Latest news with #DavidGeier
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
Vaccine Opponent Hired by RFK Jr. Scours Official Records for Link to Autism
An antivaccine activist recently hired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has started hunting for proof that federal officials hid evidence that inoculations cause autism, according to people familiar with the matter. David Geier, a longtime vaccine opponent hired this spring as a contractor in the health department's financial office, is seeking Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that antivaccine activists, including Kennedy, have alleged was buried because it showed a link between vaccines and autism, the people said.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Fact Check: RFK Jr. said HHS researcher without medical license wasn't hired for autism study
Claim: David Geier, appointed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead autism-related research, is not a licensed medical doctor. Rating: What's True: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' directory website states that David Geier is currently employed by the department as a "senior data analyst." Geier has never held a medical license and he was charged in Maryland with practicing medicine without one. What's False: According to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Geier was not hired to conduct or lead autism research, but rather to review historical vaccine safety data from the CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink. On May 14, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, where senators questioned him on a range of issues — including the controversial hiring of David Geier. The hearing came weeks after a viral rumor claimed that Geier, whom Kennedy reportedly chose to work on autism-related research, was not a licensed doctor and had a history of unethical medical practices, including administering dangerous hormone treatments to autistic children. As Snopes reported in early January 2025, investigating the reasons for the growing prevalence of autism diagnoses was one of the stated goals of President Donald Trump's second administration. Readers messaged us asking whether Geier, reportedly in charge of the "autism solution" under Kennedy, "ever had a medical license" and "chemically castrated autistic children." Similar claims also spread on social media. "David Geier is neither a doctor nor a scientist; he is a discredited conspiracy theorist and hack researcher who RFK Jr. hired to advance his anti-science, anti-vaccine agenda," one Facebook post on the topic stated. Similar claims about Geier circulated on X, Bluesky, Facebook, and Reddit. "Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism," one Reddit post on the topic read. Julia Davis, a columnist for The Daily Beast and the creator of the Russian Media Monitor, wrote on X that "the man tapped by RFK Jr to run a clinical trial looking to tie vaccines to autism has been charged with practicing medicine without a license, given autistic children a dangerous drug not approved for use in the US & improperly prescribed puberty blockers." In short, the claims were a mixture of true and false information. Geier, who in fact has never held a medical license and was previously charged in Maryland with practicing medicine without one, is now listed as a "senior data analyst" at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website. In the mid-2000s, he and his father promoted an unapproved treatment for autism that involved administering Lupron, a testosterone-suppressing drug. While multiple news outlets have reported that Geier may be involved in a federal effort to analyze potential links between vaccines and autism, a longstanding and widely debunked theory, during a May 14, 2025, Senate hearing, Kennedy testified that Geier was not hired to lead autism research, but rather to review historical vaccine safety data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Vaccine Safety Datalink. We have reached out to Geier and HHS to inquire about his role in the department and will update this article if we receive a response. Geier is a controversial figure in the debate over autism and vaccines. CNN, for instance, described Geier as a "self-proclaimed autism expert who published a since-retracted paper with his father, Mark Geier, purporting to show links between vaccines and autism." In fact, one of the articles the Geiers co-authored was retracted because, according to the editors of the Science and Engineering Ethics journal, it contained "a number of errors, and mistakes of various types that raise concerns about the validity of the conclusion." Similarly, the BBC described Geier as a "leading vaccine sceptic who was fined by the state of Maryland for practicing medicine without a medical degree or licence and prescribing dangerous treatments to autistic children." Geier is the son of Mark Geier, a physician whose medical license was revoked in multiple states for misconduct. According to Children's Health Defense, Kennedy's nonprofit anti-vaccine group, Mark Geier died in late March 2025. Unlike his father, David Geier never obtained a medical license. In 2011, the Maryland State Board of Physicians charged him with practicing medicine without a license. "David Geier has never obtained a license to practice medicine nor has he held a license to practice any health occupation," the board wrote. "In 2002, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He has not attended any medical school." According to an unreported