Key Takeaways From Rfk Jr.'s Interview On Measles Vaccine, Food Dyes, Weight Loss Drugs And More

RFK Jr. connected bales vaccine, authorities cuts

RFK Jr. encourages bales vaccine and addresses cuts to wellness programs 06:50

In his first web TV question and reply since becoming Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said pinch CBS News main aesculapian analogous Dr. Jon LaPook astir a scope of topics, including measles, nutrient additives and weight nonaccomplishment drugs.  

Here are immoderate highlights from their conversation: 

Measles and "heartbreaking" Texas visit

After antecedently downplaying nan increasing number of cases and making several false and misleading claims about nan information of nan measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, Kennedy has recently acknowledged nan vaccine's efficacy.

In nan CBS News interview, Kennedy publically encouraged group to get nan bales vaccine, marking nan first clip he has done truthful since becoming HHS secretary.

"The national government's position, my position, is that group should get nan bales vaccine," he said, but added, "The authorities should not beryllium mandating those." 

He besides talked astir his caller travel to West Texas, wherever 2 children person died from nan highly contagious infection successful a increasing outbreak that's sickened more than 500 people in that authorities alone. He called nan visit, which included gathering pinch nan children's parents and attending a ceremonial service, "very heartbreaking."

"In immoderate ways, it was very bully to beryllium capable to really meet them successful personification and walk a full time pinch them and stock their lives pinch them and get to cognize their community, which was very welcoming and loving towards me, and to be these very, very moving services for these girls," he said. He described nan group successful that Mennonite organization arsenic resilient, God-fearing, resourceful and kind. 

Almost each of those infected successful nan Texas outbreak were either unvaccinated aliases person chartless vaccination status, according to wellness officials. Both of nan children who died were unvaccinated.

Food additives 

Kennedy said he met pinch awesome nutrient processors and producers aft being sworn successful and received "no existent pushback" connected removing definite ingredients for illustration artificial nutrient dyes — which Kennedy called "the astir egregious" — from American's foods. 

"They're intelligibly associated pinch a assortment a grim inventory of diseases, including cancers and behavioral illness and neurological illness for illustration ADHD, and it's very, very well-documented and they're making, successful galore cases, nan aforesaid products successful this state person those dyes, and past they usage rootlike dyes successful Canada, Mexico and Europe," Kennedy said.

Certain artificial dyes utilized successful nan U.S. are banned aliases taxable to informing labels successful different countries. Recently, West Virginia moved to prohibition 7 artificial nutrient dyes successful nan state. California banned Red Dye No. 3 and immoderate different nutrient additives successful 2023.

Earlier this year, nether nan Biden administration, nan FDA announced its determination to revoke nan authorization for Red No. 3 successful foods, aft grounds showed a nexus betwixt precocious levels of it and crab successful laboratory animals. Companies are moving to update their products to comply pinch nan FDA's determination by a deadline of Jan. 15, 2027.

Kennedy said nan nutrient companies he met pinch told them it would return clip to region nan additives. 

"It was conscionable astir timing. They said it's going to return america a while," he said. "For example, nan CEO of Pepsi, which owns Doritos, said ... 'The consumers for illustration them to beryllium very red, and we person not yet recovered a rootlike dye that we tin match, but we're going to do it.' And I said they each person to beryllium retired wrong 2 years."

Kennedy said he's going to get free of what he called "the biggest villain": nan modular known arsenic GRAS, aliases Generally Recognized As Safe, which allows immoderate nutrient ingredients to bypass nan approvals process. 

"The FDA became captured by nan nutrient industry, and they enlarged nan GRAS modular to use to everything, and that's why we person 10,000 ingredients successful our nutrient and nan Europeans only person 400 successful theirs. Because successful Europe, earlier you adhd something, a chemical, to a food, you gotta beryllium that it's safe. In our country, it is rubber-stamped."

Obesity and sum for GLP-1 drugs

GLP-1 agonists, which Kennedy called "extraordinary drugs," are disposable by medicine to anybody who's diagnosed arsenic diabetic aliases pre-diabetic — but erstwhile pushed connected whether they'd beryllium covered by Medicare and Medicaid for those pinch obesity, Kennedy said officials are "looking astatine a regulatory framework."

"Ideally complete nan agelong term, we'd for illustration to spot those narcotics disposable for group aft they effort different interventions," Kennedy said. Those interventions, he said, see nan usage of glucose monitors and wellness regimens for illustration a alteration successful fare and exercise.

LaPook pointed retired regimens for illustration fare and workout "have been tried for half a century." Kennedy based on that now location are amended ways to show it, which whitethorn beryllium utilized arsenic impervious for early Medicare aliases Medicaid coverage. 

"They tin show that they've done these interventions, and if they don't work, past you would beryllium entitled to nan drug," he shared of nan model they're presently debating. "I deliberation everybody would for illustration to make those narcotics disposable to everybody nether Medicaid, Medicare. But nan effect connected our aesculapian costs would summation dramatically."

Previously, nan Biden management projected that Medicare would commencement covering nan medications for group pinch obesity, not conscionable group who had glucosuria aliases immoderate different aesculapian condition. Last week, the Trump management decided not to move guardant pinch that plan. 

Health programme cuts

Since his assignment successful February, Kennedy has facilitated sweeping cuts affecting a wide range of health programs and thousands of employees.

When asked by LaPook if he personally approved nan much than $11 cardinal in cuts to section and authorities nationalist wellness programs — backing that helps states reside infectious disease, intelligence health, addiction and puerility vaccination — Kennedy said, "No, I'm not familiar pinch those cuts." The cuts person been temporarily blocked by a national judge.

"The cuts were chiefly DEI cuts, which nan president ordered," Kennedy said, but nan $11 cardinal successful nationalist wellness backing was not DEI-related.

Around 10,000 HHS employees are being laid disconnected successful a restructuring move by Kennedy and Elon Musk's DOGE. Kennedy acknowledged that immoderate of nan DOGE cuts will need to beryllium reinstated.

Kennedy said he was not acquainted pinch an illustration LaPook mentioned of backing being trim for a study connected teen diabetes.

"There's a number of studies that were trim that came to our attraction and that did not merit to beryllium cut, and we reinstated them. Our intent is not to trim immoderate level of technological investigation that's important," nan caput said. 

In:
• United States Department of Health and Human Services
• Trump Administration
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• RFK Jr.