Washington CNN —
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed at a congressional hearing Thursday that he has never urged the public to avoid vaccination – but he said less than two years ago that he had approached strangers in public places to tell them not to get their children vaccinated.
As he has before, Kennedy also declared Thursday that he is not “anti-vaccine” at all, merely a proponent of vaccine safety. In reality, Kennedy is one of the country’s most prominent anti-vaccine activists. He has for years used false and misleading claims to undermine public confidence in vaccines that are indeed safe.
Kennedy was a witness at a Thursday hearing held by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the supposed “weaponization” of the federal government. Kennedy claimed in his testimony that he not only has “never been anti-vax” – he said he is up to date on his vaccinations except for his refusal to take Covid-19 shots – but that “I have never told the public, ‘Avoid vaccination.’”
Facts First: Kennedy’s claims are false, debunked by his own words. He has promoted false claims about vaccines for years – and said in 2021 that he had personally urged strangers to refrain from vaccinating their babies. He encouraged others to do the same.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine record has been extensively documented. He has long pushed the debunked claim that there is a link between childhood vaccinations and autism. Among other things, he has also ...
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