Rep. Joe Kennedy III disavows family ties to anti-vax movement

Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III joins Yahoo News Editor in Chief Daniel Klaidman and Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff to discuss the need for safe and widespread coronavirus vaccinations. Kennedy denies sharing the view of his uncle Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is an outspoken advocate for the anti-vax movement.

Video Transcript

MICHAEL ISIKOFF: I have another question about your family that’s relevant to the COVID crisis. We are all hoping, of course, that a vaccine will be available sometime in the near future that will help us alleviate the pandemic.

Your uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is probably the prime anti-vaxer in the country. He has promoted what a lot of people view as conspiracy theories about the impact of vaccines, and in the view of many public health experts, has really undermined public health in this country. Do you share your uncle’s–

JOE KENNEDY: No.

MICHAEL ISIKOFF: –views about vaccines, about the [INAUDIBLE] vaccines?

JOE KENNEDY: No. And I’ve been–

MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Have you spoken to him about it? Have you spoken out about it?

JOE KENNEDY: Yes. Yes, repeatedly. And repeatedly, I’ve spoken to him about it. I’ve spoken publicly about it. My other family members have spoken publicly about it. It’s not a view I share, and it’s not a view, I obviously promote. And anybody that has watched any of my hearings, or the hearings that I’ve participated in, when it comes to public health and the importance of vaccines, would know that.

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