Latest news with #HealthandHumanServices
Yomiuri Shimbun
16 hours ago
- Health
- Yomiuri Shimbun
White House MAHA Report May Have Garbled Science by Using AI, Experts Say
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a Make America Healthy Again Commission event at the White House on May 22. Some of the citations that underpin the science in the White House's sweeping 'MAHA Report' appear to have been generated using artificial intelligence, resulting in numerous garbled scientific references and invented studies, AI experts said Thursday. Of the 522 footnotes to scientific research in an initial version of the report sent to The Washington Post, at least 37 appear multiple times, according to a review of the report by The Post. Other citations include the wrong author, and several studies cited by the extensive health report do not exist at all, a fact first reported by the online news outlet NOTUS on Thursday morning. Some references include 'oaicite' attached to URLs – a definitive sign that the research was collected using artificial intelligence. The presence of 'oaicite' is a marker indicating use of OpenAI, a U.S. artificial intelligence company. A common hallmark of AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, is unusually repetitive content that does not sound human or is inaccurate -as well as the tendency to 'hallucinate' studies or answers that appear to make sense but are not real. AI technology can be used legitimately to quickly survey the research in a field. But Oren Etzioni, a professor emeritus at the University of Washington who studies AI, said he was shocked by the sloppiness in the MAHA Report. 'Frankly, that's shoddy work,' he said. 'We deserve better.' 'The MAHA Report: Making Our Children Healthy Again,' which addressed the root causes of America's lagging health outcomes, was written by a commission of Cabinet officials and government scientific leaders. It was led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a history of misstating science, and written in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump. It blames exposure to environmental toxins, poor nutrition and increased screen time for a decline in Americans' life expectancy. Outcry was swift following The Post's report. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) said the administration's potential use of AI to influence policy was dangerous. 'These people are unserious – but they pose a serious risk to Americans' health,' he wrote in a social media post. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) said in a statement, 'It's shameful that American parents even have to think about fake science and AI-generated studies in official White House reports on their kids' health.' The entire episode is a 'cautionary tale' for the potential use of AI in government, said Anand Parekh, chief medical adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank. 'Did they not have enough staff?' he asked Friday. 'What are the checks?' One reference in the initial version of the report cited a study titled 'Overprescribing of Oral Corticosteroids for Children With Asthma' to buttress the idea that children are overmedicated. But that study didn't appear to exist. There is a similar Pediatrics article from 2017 with the same first author but different co-authors. Later Thursday, that Pediatrics article was swapped in for the apparently nonexistent study in the version of the report available online. An article credited to U.S. News & World Report about children's recess and exercise time was initially cited twice to support claims of declining physical activity among U.S. children, once with only part of the link shown. It listed Mlynek, A. and Spiegel, S. as different authors. Neither referred to Kate Rix, who wrote the story. Neither Mlynek nor Spiegel appear to be actual reporters for the publication. As of Thursday evening, Rix had been swapped in as the author on one of the references in the version of the report available online. Nearly half of the 522 citations in the initial version of the report included links to articles or studies. But a Post analysis of all the report's references found that at least 21 of those links were dead. Former governor and current New York City mayoral front-runner Andrew M. Cuomo was caught up in controversy last month after a housing policy report he issued used ChatGPT and garbled a reference. Attorneys have faced sanctions for using nonexistent case citations created by ChatGPT in legal briefs. The garbled scientific citations betray subpar science and undermine the credibility of the report, said Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. 'This is not an evidence-based report, and for all practical purposes, it should be junked at this point,' he said. 'It cannot be used for any policymaking. It cannot even be used for any serious discussion, because you can't believe what's in it.' When asked about the nonexistent citations at a news briefing Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House has 'complete confidence in Secretary Kennedy and his team at HHS.' 'I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA Report that are being addressed, and the report will be updated, but it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government, and is backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government,' Leavitt said. At some point between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Thursday, the MAHA Report file was updated on the White House site to remove mentions of 'corrected hyperlinks' and one of the 'oaicite' markers. Another 'oaicite' marker, attached to a New York Times Wirecutter story about baby formula, was still present in the document until it was removed Thursday evening. The White House continued to update the report into the night. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said that 'minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected, but the substance of the MAHA report remains the same – a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children.' 'Under President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, our federal government is no longer ignoring this crisis, and it's time for the media to also focus on what matters,' Nixon said. Kennedy has long vowed to use AI to make America's health care better and more efficient, recently stating in a congressional hearing that he had even seen an AI nurse prototype 'that could revolutionize health delivery in rural areas.' Peter Lurie, president of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, said he was not surprised by the presence of possible AI markers in the report. Lurie said he had asked his own staff to look into it after noticing that the report linked to one of his organization's fact sheets but credited the Department of Agriculture and HHS as the authors. 