Latest news with #USPreventiveServicesTaskForce
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: How Robert F Kennedy Jr is cancelling medical science
'The current administration is waging a war on science,' warned Celine Gounder, a professor of medicine and an infectious disease expert at New York University in a keynote talk in May to graduates of Harvard's School of Public Health. That war appeared to enter a new phase in the aftermath of a recent supreme court decision that empowered health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic, and other agency leaders, to implement mass firings – effectively greenlighting the politicization of science. Kennedy abruptly cancelled a scheduled meeting of a key health care advisory panel, the US Preventive Services Task Force, earlier this month. That, combined with his recent removal of a panel of more than a dozen vaccine advisers, signals that his dismantling of science-based policymaking is likely far from over. 'Do you enjoy getting sick from preventable diseases?' Arwa Madhawi asks in her Week in Patriarchy column. 'Do you have a hankering to make once-declining viruses great again? If so, why not pop over to the US where the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and his anti-vaccine cronies are making a valiant effort to overturn decades of progress in modern medicine.' Measles cases are at their highest rate in 33 years in the US, and while not entirely to blame, Trump's officials don't seem bothered. RFK Jr has downplayed the numbers. Kennedy has announced that the federal CDC will stop recommending Covid-19 booster shots for healthy children and pregnant women. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said in a statement: 'It is very clear that Covid-19 infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability'. Leading medical associations are suing the Trump administration as a result. Two new surveys, published as a research letter in Jama Network Open, have found that only 35% to 40% of US pregnant women and parents of young children say they intend to fully vaccinate their child. That means the majority of pregnant women and parents don't plan to accept all recommended kids' vaccines. Read the full story The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday it is eliminating its office of research and development (ORD) and cutting thousands of staff. One union leader said the moves 'will devastate public health' by removing 'the heart and brain of the EPA'. The ORD's work underpins the EPA's mission to protect the environment and human health. The agency is replacing it with a new office of applied science and environmental solutions that will allow it to focus on research and science 'more than ever before'. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin – inevitably, a close Trump ally – said the changes would ensure the agency 'is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, while powering the Great American Comeback'. Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House science committee, called the elimination of the research office 'a travesty'. 'The Trump administration is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people. The obliteration of ORD will have generational impacts on Americans' health and safety.' Read the full story Ten more hostages will be released from Gaza 'very shortly', Donald Trump said at the White House. The news comes as the president continues to push for a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 'We're going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly,' Trump said during a dinner with Republican senators. The current Israel-Hamas ceasefire proposal includes terms calling for the return of 10 hostages, and the remains of 18 others. In exchange, Israel would be required to release an unspecified number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Read the full story The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has reportedly stripped eight of Brazil's 11 supreme court judges of their US visas as the White House escalates its campaign to help the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro avoid justice over his alleged attempt to seize power with a murderous military coup. In support of the far-right Bolsonaro, Trump has also placed tariffs on Brazil – appalling millions of Brazilians who want to see their former leader held to account. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won the presidency from Bolsonaro, denounced what he called 'another arbitrary and completely groundless measure from the US government'. While the Bolsonaros have hailed Trump's actions, they also appear to have grasped how the announcement of tariffs has backfired, allowing Lula to pose as a nationalist defender of Brazilian interests and paint the Bolsonaro clan as self-serving 'traitors'. Even influential rightwing voices in Brazil have criticised Trump's meddling in one of the world's most populous democracies. Read the full story The White House is trying to drive out the Federal Reserve chair who is refusing to do the president's bidding and cut interests rates, as the Fed waits to see how prices respond to Trump's tariffs. Critics warn deposing Jerome Powell would be a costly bid to pass the buck, Callum Jones writes. In post-2024 election polling, defense of democracy was a top issue for Democrats but way down the list for those who voted for Donald Trump: their top concerns were inflation and the economy. Democrats lost the popular vote. If they are to win back voters who abandoned them in the last election, their messaging needs to change, writes Joan C Williams. Catching up? Here's what happened on 18 July.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: How Robert F Kennedy Jr is cancelling medical science
