'We’re working on it': HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Ebola, hantavirus response
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News on Monday that his agency is working to address the recent hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks, marking the first time he’s commented publicly on the Ebola outbreak since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed than an American had been infected with the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Yeah, we’re working on it,” Kennedy told ABC News when asked if he was worried about the outbreaks. The secretary’s comments come after the CDC said a “small number of Americans" are directly affected by the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC.
Kennedy did not respond when asked what his message might be to Americans who are concerned about the diseases potentially spreading in America. He told reporters in the Oval Office last week that the U.S. had the hantavirus outbreak “under control.”
“We have this under control and we're not worried about it,” he said at the White House’s maternal healthcare event on May 11th. Kennedy also noted that the CDC has been working on the outbreak since day one.
The CDC said there have been no confirmed hantavirus cases in the U.S. linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship and 18 passengers remain under observation at the University of Nebraska.
Meanwhile, Kennedy's brief comments about the outbreaks came following a roundtable event announcing nearly $1 billion in new funding to states to address PFAS in drinking water at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday.
The secretary has been on a midterm blitz recently, touting the administration's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement during stops including Ohio and California.
At a subsequent event featuring Kennedy and other health leaders at the White House, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Heidi Overton stressed that “there are no cases of Ebola in America.”
Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Heidi Overton stressed during the event that “there are no cases of Ebola in America.”
“We want to keep it that way and we are doing everything we can to support Americans in the region,” Overton added.
