One of the regular tropes from our previous exercise in self-destruction that I kept handy was the fact that the claim that “we hire only the best people” never would stop being funny. Now that we’re deep into Hell’s Encore, it’s time to trot it out again, with the caveat that it isn’t as funny the second time around. From The Washington Post:
The Department of Health and Human Services has hired David Geier to conduct the analysis, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Geier and his father, Mark Geier, have published papers claiming vaccines increase the risk of autism, a theory that has been studied for decades and scientifically debunked. David Geier was disciplined by Maryland regulators more than a decade ago for practicing medicine without a license. He is listed as a data analyst in the HHS employee directory.
There is, of course, absolutely no need for any study of whether vaccines cause autism. They don’t. And if you need proof, there are only a couple hundreds studies debunking the whole notion you can look up. But if you’re going to form a committee to study a nonexistent medical phenomenon, who better than a non-doctor to head it up?
“It seems the goal of this administration is to prove that vaccines cause autism, even though they don’t,” said Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds autism research. “They are starting with the conclusion and looking to prove it. That’s not how science is done.”
President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have repeatedly linked vaccines to autism. Kennedy has often cited studies by David Geier and his father, a physician, asserting that their research reveals the negative effects of vaccines. …
… During Kennedy’s confirmation hearings, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) pressed Kennedy to publicly disavow his past claims about vaccines and autism. Kennedy replied he would do so if presented with data disproving the link, despite the overwhelming body of research that already does.
Of course, Cassidy, a real doctor, voted for Kennedy’s nomination anyway, because Hippocrates never had to worry about a future primary.
Entrusting the nation’s health to a notorious quack already is having nationwide consequences. The measles epidemic in west Texas rages on despite the fact that Kennedy’s Patent Medicine Wagon rolled into town weeks ago. From The New York Times:
Parents in Gaines County, Texas, the center of a raging measles outbreak, have increasingly turned to supplements and unproven treatments to protect their children, many of whom are unvaccinated, against the virus. One of those supplements is cod liver oil containing vitamin A, which Mr. Kennedy has promoted as a near miraculous cure for measles. Physicians at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, say they’ve now treated a handful of unvaccinated children who were given so much vitamin A that they had signs of liver damage. Some of them had received unsafe doses of cod liver oil and other vitamin A supplements for several weeks in an attempt to prevent a measles infection, said Dr. Summer Davies, who cares for acutely ill children at the hospital.
Christamighty, I can see the medical examiner’s report now: “Cause of Death: Did Own Research on Internet.”
