Democrats and Republicans have grilled US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr on his recent vaccine policies and their stark contrast to President Donald Trump's successful first-term pandemic initiative to speed vaccine development during a fiery Senate hearing.
Half a dozen heated exchanges at the hearing on Thursday, local time, focused on the details of Mr Kennedy's decision to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Susan Monarez, who had started the job with his support only a month earlier.
Mr Trump, speaking at the White House after the hearing, expressed support for Mr Kennedy, saying he has a "different take" on vaccines.
Republican senator Bill Cassidy, a physician who played a critical role in Mr Kennedy's confirmation, questioned him on the cancellation of $US500 million in COVID vaccine contracts.
He also cited examples of doctors and cancer patients who have been unable to obtain the protection against the potentially deadly disease.
"I would say, effectively, we're denying people vaccines," Senator Cassidy said.
"Well, you're wrong," Mr Kennedy responded.
Kennedy denies saying vaccines killed more people than COVID
Senator Cassidy praised Mr Trump for having accelerated the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in 2020.
His line of questioning underscored the tightrope Republicans critical of Mr Kennedy needed to walk in order to push back against his vaccine policies without criticising the president.
The senator asked Mr Kennedy during the hearing if he agreed Mr Trump deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for the COVID vaccine initiative, to which health secretary said he did.
The Republican then queried why Mr Kennedy had said the vaccines killed more people than COVID.
Mr Kennedy denied making the statement, would not agree the vaccines saved lives and, in a later exchange, acknowledged the shots prevented deaths but not how many.
COVID vaccines in the first year of their use saved some 14.4 million lives globally, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
Mr Kennedy also cancelled $US500 million in funding for research on the mRNA technology that yielded the most widely used COVID vaccines under Mr Trump, which the senator characterised as denying people vaccines.
'He's got a different take'
Mr Trump told reporters during a White House event with business leaders that Mr Kennedy "means very well, and he's got some little different ideas".
"I guarantee a lot of people at this table like RFK Jr. And I do, but he's got a different take, and we want to listen to all those takes," Mr Trump said when asked if he has confidence in what Mr Kennedy is doing.
Republicans Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Barrasso of Wyoming, who like Senator Cassidy are physicians, adopted his tactic, as did Senate Democrats Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, where the CDC is headquartered, and Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats.
"Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I've grown deeply concerned," said Senator Barrasso.
"The public has seen measles outbreaks, leadership in the National Institutes of Health questioning the use of mRNA vaccines, the recently confirmed Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fired."
Kennedy defends ousting Monarez
Under fiery questioning from most Democrats and some Republicans, Mr Kennedy defended the ousting of Ms Monarez, adding he might need to fire even more people.
Mr Trump fired Dr Monarez after she resisted changes to vaccine policy advanced by Mr Kennedy that she believed contradicted scientific evidence.
In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Ms Monarez said she had been directed to pre-approve vaccine recommendations and fire career CDC officials, describing her ouster as part of a broader push to weaken US vaccine standards.
Mr Kennedy said she lied and that he had never told Dr Monarez she needed to pre-approve decisions, but that he did order her to fire officials, which she refused to do.
"Secretary Kennedy's claims are false, and at times, patently ridiculous. Dr Monarez stands by what she said in her Wall Street Journal op-ed," her lawyers said in a statement.
Reuters