opinion from the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, an administrative law judge initially recommended dismissing the charges. However, in July 2012, the board rejected this recommendation, concluding that Geier "who is not a physician, had diagnosed a patient, determined which blood tests to order for the patient, and ordered those blood tests," and as a penalty for practicing medicine without a license imposed a $10,000 fine. Geier appealed the board's decision, but the Circuit Court for Montgomery County upheld the ruling in April 2014. Subsequently, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, maintaining the board's findings and the fine. According to Science magazine, in the mid-2000s, the Geiers promoted a discredited theory suggesting that autism was caused by a harmful interaction between mercury (specifically thimerosal, a preservative formerly used in vaccines) and testosterone. They claimed that lowering testosterone could improve autism symptoms, and developed an unapproved treatment plan involving daily injections of Lupron, a drug used to treat "symptoms of prostate cancer, early-onset puberty and other hormone-related conditions." In children, Lupron is approved only for treating rare cases of precocious puberty. The board found "that Dr. Geier treated patients with Lupron, a medication that was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for use on children in the absence of precocious puberty, and that Dr. Geier did not perform an adequate examination to determine if the patients had precocious puberty." On April 10, 2025, Kennedy said during a broadcasted cabinet meeting chaired by Trump, "We've launched a massive testing and research effort that's going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world. By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures." During a May 14 Senate hearing, when Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., questioned Kennedy about Geier's alleged role of leading autism research at HHS, he testified, "We did not hire David Geier to manage autism research at HHS." He clarified Geier's role was to compare current data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink with what he previously accessed in the 2000s. Below is a transcription of the relevant part of the hearing: KENNEDY: So, do you want to know why we brought David Geier in? HASSAN: Sure. KENNEDY: Because it wasn't to run autism research. In 2002, the CDC runs a Vaccine Safety Datalink which is supposed to be the vaccine information for the biggest HMOs that are supposed to allow CDC to have a surveillance system for vaccine injury. It's a backs-up system. The CDC will not let any physicians in there to look at it, or any scientists, independent scientists. HASSAN: He's neither a scientist nor a physician. KENNEDY: The Congress ordered CDC to open it to the Geiers. So they are the only scientists who have ever been in there. HASSAN: But again, Mr. Geier is not a scientist. […] KENNEDY: David Geier is the only living independent scientist who's seen the VSD inside. There's been a lot of monkey business with the VSD, including allegations of fraud. He was hired by an independent contractor — not as an HHS employee — but by an independent contractor, to look at the documents that we were getting to the VSD to see if they conformed with what he saw between 2002 and 2016. And that's the only reason that he was brought in, to see if there was […] . There is so much information that has disappeared from that database. The only way we could find out what information disappeared was because he was the one guy who saw it. Kennedy said Geier was hired "by an independent contractor — not as an HHS employee." However, according to the HHS directory website (archived), as of this writing Geier was listed as a senior data analyst in the HHS' Office of Secretary for the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources. The exact circumstances of his hiring remain unclear. (HHS Employee Directory via Wayback Machine) The listing did not provide further details about the nature or scope of Geier's responsibilities. Between April and early May 2025, several news outlets reported Geier would "lead" or "oversee" a study on the causes of autism. We have not independently verified these reports. The Washington Post first reported on Geier's hiring on March 25, 2025. The outlet said the HHS hired Geier "to conduct the analysis, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation." In a brief phone interview with the Post the same day, Geier said "he had no comment about whether he has a role in the study, how he was hired, and whether he holds the same views about vaccines and autism as described in his previous research." "I don't have any comment to say," he told the Post, "Talk to the secretary. He's the person that's in charge." The Post noted it was not clear "how or why Geier, who is not a physician and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, was chosen." According to the Post, an unnamed federal health official identified Geier as the person who "would be the one analyzing the [vaccine safety] data." Similarly, The New York Times reported Geier "joined his department to work on a study examining the long-debunked theory," vaguely crediting "people familiar with the matter." Additionally, the NBC article on the matter cited "two sources familiar with the plan" that "learned about the matter during recent meetings at the CDC but were not authorized to speak about it publicly." All in all, in mid-May 2025, Kennedy denied the claims that HHS hired Geier to lead a federal study examining potential links between vaccines and autism, saying he was brought on only to review vaccine safety data from the CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink, not to conduct or lead an autism-related study. In mid-April 2025, we investigated whether Kennedy said autistic children "will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted," and unpacked rumors about the National Institutes of Health's alleged plans to launch a "disease registry" to track Americans with autism. "'Rare in His Brilliance': Tribute to Dr. Mark Geier — Advocate for Vaccine Safety and Autistic Children." Children's Health Defense, 27 Mar. 