With Flu Shot Vote, Kennedy's Vaccine Skepticism Comes Full Circle
The book, published in 2014, explored an obscure mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, that was removed from most vaccines, but not flu vaccines, more than two decades ago. Dr. Oz noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had deemed the vaccines that still contained thimerosal 'safe and effective' and said they did 'not present a public health risk.'
Mr. Kennedy did not buy it. 'We found 500 peer-reviewed studies,' he insisted. 'Virtually every one of them said that thimerosal is a potent neurotoxin that should not be in vaccines.'
On Thursday, the new members of the C.D.C.'s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, hand-selected by Mr. Kennedy after he fired all 17 members of the previous panel, decided it would longer recommend annual flu shots that contain it. Thimerosal's appearance on the committee's agenda in the first place shocked public health leaders, who have long considered the matter settled.
But it was not a surprise to people who have followed Mr. Kennedy closely. Thimerosal started Mr. Kennedy down a path of questioning vaccine safety, and Thursday's vote was the culmination of a long personal journey. It offers a window into how, as secretary, he is pursuing his own passions and installing old allies in positions of influence.
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Medscape
8 minutes ago
- Medscape
The One Crucial Question to Ask Your Eczema Patient
One of the most harmful eczema symptoms isn't visible in the clinic — it's the sleep patients lose from itching, pain, and bleeding at night. About 43% of people with eczema have sleep problems, according to a recent study review in Archives of Dermatological Research . 'If I had only one question to ask, that's the one I would choose — how's the sleep?' said Peter Lio, MD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern Medicine, Chicago. Here's why assessing sleep is crucial in eczema — and how to help patients rest better at night. Why Sleep Should Be a Standard Part of Eczema Care 'People feel very alone in this, but almost everybody reports their itch is worse at night,' said Lio. Preliminary research suggests that circadian rhythms in skin barrier function could partially explain this phenomenon. Another factor: When patients lie down to sleep, the day's responsibilities done, they may finally notice their underlying itchiness. 'People describe it like the flood gates opening,' said Zelma Chiesa Fuxench, MD, MSCE, associate professor in dermatology at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 'All of a sudden, they're not thinking about anything else that they need to do to get through the day, and the itching is there.' Some patients have insomnia — tossing, turning, and scratching for hours before falling asleep. Others 'fall asleep great but then wake up multiple times or wake up early, kind of miserable and itchy,' said Lio. Then it's hard to fall back asleep. Some people scratch while sleeping, reducing sleep quality. They don't feel rested despite going to bed and rising at normal times. 'Oftentimes their skin looks terrible in the morning, and sometimes there's even blood on the sheets,' said Lio. People with severe eczema tend to have more sleep trouble. Research suggests that tissue damage and inflammation might cause sleep disturbances, and skin barrier disruption might alter circadian rhythms and increase sensitivity to environmental triggers. What's more, insufficient sleep can directly harm skin. 'There are studies that show just keeping people up for one night, screwing up one night of sleep, has a measurable damaging effect on the skin barrier in healthy patients,' said Lio. 'So imagine if you already have a damaged barrier and are staying up night after night. You're really in a vicious loop.' In eczema sufferers, sleep problems can reduce quality of life and can be linked with depression, anxiety symptoms, and neurocognitive deficits. 'Understanding the impact of sleep loss is very important because of the association between lack of sleep and disease morbidity,' said Chiesa Fuxench. Of course, poor sleep can harm patients' overall health too. Bad sleep can also become a household problem that affects parents, caregivers, and partners of people with eczema, said Chiesa Fuxench. What to Ask Eczema Patients About Sleep Questions about sleep can give you a glimpse into a patient's day-to-day eczema control, beyond what you can see during an appointment. 'With a very dynamic disease on the skin, we have what I'll call the 'mechanic's problem,'' said Lio. That's the phenomenon of your car's funny noise disappearing when you take it to the shop. 'People will come in looking pretty good that day, so your clinical exam might not be that impressive,' he said. You might not think the patient needs treatment adjustment until you learn about their sleep habits. And patients might not volunteer this information — you have to ask, said Chiesa Fuxench. Here's how: Use a validated screening tool. Ask patients to complete a quick questionnaire with a sleep-related question before their exam. The six-question Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool asks: Over the last week, how many nights did you have trouble falling or staying asleep because of your eczema? The seven-question Patient Oriented Eczema Measure asks: Over the last week, on how many nights has your sleep been disturbed because of the eczema?When patients circle their answer, they receive a numerical score you can track over time, from zero (no problem sleeping) to four (problems every night).It's helpful to capture seven nights. If you ask patients about sleep without specifying a time frame, they might only recall the night before. Their answer might not reflect their overall sleep patterns. 