Dr. Redfield said he will be involved in a consulting role with Kennedy as he works to “Make America Healthy Again” as part of the incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump. In a September interview, Redfield said, “Kennedy is right: All three of the principal health agencies suffer from agency capture. A large portion of the FDA’s budget is provided by pharmaceutical companies. NIH is cozy with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies, and its scientists are allowed to collect royalties on drugs NIH licenses to pharma. And as the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I know the agency can be influenced by special interest groups.”

Birx said there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that vaccines cause autism, but the work should be done to figure out what is causing the significant increase in autism rates. When asked about Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism, Birx said, “I’m actually excited that in a Senate hearing, he would bring forward his data, and the questions that come from the Senators would bring forth their data. What I know for sure is he is a very smart man who can bring his data and his evidence base forward and we can have a discussion that many Americans believe already is a problem. Until we can have that transparency and open discussion from both sides. That hearing would be a way for Americans to see that data. Addressing what the cause is will be critical.”