Latest news with #Maha
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Covid vaccine no longer recommended for children and pregnant women in US
The Covid-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for children and pregnant women in the US, Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced. On Tuesday, Donald Trump's health secretary said the vaccines have been removed from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) recommended jabs for these groups. 'I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today, the Covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunisation schedule,' Mr Kennedy said in a video shared to X. It is the latest effort by Mr Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic, to reform the department of health to align with his Make America Healthy Again (Maha) agenda. Under current guidance, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Switzerland all recommend annual Covid jabs for those aged 65 or older, and those at high risk. UK researchers at the University of Huddersfield have published a study showing that Covid vaccines for young children are 'not essential'. The World Health Organisation only recommends the Covid jab for children who have comorbidities. The CDC previously recommended updated Covid vaccines for everyone aged six months and older. Studies with hundreds of thousands of people around the world show that being vaccinated for Covid-19 before and during pregnancy is safe, effective, and beneficial to both the pregnant woman and the baby, according to the CDC's website. Pregnant women are deemed to be at high risk from Covid, while young children face a similar risk of hospitalisation to older adults, paediatricians told The New York Times. However, Marty Makary, the US food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, said in the video that there was no evidence that healthy children need routine Covid shots. Most countries have stopped recommending it for children, he added. In the UK, children under the age of 12 are eligible for the jab, but it is only recommended for children with a weakened immune system. 'With the Covid-19 pandemic behind us, it is time to move forward,' the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. The decision has faced backlash from medical professionals, with one doctor saying the edict could put pregnant women in danger. 'With Covid still circulating, pregnant women and their babies who are born too young to be vaccinated are going to be at risk for Covid and for the severe complications,' Dr Jamieson told The New York Times. The announcement goes beyond the recommendations of CDC advisers, who had been planning to include pregnant women as among those who remain eligible for Covid-19 jabs, according to CBS. The move also puts Mr Kennedy at odds with officials at the FDA, who recently said pregnancy warranted continued eligibility for the vaccine. The FDA last week laid out plans to require new clinical trials to approve annual Covid-19 booster jabs for those under 65, effectively limiting the shots to older adults and those at risk of developing severe illness. Mr Kennedy has long campaigned against giving children the Covid-19 vaccine and previously threatened to sue the FDA over the issue. Despite promising not to alter the childhood vaccine schedule in his confirmation hearing, Mr Kennedy has since said that 'nothing is off limits'. Upon taking over leadership of US health policy, he pledged to set up a strategy around children's health within six months of taking over to investigate 'formerly taboo' issues, including childhood vaccinations. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Key Trump voting bloc has concerns with MAHA report, as Trump officials give assurances
Despite assurances from Trump administration officials that farmers will not be impacted by its attempts to reduce environmental chemical exposure from foods, agricultural leaders have been expressing concern that the move will explode costs for farmers and more than double the cost of food. The administration's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, made up of many of President Donald Trump's political appointees and closest policy advisors, released an assessment strategizing how they will tackle childhood chronic diseases, such as obesity and mental health challenges. Part of the report's focus is on children's chemical exposure from our foods, which the report says is linked to developmental issues and chronic diseases. Amid the report's release, farm groups have expressed concern over the MAHA agenda's focus on pesticides. They have said that if the administration starts clamping down on widely used pesticides, crop yields would decline, input costs would surge and food costs would more than double. Doctor Takes Aim At 'Cancer-causing' Pesticides In Response To Maha Report "Farmers are already facing a host of challenges—uncertainty about their access to critical crop protection products shouldn't be added to the list," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance. "Crop protection tools are not only safe, they are essential to food security, affordability, and the survival of family farms all across this country. Losing access to these critical inputs would be a devastating setback to American agriculture." Officials from the MAHA Commission sought to reassure farmers at an event releasing their assessment on childhood chronic diseases on Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that "at the center" of the MAHA agenda is "making American agriculture great again." Read On The Fox News App "We love our farmers, and we want to pay respect to our farmers. And