Latest news with #RobertFKennedyJnr
TimesLIVE
11-08-2025
- Health
- TimesLIVE
Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study
An influential US medical journal is rejecting a call from US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr to retract a large Danish study that found aluminium ingredients in vaccines do not increase health risks for children, the journal's editor told Reuters. Kennedy has long promoted doubts about vaccines' safety and efficacy and as health secretary has upended the federal government's process for recommending immunisation. A recent media report said he has been considering whether to initiate a review of shots that contain aluminium, which he said are linked to autoimmune diseases and allergies. The study, funded by the Danish government and published in July in the Annals of Internal Medicine, analysed nationwide registry data for more than 1.2-million children over more than two decades. It did not find evidence that exposure to aluminium in vaccines had caused an increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic or neurodevelopmental disorders. The work is by far the best available evidence on the question of the safety of aluminium in vaccines, said Adam Finn, a childhood vaccination expert in the UK and paediatrician at the University of Bristol who was not involved in the study. "It's solid, [a] massive dataset and high-quality data," he said.
The Citizen
05-08-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Vaccine fear is hurting children
With measles cases surging and young lives at stake, anti-vaccine misinformation is reversing decades of medical progress across the globe. No doubt anti-vaxxers will say we're just paid shills for 'Big Pharma' – repeating what they've seen on social media – but the reality is that vaccine hesitancy is seeing a big comeback of diseases once well on their way to being eradicated. Thanks to the social media vector and the high-profile appointment of the world's chief anti-vaxxer, Robert F Kennedy Jnr, as head of health in the US, vaccine conspiracies are convincing many parents that jabs will harm their children. So, we have measles outbreaks from Texas to Liverpool and now Romania, as the herd immunity conferred by anti-measles jabs wanes and more children succumb to the highly-contagious virus. There have been some child deaths reported – and much more unnecessary suffering. ALSO READ: HPV anti-vaxxers are risking girls' lives Even one death of a child because of a backward, anti science belief, is one too many. The sad part is that the youngsters have no say in the decisions taken on their behalf by their parents. It's their lives that will be affected – as well as those of innocent children who may be too young to be jabbed and are vulnerable. Vaccines do not cause autism. But not having them does cause harm. Use your children or grandchildren to confirm that. NOW READ: Health Department warns number of mpox cases rising in SA
9 News
25-06-2025
- Health
- 9 News
Kennedy's new vaccine panel alarms pediatricians with inquiries into long-settled questions
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr's new vaccine advisers have alarmed paediatricians after announcing inquiries into some long-settled questions about children's shots. Opening the first meeting of Kennedy's handpicked seven-member panel, committee chairman Martin Kulldorff said he was appointing a work group to evaluate the "cumulative effect" of the children's vaccine schedule — the list of immunisations given at different times throughout childhood. Also to be evaluated, he said, was how two other shots were administered — one that guards against liver-destroying hepatitis B and another that combines chickenpox protection with MMR, the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new vaccine advisers alarmed pediatricians Wednesday by announcing inquiries into some long-settled questions about children's shots. (AP) It was an early sign of how the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices is being reshaped by Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine activist before becoming the nation's top health official. He fired the entire 17-member panel this month and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices. "Vaccines are not all good or bad," Kulldorff said. "We are learning more about vaccines over time" and must "keep up to date." His announcement reflected a common message of vaccine skeptics: that too many shots may overwhelm kids' immune systems or that the ingredients may build up to cause harm. Scientists say those claims have been repeatedly investigated with no signs of concern. Dr. Martin Kulldorf speaks during a meeting of the Advisory Committee in Immunization Practices at the CDC. (AP) Kids today are exposed to fewer antigens — immune-revving components — than their grandparents despite getting more doses, because of improved vaccine technology, said Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The American Academy of Paediatrics announced that it would continue publishing its own vaccine schedule for children but now would do so independently of the ACIP, calling it "no longer a credible process". "The narrative that current vaccine policies are flawed and need 'fixing' is a distortion," said the AAP's Dr Sean O'Leary. "These policies have saved trillions of dollars and millions of lives." The ACIP, created more than 60 years ago, helps the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention determine who should be vaccinated against a long list of diseases, and when. Those recommendations have a big impact on whether insurance covers