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. AFP News Agency. "RFK Jr Says Study Will Reveal Cause of Autism 'Epidemic' in September | AFP." YouTube, 10 Apr. 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Chicago Tribune. "Autism Doctor Loses License in Illinois, Missouri." Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2012, Accessed 8 May 2025. Deng, Grace. "What to Know about Reports RFK Jr. Is Launching Registry to Track Americans with Autism." Snopes, 22 Apr. 2025, Edwards, Erika, and Brandy Zadrozny. "HHS Taps Anti-Vaccine Activist to Look at Debunked Links between Autism and Vaccines, Sources Say." NBC News, 26 Mar. 2025, "Four Vaccine Myths and Where They Came From." Geier, Max G. "Book Review: Etulain,Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era, by Max G. Geier Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era . By Richard W. Etulain . ( Corvallis , Oregon State University Press , 2013 . Xii + 210 Pp. $19.95 Paper)." Pacific Historical Review, vol. 83, no. 4, Nov. 2014, pp. 698–99, Accessed 6 Nov. 2019. "HHS Employee Directory." 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Jewett, Christina, et al. "RFK Jr. Turns to a Discredited Vaccine Researcher for Autism Study." The New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025, "Julia Davis - the Daily Beast." The Daily Beast, 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Kern, Janet K., et al. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Systematic Assessment of Research on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Mercury Reveals Conflicts of Interest and the Need for Transparency in Autism Research." Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 23, no. 6, Oct. 2015, pp. 1689–90, Accessed 11 June 2021. ---. "Systematic Assessment of Research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Mercury Reveals Conflicts of Interest and the Need for Transparency in Autism Research." Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 23, no. 6, Nov. 2017, pp. 1691–718, Accessed 11 June 2021. King, Jordan. "RFK Jr Autism Study Led by Man Who Injected Children with Anti-Puberty Drug." Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025, kreidler, Marc. "Maryland Medical Board Suspends Dr. Mark Geier's License | Quackwatch." 8 May 2011, Accessed 8 May 2025. "Lupron (Leuprolide): Uses & Side Effects." Cleveland Clinic, "MARYLAND BOARD of PHYSICIANS v. GEIER (2015) | FindLaw." Findlaw, 2015, Accessed 8 May 2025. Rascouët-Paz, Anna. "Yes, RFK Jr. Said Autistic Children Will Never Pay Taxes, Hold a Job, Play Baseball or Write a Poem." Snopes, 18 Apr. 2025, Schreiber, Melody. "Autistic People and Experts Voice Alarm at RFK's 'Terrible' Approach to Condition." The Guardian, The Guardian, 24 Apr. 2025, Stolberg, Sheryl Gay, et al. "Kennedy Instructs Anti-Vaccine Group to Remove Fake C.D.C. Page." The New York Times, 23 Mar. 2025, Sun, Lena H., and Fenit Nirappil. "Vaccine Skeptic Hired to Head Federal Study of Immunizations and Autism." The Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2025, Tirrell, Meg, et al. "RFK Jr. Claims New Research Effort Will Find Cause of 'Autism Epidemic' by September." CNN, 10 Apr. 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Wendling, Mike. "RFK Jr Pledges to Find the Cause of Autism 'by September.'" BBC, 11 Apr. 2025, X (Formerly Twitter), 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Fact Check: HHS hired researcher without medical license under RFK Jr., but role in autism study unclear
Claim: David Geier, appointed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead autism-related research, is not a licensed medical doctor. Rating: What's True: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' directory website states that David Geier is currently employed by the department as a "senior data analyst." Geier has never held a medical license and he was charged in Maryland for practicing medicine without one. What's Undetermined: It is not officially confirmed, and we were unable to independently verify, whether Geier is leading or playing a significant role in any current federal autism research initiative. His exact responsibilities under Kennedy remain vague, and HHS has not publicly detailed the scope of his role. In late April and early May 2025, a rumor spread that David Geier, whom U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly chose to work on autism-related research, was not a licensed doctor and had a history of unethical medical practices, including administering dangerous hormone treatments to autistic children. As Snopes reported in early January 2025, investigating the reasons for the growing prevalence of autism diagnoses was one of the stated goals of President Donald Trump's second administration. Readers messaged us asking whether Geier, reportedly in charge of the "autism solution" under Kennedy "ever had