Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told members of Congress that Americans shouldn't listen to him when it comes to medical advice.
The secretary appeared before Congress for a hearing Wednesday to discuss President Donald Trump's budget. The line of questioning came from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), who returned to questioning Kennedy on vaccines.
“If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?” Pocan asked Kennedy.
“Probably for measles,” Kennedy said. Then he pivoted: “What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.”
Pocan pressed.
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“I don’t want to seem like I am being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me,” Kennedy said.
USA Today reported after the hearing that this is more of the questions that Kennedy has faced for years when discussing the effectiveness of vaccines. He previously "promoted debunked claims that certain vaccines are linked to autism," the report said.
In April, Kennedy said during a news conference that the measles vaccine, in particular, is "leaky" because the effectiveness decreases over time.
"People get measles because they don't vaccinate. They get measles because the vaccine wanes. The vaccines wane about 4.8% per year ... So, you know, it's a leaky vaccine, and that problem is always going to be around," said Kennedy.
NBC News called the statement false in a fact-check.
“That's kind of your jurisdiction because CDC does give advice,” Pocan said during the congressional hearing.
“What we're trying to do is to lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits accurately as we understand them, with replicable studies," Kennedy said.
He was asked about vaccines for polio and chickenpox, but again rebuffed, saying that he didn't want to give medical advice.
See the clip below or at the link here.
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