'If a patient says, 'You know what, my eczema has been keeping me awake every day for the last week,' then that, to me, it's a huge exclamation point,' said Chiesa Fuxench. Ask patients to complete a quick questionnaire with a sleep-related question before their exam. The six-question Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool asks: Over the last week, how many nights did you have trouble falling or staying asleep because of your eczema? The seven-question Patient Oriented Eczema Measure asks: Over the last week, on how many nights has your sleep been disturbed because of the eczema?When patients circle their answer, they receive a numerical score you can track over time, from zero (no problem sleeping) to four (problems every night).It's helpful to capture seven nights. If you ask patients about sleep without specifying a time frame, they might only recall the night before. Their answer might not reflect their overall sleep patterns. Ask a broad question. If you can't use a screening tool, kickstart the conversation with a question that widely connects eczema and sleep. Chiesa Fuxench often asks: Are you having trouble sleeping, or is eczema affecting your sleep in any way? 'What I did for many years was simply ask: How are you sleeping? Is it affecting your sleep? Do you find that you're sleeping OK?' said Lio. 'That's probably sufficient for getting a good sense of what's going on.' How to Help People With Eczema Sleep Better When eczema disturbs a patient's sleep, Lio doesn't recommend sleep medications or sedating first-generation antihistamines as first-line treatments. They don't fix the underlying problem and can cause dependency. Focus instead on the person's skin. 'My goal is to get their skin better, to get the itch under control so that they can sleep,' he said. 'I want sleep to actually be a good measure of how we're doing.' If the patient is new or treatment-naive, consider starting treatment. Otherwise, consider advancing them to the next step of the therapeutic ladder. 'If it's a patient who was already on therapy and they're still having trouble sleeping, then it's an opportunity for us to go back and reassess: What is happening here that you are having trouble sleeping? Is it that the medication tackles some things but not others? Do we need to reassess therapy? Do we need to be more aggressive with treatment?' said Chiesa Fuxench. For example, if gentle cleansing and moisturizing aren't enough, consider topical therapy. If topicals aren't doing the trick, now might be the time to try systemic therapy or phototherapy, said Lio. 'This doesn't necessarily mean they need a certain kind of drug,' said Lio. 'It just means we need to do something different. We need to escalate therapy.' Complementary therapies such as acupuncture and hypnotherapy also help some eczema patients reduce stress and sleep better, he said. Standard sleep hygiene also applies, and a few eczema-specific bedtime habits may help: Keep pets out of bed to reduce skin irritation from dander. Ask your partner to give you a calming massage at night to relax before sleep. Use silk sheets to reduce friction. Wash your bedding every 1-2 days to remove dust mites. Use fragrance-free detergent and run the rinse cycle twice to remove soap residue. Forgot to wash your sheets? Keep an ultraviolet C sanitizing wand nearby and run it over your bedding to kill dust mites. Use an air purifier in your bedroom to remove dander and other irritants. As you follow up with the patient, watch for other signs of sleep-sabotaging health problems. Ask: Are you having trouble functioning? The patient might need a referral to a mental health care provider or another specialist. 'Patients with atopic dermatitis may also have other reasons why they're having trouble sleeping,' said Chiesa Fuxench. 'We are physicians at the end of the day, and we have to look at the patient as this entire being, not just someone who has atopic dermatitis.' Lio has consulted or advised for AbbVie Inc., Apogee Therapeutics Inc., Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Eli Lilly and Company, Galderma, Incyte Corporation, L'Oreal, Pfizer Inc., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Sanofi-Aventis US LLC, Skinfix Inc.; and Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. He has ownership or investment interest in Alphyn Biologics Inc., Boston Skin Science LLC, Codex Labs, Concerto Biosciences, LearnHealth Inc., Medable Inc., Modernizing Medicine Inc., Soteri Skin, Stratum Biosciences, Thimble Health LLC, Verdant Scientific Inc., Yobee Care Inc. He has the right to receive payments or may receive future financial benefits for inventions or discoveries related to Theraplex.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
As Guard deploys, Trump to seek 'long-term' federal control of DC police
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A White House official told ABC News that, beginning Wednesday night, officials expected a "significantly higher National Guard presence to be on the ground throughout Washington, D.C." The White House official added that beginning Wednesday night, the deployment will transition to round-the-clock, 24/7 operations. Those operations had been previously focused on evening and overnight hours. On Tuesday night, more than 1,450 federal law enforcement officers and National Guard members patrolled Washington, according to a White House official. Law enforcement teams made 43 arrests on Tuesday night -- nearly twice the number made Monday night, the official said. Those law enforcement teams included 750 D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers who were "uniformed, marked as patrol and directly assigned as anti-crime officers," the White House official said. That