a medical license" and "chemically castrated autistic children." Similar claims also spread on social media. "David Geier is neither a doctor nor a scientist; he is a discredited conspiracy theorist and hack researcher who RFK Jr. hired to advance his anti-science, anti-vaccine agenda," one Facebook post on the topic stated. Similar claims about Geier circulated on X, Bluesky, Facebook, and Reddit. "Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism," one Reddit post on the topic read. Julia Davis, a columnist for The Daily Beast and the creator of the Russian Media Monitor, wrote on X that "the man tapped by RFK Jr to run a clinical trial looking to tie vaccines to autism has been charged with practicing medicine without a license, given autistic children a dangerous drug not approved for use in the US & improperly prescribed puberty blockers." In short, the claims were a mixture of true and undetermined information. Geier, who in fact has never held a medical license and was previously charged in Maryland for practicing medicine without one, is now listed as a "senior data analyst" at the Department of Health and Human Services website. In the mid-2000s, he and his father promoted an unapproved treatment for autism that involved administering Lupron, a testosterone-suppressing drug. While multiple news outlets have reported that Geier may be involved in a federal effort to analyze potential links between vaccines and autism, a longstanding and widely debunked theory, neither HHS nor Kennedy has confirmed the nature or scope of his role. As of this writing, his exact responsibilities remain unclear, and we were unable to independently verify whether he is leading or playing a significant part in the alleged initiative. We have reached out to Geier and HHS to inquire about his role in the department and will update this article if we receive a response. Geier is a controversial figure in the debate over autism and vaccines. CNN, for instance, described Geier as a "self-proclaimed autism expert who published a since-retracted paper with his father, Mark Geier, purporting to show links between vaccines and autism." In fact, one of the articles the Geiers co-authored was retracted because, according to the editors of the Science and Engineering Ethics journal, it contained "a number of errors, and mistakes of various types that raise concerns about the validity of the conclusion." Similarly, the BBC described Geier as a "leading vaccine sceptic who was fined by the state of Maryland for practicing medicine without a medical degree or licence and prescribing dangerous treatments to autistic children." Geier is the son of Mark Geier, a physician whose medical license was revoked in multiple states for misconduct. According to Children's Health Defense, Kennedy's nonprofit anti-vaccine group, Mark Geier died in late March 2025. Unlike his father, David Geier never obtained a medical license. In 2011, the Maryland State Board of Physicians charged him with practicing medicine without a license. "David Geier has never obtained a license to practice medicine nor has he held a license to practice any health occupation," the board wrote. "In 2002, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He has not attended any medical school." According to an unreported opinion from the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, an administrative law judge initially recommended dismissing the charges. However, in July 2012, the board rejected this recommendation, concluding that Geier "who is not a physician, had diagnosed a patient, determined which blood tests to order for the patient, and ordered those blood tests," and as a penalty for practicing medicine without a license imposed a $10,000 fine. Geier appealed the board's decision, but the Circuit Court for Montgomery County upheld the ruling in April 2014. Subsequently, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, maintaining the board's findings and the fine. According to Science magazine, in the mid-2000s, the Geiers promoted a discredited theory suggesting that autism was caused by a harmful interaction between mercury (specifically thimerosal, a preservative formerly used in vaccines) and testosterone. They claimed that lowering testosterone could improve autism symptoms, and developed an unapproved treatment plan involving daily injections of Lupron, a drug used to treat "symptoms of prostate cancer, early-onset puberty and other hormone-related conditions." In children, Lupron is approved only for treating rare cases of precocious puberty. The board found "that Dr. Geier treated patients with Lupron, a medication that was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for use on children in the absence of precocious puberty, and that Dr. Geier did not perform an adequate examination to determine if the patients had precocious puberty." On April 10, 2025, Kennedy said during a broadcasted cabinet meeting chaired by Trump, "We've launched a massive testing and research effort that's going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world. By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures." However, it is not officially confirmed, and we were unable to independently verify, whether Geier is leading or playing a significant role in any current federal autism research initiative. His exact responsibilities under Kennedy remain vague, and HHS has not publicly detailed the scope of his role. According to the HHS directory website (archived), the HHS hired Geier as a senior data analyst in the Office of Secretary for