Leading Pasifika health expert Sir Collin Tukuitonga has slammed US President Donald Trump's comments linking paracetamol to autism.
Leading Pasifika health expert Sir Collin Tukuitonga has slammed US President Donald Trump's comments linking paracetamol to autism.
A leading Pacific health expert has slammed the US President’s claims that taking paracetamol during pregnancy is linked to autism.
Sir Collin Tukuitonga, an Auckland University Professor and New Zealand’s former director of public health, had only strong words for US President Donald Trump and his health secretary Robert F.Kennedy jnr.
“He’s an idiot. He and his health guy – bunch of idiots. These are the same people who said bleach was going to cure Covid.
“I feel really, really angry about it,” Tukuitonga said.
“It’s terrible and irresponsible for Trump ... to make those kinds of claims without any evidence. No credible authority or scientist would support what they’re saying.”
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said pregnant women should not take paracetamol – known as Tylenol in the US – citing an unproven link to autism.
Tukuitonga acknowledged the events of 2019 in Samoa, when a deadly measles outbreak caused dozens of deaths, highlighting the need for evidence-based medical care.
The official death toll was 83 – the majority were babies – and health authorities have said the true number could have been higher.
The deaths of two infants the previous year after getting the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination, had led to the Samoan Government stopping all vaccinations for a number of months.
Despite the original two deaths later being attributed to human error on the part of two nurses, there remained a lot of fear of immunisations among parents.
E.J. (left) and Aso pictured in December, 2019, sit on the grave of their 9-month old cousin Taugata Launiu, who died of measles in Samoa. Photo / Mike Scott
Kennedy, who controversially has strong views against vaccines, visited Samoa a few months before the measles epidemic broke, and appeared with influential anti-vaccine leaders.
Earlier this year, Samoa’s then director general of health, Dr Aiono Alec Ekeroma, told RNZ claims made by Kennedy that tissue samples from the deceased sent to New Zealand did not show any trace of measles were a lie.
Speaking in Senate hearings, Kennedy had said: “Eighty-three people died. When tissue samples were sent to New Zealand, most of those people did not have measles – we do not know what was killing them.”
Ekeroma said at the time that that was “a complete lie” and that only one post-mortem was conducted. No other tissue samples were sent overseas because it was obvious the victims died of measles.
Tukuitonga said: “[Kennedy] said that they sent specimens to New Zealand and the kids didn’t die of measles – that was an outright lie.”
Tukuitonga said “without a doubt” some members of the public would believe in Trump’s claims, and called on people to consult their family doctors.
“The problem, of course, is that these are visible, high-profile people. Mothers who don’t have good support – they’re going to get confused with this sort of nonsense.
“People go online and are influenced by the decisions from ... visible, prominent people like Donald Trump.
“It’s almost bordering on criminal behaviour – deliberately issuing these kinds of statements when they know there’s no evidence to support it.”
Samoa’s acting Director-General of Health, Dr Tagaloa Robert Thomsen told the Herald he was so unimpressed with Trump’s comments he would not even be raising them with medical staff.
“We haven’t discussed any of those things because there’s no sufficient evidence to prove anything – that there’s a link between paracetamol and autism.
“That’s all speculation.”
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor for the Herald’s Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and won the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.