we always will," President Trump added at the Thursday event from the White House. "We won the farmers by a lot in the election, and every election, all three elections – and we won by a lot. I will never forget that. And they are foremost in our thought." But some farmers are still expressing concern. Maha Report Lays Out 'Chronic Disease Crisis' Facing America "The Make America Healthy Again Report is filled with fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides. We are deeply troubled that claims of this magnitude are being made without any scientific basis or regard for a long history of EPA expert evaluations of these products," the National Corn Grower's Alliance (NCGA) said. "We call on the administration to respect the existing body of science on pesticides and, moving forward, to include America's farmers in discussion as this process evolves." According to a statement put out by the Modern Ag Alliance, pesticides are "rigorously tested" by the federal government, noting that in the case of glyphosate – mentioned multiple times in the MAHA report – it is one of the most thoroughly studied pesticides of its kind. They said that if the MAHA report drives future policy decisions it would hurt farmers and more than double the cost of food. Ex-yankees Coach Runs Farm That Vows To 'Make Meat Great Again' "Without glyphosate—the most widely used weed-fighting tool by U.S. farmers—crop yields would decline, input costs would surge by 150%, and food inflation would more than double," the group said. "When Sri Lanka prohibited the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in 2021, crop yields fell by over 50%, forcing the government to import massive amounts of food just to meet basic needs. We should be focused on moving American agriculture—and the country—forward." Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been a vocal opponent against the dangerous health impacts of under-regulated pesticides even before he was the MAHA Commission's leader, said last week in a Senate hearing that "we cannot take any step that will put a single farmer in this country out of business." "There's a million farmers who rely on glyphosate," he said. "100% of corn in this country relies on glyphosate. We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model." Farmers Come First As Initiative Aims To Lower Their Costs, Get Fresh Food To Americans More Efficiently The MAHA report reiterates the economic importance of protecting farmers, but it also lists glyphosate in an infographic of "Chemical Classes and Common Exposure Pathways" and says research studies have shown it can cause a range of health effects. It also lists atrazine and other chemicals as dangerous to childhood health. MAHA Commission officials have said that part of the administration's focus will be a return to the gold standard of science, but the NCGA said the focus on certain widely-used pesticides, such as atrazine and glyphosate, goes against "decades of extensive research and testing." "If the administration's goal is to bring more efficiency to government, then why is the secretary of Health and Human Services duplicating efforts by raising questions about pesticides that have been answered repeatedly through research and reviews by federal regulatory bodies?" the group questioned. Jennifer Galardi, a senior policy analyst focused on health and wellness issues at the Heritage Foundation, took a more balanced view of the MAHA commission's strategy towards pesticides like glyphosate, noting that it appeared to thread the needle between supporting farmers and trying to ensure America's food supply is safe and free of chemicals that could impact child health. "The MAHA Commission Report seems to carefully examine competing issues in a very complex agricultural debate: the potential that crop protection tools as they're referred to in the report may cause adverse health outcomes and the desire to protect the economic interests of farmers and the country," Galardi said. "However, everyone should agree that the companies that manufacture products such as glyphosate and GMO's shouldn't have undue influence over the research upon which sound policy is based. The American public should demand transparency around these decisions." Galardi posited that, due to the tension around the issue of pesticides, the MAHA Commission may decide to go after "low-hanging fruit," such as improving children's diets and lack of physical activity, which, she said, are big drivers of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. In response to this article, a USDA spokesperson sent the following statement from Secretary Rollins: "We must do more to improve the health outcomes of our kids and families, and President Trump knows agriculture is at the heart of the solution. America's farmers and ranchers dedicate their lives to the noble cause of feeding their country and the world, and in doing so have created the safest and most abundant and affordable food supply in the world. We are working to make sure our kids and families are consuming the healthiest food we produce. I look forward to continuing to work with Secretary Kennedy and other members of the MAHA Commission to improve our nation's health." White House spokesman Kush Desai, in a separate statement, echoed Rollins' sentiment about the importance of agriculture and farmers when it comes to executing the MAHA mission. He also reiterated that the MAHA movement is grounded in "Gold Standard of Science." "The guiding principle of President Trump's movement to Make America Healthy Again is the Gold Standard of Science, and everyone from America's farmers to everyday parents are critical for the success of this movement," Desai said. "The MAHA Commission's report is a historic step by our government to, for the first time, comprehensively review the latest evidence and research of what we know – and what we don't know – is driving the health crisis afflicting America's children."Original article source: Key Trump voting bloc has concerns with MAHA report, as Trump officials give assurances
