Key facts
- Two future aides to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have distanced themselves from his vaccine views.
- David Klomp, a nominee for deputy secretary of health, endorsed the measles vaccine.
- Klomp stated there is no evidence the measles vaccine causes autism or is lethal.
- Government data shows two doses of the measles shot are 97% effective.
- The U.S. is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in over 30 years, with nearly 6,000 cases and 4 deaths reported.
Two future aides to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have publicly diverged from his vaccine skepticism, endorsing the measles vaccine and stating there is no credible evidence linking it to autism or lethality. This comes as the U.S. grapples with its most significant measles outbreak in over three decades, infecting nearly 6,000 people and causing four deaths.
During his confirmation hearings, David Klomp, a current Kennedy aide nominated for deputy secretary of health, called the measles vaccine "the single best thing that we can do to eradicate" the disease. He also stated he had seen no evidence that the shot causes autism, a long-held conjecture of Kennedy's, and did not believe it was lethal. Government data indicates that two doses of the measles vaccine are 97% effective.
The CDC estimates anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, occurs in 2 to 14 cases per million doses, and febrile seizures in about 1 in 3,000 to 4,000 cases, typically without long-term effects. All Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee and one Democrat, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, voted to advance Klomp's nomination to the Senate floor.