‘He’s a dangerous f—— idiot’: The internet is destroying RFK Jr.’s egregious COVID lies
Donald Trump’s chosen appointee for the Department of Health and Human Services believes that certain races may have a predisposition for and against COVID-19. These claims were seen as conspiratorial and outrageous at best.
During dinner at a restaurant on the Upper East Side, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made shocking claims about COVID-19. RFK stated, “There is an argument that it (COVID-19) is ethnically targeted.” He claimed that COVID-19 disproportionately attacks certain races. He adds, “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” He reasoned that this was caused by the genetic differentials among races in their receptors.
There were some defending RFK and referenced a study into genetic susceptibility to COVID-19. They referenced a study from BMC Medicine to back his claims. The study claimed that certain genetic factors may contribute to the extremely high transmissibility of COVID-19. What RFK leaves out is that commorbidity of existing health issues can also affect people’s susceptibility to the virus. Additionally, studies also mention that a person’s race and socioeconomic status can also increase a person’s risk of COVID-19. Nuance is important, especially when it concerns healthcare and medicine.
RFK takes his claim back
To RFK’s credit, he did disclaim that there’s no proof if COVID-19 was “deliberately targeted or not.” Nevertheless, RFK’s statement could mislead people to believe that China may have schemed biological warfare against the US. He later recanted his statement and claimed that he “never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered.” Feel free to check the recording and make your own judgement. Needless to say, many online found the claims extremely obtuse. One wrote, “He’s a dangerous fu—- idiot.” Those are some harsh words, but the frustration is understandable. After all, the oversimplification of the scientific study can induce misguided rage against Chinese and Jewish populations in the US.
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