vaccinations and where they're available, such as at pharmacies. Participants listen during a meeting of the Advisory Committee in Immunization Practices at the CDC. (AP) After Kennedy's abrupt dismissal of the existing expert panel, a number of the CDC's top vaccine scientists — including some who lead the reporting of data and the vetting of presentations at ACIP meetings — have resigned or been moved out of previous positions. And shortly before Wednesday's meeting, a Virginia-based obstetrician and gynecologist appointed to the committee stepped down. According to the Trump administration, he withdrew during a customary review of members' financial holdings. First on the committee's agenda were COVID-19 vaccinations. Kennedy already sidestepped the panel and announced the vaccine would no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women. Yet CDC scientists told the panel that vaccination was "the best protection" during pregnancy, and said most children hospitalised for COVID-19 over the past year were unvaccinated. COVID-19 remains a public health threat, resulting in 32,000 to 51,000 US deaths and more than 250,000 hospitalisations since last fall, according to the CDC. Kennedy already sidestepped the panel and announced the vaccine will no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women. (Getty images) Most at risk for hospitalisation are seniors and children under two — especially infants under 6 months who could have some protection if their mother got vaccinated during pregnancy, according to the CDC's presentation. The new advisers weren't asked to vote on Kennedy's recommendations, which raise uncertainty about how easily people will be able to access COVID-19 vaccinations this fall. After CDC staff outlined multiple overlapping systems that continue to track the vaccines' safety, several advisers questioned if the real-world data really is trustworthy. Next, the committee took up RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be dangerous for infants. In 2023, US health officials began recommending two new measures to protect infants — a lab-made antibody for newborns and a vaccine for pregnant women — that experts say likely drove an improvement in infant mortality. The committee will discuss another company's newly approved antibody shot and vote on updated recommendations. The committee will discuss another company's newly approved antibody shot and vote on updated recommendations. (AP) At its June meetings, the committee usually refreshes guidance for Americans 6 months and older to get a flu shot, and helps green light the annual fall vaccination campaign. But a vote set for Thursday that also promises controversy. The panel is set to consider a preservative in a subset of flu shots that Kennedy and some antivaccine groups have falsely contended is tied to autism. In preparation, the CDC posted a new report confirming that research shows no link between the preservative, thimerosal, and autism or any other neurodevelopmental disorders. CONTACT US
TimesLIVE
20-06-2025
- Health
- TimesLIVE
Kennedy's new US vaccine panel to discuss measles shot for children
A new panel of US vaccine advisers appointed by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr will vote on flu shots that contain a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal and discuss recommendations for use of a combination measles shot for children at an upcoming meeting. The advisers to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will also vote on who should receive the shots for respiratory syncytial virus and influenza at the meeting scheduled for June 25 and 26, according to a draft agenda posted on the CDC's website. The agenda comes days after Kennedy named eight members to serve on the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (Acip), including several who have advocated against vaccines, after abruptly firing all 17 members of the independent committee of experts. 'There isn't any doubt that we're in new territory and things are being done differently than they were before,' said William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and an alternate liaison to Acip. Schaffner said it would be a shorter meeting than planned, a more limited number of CDC personnel are scheduled to present at the meeting and a number of presenters have not yet been listed. The new panel will discuss proposed recommendations on the use of the combination measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine for children under five years of age.
The Hindu
30-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Watch: Covid cases rise, adolescent health, skin care and more
We address the elephant in the room – COVID cases are rising. There is a palpable sense of panic. Is it a pandemic? Should we take precautions? In the US, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr has said Covid boosters are not to be given to pregnant women and children, with experts already questioning this move. We also talk about the Lancet Commission report on adolescent health and childhood obesity, and the installation of sugar boards in CBSE schools. Back to the US, legendary musician Billy Joel has cancelled his concerts due to an illness called NPS. What is it all about? In our expert segment, we speak to Dr. Monisha Madhumita, Assistant Professor at the Department of Dermatology, in Chennai's Saveetha Medical College. Dr Madhumita talks about skin care routines in this varying climate of blazing sunshine followed by rains, skin pigmentation issues and more. Presentation: Ramya Kannan and Zubeda Hamid Editing: Thamodharan B. Videography: Thamodharan B. and Shiva Raj