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctors warn of 'trifecta' of chronic illnesses plaguing Americans after MAHA report
Chronic diseases have long been plaguing Americans, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called an "epidemic." The MAHA Commission, which Kennedy chairs, released a report on Thursday assessing chronic diseases, particularly pertaining to children. An estimated 133 million Americans suffer from at least one chronic illness, according to the American Hospital Association. Everything To Know About Maha "The report shines a necessary spotlight on a crisis that has long been ignored: skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disease, developmental issues and mental health challenges," Kelly McKenna, CEO of the coalition End Chronic Disease, who was at the White House for the release, told Fox News Digital. "Americans are living shorter, sicker lives despite record healthcare spending that exceeds that of other developed nations by orders of magnitude," she said. "The MAHA agenda confronts that disconnect head-on." Read On The Fox News App McKenna added, "With Americans increasingly aware of the role that factors such as ultraprocessed foods, environmental toxins, stress, trauma and poor sleep play in chronic disease, the demand for action transcends partisanship." Andy Tanner, D.O., a family medicine physician in West Virginia, said he's seeing more chronic illnesses in patients, noting that his state is the "oldest and fattest in the country." He was also at the White House on Thursday. Rfk Jr's Highly Anticipated Maha Report Paints Dismal State Of Child Health, National Security Concerns "The big things we see a lot are diabetes, hypertension and obesity, kind of 'the trifecta,'" he told Fox News Digital. Some 38.4 million Americans had diabetes in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with excess sugar causing the common symptoms of fatigue, blurry vision, hunger and thirst. Tanner works with his diabetic patients to change their diets and improve their blood sugar levels. "[But the] sad thing is, we're just surrounded by bad food," he said. "It's hard to make good choices of what we eat, and we're all guilty of it." Many people think of diabetes as being just a "sugar disease," he pointed out, but it can become a vascular issue as it progresses, often leading to coronary disease or stroke. The doctor noted that he is seeing "younger and younger" patients with diabetes. Over 350,000 children have been diagnosed with the disease, and its prevalence among teens is more than one in four, according to the MAHA report. This Simple Outdoor Activity Can Improve Americans' Health, Says Governor Given its association with "bad food," diabetes goes "hand in hand" with obesity, according to Tanner. The MAHA report linked rising obesity rates with the consumption of ultraprocessed foods — which comprise nearly 70% of American children's calorie consumption. Tanner said obesity can lead to the diagnosis of other chronic illnesses, including hypertension (high blood pressure). "Sometimes people with hypertension come in and report fatigue, headaches, sometimes blurred vision, sometimes with their blood pressure very high," he told Fox News Digital. "They can have some very serious symptoms of stroke or heart attack." Hypertension is known as the "silent killer," Tanner said, because many people don't know they have the condition. In most cases, resolving chronic illnesses starts with getting regular physical activity and eating the right foods, Tanner said. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter "Diet and exercise are so important," he said. "Those are such easy things for physicians to prescribe, but it's much harder for patients to accomplish." He added, "[It's] sometimes difficult to come home and prepare a good, healthy meal, and it's easier to reach for things that are not healthy." Psychiatrist Daniel Amen, M.D., CEO of BrainMD in Los Angeles, was also in attendance during the MAHA report announcement. "Chronic illness devastates mental health," Amen told Fox News Digital. "It increases stress hormones that damage the brain, disrupts sleep (which turns off 700 health-promoting genes), and increases inflammation, which can lead to anxiety and depression," he cautioned. For more Health articles, visit "If our bodies aren't healthy, our brains will never be." When it comes to diet, Amen suggested, "Only choose foods you love that love you back and are good for your brain." McKenna noted that the MAHA Commission's findings "affirm preventative solutions." "Better nutrition, cleaner food systems, and systematic transparency — as well as innovation — are not just possible, but urgently necessary to protect the health of our children and the future of the nation," she article source: Doctors warn of 'trifecta' of chronic illnesses plaguing Americans after MAHA report
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK's health report omits key facts in painting dark vision for US children
