RFK Jr. went on national TV and spouted egregious, dangerous falsehoods about vaccines. As a parent and infectious…

RFK Jr. went on national TV and spouted egregious, dangerous falsehoods about vaccines. As a parent and infectious diseases doctor, I couldn't stay silent. @FoxNews might not fact-check him, but I will. I've reviewed the trials. I've catalogued them. I have receipts. 🧵

Aaron Rupar@atrupar · Jun 12, 2025

RFK Jr is on Fox News going full anti-vax

❌CLAIM 1: "97% of people on [ACIP] had conflicts of interest" ✅REALITY: Only 41% received any industry payments, mostly under $55k over 6 years This is flatly false. Reuters reviewed all 17 voting members of the outgoing ACIP panel: 6 received $80 or less TOTAL over 6 years 7 received between $4k-$55k total over 6 years (mostly travel, meals, occasional consulting) 4 had no reported industry payments at all That's 7/17 = 41%. Not 97%. CDC rules require recusal for any vote tied to a relevant conflict. Meeting minutes show ONE recusal in the reviewed period. ACIP members are unpaid volunteer experts. They don't get royalties, don't keep pharma stock, don't get flown to golf courses. A published review found <5% of ACIP votes over the past decade involved a declared conflict. reuters.com/business/healt…

❌ CLAIM 2: "We've gone from 11 vaccines in 1986 to 69-92 vaccines today" ✅ REALITY: About 48-51 shots today (including annual flu). The "92" comes from creative accounting. The 1986 schedule: DTP x5 OPV (oral polio) x4 MMR x1 = 10 injections + 4 oral doses Today's routine schedule (2025), using lowest-dose brands, excluding Covid: 48-51 total injections 2-3 oral doses (rotavirus) Where does "92" come from? Creative accounting - counting each flu shot separately over 18 years, adding optional vaccines, even counting combination shots multiple times. It's dishonest math. "Mandatory"? Mandates are state-determined, not ACIP-mandated: Covid required in ZERO states HPV required in 3 states (DC, RI, VA) Flu required in 2 states (CT, MA) Most states require ~30-32 total shots cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/i…

🎯 But here's the key question: Is having more vaccines available somehow bad? On the contrary. As a father of 2, I'm extremely grateful for these advances since 1986: Hib (late 1980s): Once the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in infants. Since vaccination: >99% reduction in kids under 5. Hepatitis B (1991): Prevents liver failure and cancer. Acute infections in children dropped 94%. Varicella/Chickenpox (1995): Cases down 97%, hospitalizations down 90%, deaths now rare. Pneumococcal (2000): Invasive disease in young kids dropped 90%. Rotavirus (2006): Hospitalizations reduced 80% in infants. Hepatitis A (2006): Cases dropped 97% from the 1990s. HPV (2006-2011): Infections with vaccine-type HPV in teen girls dropped 88%. All of this is public health progress. CDC modeling shows routine childhood immunization of U.S. children born 1994-2018 will prevent: 419 million illnesses 936,000 deaths $1.9 trillion in societal costs Yes, today's schedule includes more shots than 1986. But it also prevents far more hospitalizations, cancers, and deaths. That's a public health win by any standard.

❌ CLAIM 3: "The only vaccine that has gone through placebo-controlled trials was the Covid vaccine" ✅ REALITY: One of the most misleading claims I've ever seen a government official make on national television. EVERY childhood vaccine has been tested in placebo-controlled trials. As of 6/12/25, our open-access dataset includes: 274 controlled vaccine trials (1944-2025) 3 million total participants 164 placebo-controlled trials 133 used inert placebo (no antigen, no alum) Here's proof - EVERY routine childhood vaccine antigen has been studied with a placebo of some sort: Polio (Salk 1954): Saline-controlled, 400k+ kids (PMID: 14376387) Rotavirus: 12 inert-placebo RCTs including REST trial (~70k kids) (PMID: 16394299) Hib + Diphtheria: Saline-controlled RCT (PMID: 3497990) Tetanus: Distilled water-controlled trial (PMID: 381074) Pertussis: Two no-intervention RCTs (PMIDs: 18015552, DOI: 10.2307/4583816) Pneumococcal: Multiple saline-controlled trials (PMIDs: 19483514, 15794968) MMR: 1975 trial with antigen-free diluent (PMID: 764997) HPV: Adolescent saline-controlled RCT (PMID: 17484215) Hep B: Two alum-controlled trials in newborns (PMIDs: 3903646, 6143868) Yes, even diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and varicella have been studied in placebo-controlled trials. bradspellberg.com/vaccine-rcts (All trials publicly documented with PubMed IDs)

❌ CLAIM 4: "Nobody has any idea what the risk profiles are" ✅ REALITY: We absolutely DO know the safety profiles. Here's how: Of the 274 RCTs in our dataset: 253 reported safety outcomes (>90%) Only 21 labeled "not reported" (mostly older trials) But trials are just the first layer. We also have robust post-licensure safety monitoring: VAERS VSD PRISM International safety databases And when real safety issues arise, we act on them: 1999: Rotashield withdrawn (intussusception) 2021: J&J Covid shot limited (blood clots) 1969: RSV vaccine pulled (enhanced disease) That's what a real safety net looks like. It's not perfect, but it's comprehensive and responsive.

❌ CLAIM 5: "Vaccines deregulate the immune system" ✅ REALITY: This isn't science; it's a scary-sounding buzzword. Vaccines don't "deregulate" anything. They educate the immune system through targeted antigen exposure so it can defend against real pathogens later. If anything, it's the actual viruses that cause immune problems: Measles causes immune amnesia Covid triggered MIS-C in children Hepatitis B can cause kidney disease There is no credible evidence that routine childhood vaccines cause "immune dysregulation" or chronic disease. None.

THE BOTTOM LINE: RFK Jr. went on national television and systematically misled millions of Americans with false claims about vaccines. But the real evidence is available. The studies exist. The safety data is public. Why this matters: I've seen many people die from vaccine-preventable diseases and it is truly the most awful thing I've witnessed. Don't be misled. The health and well-being of our children and all of us depends on these vaccines. If this thread was helpful, share it. Truth matters. Lives depend on it.

P.S. I have zero financial conflicts of interest, and I’ve actually been critical of some vaccine recommendations and requirements, as some people who have followed me on this site since COVID know.

I’m getting replies suggesting I must be paid by pharma to speak out about vaccines. Let me be clear: I have no financial ties to vaccine makers. I don’t get paid to post. I do this in my own time — time I could spend with my kids, or catching up on work, or climbing. I do it because I’ve seen the fatal consequences of misinformation up close. I took care of dozens of Covid patients who died after refusing the vaccine — not because they were reckless, but because they were misled. I carry that with me. And I don’t want anyone else to lose a loved one to something that’s preventable. I’m not here for clout. I’m not doing this to undermine RFK Jr. or Trump. I’ve disagreed publicly with parts of the Covid response. But I’ll never stay silent when dangerous falsehoods are being spread. Vaccines save lives. Lies can cost them. That’s why I speak up.