A bunch of 77 Nobel laureates — a coalition from the fields of drugs, physics, chemistry and economics — wrote an open letter to the Senate on Monday urging lawmakers to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid to steer the Division of Well being and Human Companies.
“Putting Mr. Kennedy in control of DHHS would put the general public’s well being in jeopardy and undermine America’s international management in well being science,” the letter, obtained by The New York Instances, reads.
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Kennedy last month, saying the person would quickly play “an enormous function in serving to make sure that everyone will likely be shielded from dangerous chemical substances, pollution, pesticides, pharmaceutical merchandise, and meals components.” However he didn’t point out Kennedy’s long campaign against the science surrounding vaccines or his proposals to take away fluoride from consuming water.
These stances, the Nobel Prize winners wrote, needs to be disqualifying.
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“The proposal to position Mr. Kennedy in control of the federal businesses accountable for defending the well being of Americans and for conducting the medical analysis that advantages our nation and the remainder of humanity has been extensively criticized on a number of grounds,” the doc reads. “Along with his lack of credentials or related experiences in medication, science, public well being or administration, Mr. Kennedy has been an opponent of many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines.”
“The chief of DHHS ought to proceed to nurture and enhance — not threaten — these necessary and extremely revered establishments and their staff.”
Richard Roberts, the winner of the Nobel in Physiology or Medication in 1993, informed the Instances it was the primary time in current reminiscence a gaggle of laureates had gathered to oppose a Cupboard nominee. Roberts added that laureates are likely to draw back from politics if doable, however described the Trump administration’s efforts to assault science as “very damaging.”
“You need to get up and defend it,” he informed the paper.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition rejected the laureates’ claims in a press release to the Instances.
“Individuals are sick and uninterested in the elites telling them what to do and how you can do it,” the spokesperson mentioned. “Our healthcare system on this nation is damaged, Mr. Kennedy will enact President Trump’s agenda to revive the integrity of our healthcare and Make America Wholesome Once more.”
