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Scott Supak @supak.com · 27/11/2024

We already know what conservatives think counts as a clinical study; ask the families of the more than 80 dead people in Samoa what RFK Jr told them about measles. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/o...

In November 2019, when an epidemic of measles was killing children and babies in Samoa, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who in recent days became Donald Trump’s pick to lead the department of Health and Human Services — sent the prime minister of Samoa a four-page letter. In it, he suggested the measles vaccine itself may have caused the outbreak.

He claimed that the vaccine might have “failed to produce antibodies” in vaccinated mothers sufficient to provide infants with immunity, that it perhaps provoked “the evolution of more virulent measles strains” and that children who received the vaccine may have inadvertently spread the virus to other children. “Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance,” he added, writing in his role as the chairman of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group.

At the time of his letter, 16 people, many of them younger than 2, were already reported dead. Measles, which is among the most contagious diseases, can sometimes lead to brain swelling, pneumonia and death. For months, families grieved over heartbreaking little coffins, until a door-to-door vaccination campaign brought the calamity to a close. The final number of fatalities topped 80.

Municipal Solid Waste@maiambic.bsky.social

the first thing, is just more money in healthcare. (maybe the second thing too i have no idea) the last thing terrifies me. medical research + deregulation? bad. i don't want to find out what conservatives think counts as a clinical study

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