Latest news with #RobertKennedyJr.
The Hill
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Hill
RFK's MAHA report targets food, drug, tech industries: Key takeaways
The Trump administration issued its long-awaited Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report on Thursday, hammering various industries while deviating from mainstream science on key issues including farming practices, vaccinations and psychiatric medications. President Trump appointed Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. to lead the MAHA Commission, which issued its first report on children's health Thursday. It pointed to four key factors which it says are hurting U.S. children: ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, digital behavior and 'overmedicalization.' The report identifies pesticides and other chemicals as potentially having harmful health impacts, but stops short of recommending actions to limit them – disappointing some advocates. When it came to childhood mental and physical health, the report concludes that large corporations are distorting the U.S. health system for the sake of profits. Here's what you should know: 'There is a growing concern about the link between environmental health risks, particularly cumulative risks, and chronic disease,' the report states. 'Furthermore, in the past nearly 30 years, the chemicals children are exposed to have grown – and no country fully understands how the cumulative impact of this growth impacts health,' it continues. However, rather than calling for specific actions against these health threats, the report says more studies are needed, including from the National Institutes of Health, to fully understand the impacts of things like microplastics and pesticides. In particular, it mentions glyphosate, the chemical in Roundup Weedkiller which has been the subject of thousands of lawsuits, many of which allege that it causes cancer, though the company has denied this. The report also mentions Atrazine, a commonly used pesticide that has been found to disrupt the endocrine system and has been banned in the European Union Also on the list to study more are PFAS, toxic substances used in nonstick and waterproof products that can last in the environment for hundreds of years, as well as phthalates, which are used to make plastics flexible and have been found to disrupt the endocrine system. The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House altered the report to remove references to the company Monsanto, information about PFAS lobbying and conflicts of interest in chemical regulation. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin told reporters that the Trump administration would not be pursuing a 'European, mandate-driven regulatory system that stifles growth.' Lori Ann Burd, environmental health program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told The Hill that identifying a problem but not pursuing actions was not good enough. 'It's really disappointing that, after all the promises that the commission was going to stand up to powerful corporate interests and really get to the bottom of what is making Americans so sick, it caved to these powerful corporate interests,' Burd said. 'They have joined every administration before them in cowering in fear when faced with the power of Big Ag,' she added. Kennedy has been vocal in his belief that many medications like vaccines and psychiatric drugs are overused in the U.S. and, in aggregate, causing some of the health problems plaguing America's children. These beliefs were reflected in the commission's findings. The report noted the use of stimulant drugs, antidepressants, antipsychotics and asthma medications have all increased among children within the past 30 or so years. It further cast speculation on childhood vaccination schedules, noting that the number of vaccines implemented in the U.S. exceeds that of many European vaccine schedules. 'These time trends significantly outpace more moderate increases seen in other developed countries. Psychotropics for ADHD or one example, prescribed 2.5 times more in US than in British children, and 19 times more than in Japanese youth,' the report stated. Kennedy has claimed that childhood psychiatric drugs are 'insufficiently scrutinized' and addictive. Childhood psychiatrists blasted Kennedy's rhetoric as unhelpful to children with mental illnesses. 'There is some concern, even more so in the field, that many children with depression and mental health disorders do not get access to the mental health services that they need, and that includes the comprehensive treatment that we would recommend, which is beyond just SSRIs, but also therapy and other supports,' Lisa Fortuna, a child psychiatrist and chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Children, Adolescents and Their Families, previously told The Hill. While stopping short of blaming vaccines for directly contributing to chronic illnesses and acknowledging that immunizations 'benefit children by protecting them from infectious diseases,' the report claimed there has been 'limited scientific inquiry into the links between vaccines and chronic disease.' To improve the understanding of vaccines and any links to chronic disease, the report supported 'more rigorous clinical trial designs' that include placebos, larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods. Kennedy was perhaps the country's most prominent vaccine skeptic prior to becoming HHS Secretary. He has continually refused to acknowledge data disproving any links between vaccinations and autism, even when confronted during his confirmation hearing by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), himself a physician. Under Kennedy and Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Makary, HHS has moved forward with plans to enforce a new requirement for placebo testing on all new vaccines, though how this rule will be implemented remains unclear. Placebo-controlled testing is already a standard part of the vaccine approval process and Kennedy told the Senate Appropriations Committee this week that he did not think it was ethical to retest all vaccines against a placebo. The report blamed the 'overmedicalization of American children' on 'corporate capture.' It claimed the outsized influence of large corporations on public institutions had distorted 'scientific literature, regulatory processes, clinical practices and public discourse.' 