a company might bring before ACIP – even if that member didn't work on that specific vaccine. Opinion: As a doctor, I know it will take more than dietary changes to Make America Healthy Again Kennedy also implied that ACIP only ever adds vaccines to the schedule, acting as a rubber stamp for industry. But ACIP recommendations came after analyzing evidence and weighing the benefits and risks. The 1972 decision to stop vaccinating for smallpox was a significant and very well-informed move, reflecting an in-depth understanding of both the science and the broader public health context. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. The 2016 recommendation to reduce the number of doses for the HPV vaccine also shows that ACIP actively engaged in fine-tuning vaccination schedules based on the latest research, rather than to increase industry profits. It's crucial for these bodies to make decisions based on science, not external pressures or adherence to a certain ideology. As pediatricians, we have seen patients die from vaccine-preventable diseases. Our pediatric forefathers cared for children in iron lungs due to paralytic polio. Opinion: Please stop letting RFK Jr. make vaccine policies. His new COVID plan is deadly. Kennedy has planted the seeds of the anti-vaccination movement for more than two decades, despite evidence that contradicts his falsehoods. Due to the vaccine hesitancy and refusal he promotes, we are once again seeing more children succumb to vaccine-preventable diseases in America. So far in 2025, we have had pediatric deaths from measles and whooping cough, not to mention more than 200 deaths from influenza. Those numbers will only escalate in the future. Kennedy's decision to eliminate trustworthy members of the ACIP fundamentally changes the nature of this committee. Institutional memory and the trust of physicians were obliterated in one fell swoop. We hold little hope that HHS can put a new trusted committee together in time for the next scheduled ACIP meeting Jun 25-26, given Kennedy's preference for conspiracy theorists and other unqualified people. Through our careers as community pediatricians, we have been blessed by the opportunity to partner with wonderful families who desire what is best for their children. We fervently hope this relationship will be the most important factor when families make decisions regarding vaccinating their children. We call on our elected officials to reinstate the ACIP members Kennedy dismissed and to empower them to continue their work to limit damage from infectious diseases. Doing so will actually help make Americans healthier. James Keffer, MD; Chetan R Mukundan, MD; Jill Obremsky, MD; Elizabeth Triggs, MD; and David Wyckoff, MD, are local pediatricians practicing in different settings around Nashville. This column originally appeared in The Tennessean. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Kennedy's vaccine rhetoric puts children's health at risk | Opinion
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
RFK Jr. dismissing experts creates deadly vaccine hesitancy
Kennedy has long planted the seeds of vaccine hesitancy, despite evidence that contradicts his falsehoods. Now we are once again seeing more children succumb to vaccine-preventable diseases. Since 1964, pediatricians have looked to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to provide evidence-based recommendations regarding childhood vaccines. We represent more than 80 years of experience as pediatricians in Nashville and have benefitted from ACIP throughout our careers. On June 9, our clinic days were disrupted by the news that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had dismissed all 17 ACIP members. These members are academic clinicians, epidemiologists, immunologists and infectious disease experts. Their service was driven not by money or fame, but by a commitment to the collective health of Americans. ACIP meetings were transparent, being broadcast live and then archived on YouTube, while agendas were posted well in advance of each meeting. The public could request to ask questions at meetings as well as review slide decks that were presented. ACIP worked to avoid member conflicts of interest Kennedy's implication that he was reconstructing the committee to prevent conflicts of interest is far from the truth. In order to preserve objectivity and limit corporate influence on their recommendations, ACIP members already disclose any potential conflict of interest in advance. If a member has a potential conflict, they are not permitted to participate in vaccine discussions, or to vote on that vaccine or any vaccine that a company might bring before ACIP – even if that member didn't work on that specific vaccine. Opinion: As a doctor, I know it will take more than dietary changes to Make America Healthy Again Kennedy also implied that ACIP only ever adds vaccines to the schedule, acting as a rubber stamp for industry. But ACIP recommendations came after analyzing evidence and weighing the benefits and risks. The 1972 decision to stop vaccinating for smallpox was a significant and very well-informed move, reflecting an in-depth understanding of both the science and the broader public health context. The 2016 recommendation to reduce the number of doses for the HPV vaccine also shows that ACIP actively engaged in fine-tuning vaccination schedules based on the latest research, rather than to increase industry profits. It's crucial for these bodies to make decisions based on science, not external pressures or adherence to a certain ideology. Kennedy creates vaccine hesitancy that lead to childhood diseases As pediatricians, we have seen patients die from vaccine-preventable diseases. Our pediatric forefathers cared for children in iron lungs due to paralytic polio. Opinion: Please stop letting RFK Jr. make vaccine policies. His new COVID plan is deadly. Kennedy has planted the seeds of the anti-vaccination movement for more than two decades, despite evidence that contradicts his falsehoods. Due to the vaccine hesitancy and refusal he promotes, we are once again seeing more children succumb to vaccine-preventable diseases in America. So far in 2025, we have had pediatric deaths from measles and whooping cough, not to mention more than 200 deaths from influenza. Those numbers will only escalate in the future. Kennedy's decision to eliminate trustworthy members of the ACIP fundamentally changes the nature of this committee. Institutional memory and the trust of physicians were obliterated in one fell swoop. We hold little hope that HHS can put a new trusted committee together in time for the next scheduled ACIP meeting Jun 25-26, given Kennedy's preference for conspiracy theorists and other unqualified people. Through our careers as community pediatricians, we have been blessed by the opportunity to partner with wonderful families who desire what is best for their children. We fervently hope this relationship will be the most important factor when families make decisions regarding vaccinating their children. We call on our elected officials to reinstate the ACIP members Kennedy dismissed and to empower them to continue their work to limit damage from infectious diseases. Doing so will actually help make Americans healthier. James Keffer, MD; Chetan R Mukundan, MD; Jill Obremsky, MD; Elizabeth Triggs, MD; and David Wyckoff, MD, are local pediatricians practicing in different settings around Nashville. This column originally appeared in The Tennessean.