the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources. (HHS Employee Directory via Wayback Machine) As of this writing, the listing did not provide any details about the nature or scope of Geier's responsibilities. Several news outlets, however, reported Geier would "lead" or "oversee" a study on the causes of autism. We have not independently verified these reports. The Washington Post first reported on Geier's hiring on March 25, 2025. The outlet said the HHS hired Geier "to conduct the analysis, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation." In a brief phone interview with the Post the same day, Geier said "he had no comment about whether he has a role in the study, how he was hired, and whether he holds the same views about vaccines and autism as described in his previous research." "I don't have any comment to say," he told the Post, "Talk to the secretary. He's the person that's in charge." The Post noted it was not clear "how or why Geier, who is not a physician and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, was chosen." According to the Post, an unnamed federal health official identified Geier as the person who "would be the one analyzing the [vaccine safety] data." Similarly, the New York Times reported Geier "joined his department to work on a study examining the long-debunked theory," vaguely crediting "people familiar with the matter." Additionally, the NBC article on the matter cited "two sources familiar with the plan" that "learned about the matter during recent meetings at the CDC but were not authorized to speak about it publicly." All in all, no official sources have provided clear details about the scope or nature of Geier's role at the HHS. While he is listed as a senior data analyst in the department's directory, neither HHS nor Kennedy has publicly confirmed whether Geier is, or will be, directly involved in the federal study examining potential links between vaccines and autism. In mid-April 2025, we investigated whether Kennedy said autistic children "will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted," and unpacked rumors about the National Institutes of Health's alleged plans to launch a "disease registry" to track Americans with autism. "'Rare in His Brilliance': Tribute to Dr. Mark Geier — Advocate for Vaccine Safety and Autistic Children." Children's Health Defense, 27 Mar. 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. AFP News Agency. "RFK Jr Says Study Will Reveal Cause of Autism 'Epidemic' in September | AFP." YouTube, 10 Apr. 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Chicago Tribune. "Autism Doctor Loses License in Illinois, Missouri." Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2012, Accessed 8 May 2025. Deng, Grace. "What to Know about Reports RFK Jr. Is Launching Registry to Track Americans with Autism." Snopes, 22 Apr. 2025, Edwards, Erika, and Brandy Zadrozny. "HHS Taps Anti-Vaccine Activist to Look at Debunked Links between Autism and Vaccines, Sources Say." NBC News, 26 Mar. 2025, "Four Vaccine Myths and Where They Came From." Geier, Max G. "Book Review: Etulain,Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era, by Max G. Geier Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era . By Richard W. Etulain . ( Corvallis , Oregon State University Press , 2013 . Xii + 210 Pp. $19.95 Paper)." Pacific Historical Review, vol. 83, no. 4, Nov. 2014, pp. 698–99, Accessed 6 Nov. 2019. "HHS Employee Directory." 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Jewett, Christina, et al. "RFK Jr. Turns to a Discredited Vaccine Researcher for Autism Study." The New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025, "Julia Davis - the Daily Beast." The Daily Beast, 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Kern, Janet K., et al. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Systematic Assessment of Research on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Mercury Reveals Conflicts of Interest and the Need for Transparency in Autism Research." Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 23, no. 6, Oct. 2015, pp. 1689–90, Accessed 11 June 2021. ---. "Systematic Assessment of Research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Mercury Reveals Conflicts of Interest and the Need for Transparency in Autism Research." Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 23, no. 6, Nov. 2017, pp. 1691–718, Accessed 11 June 2021. King, Jordan. "RFK Jr Autism Study Led by Man Who Injected Children with Anti-Puberty Drug." Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025, kreidler, Marc. "Maryland Medical Board Suspends Dr. Mark Geier's License | Quackwatch." 8 May 2011, Accessed 8 May 2025. "Lupron (Leuprolide): Uses & Side Effects." Cleveland Clinic, "MARYLAND BOARD of PHYSICIANS v. GEIER (2015) | FindLaw." Findlaw, 2015, Accessed 8 May 2025. Rascouët-Paz, Anna. "Yes, RFK Jr. Said Autistic Children Will Never Pay Taxes, Hold a Job, Play Baseball or Write a Poem." Snopes, 18 Apr. 2025, Schreiber, Melody. "Autistic People and Experts Voice Alarm at RFK's 'Terrible' Approach to Condition." The Guardian, The Guardian, 24 Apr. 2025, Stolberg, Sheryl Gay, et al. "Kennedy Instructs Anti-Vaccine Group to Remove Fake C.D.C. Page." The New York Times, 23 Mar. 2025, Sun, Lena H., and Fenit Nirappil. "Vaccine Skeptic Hired to Head Federal Study of Immunizations and Autism." The Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2025, Tirrell, Meg, et al. "RFK Jr. Claims New Research Effort Will Find Cause of 'Autism Epidemic' by September." CNN, 10 Apr. 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025. Wendling, Mike. "RFK Jr Pledges to Find the Cause of Autism 'by September.'" BBC, 11 Apr. 2025, X (Formerly Twitter), 2025, Accessed 8 May 2025.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