'The corporate capture of media, primarily through lavish advertising campaigns that are uniquely targeted to American consumers (no other developed country allows direct advertising of drugs to consumers, other than New Zealand where such advertising is heavily regulated and federally controlled) confers a notable level of reliance on the industry by those that benefit financially,' the report read. 'While in the U.S. the pharmaceutical industry has the First Amendment right to have these advertisements, studies suggest that they have a strong influence on those who view them, potentially increasing inappropriate prescription.' Again, there was not a recommendation to take action against pharmaceutical advertising, though the commission suggested the constant exposure to pharmaceutical advertisements was responsible for 'potentially increasing inappropriate prescriptions.' The report blamed 'a sedentary, technology-driven lifestyle' that's developed over the past 40 years for increasing 'chronic physical and mental health diseases,' with childhood behaviors differing vastly from prior generations. Citing data from the American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numerous studies published within the last 15 years, the report noted how larger shares of children don't meet healthy standards of fitness and fewer children take part in daily physical activities. These conclusions align with what has been observed globally, with a 2019 study finding that 81 percent of adolescents aged between 11 and 17 years of age were 'insufficiently physically active.' 'Parallel to the decline in physical activity, American youth face a deepening psychosocial crisis. This is marked by rising mental health disorders, significant sleep deficits, chronic stress, and pervasive loneliness, all exacerbated by the widespread influence of technology,' stated the report. 'The crisis persists despite rising therapy rates, with some suggesting it may exacerbate the issue.' Social media use was also cited in the report as having a negative impact on childrens' mental health, echoing initiatives from the Biden administration. Then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a health advisory in 2023 warning that increasing evidence suggests social media use was damaging youth mental health. At the same time, screen usage has also been potentially linked to a reduction in some risky behaviors, like substance use and motor vehicle accidents, though whether there is a direct cause is unclear. As with 'overmedicalization,' the report took issue with the role that large corporations have in children's use of social media as well as public health messaging. 'Technology corporations suggest a reach over childhood health that stretches well beyond the direct harms of screen exposure, actively shaping the contours of scientific discourse and the public-health policies that follow,' it stated, noting how federal agencies coordinated with social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'These informal, largely invisible coordination between agencies and platforms — coupled with undisclosed ranking algorithms — compresses the range of permissible debate on childhood-health questions and can bury legitimate scientific concerns while impacting parental supervision.' Nathaniel Weixel contributed
Newsweek
19-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
New Covid Vaccine Approved - But Not For Everyone
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved another vaccine maker to create a shot to help prevent COVID-19, with caveats. Newsweek has reached out to Novavax for a statement over email Sunday during non-working hours. Why It Matters COVID-19, the disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, swept through the world in early 2020, causing lockdowns, hospitalization spikes, and millions of deaths. Over seven million people have died from COVID-19 globally since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Out of the 7,095,349 deaths worldwide, 1,223,101 are in the US alone, the most recorded COVID-19 deaths of any country, according to WHO. What To Know Novavax's vaccine - Adjuvanted -is approved only for those aged 65 and older or people aged 12 to 65 "who have at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19", according to a letter from the FDA released Friday. "We are confident our well-tolerated vaccine represents an important alternative to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for the U.S.," a press release from the company issued when they entered the vaccine for approval in April read. This vaccine did previously have emergency approval by the FDA for use but can now be marketed in the U.S. for use, the letter said. The approval comes amid Robert Kennedy Jr.'s appointment as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. He has been outspoken about his distrust of medicinal treatments, including vaccines. Novavax makes the only protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, which operates differently from other vaccines that use messenger RNA (mRNA). Those mRNA vaccines prompt the patient to produce small amounts of virus to help create an immune response while the Adjuvanted has a protein spike to create the coupled with a Matrix-M adjuvant to prompt an immune response. The company submitted its product for approval on April 1 along with Phase 3 clinical trial data, the press release said. Development of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine has been ongoing since 2020. A general view of Novavax vaccine vials as the Dutch Health Service Organization starts with the Novavax vaccination program on March 21, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands. A general view of Novavax vaccine vials as the Dutch Health Service Organization starts with the Novavax vaccination program on March 21, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo by PatrickData from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that vaccines have had overall benefits including a decrease in hospitalization of about one third among adults with weakened immune systems. What People Are Saying Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia told The New York Times: "I think the goal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is to make vaccines less available, more expensive, and more feared." Michael Lin, MD PhD, Professor of Neurobiology & Bioengineering at Stanford University said in part on X, formerly Twitter: "Now the FDA added some odd condition that the vaccine is for those with conditions that increase risk of COVID complications. Given its better safety, it seems backward to put this on Novavax and not the RNA vaccines. But I'd hope you'd be allowed to self declare." What Happens Next Now that the FDA has approved, the CDC will have to release guidance on usage. Additionally, Novavax is required to provide data on people who receive the vaccine, including rates of myocarditis. Clinical trials of the vaccine are still being done for different age groups.