Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr doubled down on his claim that autism is worse than Covid-19, which has killed more than 7 million people worldwide.
Just two days after he underscored in a previous statement that autism is worse than Covid because the virus killed “old people,” Kennedy appeared Tuesday night on Fox News and insisted that autism is “20 times worse than Covid-19, in terms of the economic impact, the social impact, the moral impact on our country.”
Earlier this month, Kennedy vowed to uncover the root cause behind the “epidemic” and announced a “massive testing and research effort.” Scientists have been working to determine the possible cause or causes of autism, beyond a genetic link, for a century. Now the health secretary has promised to have an answer by September.
“There was a wave of anger against me because I announced that we’re going to find the cause of autism,” Kennedy told Fox News’ Jesse Watters. “This is something that President Trump told me on day one: ‘I want to know what’s causing it within a year.’ And I announced how we’re going to do that.”
Two days earlier he claimed autism “dwarfs the Covid epidemic and the impacts on our country because Covid killed old people.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the number of children diagnosed with autism is on the rise because of improved diagnostic tools, not because of a so-called “epidemic.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr claims autism is ’20 times worse than Covid-19′ (AP)
Kennedy has continued to spread misinformation about autism since taking office. He drew intense criticism after claiming that “autism destroys families” at an April 16 press conference.
“These are kids who will never pay taxes. They’ll never hold a job,” Kennedy said last week. “They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” In fact, countless people with autism lead normal or near-normal lives.
Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation, slammed Kennedy’s comments on CNN, saying he “made it sound like these were people whose lives were worthless, when that couldn’t be further from the case.” Rosie O’Donnell, whose 12-year-old son has autism, similarly said Kennedy should be “ashamed” of himself.
Kennedy also again spread misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines in his Tuesday night Fox News appearance, furthering the debunked claim that the shot increases the death rate in children.
“The recommendation for children was always dubious, and it was dubious because kids had almost no risk for Covid-19,” Kennedy said. “Some kids, some certain kids that had very profound morbidities, may have a slight risk. Most kids don’t.”
He asked: “So why are we giving this to tens of millions of kids when the vaccine itself does have profound risk?”
Kennedy’s claim is untrue. The Food and Drug Administration has determined Covid-19 vaccines to be safe for children, and ongoing monitoring shows this continues to be the case, according to the CDC.
