Washington Examiner – by Cassidy Morrison
Three Kennedys have rebuked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his fierce opposition to vaccinations and his help in spreading “dangerous misinformation over social media” about vaccine safety.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Maeve Kennedy McKean wrote in a Politico op-ed published Wednesday that while they support RFK Jr.’s crusade to save the environment, “however, on vaccines he is wrong. And his and others’ work against vaccines is having heartbreaking consequences.”
RFK Jr.’s sister Kathleen, a former lieutenant governor, his brother Joseph, a former congressman, and his niece Maeve, executive director of Georgetown University’s Global Health Initiatives, wrote that he is complicit “in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines” amid cases of measles rising at an alarming rate.
The three family members said the actions he has taken have fueled anti-vaccination attitudes, which public health officials are trying to address through education initiatives, direct community involvement, and in the case of the New York City health department, making vaccinations compulsory city-wide.
The Kennedys, the three point out, have a long history as advocates for public health measures, but RFK Jr., they say, “is an outlier in the Kennedy family” when it comes to vaccination advocacy.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been a vaccine skeptic. He has written extensively about ingredients in vaccinations and purported links to autism, writing a book in 2014 alleging a government effort to hide a connection between vaccines and neurological developmental disorders. This week, Kennedy spoke at a Texans for Vaccine Choice meeting in the state Capitol.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kennedy-family-denounces-rfk-jr-over-anti-vaccine-stance