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The FDA Is Replacing Synthetic Food Dyes, and These 3 Just Got the Green Light
The FDA approved three new natural food color additives — galdieria extract, butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate — to replace synthetic petroleum-based dyes. This move follows Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.'s April announcement to phase out synthetic dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5, with a national standard and timeline coming soon. Industry leaders warn the transition may lead to higher food prices and limited product availability due to the complexity and cost of reformulating with natural late April, Robert Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced plans to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors from the nation's food supply. That includes Red 3 and 40, Blue 1 and 2, Yellow 5 and 6, and Green 3, all of which are used in thousands of products found on grocery store shelves. Though Kennedy didn't provide extensive details on how his department plans to completely phase out dyes, a press release from his department stated that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will establish a "national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives." And now, it seems it's making good on at least part of that promise. On May 9, the FDA issued a release stating it had approved three new color additive petitions to "expand the palette of available colors from natural sources" that manufacturers can use.'Today we take a major step to Make America Healthy Again,' Kennedy shared in the release. "For too long, our food system has relied on synthetic, petroleum-based dyes that offer no nutritional value and pose unnecessary health risks. We're removing these dyes and approving safe, natural alternatives—to protect families and support healthier choices.' Martin A. Makary, the commissioner of the FDA, added that his staff has been "moving quickly to expedite the publication of these decisions, underscoring our serious intent to transition away from petroleum-based dyes in the food supply and provide new colors from natural sources.' Specifically, the FDA approved the use of galdieria extract blue, a blue color derived from the "unicellular red algae Galdieria sulphuraria." It is now approved for use in a wide range of products, including nonalcoholic beverages, beverage bases like fruit drinks and smoothies, breakfast cereal coatings, hard candy, flavored frostings, ice cream, yogurt, and liquid creamers. Related: Are Natural Food Dyes Better? Experts Weigh In on the Pros and Cons Then there's butterfly pea flower extract, another blue color that can be used to "achieve a range of shades including bright blues, intense purple, and natural greens," the statement shared. The FDA noted that it's already approved for use in products such as sports drinks, alcoholic beverages, dairy drinks, and ready-to-drink teas, but now it can also be used in ready-to-eat cereals, crackers, snack mixes, hard pretzels, and chips. Finally, the FDA approved calcium phosphate, which is a white compound that can now be used in ready-to-eat chicken products, white candy melts, doughnut sugar, and sugar for coated Extract (Blue): A bright blue dye derived from Galdieria sulphuraria, a unicellular red algae. The FDA has approved it for use in a wide range of products, including nonalcoholic beverages, cereals, hard candy, frostings, ice cream, yogurt, and creamers. Butterfly Pea Flower Extract (Blue to Purple): A natural colorant extracted from the butterfly pea flower that produces a deep blue hue. It is pH-sensitive, turning purple or pink in acidic environments, which allows it to create a range of shades depending on the food or drink it's used in. The FDA expanded its approved uses to include snacks like chips, crackers, pretzels, and cereals. Calcium Phosphate (White): A naturally occurring mineral used to create a white color in food products. The FDA approved it for use in ready-to-eat chicken products, doughnut sugar, sugar for coated candies, and white candy announcement noted that "once the FDA approves a color additive petition, any manufacturer can use the coloring for the approved uses," which means you could see butterfly pea flower in your favorite candy one day. However, "one day" is the key term. As the International Association of Color Manufacturers said in a statement in April following Kennedy's announcement, the process of switching color formulations is "neither simple nor immediate, and the resulting supply disruptions will limit access to familiar, affordable grocery items." Furthermore, Amy Agallar, vice president of investor relations and treasurer at Sensient, shared with CNN that all of your favorite, colorful treats could get more expensive as a result of these decisions. 'Natural colors can be more expensive from a cost-in-use perspective depending on the raw ingredient being used," Agallar said. 'The raw ingredients can vary due to many factors such as availability, time to harvest, and color availability from the raw material. The natural color needed to replace a synthetic color can be ten times that of a synthetic product.' Read the original article on Food & Wine
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
In a world filled with plastics, study says plastics can be deadly. Now what?
