ICYMI: Abdul El-Sayed Slams RFK Jr.’s HHS Mismanagement on MS NOW

MICHIGAN – Yesterday, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed made an appearance on All In with Chris Hayes to discuss a recent article by the Washington Post that a CDC report, which touts the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, is being delayed due to RFK Jr.’s personal views of vaccines. 

Under RFK Jr. ‘s leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services, measles rates have skyrocketed, vaccination rates have plummeted, and medical disinformation has run rampant. As a former public health official and epidemiologist, Abdul has been vocal in his strong opposition to RFK Jr.’s destruction of critical health infrastructure in the United States. On MS NOW, Abdul derided the rising costs of healthcare and medicine, which has plunged Americans into $220 billion in debt nationwide and has led to distrust in our healthcare systems.

“Pharma has something to do with this because, at the end of the day, they make good medications – they just make them too expensive to be able to afford.” Abdul said on All In. “It’s not a far leap from that to, well, ‘maybe the things they actually make are bad’, right? That leap is one that, unfortunately, our healthcare system, so focused on the money that gets made, has created an opportunity for, because you’ve created a push factor for people.”

Abdul emphasized his own experience leading Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services, where he spearheaded a program to wipe out up to $700 million in medical debt for over 300,000 Michiganders and made Narcan universally accessible. He noted that effectively utilizing public health institutions happens when its success is shaped around people, not profit – a core belief that has informed his support of Medicare for all.

“It’s not enough to just push back on RFK Jr. if you’re not doing the structural work of making sure people have access to the healthcare they need.”

View the full interview here.

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