President-elect Donald Trump has addressed the controversy surrounding his health secretary nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine stance.
Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to head the Health and Human Services, is known to question the safety of vaccines. He has come under fire for asserting claims that link vaccines with autism that some doctors say have already been debunked.
Many worry that with RFK Jr. at the helm, he would immediately remove vaccines for kids--something that he already denied in November.
In a press conference on Monday, Trump assured the public that no quick decisions would be made about major healthcare policies, including removing vaccines from the market.
"No, nothing's going to happen very quickly," Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago Monday.
"I want [Kennedy Jr.] to come back with a report as to what he thinks. We're going to find out a lot...We’re also gonna have a very serious discussion about certain things."
The 47th president of the United States also expressed his support for the polio vaccine, believing that it has saved millions of lives.
"You're not going to lose the polio vaccine--that's not going to happen," Trump assured.
"I saw what happened with the polio. I have friends that were very much affected by that...The moment they took that vaccine it ended. Dr. Jonas Salk did a great job, so I don't anticipate that at all."
The president-elect also defended RFK Jr., emphasizing that the environmental attorney-author-health advocate is a "very rational guy." He believes that the 70-year-old nephew of President John F. Kennedy would not make brash decisions without consulting science and health experts.
"I think you're going to find that Bobby is a very rational guy. I found him to be very rational," he added.
On Monday, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin also said that Kennedy Jr. "100% support[s] polio vaccination," Reuters noted.
While RFK Jr. has repeatedly questioned the safety and negative effects of vaccines on children, he has publicly stated that he does not consider himself “anti-vaccine.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that vaccines are not associated with autism spectrum disorder.
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