Latest news with #USHealthandHumanServicesDepartment
Malay Mail
02-05-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
US Health secretary Kennedy revives misleading claims of ‘foetal debris' in measles shots
WASHINGTON, May 2 — US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr reprised various misleading claims about vaccines this week, including that the measles vaccine contains cells from aborted foetuses and the mumps vaccination does not work. Kennedy's comments come as the US battles one of its worst outbreaks of measles in 25 years. Scientists have warned that the US is at a tipping point for the return of endemic measles, declared eradicated nationally in 2000, and say US public health officials like Kennedy should provide urgent endorsement for highly effective vaccines. Two children have died and hundreds more have been infected in the outbreak in Texas, which is centred on a Mennonite community and has spread to neighbouring states, including New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Kennedy, who became the nation's top health official in February, has for decades helped sow doubts regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines, contributing to a decline in vaccination rates. Kennedy says he is not opposed to vaccines, but has begun to revive some of the unproven or debunked theories he promoted as a lawyer and public figure, now from his perch at the US Health and Human Services Department. 'There are populations in our country, like the Mennonites in Texas, (who) were most afflicted, and they have religious objections to the vaccination, because the MMR vaccine contains a lot of aborted foetus debris and DNA particles, so they don't want to take it,' he said in a News Nation interview on Wednesday. Kennedy was referring to the combined Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine. The vaccines do not contain 'foetal debris' from abortions or intact foetal cells, vaccine experts said. The rubella portion of the vaccine is produced from a foetal cell line originating from an abortion that took place in the 1960s. The MMR vaccine does not contain the cells in its final form. The cells are derived from foetal cells that have been replicated over decades in test tubes in laboratory settings, thousands of times removed from the original ones. 'The virus is grown in these cells, then this virus is purified, meaning everything other than the virus is filtered out, and all that's left is this attenuated virus that can't make you sick,' said Dr. Miriam Laufer, Interim Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland. According to a fact sheet on how vaccines are made from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, the amount of DNA involved in final vaccine preparation is minimal; billionths or trillionths of a gram. 'While the final vaccines do not contain intact foetal cells, they may contain trace amounts of cell-derived materials, such as fragments of DNA,' said Dr. Paulo Verardi, Professor of Virology and Vaccinology and the University of Connecticut. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment. Kennedy also said this week that the mumps portion of the vaccine does not work and that there were safety concerns over it. 'The problem is really with the mumps portion of the vaccine and the combination. That combination was never safety tested,' he said on Monday at a live televised town hall event hosted by TV host Dr Phil. Two doses of the MMR vaccine provide around 86% protection against mumps, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. While it is true that vaccine protection can wane over time, the rate varies depending on the disease and vaccine, Verardi and other vaccine experts said. 'For mumps in particular, immunity can decline, so adults vaccinated in childhood may become susceptible again. Still, vaccinated individuals generally experience a milder illness if infected, which is still a key benefit of vaccination,' he said. — Reuters
Al Jazeera
30-03-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Donald Trump updates: World leaders denounce new US auto tariffs
Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 21:00 (21:00 GMT) Title: That's a wrap from us Content: Thank you for joining us for day 67 of Donald Trump's second term as president. To learn more about the cuts to the US Health and Human Services Department, check out our coverage here. Get to know the students targeted for deportation as a result of their pro-Palestinian advocacy with this story. And go inside the memorandum signed by the US and Colombia to share biometric data from migrants here. We hope to see you again soon. Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 20:52 (20:52 GMT) Title: Here's what happened today Content: This live page will be closing soon. Here's a recap of today's events. Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 20:45 (20:45 GMT) Title: Democrats seek to tie HHS cuts to measles outbreak Content: The cuts to the staff at the US Health and Human Services Department come as the country grapples with its biggest measles outbreak in decades. In 2000, the US declared measles eliminated, thanks to vaccination. But this year, health officials have documented at least 327 cases in Texas alone. The country also reported its first measles-related death since 2015; a second death this month is under investigation. Democrats have used the outbreak to brand Trump as 'the measles president' in a Thursday news conference. They also accused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of weakening the country's healthcare infrastructure. ' We are really here to raise the alarm. Why? Because the measles president and Secretary Kennedy are trying to turn the Department of Health into the Department of Disease,' Senator Patty Murray told reporters. 'Looking for new ways to make government more efficient and responsive is important, but Trump and RFK Jr are doing anything but that,' she continued. 'It does not take a genius to understand that pushing out 20,000 workers at a preeminent health agency, choking off funding for cancer research, and eliminating funding that prevents infectious diseases like measles will not make Americans healthier.' Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 20:30 (20:30 GMT) Title: Rubio confirms revoking Turkish student's visa Content: We've been reporting on the detention of Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk by immigration officers. Now, Rubio has confirmed that he revoked her student visa over Palestinian rights activism, paving the way for her arrest. 