'The idea that they would envelop themselves in the shroud of scientific excellence while producing a report that relies heavily on AI is just shockingly hypocritical,' said Lurie, who was a top Food and Drug Administration official in the Obama administration, where he wrote such government reports. There are many pitfalls in modern AI, which is 'happy to make up citations,' said Steven Piantadosi, a professor in psychology and neuroscience at the University of California at Berkeley. 'The problem with current AI is that it's not trustworthy, so it's just based on statistical associations and dependencies,' he said. 'It has no notion of ground truth, no notion of … a rigorous logical or statistical argument. It has no notions of evidence and how strongly to weigh one kind of evidence versus another. ' The Post previously reported that the document stretched the boundaries of science with some of its conclusions. Several sections offer misleading representations of findings in scientific papers.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Local doctor pushes back on federal statement about COVID-19 vaccine guidelines
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A recent announcement by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, is drawing reaction from local public health experts. On Tuesday, Kennedy said the department would no longer recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for those groups. Experts here say there is a rigorous process to examine who should get a vaccine and when which is undertaken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That process, they say, is still in the works and no official, science-driven recommendation has been released, said Dr. Gregg Stoner, medical director of the Peoria City/County Health Department, 'There is a committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. It's a 19-member panel made up of scientists, public health officials, and doctors,' Stoner said. 'They make a recommendation based on the science that exists at the time about what immunizations are recommended. That then goes to the director of the CDC, who would sign off on it. 'Then it's forwarded to health departments—so the Illinois Department of Public Health—and that would come down to us. We would then change our standing orders to follow those guidelines,' he said. As of now, the CDC has not issued any new guidance removing COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for healthy children or pregnant women. Dr. Robert Healy, the associate chief medical officer for Carle Health, said there is 'uccessful evidence of taking all mitigation efforts available to reduce the spread of infection in our communities.' 'We continue to monitor the CDC and state recommendations for vaccine scheduling, supporting the individual needs of our patients,' he said. 'Talk with your care provider about your medical history and risk level when considering any immunization.' Stoner emphasized the ongoing impact of COVID-19, particularly among at-risk populations. 'Well, it's become a regular part of our society now,' said Stoner. 'COVID is still killing hundreds of people and hospitalizing thousands every week in the United States. It is here, and it's here to stay.' He noted a concerning drop in vaccination rates as public concern has waned. 'People have become a little less concerned about it, and so vaccination rates have somewhat declined—and they really shouldn't,' he added. Stoner also addressed Kennedy's comments specifically, warning of their implications for maternal and child health. 'So the recommendations were that pregnant women did not need to receive a vaccine and that healthy children did not need to receive the vaccine,' he said. 'The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology issued a statement three days ago expressing their extreme displeasure with this recommendation. 'They said all pregnant women should be vaccinated for COVID, and that if they develop COVID during pregnancy, it is catastrophic for them and their families,' Stoner said. 'Maternal antibodies are passed to the child, and so a child born to an unvaccinated mother has no protection for the first six months of their life.' Stoner recommends high-risk individuals continue to get a COVID-19 vaccine twice a year and encourages anyone with concerns about immunization guidelines to consult their healthcare provider. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
CDC adjusts COVID vaccine guidance, but keeps on child schedule
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued updated advice on the COVID-19 vaccine days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said the agency would no longer recommend the shot to children and pregnant women. The agency has kept the shot on its vaccine schedule for children between the ages of 6 months to 17 years of age, despite Kennedy saying they would no longer be recommended. The CDC says children with no underlying health condition 'may receive' COVID-19 vaccines, instead of broadly recommending that all children should get the inoculation. It now advises 'shared clinical decision-making' between parents and physicians. 'Where the parent presents with a desire for their child to be vaccinated, children 6 months and older may receive COVID-19 vaccination, informed by the clinical judgment of a healthcare provider and personal preference and circumstances,' the guidelines now say. The changes to the CDC's recommendations for children mean that health insurance companies are still ostensibly required to cover the shot, at least for now. However, there is a history of some health insurance companies not covering drugs listed on 'shared clinical decision-making' recommendations, healthcare lawyer Richard Hughes IV said in an email. 'Based on my collective observations of payer coverage of vaccines, the bottom line is expect variability in coverage, prior authorization and out-of-pocket, all of which will discourage uptake.' Kennedy said Tuesday the CDC would no longer recommend routine COVID-19 shots for healthy children and pregnant women in a post on the social media platform X. 'Last year, the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children,' Kennedy said in a video, joined by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya. 'It's common sense, and it's good science,' Bhattacharya said of the change. It's unclear how COVID-19 vaccine guidelines will change for pregnant women. The CDC's stance on COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy is now 'no guidance,' per a memo released from the agency Friday, according to The New York Times. The vaccine was previously recommended for all pregnant people. The CDC's website also continues to host pages of guidance recommending that pregnant women continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine because of the higher risk they have of developing serious illness from the disease. 'Studies including hundreds of thousands of people around the world show that COVID-19 vaccination before and during pregnancy is safe, effective, and beneficial to both the pregnant woman and the baby,' the website states. The Department of Health and Human Services has yet to respond to questions about the new guidelines from The Hill. Nathaniel Weixel contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. Chugs Raw Milk With Crackpot Doc at White House