A new report led by the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, lays out a dark vision of American children's health and calls for agencies to examine vaccines, ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, lack of exercise and 'overmedicalization'. Kennedy has made combatting the chronic disease 'epidemic' a cornerstone of his vision for the US, even as he has ignored common causes of chronic conditions, such as smoking and alcohol use. The 68-page report is the result of a February executive order by Donald Trump that established a 'Make America Healthy Again' (Maha) commission and required it to report on children's health. 'This is a milestone,' Kennedy said at a White House event introducing the report Thursday afternoon. 'Because of President Trump's leadership, it's not just one cabinet secretary – it's the entire government behind this report.' Kennedy called the report a 'call to action for common sense'. While the report broadly summarizes scientific evidence about nutrition, mental health, chemical exposures and children's mental health, it ignores the leading causes of death for children – firearms and motor vehicle accidents – and one of the most common chronic conditions: dental cavities. 'We will save lives by addressing this chronic disease epidemic head-on. We're going to save a lot more money in the long run – and even in the short run,' Kennedy said in a press call on Thursday about the report. Notably, the report reflects some of Kennedy's bugbears where science is unsettled, but argues research 'demonstrates the need for continued studies', such as on fluoride in water and electromagnetic radiation. The report also criticizes the growth in the childhood vaccine schedule. The vaccine schedule is widely accepted in the medical community as safe and effective. Additions are publicly debated in meetings with both career government scientists and outside expert advisers. It also points to research that the report argues 'raise[s] important questions' about medications – such as antidepressants, stimulants, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and gender-affirming care – which are widely considered safe and even standard care. The flavor of the report is well-represented in a section on 'medicalization', which describes the potential for 'undetected but potentially major long-term repercussions'. The portion describes 'established harms' as 'the tip of a potentially vast iceberg representing both detectable short term negative effects, and potentially hidden negative effects with long term implications'. The report comes as the administration has taken a raft of actions researchers consider contrary to the health of Americans, such as eliminating world-leading sexually transmitted disease research laboratories and highly effective tobacco-prevention offices and pushing health leaders and researchers to quit or be fired in the face of censorship and politicization. While the report compares US life expectancy and healthcare costs to peer-developed democracies, it does not mention how other nations typically finance healthcare for all citizens: often at minimal or no cost. By contrast, about 26 million Americans lack health insurance coverage, and the Republican-controlled House passed a bill only hours earlier that was expected to kick 13 million low-income people off public health insurance by 2033 and cut federal food support for the poor. Health spending in the US is also characterized by unbridled prices and substantial administrative costs associated with administering a labyrinthine public-private system. Despite the report's apparent bias toward issues of concern for Kennedy, there are some areas which, much like the Maha movement itself, will make strange political bedfellows. For instance, many of the left and right probably share concerns over industry capture of regulators of food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. 'Pesticides, microplastics and dioxins are commonly found in the blood and urine of American children and pregnant women – some at alarming levels,' the report states, citing issues of pollution that will probably resonate on a bipartisan basis. In the past, it has been Republicans who typically fought against regulations on those industries. This anxiety was reflected even before the report's release, as many Republicans representing rural and agricultural districts criticized the report before its publication, including in a letter from 79 Republican lawmakers in early April and in questioning from the Mississippi Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith this week on Capitol Hill. 'It's no secret you were involved with pesticide litigation prior to becoming secretary,' said Hyde-Smith, who asked whether Kennedy could remain objective when writing the report. 'There is not a single word in them that should worry the American farmer,' Kennedy replied. 'You can prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt?' Hyde-Smith retorted. 'You'll see the report,' Kennedy said. That pressure, in turn, has prompted pushback from influencers in Kennedy's orbit, including many who identify directly with the Maha movement. The work of the Maha commission was reportedly spearheaded by senior the Kennedy adviser Calley Means, a former food lobbyist and healthcare entrepreneur who rose to prominence as a Maha 'truth-teller'. Means co-wrote a bestselling book with his sister, the current US surgeon general nominee Casey Means, which blames many of the US's ills on sedentary lifestyle and poor diet.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
White House ‘Make America Health Again' report calls out food, chemicals impact on children's health
