- Slug: News–RFK Vaccines Fluoride. 1,000 words.
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By Madeline Bates
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Kindergartners are less likely to get vaccinations in Arizona than in almost any other state. And fewer than three in five state residents have access to fluoridated water – also well below the national average.
These metrics leave public health experts in Arizona especially concerned about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was grilled by senators Wednesday during the first day of his confirmation hearings for secretary of Health and Human Services.
For years, RFK Jr. has questioned the safety and effectiveness of childhood immunizations against measles, polio and other scourges that have mostly disappeared in the United States. And he wants to eliminate fluoridation of public water supplies, which dental experts believe would cause an epidemic of unnecessary cavities.
“It would be catastrophic if he gets in this job,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, whose members include nurses, researchers and other health care professionals.