RFK Jr. Called Out for Saying Black People Should Have Different Vaccine Protocol than White People: 'So Dangerous'

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confronted over what a lawmaker described as "dangerous" past remarks about how Black Americans should be on a "different vaccine schedule" than White Americans.

During his second confirmation hearing on Thursday, Jan. 30, Kennedy faced a barrage of questions about his history of anti-vaccine rhetoric. At one point, President Donald Trump's health secretary nominee was asked by Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks to clarify his 2021 claim about vaccines and race.

Related: The Senate Is About to Have 2 Black Women Serving at the Same Time. That’s Never Happened Before

Alsobrooks, elected in November as one of only two Black women in the Senate, asked Kennedy to explain his previous assertion that Black people should not be given "the same vaccine schedule that's given to Whites because their immune system is better than ours."

Kennedy said that a "series of studies" in Poland showed that Black people have "a much stronger reaction" to "particular antigens."

"Let me just ask you then," Alsobrooks responded. "What different vaccine schedule would you say I should have received?"

Kennedy then said that the Poland study suggested that Black people require fewer antigens in their system, before Alsobrooks interjected to slam his misleading comments — which could disincentivize some people from getting vaccines.

"Mr. Kennedy, with all due respect, that is so dangerous," she said.

"Your voice would be a voice that parents listen to, that is so dangerous," she reiterated. "I will be voting against your nomination because your views are dangerous to our state and to our country."

Related: Bernie Sanders Goes Viral for Defining a 'Onesie' During Heated Exchange with RFK Jr. Over Vaccines

As NPR reports, Kennedy appeared to be citing work by a Mayo Clinic team focusing on differences in vaccination immune response by race. Per the outlet, the data showed a higher antibody response among Black people after the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccination compared to White people.

But the study's author told NPR that the data Kennedy cited does not support a vaccine schedule change based on race.

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Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Richard Kennedy — who has no relation to the Kennedy political family — clarified to the outlet that while a vaccination immune response can vary by race, sex, and "potentially dozens of other factors," the suggestion of different vaccination schedules for Black people would be "twisting the data far beyond what they actually demonstrate."

The confirmation hearing exchange between Alsobrooks and Kennedy marked one of the first major moments involving the senator, who is still in her first month on the job.

Alsobrooks, who previously served as Prince George's County Executive, was elected at the same time as Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, marking the first time in Congress' 200-plus years that two Black women have served in the Senate simultaneously.

They became only the fourth and fifth Black women to ever serve in the Senate upon their swearing-in on Jan. 3.

Related: A Timeline of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Controversies

Kennedy faced a number of other questions about his prior vaccination claims during his confirmation hearings this week.

Specifically, he was also questioned about the Children’s Health Defense — an anti-vaccine nonprofit organization he founded — and its decision to sell baby clothes featuring phrases such as “Unvaxxed Unafraid" and “No Vax No Problem.”

Kennedy, who spent much of the week trying to distance himself from his longtime opposition to vaccines, argued that he currently has “no power over that organization."

Related: Bernie Sanders Goes Viral for Defining a 'Onesie' During Heated Exchange with RFK Jr. Over Vaccines

His confirmation hearings also followed a scathing letter that his cousin Caroline Kennedy sent to senators earlier this week, in which she called him a "predator" and “unqualified” for the position.

His siblings have also previously blasted Kennedy's proximity to Trump, writing in a letter that his endorsement of the now-president was "a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear."

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