was in addition to the federal law enforcement who had been previously mobilized in the area. The White House official said that there were about 30 National Guard troops on the ground last night. MORE: Trump admin live updates: Trump threatens 'severe consequences' for Putin if he doesn't stop war The law enforcement teams were "deployed throughout all seven districts in D.C. to promote public safety and arrest violent offenders," the White House official said. After Trump's announcement Monday, approximately 850 officers and agents fanned out over D.C. right after Trump declared a crime emergency in the capital, making 23 arrests, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. On Tuesday, National Guard troops were spotted on the National Mall, with many stationed around the base of the Washington Monument. The troops left Wednesday morning. It was not immediately clear why the presence of U.S. troops along the National Mall was needed, other than to put Trump's orders on display. The area, marked by museums, monuments and long stretches of grass, is known as a relatively safe part of the city that attracts mostly tourists and school groups. ABC News' John Parkinson contributed to this report. Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that National Guard did not make any arrests of individuals in Washington. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US warships sail in vicinity of disputed shoal where Chinese ships collided
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But China has effectively controlled the uninhabited shoal since 2012 by maintaining an almost constant coast guard presence in nearby waters, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. China and Taiwan each require advance notification of passage within the territorial waters of the reef, in violation of international laws guaranteeing the right of 'innocent passage' by foreign warships, Merrill said. The Philippines does not impose this requirement, she added. Merrill denied an earlier claim by China's Southern Theater Command that it 'organized its forces to track, monitor, warn and expel' the US warship as it 'violated China's territorial sovereignty.' 'China's statement about this mission is false,' Merrill said. 'The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us,' Merrill said. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the USS Higgins wasn't the only US warship in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday. The littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati was also nearby, spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in a statement on X. Merrill would only confirm to CNN that the Cincinnati was operating in the South China Sea. Wednesday's FONOP was the first near Scarborough Shoal in more than six years, according to Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, who keeps a database of US Freedom of Navigation operations. It was also just the second FONOP in 2025, after one in the Spratly Islands in May. The US performed two FONOPs in the South China Sea in 2024 after executing five in 2023, according to Koh's database. China says such missions by the US threaten its sovereignty and peace and stability in the South China Sea. Tensions around Scarborough Shoal, home to rich fishing grounds, have been increasing as Beijing becomes more assertive in claiming of sovereignty over much of the South China Sea and Manila pushes back, embarking independent journalists on Philippine Coast Guard missions to document what it calls Chinese aggression. Wednesday's US Navy operation came two days after a Chinese navy guided-missile destroyer and coast guard ship collided near the shoal while chasing a Philippine Coast Guard vessel. The collision caused heavy damage to the bow of the China Coast Guard ship. In a state-run Global Times report late Wednesday, Chinese experts placed the blame for Monday's incident on the Philippines and, indirectly, its defense treaty ally, the US. The Philippine Coast Guard vessel made repeated dangerous maneuvers in front of the Chinese Coast Guard ship, the Global Times report said, without mentioning the presence of the Chinese destroyer. The media outlet reported that Chinese experts had said the 'Philippine ship's maneuvers severely compromised the navigational safety of the Chinese vessel, and seriously violated the most basic principles and rules of maritime navigational safety.' The report was accompanied by a 26-second video clip, which allegedly shows reckless action by the Philippine vessel, though did not show the moment of the collision between the Chinese ships. 'The full responsibility for the resulting damages lies with the Philippine side, and all losses should be entirely borne by the Philippine vessel that provoked and caused the incident at sea,' the report said in possible reference to the collision, which China has not specifically admitted. Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, reviewed the Global Times video for CNN and said the Chinese ship, being the overtaking ship, would be responsible for signaling its intentions to the Philippine vessel. 'There is no evidence they did so and the Philippine Coast Guard vessel is under no obligation to heave to,' or give way, Schuster said. The Global Times article quoted Yang Xiao, an expert on maritime issues at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, who pointed the finger of blame at the US military for training its Philippine ally in gray-zone tactics, actions below the level of open warfare but employing more than diplomacy or negotiations. Yang said the tactics violate 'internationally accepted norms of maritime law enforcement' and 'could lead to serious miscalculations and heightened risks of conflict at sea.' Solve the daily Crossword