The world has a plastic problem and it seems to be getting worse. A study released in late April found that chemicals in plastics were potentially associated with as many as 350,000 heart disease deaths globally in 2018. Evidence is also accumulating that the microplastic bits now found everywhere in our environment – from Antarctica to the Amazon – are invading our bodies and have been implicated in everything from heart disease to infertility. In addition, the chemicals used in plastic can leach out into food, potentially increasing risks for obesity, heart disease and other ailments. The plastic industry rejects some of this research, saying it's not conclusive. Plastic provides "unmatched safety, protection, and efficiency across countless applications while offering the potential for reuse and recycling," Matt Seaholm, CEO and president of the Plastics Industry Association, said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Our industry prioritizes human health, which is why we are committed to ensuring that plastic is the most suitable and responsible choice for every application in which it is used," he said. The nation's new Health and Human Services Secretary has historically been skeptical of the safety of plastics, writing in 2023, "Some of the toxic chemicals used in everyday items such as plastic packaging can cause cancer and birth defects." Speaking at a Chemicals of Concern Policy Summit in North Carolina in April, Robert Kennedy Jr. said the agency would be investigating the potential human health effects of microplastics and the chemicals used in plastics. But it's not clear what action if any the notoriously anti-regulation Trump administration will take to limit plastic production or the chemicals used. So far, the only time President Donald Trump has spoken about plastic came in February, when he issued a 36-page national strategy reversing the promotion of paper straws instead of plastic. Determining the true health impact of plastics, if any, has proven a daunting task. That's because they're everywhere and because, while the amount of exposure is likely to be important, it's not yet clear how much is too much. Brett Sealove, chief of cardiology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, NJ, said he thinks it's too early to warn his patients about the possible health effects of plastics. But he thinks more useful information will come within a few years. "Be on the lookout for new and better data to come," he said. "Right now there's no cause and effect, there are only associations, so you have to take them with a grain of salt," he said. In the meantime, he says the first and most important thing people can do to lower their risk of a whole host of illnesses is to eat more vegetables, less processed food and exercise regularly. "As a cardiologist, I would much rather you walk 30 minutes a day than focus on microplastics," Sealov said. "Yes, maybe don't microwave in plastic," he said. But get up and walk first and "we would be an endlessly healthier society." The only way to lower the overall amount of plastic in the environment is to limit plastic production, change manufacturing methods as well as buying habits, recycling and trash disposal systems, said Dianna Cohen, co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. But until then what can you do to minimize the amount of plastic you take into your body? Here are some tips backed by research: Use glass or ceramic containers in the microwave instead of plastic, which can break down and contaminate the food. Wash plastic containers by hand, not in the dishwasher, where heat and soap may break down the plastic. Avoid single-use plastic containers and utensils. Drink tap water or water from glass or metal bottles rather than plastic. Use wooden or bamboo cutting boards. Choose paper teabags over plastic and nylon ones. Plastic is relatively new in the world. The first fully synthetic plastic was invented in 1907. By the 1930s, waste products from the petroleum and chemical industries were being used to make plastics. Production grew in the 1950s and 60s and exploded in the 1970s, when plastic became a ubiquitous part of modern life. Today, about 400 million tons of plastic waste are produced each year, according to the United Nations. Plastic use in the United States has more than tripled since the 1980s and less than 10% is recycled. Initially, plastics were believed to be inert, much like glass. They were thought of as chemically unreactive and generally harmless. Increasingly, studies are finding that some chemicals used to make different kinds of plastic rigid or flexible can affect biological processes within the body, often by disrupting hormones. Plastic breaks down into ever smaller bits but it doesn't decompose. These microplastic particles are increasingly being found in people's bodies, entering when they eat, drink, or breathe them in. These tiny, almost invisible plastic particles have been found in arteries, hearts, lungs, blood, placentas, breast milk, penises and testicles, among other body parts. A recent study found the average person's brain may contain the equivalent of one plastic throw-away spoon. As studies begin to find connections between exposure to plastic and medical problems, doctors and scientists are increasingly