Everyone knew before he was appointed head of HHS that Robert Kennedy Jr was a vaccine skeptic and a purveyor of alternative treatments for various diseases. But it was unclear how he would function as the head of America’s health care system. Now, we know. With our brilliant president’s approval and cooperation, RFK is in the process of downsizing and downgrading the crown jewels of America’s health care system; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Communicable Disease Center (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). Kennedy has a number of medically discredited ideas regarding the origin and treatment of diseases and does not trust medical science or the scientific method. He has said that he intends to fire 10,000 full-time personnel working in current health care agencies, including the above.
Kennedy is looking to reorganize the health department of the federal government which he claims contains redundant agencies. He has already hired an anti-vaccine analyst, David Geier, who continues to claim that vaccines are responsible for autism, a theory that has been thoroughly debunked. State authorities in Maryland cited Geier for practicing medicine without a license in 2012. He was hired by Kennedy to work on a study connecting vaccines and autism, a link that has already been proved to be false. Speak of wasting money! Public health experts have been stunned by Geier’s hiring and his assigned mission, believing that confidence in vaccine’s efficacy could be damaged even more, with immunization rates from vaccines dropping even further. Kennedy has recommended treatment of measles with Vitamin A and cod liver oil, instead of instead of prevention with vaccines.
The agencies that Kennedy wishes to downsize have been responsible for many significant advances in medical care, saving millions of American lives and those of people globally. American medical research is considered the best in the world, constantly coming up with new discoveries that extend life and improve quality of life. Polio and smallpox have been virtually eradicated from the United States because of research funded by federal health agencies. Aside from the development of vaccines and their dissemination throughout the nation, the CDC is responsible for overseeing America’s response to any new communicable diseases, epidemics or pandemics. In this day and age with worldwide transportation and possible bioterrorism, its role is essential.
The NIH itself, along with its dozens of satellite research centers in universities, has fashioned new techniques to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias along with various treatments. They have also discovered new ways to diagnose different cancers and develop novel treatments for some cancers, saving untold numbers of lives. Their researchers have found drugs and other methods to lower cholesterol, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and strokes. However, with genetic engineering and CRISPR techniques now available, their work may be just in its infancy. The FDA is responsible for vetting all medications used in the U.S. for safety and efficacy, an enormous task that may be able to be aided by AI.
Cutting funding and personnel at federal health agencies and satellite research centers at this time would be devastating for the nation and those in the midst of research projects. Their work on identifying viruses, both new and old, and finding appropriate treatments is vital to the nation’s well-being. Immune-mediated diseases and their treatment and using immune techniques to eradicate cancer are just in the initial stages but making rapid progress. Slashing basic medical research to save money is foolish, as care of patients with the diseases being studied will be much more expensive in the long run. Unfortunately, the people in charge of medical care in America are biased against science and some of the basic tenets of medicine. They present a danger to America’s health.
www.robertlevineooks.com
Buy The Uninformed Voter on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at your local bookstore
Posted at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: CDC, Defunding medical research , Donald Trump, Elon Mush, FDA, NIH, RFK Jr
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020