Secretary for Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced bipartisan backlash during a combative Senate hearing on Thursday, as both Republicans and Democrats criticized his controversial vaccine policies and the abrupt firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician who supported Kennedy during his confirmation hearings, questioned his decision to cancel $500 million in COVID-19 vaccine contracts, according to a Reuters report.

Cassidy pressed Kennedy to acknowledge President Donald Trump’s achievements under Operation Warp Speed, helping accelerate the development and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccines. He goes on to ask whether Trump deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for the initiative, to which Kennedy said that he did.

See Also: Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Leadership Can Only Bring More ‘Harm,’ Says Top Ex-CDC Official: ‘Undoing Of Vaccination’ In Works

However, Cassidy then asked about Kennedy’s prior statements, suggesting that the vaccine had killed more people than COVID. Kennedy denied making any such statement and declined to say that the shots had saved lives, only conceding at a later stage that they prevented deaths, without specifying how many.

According to a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, the vaccines prevented 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 globally.

The hearing also spotlighted Kennedy’s tenure as Secretary of Health and Human Services, which recently culminated in the dismissal of CDC Director Monarez, just a month after her appointment to the position.

Since taking office, Kennedy has narrowed eligibility for COVID-19 shots, with approvals restricted to only those at higher risk of COVID-19, seniors and people with underlying health conditions.

He has also dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory board, replacing them with Robert Malone and Retsef Levi, who have both been prominent critics of the mRNA vaccine. These issues have since led to mounting criticism, including calls for his resignation from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Trump has, however, come out in support of Kennedy, saying that he “means very well,” while acknowledging that “he's got some little different ideas,” and that he wanted to “listen to all those takes.”

Vaccine stocks have been under pressure throughout Kennedy’s tenure, with significant regulatory headwinds taking a toll on performance.

Photo Courtesy: Joshua Sukoff on Shutterstock.com

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