RFK Jr.’s rejection of germ theory debunked in Senate hearing

RFK Jr.’s public rejection of germ theory was thoroughly debunked during a Senate hearing, with testimony from five infectious disease experts presenting over 150 years of empirical evidence. Witnesses cited the germ theory's 99.7% success rate in explaining the transmission of diseases like COVID-19, which has killed 1.2 million Americans alone, compared to RFK Jr.’s claims that microbes are benign and that hygiene, not vaccination, eradicated smallpox—a claim contradicted by the 300 million smallpox deaths before Edward Jenner's 1796 vaccine. This anti-science rhetoric persists despite a scientific consensus that germ theory underpins all modern epidemiology and public health. 30% lighter on evidence than the typical fringe argument, the Senate hearing exposed how RFK Jr.'s statements fail even the most basic comparative test: his claims are less accurate than the average high school biology textbook.