concerned. "We're conducing a vast, uncontrolled medical experiment in which we, our (children) and our grandchildren are the unwitting, unconsenting subjects," said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and director of the program for global public health and the common good at Boston College. A study released in 2024 found the rate of heart attacks, stroke and death was 4.5-times higher in people who had microplastics in the plaque clogging their neck arteries, compared to those who didn't. The actual cause of that increase isn't known and the researchers cautioned their findings can't be generalized to a wider population because other factors, such as socio-economic status, might be playing a role. "The jury is still out on exactly how much gets into the human body but there's no question we're all getting exposed everyday," said Landrigan. "Now the evidence is beginning to come in that microplastics can cause disease." The only way to truly lower plastic exposure is to produce less and make the plastic we use easily and cheaply recyclable. "If a bathtub is overflowing, you don't just start mopping – you turn off the tap," said Cohen. "Then you mop the floor." The United Nations is currently negotiating a global plastic treaty that would reduce overall plastic production, improve the design of new products to make them easier to recycle and aid communities that have been disproportionally impacted by plastic pollution. More than 99% of plastic is made from fossil fuels, Cohen noted. Despite pressure from a handful of petro-states including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait, "the majority of countries are rallying together for a strong treaty," she said. HHS Secretary Kennedy strongly supported work on this treaty in a 2023 opinion piece, when he was running for president as a Democrat. "In my administration, the U.S. will lead the way in forging an effective treaty, instead of watering it down at the behest of lobbyists for the oil and petrochemical industries," he wrote. The next round of negotiations will take place in Switzerland in August. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know after study says plastics can be deadly.
Axios
24-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Activists urge CPS to offer measles shots at schools
Activists, including a former Chicago health commissioner, are calling on Chicago Public Schools to administer vaccinations at schools, after the state reported this week its first measles case of 2025. The big picture: As of last week, some 800 confirmed cases were reported across 25 states, according to the CDC. There have been two confirmed deaths from measles, while the death of a third person who tested positive for measles is under investigation, according to the CDC. All three were not vaccinated, according to state authorities. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says. Driving the news: Members of the People's Response Network (PRN) on Thursday plan to present a proposal to the Chicago Board of Education to make all required vaccines, including the MMR shots for measles, available to CPS students on site, supervised by a staff nurse. What they're saying:"Measles is not the only thing we're talking about. What we're talking about here is that every racial, class and gender inequity in health and everything else became much worse during COVID," former Chicago Department of Public Health deputy commissioner Howard Ehrman said at a news conference Thursday. "It became much worse because for the first time vaccines bypassed the Chicago Department of Public Health and every other department of health in the United States to actually go, first and foremost, to pharmacies." "This is an example of massive privatization of public health that's taken place over the last 50 years in our country and has created major, major barriers for working class parents, particularly of color, to be able to get their kids vaccinated." Zoom in: PRN is calling on CPS to put nurses in every school, something outlined in the CTU tentative agreement, and ensure schools have access to the state's online record of which required vaccines each student has received. The group also wants the district to organize vaccine events at schools during hours that are accessible for working families. By the numbers: About 96% of public school students in Illinois are protected against measles, according to IDPH. About 93% of students in Chicago are protected. For measles, protection has trended down with nearly 98% of students protected a decade ago. Illinois reported 67 cases of measles in 2024, but no measles-related deaths. Zoom out: Americans are flooded with misinformation about all vaccines, according to a KFF poll of more than 1,000 adults. Around 6 in 10 adults say they have heard of or read about the false link between autism and the MMR vaccine. One in three reported having read or heard the false claim that the measles vaccines are more dangerous than being infected with measles itself — a share that's climbed by 15 percentage points in the past year. Between the lines: HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is a vocal vaccine skeptic, but Kennedy said recently that the MMR vaccine is "the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles."
