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Dana Bash grills RFK Jr. in heated CNN interview over vaccines

journalismAug 2, 202620446

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clashed with CNN host Dana Bash on Sunday’s State of the Union over vaccines, COVID-19, autism research, and the nation’s measles surge. Bash told Kennedy the United States has a 35-year high in measles cases and that roughly 93 percent of infections occurred among unvaccinated people; when asked if he accepted any responsibility for rising hesitancy, Kennedy replied, "Absolutely not." Kennedy blamed missed childhood immunizations during the COVID-19 lockdown period and pointed to higher per-capita measles rates in other countries while saying his department has deployed federal public health teams to affected states. Bash repeatedly challenged Kennedy by citing decades of scientific research and public health bodies including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and she told him that "study after study after study" found no vaccine-autism link. Kennedy rejected those conclusions, arguing research has not adequately examined vaccines given in the first six months of life, and he accused CNN of contributing to misinformation during the pandemic. CNN released a statement defending Bash’s interview and her reporting; the exchange lasted nearly 20 minutes and ended with both sides defending the role of scientific expertise and the need for further study respectively.

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