Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is entering into the election procedure in an uncommon position, with a long list of his own policy concerns different from the president-elect’s, and a public guarantee by Trump to let him “go wild” on his concepts.
Céline Gounder, the editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News and a CBS News medical factor, responses concerns listed below about the function Kennedy has actually been tapped to handle and a few of the concepts in the sweeping “Make America Healthy Again” platform he might attempt to press through.
Q: What is the function of the Department of Health and Human Services, and just how much power does the HHS secretary have more than its work?
A: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consists of numerous firms and workplaces consisting of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare & & Medicaid Services, the Office of the Surgeon General, and far more.
There is a huge distinction in between political appointees and profession civil servants. Political appointees set tactical concerns and align their department or company’s policies with the existing administration’s goals. Civil servants have the institutional understanding to understand how to get things done and have actually specialized clinical or technical competence. Scientific concerns need specific knowledge. This is why there are profession researchers who encourage the HHS secretary, NIH director, CDC director, and FDA commissioner.
The HHS secretary has the authority to develop guidelines that govern health, consisting of food and drug security, public health, and healthcare quality. The HHS secretary can state public health emergency situations and coordinate federal reactions to health crises, such as illness break outs or natural catastrophes. The secretary wields considerable impact over the department’s policies and its constituent firms, that include the CDC, FDA, NIH, and others.
The HHS secretary is likewise in a position to form popular opinion if provided a platform to do so by the media. Missing limelights, their impact on popular opinion is more minimal. We in the media have a duty to fact-check their declarations and hold those in power responsible– no matter who is in power.
Q: One of Kennedy’s most questionable positions is his criticism of vaccines, promoting the concept that they trigger autism, to name a few conditions, and declaring “there’s no vaccine that is safe and reliable.” What is the truth?
A: Extensive research study has actually conclusively revealed that vaccines do not trigger autism. The “research study” behind these claims was pulled back due to ethical offenses and careless work. The physician who initially made those claims lost his medical license as an outcome of his expert misbehavior.
For moms and dads whose kids have autism or individuals who have autism, this matters. For too long, declares about the security of vaccines have not just put individuals at unneeded threat of getting health problems that vaccines can avoid, however have actually likewise been a red herring,