The third week of Donald Trump’s administration delivered more unprecedented racism in modern politics and more pushback.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who Trump has nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, moved one step closer to confirmation last, but without support from Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).
During RFK’s confirmation hearing, Alsobrooks – one of two Black female U.S. Senators – questioned him about comments he’s made about African Americans’ immune systems.
Kennedy has said, “We should not be giving Black people the same vaccine schedule that’s given to whites because their immune system is better than ours.”
Alsobrooks asked him to explain his suggestion, adding, “So what different vaccine schedule would you say I should have received? With all due respect, that is so dangerous.”
According to a Mayo study, African Americans do present a higher antibody response after MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccination compared to white people. But the author of the study says that does not mean there needs to be a different vaccination schedule because race, sex and other factors often generate different responses.
The tense exchange made headlines and directed a laser focus on Kennedy’s well-known controversial position as an anti-vaccine leader.
Federal health workers targeted
There is more trouble for Black federal health workers after NBC News reported that a website known as “DEI Watch List” published the photos, names and public information of some workers in health agencies, describing them as “targets.”
Workers listed on the website had supported DEI initiatives, donated to Democrats and the majority of them were African American.
Dr. Benjamin Georges, the executive director of the American Public Health Association said, “This is a scare tactic to try to intimidate people who are trying to do their work and do it admirably. It’s clear racism.”
Georges has also described Kennedy as “unqualified” to be the nation’s chief health officer.
If confirmed, Kennedy would oversee a $1.7 trillion annual budget and 13 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health.