John Oliver Slams RFK Jr.: ‘Clearly in Way Over His Worm-Riddled Head'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways John Oliver on 'Last Week Tonight' - Credit: Courtesy of HBO John Oliver took aim at RFK Jr. on the most recent episode of Last Week Tonight. The late-night host discussed the Secretary of Health and Human Services's cuts to his department, his anti-vaccine stance, and his 'dehumanizing' recent comments about autistic people. 'RFK needs to go,' Oliver said on the talk show. 'And by impeachment if necessary.' More from Rolling Stone He continued, 'This is a man who is clearly in way over his worm-riddled head. He doesn't know what he's doing, he doesn't know who he's fired, he doesn't even know how many diabetic people there are in China. And if that wasn't bad enough, he's currently spreading dangerous nonsense and gutting life-saving research, all while bringing in a basement quack [David Geier]. RFK in this job is dangerous.' In discussing the erratic cuts made to the Department of Health & Human Services, Oliver noted, 'The rules for restructuring HHS should be the same as the ones for a bris. It is crucially important to know exactly what you are cutting. Speed is just not the most important thing.' Oliver was even more blunt when responding to RJK Jr.'s comments about autistic people, which saw the politician claiming, 'these are kids of who will never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, they'll never play baseball, they'll never write a poem, they'll never go out on a date, many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.' 'Fuck you,' the host responded. 'Look, I'm not saying that our system was perfect before this,' Oliver continued. 'Over the years we've done multiple stories about shortcomings in various parts of HHS. But our solution was always: It needs to be strengthened. And not, here's a good idea: Let's cut its budget and put a dipshit screaming 'A-ha!' in charge. But unfortunately it feels right now we're all about to get a harsh lesson in what each part of our public health system does as it gets taken away. Which is sort of like finding out what each of your organs does as someone removes them one by one.' The host added that many of his staff reached out to doctors and scientists they've spoken while reporting on other health-related topics over the years and largely received the same response. 'They've been utterly shattered by the last few months,' Oliver said. 'When we started making calls after the election, they sounded alarmed but they were still holding off judgment, saying 'Well, let's just see how this goes.' But more recently those same people have been telling us, flat out: 'This is a disaster. People will die because of the mistakes we're making right now.'' Elsewhere in the episode, Oliver reflected on the death of Pope Francis, which happen to occur only a day after he met with vice president J.D. Vance. 'Honestly, relatable,' Oliver quipped. He then discussed the potential successors, who include Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, and the incredibly-named Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. 'His name in Italian literally means 'pizza dance,'' Oliver said of Pizzaballa. 'And I know that it sounds almost offensively Italian, but do keep in mind every last name in Italy means 'pizza dance.' Now, would electing a 'Pope Pizzadance' instantly repair the reputation of the Catholic Church? Obviously the answer is we won't know until we try. So J.D. Vance, you stay the fuck away from Cardinal Pizzadance. You don't meet him, you don't go near him, you don't even think about him. Sure, he might be a terrible Pope, but don't take away Papa Pizzaballa from us. The way the world is, we need this right now.' Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Forbes
28-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Autism Registry Raises Concern Over Ethics, Privacy And Intended Use
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made controversial statements about autism in a press conference on April 16. Among the most shocking, after claiming that 'Autism destroys families,' was that 'These are kids who will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job.' Kennedy, who has long claimed that vaccines cause autism, then announced a new study that will 'identify precisely what the environmental toxins are that are causing" autism. He also promised to have answers by September. The National Institutes of Health then announced an autism registry last week, with director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya saying that the database would be comprehensive and include government and commercial records. For example, it would compile medication records, lab and genomics data, insurance claims and data from a smartwatches or fitness trackers. He indicated NIH was also negotiating with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to access its data. At the same time, he promised "state-of-the-art protections" for privacy. In response to the initial outrage over Kennedy's statements about autism and the announcement of the registry, the administration has backtracked, now claiming that no registry will be made and that NIH will only be linking existing datasets. The outrage and concern continue, as many do not trust the administration not to backtrack