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr (centre) and President Donald Trump (left) during the Make America Healthy Again Commission event on May 22. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG WASHINGTON - A commission led by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr on May 22 issued a report that said processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in American children. The report, from the commission named after the Make America Healthy Again, or Maha, social movement aligned with Mr Kennedy, is focused on what he says is a national crisis of increasing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, allergies and neuro-developmental conditions like autism. 'Maha is hot,' President Donald Trump said during a press event. 'We will not allow our public health system to be captured by the very industries it's supposed to oversee.' Mr Kennedy said there was consensus among the commission's members to prioritise what he called the ultra-processed food crisis and to work to improve the food American children eat. The report also highlighted studies linking health disorders in humans and animals to the weed killers glyphosate and atrazine, but did not call for specific regulatory changes or restrictions on pesticides used in farming. It said the chemicals should be further researched. It criticised the US approach to vaccines in children, saying European children are recommended to receive fewer. He called for study of the impact of vaccines on childhood chronic disease and of vaccine injuries. Mr Kennedy, a longtime vaccine sceptic, has for many years pushed debunked theories about the safety of vaccines contrary to scientific evidence. As head of the agency, he has overseen cuts of about 20,000 of 80,000 employees due to layoffs and departures. Mr Peter Lurie, president of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a food and health watchdog, said the report recycles longtime concerns of Mr Kennedy, from vaccines to seed oils. 'To the extent that they come up with good ideas, they're going to run into the self-inflicted wound of their own decimation of the federal workforce. Many of their better ideas will not be doable,' Mr Lurie said. Many of the Maha activists that surround Mr Kennedy were present in Washington for the release of the report, which they largely applauded as a vindication of their work. But, one such activist, Ms Kelly Ryerson, who campaigns against the use of glyphosate-based pesticides, called the report 'very cautious on the subject of pesticides,' adding that she'd like to see more Environmental Protection Agency action on the topic. Bayer, which is involved in thousands of lawsuits surrounding its glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup, said some details around pesticides in the report were not 'fact based.' 'We believe a fact and data-driven approach with robust science that follows international gold standards is necessary to support these important initiatives,' Bayer said. As an environmental lawyer, Mr Kennedy was associated with three lawsuits related to Roundup, which is owned by Bayer after its acquisition of Monsanto. Ultra processed food The food industry has said that additives in packaged food have been thoroughly reviewed by regulators and help it remain shelf stable. The American Soybean Association was critical of the report, which they said was 'drafted entirely behind closed doors' and inaccurately suggests that pesticides and soy oils contribute to negative health outcomes. 'We're discouraging people from consuming heart-healthy oils and driving them to instead use fats that will make them less healthy and cost them more in the process,' said ASA Director Alan Meadows, a soybean farmer. Dr Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, told Reuters the report was 'a devastating critique of what's happened to America's children.' But she said, 'to deal with the root causes of the conditions detailed here, this administration will have to take on Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, Big Chemical, and get coal-burning plants to clean up their emissions. A lot of this is counter to the MAGA agenda, and the decimation of federal agencies can't help.' The report called for enhanced surveillance and safety research into drugs and childhood health outcomes and clinical studies comparing whole-food to processed-food diets in children. The definition of ultra-processed food is hotly debated, while the report describes it as industrially manufactured products. The report says that core products of so-called 'Big Food', which typically references companies such as Kraft Heinz , Nestle and PepsiCo, are ultra-processed. Kraft Heinz manufactures Heinz Ketchup and Kraft mac & cheese, Nestle produces frozen pizzas and dinners under the Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine brands, while PepsiCo owns Frito-Lay, a salty snacks business. The report also cites infant formula as an ultra-processed food that is concerning. Farm lobby pressure The May 22 report will be followed by policy prescriptions due in August. Mr Trump signed an executive order in February establishing the commission, whose members include Mr Kennedy, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, other Cabinet members and senior White House officials. Before the report's publication, farm lobby groups had warned that criticising specific farm practices could impede collaboration on the administration's health agenda and put food production at risk. According to a source familiar with the matter, the lobby groups had strongly pressured the administration to not mention pesticides in the report. EPA head Lee Zeldin said on a call with reporters that farmers are key partners in enacting the Maha agenda and that any changes to pesticide regulations would need careful consideration. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