'I think it's crazy. I think it's stupid for any country in the world to welcome people into their country [if] they're going to go to your universities as visitors — they're visitors — and say, 'I'm going to your universities to start a riot,'' Rubio said. However, there is no evidence that Ozturk was involved in any riots or even physical protests for Gaza at Tufts. Her supporters suspect that she has been arrested over co-authoring an op-ed calling on her university to divest from Israeli companies. 'Once your visa is revoked, you're illegal in the country and you have to leave,' Rubio said. 'Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in as a visitor and who doesn't.' Right advocates argue that the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, applies to citizens and non-citizens alike, so the Trump administration cannot legally detain and deport foreign students over speech it disagrees with. Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 20:15 (20:15 GMT) Title: Who is Elise Stefanik, Trump's withdrawn pick for UN envoy? Content: Stefanik, Trump's now-former nominee as ambassador to the UN, has been considered a rising star in the Republican Party for years. Her early embrace of Trump and combative style saw her climb the leadership ladder within the Republican House caucus ahead of more experienced legislators. First elected to Congress in Upstate New York in 2014, Stefanik, 40, became the House Republican Conference chair in 2021, succeeding Liz Cheney who was replaced for her criticism of Trump. Stefanik further raised her national profile in 2023 when she aggressively quizzed the presidents of prestigious universities over allegations of anti-Semitism on campus. Her questions falsely suggesting that chants for Palestinian liberation are calls for genocide boosted her standing amongst pro-Israel advocates. The hearings led to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. Several pro-Israel groups welcomed her nomination to the UN post by Trump after his election win last year. In recent weeks, she has been hailing the arrest of foreign students over their advocacy for Palestinian rights. Earlier this month, Stefanik promised to defend Israel as envoy to the UN – when her confirmation appeared all but assured. She told an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) conference that Israel – which has been accused of genocide by UN experts and major rights groups – is a 'shining beacon of freedom and civilization in the Middle East and intrinsically entwined with the success of America'. Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 20:00 (20:00 GMT) Title: More from Canada's Carney Content: The Canadian prime minister has been speaking about Ottawa's response to Trump's tariffs. Here's some of what he had to say: Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 19:45 (19:45 GMT) Title: Trump's tariffs could 'shut down' auto industry within a week Content: Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, says Trump's tariffs on automotive imports will hurt both Canada and the US. He noted that half of the nearly 2 million cars made in Canada are made by American car companies with 50 percent of the parts in those cars coming from US factories. Additionally, he told Al Jazeera, about 55 percent of the raw materials used to produce those vehicles are sourced in the US. 'So anything that the White House is trying to do to Canadians is going to do directly to the three biggest automotive enterprises that are based in the US and in the US supply chain,' Volpe said, adding that the tariffs exceed profit margins. 'The industry is likely to shut down on both sides of the border within a week,' he said. Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 19:30 (19:30 GMT) Title: Why Trump withdrew nomination of UN envoy pick Content: With a majority in the Senate, Republicans have confirmed some of Trump's most controversial cabinet nominees. But Congresswoman Elise Stefanik will not be confirmed as envoy to the UN. Trump has said he has asked her to remain in Congress to protect the Republicans' 'very tight' majority in the House of Representatives. Trump's political party indeed won a razor-thin majority in the House last year, which shrank further as Mike Waltz left the chamber to serve as national security adviser and Matt Gaetz quit amid scandals. The Democrats have also lost two members – Sylvester Turner and Raul Grijalva, who died earlier this month. As things stand, the House has 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Losing Stefanik would have meant that two Republican defections on any bill would ensure that Democrats could vote down the proposed legislation. Bills cannot pass in the House with a tie. Stefanik's district in Upstate New York is a safe Republican seat. The congresswoman was re-elected with 62 percent of the votes last year. But it could have taken months for a special election to be held, leaving her seat vacant – a risk that Trump did not appear to be willing to take. Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 19:25 (19:25 GMT) Title: Canada PM vows to 'fight' Trump's tariffs Content: Mark Carney strikes a defiant tone as he pledges to push back against Trump's decision to impose 25-percent tariffs on car imports. 'Our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, is to protect and to build,' Carney said. 'We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada.' The prime minister said he understands Trump's push to protect American workers, but he warned that the tariffs will end up hurting US workers and consumers. Update: Date: 27 Mar 2025 - 19:15 (19:15 GMT) Title: Detaining student activist is 'actions of a dictator': US congresswoman Content: Progressive Democrat Pramila Jayapal denounces the arrest of Turkish Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk by immigration authorities over her Palestine advocacy. 'Trump is arresting and disappearing students with legal status just because of their political views and speech,' Jayapal said in a social media post. 'These are the actions of a dictator. Justice for Rumeysa NOW.' The Department of Homeland Security had suggested that Ozturk had her student visa revoked for 'activities in support of Hamas' without elaborating on what exactly the student had done. Ozturk has not been charged with a crime.