again. There are many other serious problems with the Kennedy/Bhattacharya proposal. One pediatrician, Alison Escalante M.D., who specializes in neurodivergent kids, describes the spectrum of presentations of kids as she debunks much of what Kennedy said. For one, most scientists believe autism to be a developmental disorder, likely with a genetic basis. Yet the administration has chosen David Geier, a prominent anti-vaxxer and controversial figure who was disciplined for practicing medicine without a license, to look again at links between vaccines and autism, although these have been debunked by numerous scientists in the past. Dr. Paul Offitt, a leading vaccine researcher, told MedPage Today, "I think one can expect that with David Geier at the helm and Kennedy as head of HHS, we may soon see a study that shows that vaccines cause autism, even though they don't.' The language that Kennedy used about kids with autism was triggering to some people. As Dr. David Gorski, managing editor of Science-Based Medicine, said, 'What he leads with is telling: '…these are kids who will never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job…' (Emphasis mine.) Let me say right here, this is some real, top grade, 'useless eaters' rhetoric.' Saying 'those with 'severe autism' 'destroy families,'' Gorski continued, "is very reminiscent of the sorts of rhetoric used to justify the Aktion T4, the 'euthanasia' program instituted by the Nazis around the start of World War II to eliminate those with serious conditions that necessitated lifelong care in institutions.' CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz fueled these concerns by having previously said, while campaigning for Senate in 2022m that the uninsured 'don't have the right to health.' Had the timing not been coincidental with outrage about the autism registry, the text from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to Barnard College employees might not have stirred such a strong response. But the EEOC asked, as part of a survey, for staff to self-identify if they're Jewish or Israeli. Catherine Rampall, a journalist and MSNBC host, commented on Bluesky, 'Ah yes, the government asking Jews to register as Jewish, in the name of protecting the Jews. No way that could go wrong.' Anne Borden, co-founder of Autistics for Autistics, raised related concerns about this registry, noting that there are already other autism registries that parents have consented to. A primary concern of hers is that work would proceed to identify a gene or marker for autism that would be developed into a prenatal test and be used to abort fetuses with autism. If people are worried they will be listed in a registry, they might go underground — 'that kind of misinformation can stop people from getting the kind of help that they really need, such as the diagnosis that can unlock funding for speech pathology,' Borden said. She added that we need to stop seeing autistic people as burdensome and 'we have to build a society that values autistic people, including those that Kennedy says don't do their own taxes.' Borden also wrote a book, The Children Do Not Consent, in which she decries the lack of ethics in how people with autism are studied in trials with proxy consent from their parents. Borden cautioned, too, that in some places, autistic people were lower in triage for services like ICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first thing any proposed autism registry would need under basic research ethical standards is informed consent. (I know; I wrote the textbook Conducting Clinical Research, which covers these topics.) Health and Human Services leadership seemingly believes that HIPAA regulations do not apply and informed consent is not required because the data are deidentified. In Rolling Stone, Raymond Romanczyk of Binghamton University cautions that 'AI systems and machine learning can glean a lot of information about a person with very little context.' One of the problems with this registry is that it doesn't appear to require the assent of the child if they are capable of that. An additional problem is that the administration dismantled the Office for Human Research Protections, so there is likely less research ethics oversight. 'The process for establishing a scientifically valid and ethically appropriate research repository is complex,' Mark Rothstein, a lawyer and ethics professor, noted via email. 'If they want to start a defensible research registry for autism or anything else it will take a great deal of thought, care, and consultation.' Rothman cautioned that the goals and procedures for such a registry should be clear in advance. Are there hypotheses? What information and specimens will be collected? In addition to expanding on the concerns about confidentiality and deidentification of data, Rothman raised this vital concern: 'Because of the controversy surrounding the registry, what are the intended uses of the study, and will they advance the interests of individuals with autism?' There is a cautionary tale in NIH's 'All of Us' research program. Despite additional planning, it also generated considerable controversy. Its informed consent notes that there are 'risks to privacy' in an understated fashion. The study was criticized for suggesting that racial disparities in health are more from genetics than environmental factors and for fueling racial stereotypes. While the NIH's autism registry may be paused for now, we likely will see it again in some form. Far more care and planning are crucial as well as a robust informed consent process.
