Redfield backs Kennedy's efforts on vaccines
Kennedy's nomination and eventual confirmation as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was complicated by his decades-old vaccine skepticism. And he has alienated many public health officials who fear he could discourage the public from getting routine vaccinations long proven safe.
But Redfield is fully supporting Kennedy — even after Kennedy refused to say vaccines do not cause autism during his confirmation hearing — and is now calling for more vaccine research, too.
'I'm in clinical practice two half days a week right now, and largely doing Covid and long Covid, and I have a number of patients that have very serious long term consequences from the mRNA vaccines,' Redfield said during POLITICO's First 100 Days: Health Care event Wednesday. 'Let's get that systematically reviewed by the experts.'
Redfield supported Kennedy throughout his nomination and confirmation process, agreeing with Kennedy's points on a renewed effort to study and treat chronic disease and the impact of processed foods.
At the same time, Redfield spoke about his long-time commitment to promoting vaccine uptake, arguing that Kennedy's approach will eventually encourage vaccine confidence once HHS lets the public 'see the information.'
A wide variety of data on vaccine safety is already publicly available.
— Avian flu: Redfield also spoke in dire terms about the possibility of an avian flu pandemic.
'The Covid pandemic was a real challenge. There's no question about that. But to me, it was a minor epidemic compared to the epidemic that's coming — which is a bird flu pandemic,' Redfield said. 'So this is not a time to cut our ability to have a rapid public health response agency.'
But he doesn't think vaccines will be the solution, he said, because of the low efficacy of some flu vaccines. Instead, he said that the focus should instead be on developing effective antiviral drugs.
— CDC terminations: Redfield demurred when asked about the Trump administration's move last week to terminate thousands of HHS employees. Instead, he emphasized that the CDC needs to be reformed.
'I don't know what the ultimate consequences are going to be — whether it's going to be good or not good — but I do think, though, that we could all try to focus this time to transform our health system and our health agencies so that they're focused on health,' Redfield said, arguing that CDC has moved away from its 'primary mission' as a 'public health response agency,' and become too much like an academic institution.
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