RFK Jr.'s medical skepticism goes beyond vaccines

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine skepticism may be the hallmark of his public persona, but his and his followers' questioning of the medical and pharmaceutical establishment goes much deeper.

Why it matters: In recent weeks, it's become pretty clear that Kennedy's views haven't changed all that much from his pre-HHS days. That could have implications that go far beyond vaccines and put him at even greater odds with the industries he's charged with regulating, let alone mainstream science.

• If his past views hold up, antidepressants, ADHD medication and drugs that use mRNA technology — both those on the market and those under development — could end up as his next targets.
• In fact, some of his words and actions since being nominated and confirmed as the nation's top health official suggest they're already on his list.

Driving the news: Kennedy may not have mentioned vaccines at Wednesday's press conference on autism, but that's where many people's minds went because of the way he's consistently linked the two.

• He notably contradicted CDC researchers about why autism diagnoses are rising, pointing to what he called toxins in the environment, not better diagnostics (another familiar talking point).
• He's also pledged to have results of a government-led effort to identify the cause of autism by September, a timeline that's stoked deep suspicion in the public health community about his commitment to scientific rigor or accurate conclusions.
• And his recent remarks to FDA staff reinforcing his belief in the "deep state" caused enough alarm that Leerink Partners warned clients in an investor note that his agenda "is likely to negatively impact FDA's commitment to proven science and its retention of talent."

What they're saying: "He's still pressing his pseudoscience agenda, he still shows no interest in understanding the complexity of autism and how it operates through autism genes with environmental factors, he still talks in childlike terms about how to deal with autism," said professor and vaccine scientist Peter Hotez.

• "Everything I've seen him say in public is as unhinged as it's ever been."

In light of Kennedy's recent comments, I spent part of the week reading a book recently published by the Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group Kennedy founded, titled "The Medical-Pharmaceutical Killing Machine."

• The book was published after Kennedy took leave from the organization, but the group remains aligned with his agenda and is a useful proxy when attempting to understand Kennedy's worldview.
• "He's the same Bobby Kennedy, 100%," Mary Holland, CEO of Children's Health Defense, recently told Stat News.
• An HHS spokesperson did not respond to a question about how closely the book does or doesn't reflect Kennedy's current views.

Reality check: For any of the book's major assertions to be true, there would have to be a massive coverup occurring at the highest levels of science, medicine and government (which is pretty much what the book says is happening).

• Many of them are directly contradicted by established scientific evidence, and others defy logic.