Vote NO on RFK

Please vote NO on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as HHS Secretary. While his own cousin has done an exceptional job outlining all of the reasons, I want to focus on one key reason. Simply, he is not qualified. As an environmental lawyer, his track record showed he does not have a basic understanding of many scientific principles. He has further proven this with his continued questioning of the safety and efficacy of vaccines - especially since all of the data showing they are safe and effective is publicly available. He has also continued to push a number of non-scientific claims and cherry picked evidence to support his claims. This is not how evidence-based, effective science or healthcare are done. His actions in Samoa are proof of the danger of giving him even more of a platform. After his visit, the spike in cases of measles and deaths of unvaccinated children quickly proved how harmful his actions of “just asking questions” were. Unfortunately, there are too many examples of his actions leading to similar results. He has also demonstrated a lack of basic scientific understanding, shown through his questioning of thimerosal in vaccines. The way he has spoke about thimerosal indicated he does not understand the difference ways mercury can present, including in different types of compounds. The dosage thimerosal previously was given in vaccines was far lower than we find in many common foods, not to mention it wasn’t pure mercury as many have tried to claim. As a future scientist who plans to do infectious disease research, I am scared of how much damage could be done if RFK Jr is confirmed. I previously wrote to you of my plans to attend Colorado State to earn my PhD in microbiology. I would love nothing more than to spend the next 5-8 years in Colorado learning everything I can about viruses so I can make a scientific contribution that makes all of our lives better. If RFK Jr is confirmed, I fear I will have no choice but to consider schools outside of the country as the types of programs I want to pursue are exactly the ones he wants to defund. It will be a very sad day for the scientific community and this country if he is allowed to lead HHS. Thank you for your time.