RFK Jr. pushes measles vaccine and blames Fauci's COVID-19 handling

# RFK Jr. pushes measles vaccine and blames Fauci's COVID-19 handling

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. slammed Anthony Fauci's diary and encouraged measles vaccines, in new contentious CNN interview.

Amid a record-breaking measles outbreak and days after former Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before a Senate committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. encouraged Americans to get the MMR vaccine ahead of back-to-school season and blamed COVID-19 lockdowns for the measles cases.

On Sunday, Kennedy joined CNN for a conversation largely marked with personal attacks and scientific debate about studies which may or may not link vaccines to autism.

"You probably don't understand this because you're not a scientist," Kennedy said to CNN's Dana Bash in a back-and-forth about the secretary's prior claims that vaccines are linked to autism.

"Well you're not either," Bash replied, noting the secretary's lack of a medical or scientific background.

Kennedy said that the United States had the worst outcomes of any other country during the COVID-19 pandemic - a fact contested by Bash as not accurate. He blamed lockdowns for the damage and said that President Donald Trump wanted to reopen the country.

"In fact, in Anthony Fauci's diaries, he talks about how President Trump is calling him every day, trying to get him to reopen the country," Kennedy said.

Kennedy also said that in addressing a future pandemic, "constitutional rights" must be the "number one priority."

Measles cases are at the highest level in 35 years, and Kennedy - a known vaccine critic - said parents should get their kids the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

"I never questioned the efficacy of the MMR vaccine," Kennedy said.

He said he "absolutely" does not take responsibility for the rising numbers of cases when asked about his vaccine skepticism. Kennedy actually blamed rising rates on the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, citing Fauci's diary.

"In his diaries he says this is going to cause massive outbreaks of measles and more children, he says this, are going to die," Kennedy said.