An Insider's View of RFK, Jr. and the Risks to Public Health
<div>Famed virologist Dr. Paul Offit describes his encounters with RFK, Jr., vaccine misinformation, trust in medicine, and what he fears most.<br>
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<strong>REFERENCES:<br>
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<strong>Dr. Paul Offit’s Books</strong>:<br>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Choices-Anti-Vaccine-Movement-Threatens/dp/0465029620"><em>Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All<br>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cutter-Incident-Americas-Vaccine-Growing/dp/0300126050?tag=googhydr-20&source=dsa&hvcampaign=books&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkN--BhDkARIsAD_mnIrtcuzXZeD7dIbykBep0Cwqx_7CFE79E1uOwwQtfUXvnUrkSq0P52caAisIEALw_wcB"><em>The Cutter Incident</em></a>(about a polio vaccine gone wrong)<br>
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<strong>Historical Vaccine References</strong>:<br>
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<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMp048180">The Cutter Incident (</a>1950s polio vaccine failure)<br>
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<li>The history of polio, iron lungs, and the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines.<br>
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<li>The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.<br>
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<li>The impact of vaccines on childhood diseases like diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, and rotavirus.<br>
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<strong>Andrew Wakefield and Vaccine-Autism Misinformation</strong>:<br>
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<li>Wakefield’s 1998 <em>Lancet</em> paper (<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2831678/">later retracted</a>) linking MMR vaccines to autism.<br>
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<li>The role of <em>The Lancet</em> and editor Richard Horton.<br>
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<li>The legal and financial conflicts of interest that led to Wakefield’s discrediting.<br>
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<strong>Anti-Vaccine Movement History</strong>:<br>
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<li>The Anti-Vaccination League (1800s opposition to smallpox vaccine).<br>
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<li>NBC’s <em>DPT Vaccine Roulette</em> (1980s), which fueled fears about the whooping cough vaccine.<br>
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<li>RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine activism and misinformation campaigns.<br>
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<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/11/26/deadly-measles-outbreak-hits-children-samoa-after-anti-vaccine-fears/">The impact of anti-vaccine movements in places like Samoa, leading to deadly measles outbreaks.<br>
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<strong>Current Vaccine Issues and Policy Changes</strong>:<br>
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<li>RFK Jr.'s role in the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) and vaccine policy.<br>
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<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-confirms-cancellation-vaccine-advisers-meeting-2025-02-27/#:~:text=The%20statement%20confirms%20a%20report,Sign%20up%20here.">The cancellation of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting.<br>
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