‘I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it,’ Trump said.
President-elect Donald Trump said on Dec. 8 that he will give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the freedom to investigate the potential link between vaccines and autism if the latter gains Senate confirmation to become Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Kennedy has said for years that autism is likely tied to childhood vaccines.
He was nominated to serve as HHS secretary by Trump last month and has promised sweeping changes to agencies under the HHS, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The NIH supports and funds research into autism, as well as potential new vaccines.
Kennedy told The Epoch Times in September that he would revamp the NIH to focus on the causes of autism, autoimmune diseases, and neurodevelopment diseases instead of developing drugs and serving as an incubator for pharmaceutical products.
In the Dec. 8 interview with Meet The Press, Trump noted that autism cases have increased in recent decades. When asked if Kennedy would explore the issue, Trump said he is “open to anything.”
“When you look at some of the problems, when you look at what’s going on with disease and sickness in our country, something’s wrong,” Trump said.
“I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.”
CDC information shows that around one in 36 American children today has an autism diagnosis, compared to one in 150 in the year 2000.
Fighting chronic disease, improving children’s health, and addressing corporate influence on government agencies were vital parts of Kennedy’s campaign platform when he ran for president as a Democrat and then as an independent.
Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and backed Trump in August. He told The Epoch Times that it was a “heart-wrenching decision” and a necessary step toward achieving his mission of saving Americans from the chronic disease epidemic.
