What jaw symptoms can multiple myeloma cause?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
RFK Jr to remove preservative thimerosal from all US vaccines
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, will formally require vaccine makers to remove thimerosal from vaccines. The ingredient has been the target of anti-vaccine campaigns and misinformation for decades. Arguments against the preservative culminated in June, when a key federal vaccine advisory panel, remade with Kennedy's ideological allies, recommended against the preservative. The recommendation goes into force upon Kennedy's signature. There is no evidence thimerosal has caused harm, despite decades of use. The ethylmercury-based preservative was used in only about 5% adult influenza vaccines in the US, helping prevent contamination in multi-dose vials. 'After more than two decades of delay, this action fulfills a long-overdue promise to protect our most vulnerable populations from unnecessary mercury exposure,' Kennedy said in a statement announcing the decision. 'Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe, mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility. Today, we put safety first,' said Kennedy. Thimerosal is an ethylmercury-based preservative – different from the kind of mercury found in seafood, called methylmercury. Ethylmercury has a shorter half-life in the body. The amount of ethylmercury contained in a flu vaccine (25 micrograms) is about half of that contained in a 3oz serving of canned tuna fish (40 micrograms). The preservative has been used in vaccines since before the second world war. It was controversially phased out of most childhood vaccines in 1999, physicians associations said as a precautionary measure, and was contained in only a very small number of adult vaccines. Phasing out the preservative in the early 2000s was criticized by experts who argued scientific evidence did not support its removal, that it sent mixed messages and that it provided a talking point for anti-vaccine campaigners. Indeed, the preservative was targeted for years to come. That criticism came to a head in June, after Kennedy fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) advisory committee on immunization practices, a federal panel that was a critical link in the vaccine distribution pipeline. Kennedy replaced the experts with eight hand-picked allies, including one directly from the anti-vaccine movement. Eventually, one appointee dropped out after a conflict of interest review. The vaccine advisory panel voted in favor of removing thimerosal on a 5-1 vote (with one abstention) after a controversial presentation from Lyn Redwood, a former leader of World Mercury Project, the predecessor to Kennedy's group Children's Health Defense, itself a prolific anti-vaccine campaign group. Redwood's presentation had to be updated after it was found to contain a link to a study that did not exist. One of Kennedy's vaccine advisors said during the meeting that a presentation from career scientists at the CDC, which laid out thimerosal's safety, was pulled by the secretary's office. The director of the CDC is required to sign off on the vaccine advisory committee's recommendations. Because there is not presently a Senate-confirmed CDC director, Kennedy acts as head of the CDC. The decision to remove thimerosal from all vaccines in the US will also probably complicate the global picture for vaccine makers. 'With the US now removing mercury from all vaccines, we urge global health authorities to follow this prudent example for the protection of children worldwide,' Kennedy said.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Alcohol-related liver disease in the US has more than doubled in the last 20 years - and its down to four groups
Alcohol-related liver disease has more than doubled in the U.S. over the last 20 years. The increase is tied to four groups that make up a greater share of heavy drinkers than they did two decades ago: Women, adults ages 45 and older, people living in poverty, and those with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome refers to a number of conditions, including high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Exactly why these groups are drinking more remains unclear. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine's Dr. Peter Martin previously told NBC News that 'it's become more and more socially acceptable for women to drink as much as men' and George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told The New York Times that he believed older Americans are even less 'likely' to understand the hazards of alcohol. 'Alcohol-related liver disease is the main cause of liver-related death and these results are a major wakeup call to the dangers of drinking,' researcher Dr. Brian Lee, a hepatologist and liver transplant specialist at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California, said in a statement after the new study published Wednesday. The findings, Lee said, provide the first comprehensive look at the demographics of heavy drinking and their relation to liver disease since the 1990s. Because the average drinking rate in the U.S. was unchanged over the last 20 years - outside of the pandemic - it suggested factors such as changing health and demographics may be playing a role. The researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of adults and children in the U.S. from 1999 through 2020. They tracked the total increase in significant liver disease, a point when scar tissue impairs the organ's function, often caused by heavy drinking. More than 51,600 adults died from liver disease in 2020 in the U.S. The researchers looked at the demographic and health profiles of adults, age 20 or older, who drank heavily - eight drinks per week for women and 15 for men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous research had tied the four groups looked at in this study to a higher risk of liver disease when exposed to alcohol. A separate 2024 study, authored by Lee, found that heavy drinking rose at the pandemic's peak and continued for two years after that. Lee hypothesized that increase may have been due to stress. Liver disease deaths have also roughly doubled over the last 20 years, and the number of annual alcohol deaths due to cancer has doubled in the same time period. Lee believes the results will help to provide doctors with necessary updates to better treat patients and potentially result in more screenings and interventions for Americans in high-risk populations. 'Our results show that the makeup of the American public with heavy alcohol consumption has changed compared to 20 years ago,' he said.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US health secretary Kennedy's vaccine actions and policy positions
July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, has been making sweeping changes to reshape vaccine, food and medicine policies. The most far-reaching of his moves culminated in the layoff of all 17 members of a panel of vaccine experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here are some of the vaccine-related policy moves under Kennedy's leadership in recent months: Date of Announcement: March 13, 2025 Details: U.S. FDA independently recommends virus strains for 2025-2026 influenza vaccines, deviating from traditional advisory committee voting. Date of Announcement: April 16, 2025 Details: Kennedy plans a series of studies on link between autism and environmental factors, including mold, air, water and food. He said, without any scientific evidence, that "environmental toxins" are responsible for the rise in autism rates among children in the U.S. Date of Announcement: May 7, 2025 Details: Federal agencies will create a database to research causes of autism, focusing on Medicare and Medicaid data, as part of a broader effort to explore potential links between vaccines and autism. Date of Announcement: May 20, 2025 Details: The FDA plans new trials for annual COVID-19 boosters, limiting them to older adults and those at risk of severe illness. This change aligns with international perspectives on COVID vaccination strategies. Date of Announcement: May 27, 2025 Details: The U.S. stops recommending routine COVID vaccinations for pregnant women and healthy children, bypassing the CDC's traditional advisory process. Date of Announcement: May 28, 2025 Details: The Trump administration cancels a contract with Moderna (MRNA.O), opens new tab for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine, after determining it did not meet scientific standards. Date of Announcement: June 9, 2025 Details: Kennedy fires all members of the CDC vaccine expert panel, which recommends how vaccines are used and by whom, promising to restore public trust in health agencies. Scientists and experts say the changes would undermine public confidence in health agencies. Date of Announcement: June 11, 2025 Details: Kennedy names eight members to serve on a key panel of vaccine advisers, including several who have advocated against vaccines, after abruptly firing all 17 members of the independent committee of experts. Date of announcement: June 23 Details: The new members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will begin a two-day meet with a revamped agenda which includes discussions on vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal. Date of announcement: July 23 Details: The United States will stop distributing all influenza vaccines that contain mercury-based preservative thimerosal, as Kennedy accepts the vaccine panel's recommendation given in June.