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. skipped the champagne when celebrating the release of his agency's Make America Healthy Again report. Instead, the Health and Human Services secretary marked the publication of the error-ridden report—which linked to nonexistent scientific studies—with a shooter of non-pasteurized milk alongside controversial health influencer Dr. Paul Saladino, who pushes an animal-based diet. 'Raw milk shooters at the @WhiteHouse with @RobertKennedyJr,' Saladino, also known as Carnivore MD, posted on X alongside a video of the pair slamming the shots. In the clip, Saladino mentions that the milk is free of glyphosate—a controversial chemical found in pesticides like weed killer Roundup and is also commonly used by farmers. Kennedy has linked the chemical to childhood chronic diseases and has said it is contaminating American food. 'One of the things I know you're thinking a lot about is this huge amount of glyphosate, so we've got glyphosate-free honey and raw milk,' Saladino says. Then the pair clinks glasses, and Saladino thanks Kennedy, with products from his meat-based food brand Lineage Provisions visible in the background. 'Thank you for your work. It's an honor to spend time with you,' Saladino says. 'You too,' Kennedy responds. In March 2015, the World Health Organisation's International Agency on Research into Carcinogens (IARC) announced that glyphosate probably causes a type of cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which affects the lymphatic system. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says glyphosate is 'not likely to be carcinogenic to humans' at exposure levels found in real-world use. In 2023, the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program said that glyphosate is 'unlikely' to be toxic to humans. On the other hand, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a March 2024 advisory that 'raw milk can contain a variety of disease-causing pathogens, as demonstrated by numerous scientific studies.' Raw milk is 150 times more likely to cause foodborne illnesses than milk that hasn't been pasteurized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can carry pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, and Brucella. Drinking it can cause issues ranging from mild gastrointestinal distress to serious conditions like hemolytic uremic syndrome, which stems from E. coli and can lead to kidney failure. Sepsis, or bloodstream infections, can also occur. In an earlier Instagram video, Saladino had bragged about taking his own raw meat lunch to the White House. 'I am in D.C. for the big announcement of the MAHA chronic disease report. I've got a raw milk smoothie in here that is raw milk, blueberries, honey, and raw meat actually,' he said, 'We're taking America back, guys.'
The Hill
a day ago
- Health
- The Hill
CDC adjusts COVID vaccine guidance, but keeps on child schedule
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued updated advice on the COVID-19 vaccine days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said the agency would no longer recommend the shot to children and pregnant women. The agency has kept the shot on its vaccine schedule for children between the ages of 6 months to 17 years of age, despite Kennedy saying they would no longer be recommended. The CDC says children with no underlying health condition 'may receive' COVID-19 vaccines, instead of broadly recommending that all children should get the inoculation. It now advises 'shared clinical decision-making' between parents and physicians. 'Where the parent presents with a desire for their child to be vaccinated, children 6 months and older may receive COVID-19 vaccination, informed by the clinical judgment of a healthcare provider and personal preference and circumstances,' the guidelines now say. The changes to the CDC's recommendations for children mean that health insurance companies are still ostensibly required to cover the shot, at least for now. However, there is a history of some health insurance companies not covering drugs listed on 'shared clinical decision-making' recommendations, healthcare lawyer Richard Hughes IV said in an email. 'Based on my collective observations of payer coverage of vaccines, the bottom line is expect variability in coverage, prior authorization and out-of-pocket, all of which will discourage uptake.' Kennedy said Tuesday the CDC would no longer recommend routine COVID-19 shots for healthy children and pregnant women in a post on the social media platform X. 'Last year, the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children,' Kennedy said in a video, joined by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya. 'It's common sense, and it's good science,' Bhattacharya said of the change. It's unclear how COVID-19 vaccine guidelines will change for pregnant women. The CDC's stance on COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy is now 'no guidance,' per a memo released from the agency Friday, according to The New York Times. The vaccine was previously recommended for all pregnant people. The CDC's website also continues to host pages of guidance recommending that pregnant women continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine because of the higher risk they have of developing serious illness from the disease. 'Studies including hundreds of thousands of people around the world show that COVID-19 vaccination before and during pregnancy is safe, effective, and beneficial to both the pregnant woman and the baby,' the website states. The Department of Health and Human Services has yet to respond to questions about the new guidelines from The Hill. Nathaniel Weixel contributed to this report.