'The current administration is waging a war on science,' warned Celine Gounder, a professor of medicine and an infectious disease expert at New York University in a keynote talk in May to graduates of Harvard's School of Public Health. That war appeared to enter a new phase in the aftermath of a recent supreme court decision that empowered health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic, and other agency leaders, to implement mass firings – effectively greenlighting the politicization of science. Kennedy abruptly cancelled a scheduled meeting of a key health care advisory panel, the US Preventive Services Task Force, earlier this month. That, combined with his recent removal of a panel of more than a dozen vaccine advisers, signals that his dismantling of science-based policymaking is likely far from over. 'Do you enjoy getting sick from preventable diseases?' Arwa Madhawi asks in her Week in Patriarchy column. 'Do you have a hankering to make once-declining viruses great again? If so, why not pop over to the US where the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and his anti-vaccine cronies are making a valiant effort to overturn decades of progress in modern medicine.' Measles cases are at their highest rate in 33 years in the US, and while not entirely to blame, Trump's officials don't seem bothered. RFK Jr has downplayed the numbers. Kennedy has announced that the federal CDC will stop recommending Covid-19 booster shots for healthy children and pregnant women. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said in a statement: 'It is very clear that Covid-19 infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability'. Leading medical associations are suing the Trump administration as a result. Two new surveys, published as a research letter in Jama Network Open, have found that only 35% to 40% of US pregnant women and parents of young children say they intend to fully vaccinate their child. That means the majority of pregnant women and parents don't plan to accept all recommended kids' vaccines. Read the full story The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday it is eliminating its office of research and development (ORD) and cutting thousands of staff. One union leader said the moves 'will devastate public health' by removing 'the heart and brain of the EPA'. The ORD's work underpins the EPA's mission to protect the environment and human health. The agency is replacing it with a new office of applied science and environmental solutions that will allow it to focus on research and science 'more than ever before'. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin – inevitably, a close Trump ally – said the changes would ensure the agency 'is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, while powering the Great American Comeback'. Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House science committee, called the elimination of the research office 'a travesty'. 'The Trump administration is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people. The obliteration of ORD will have generational impacts on Americans' health and safety.' Read the full story Ten more hostages will be released from Gaza 'very shortly', Donald Trump said at the White House. The news comes as the president continues to push for a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 'We're going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly,' Trump said during a dinner with Republican senators. The current Israel-Hamas ceasefire proposal includes terms calling for the return of 10 hostages, and the remains of 18 others. In exchange, Israel would be required to release an unspecified number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Read the full story The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has reportedly stripped eight of Brazil's 11 supreme court judges of their US visas as the White House escalates its campaign to help the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro avoid justice over his alleged attempt to seize power with a murderous military coup. In support of the far-right Bolsonaro, Trump has also placed tariffs on Brazil – appalling millions of Brazilians who want to see their former leader held to account. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won the presidency from Bolsonaro, denounced what he called 'another arbitrary and completely groundless measure from the US government'. While the Bolsonaros have hailed Trump's actions, they also appear to have grasped how the announcement of tariffs has backfired, allowing Lula to pose as a nationalist defender of Brazilian interests and paint the Bolsonaro clan as self-serving 'traitors'. Even influential rightwing voices in Brazil have criticised Trump's meddling in one of the world's most populous democracies. Read the full story The White House is trying to drive out the Federal Reserve chair who is refusing to do the president's bidding and cut interests rates, as the Fed waits to see how prices respond to Trump's tariffs. Critics warn deposing Jerome Powell would be a costly bid to pass the buck, Callum Jones writes. In post-2024 election polling, defense of democracy was a top issue for Democrats but way down the list for those who voted for Donald Trump: their top concerns were inflation and the economy. Democrats lost the popular vote. If they are to win back voters who abandoned them in the last election, their messaging needs to change, writes Joan C Williams. Catching up? Here's what happened on 18 July.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Health experts raise alarm over RFK Jr's ‘war on science' amid mass firings and budget cuts
The Trump administration's 'war on science' appears to have entered a new phase in the aftermath of a recent supreme court decision that empowered health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic, and other agency leaders, to implement mass firings – effectively greenlighting the politicization of science. The decision comes as Kennedy abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting of a key health care advisory panel, the US Preventive Services Task Force, earlier this month. That, combined with his recent removal of a panel of more than a dozen vaccine advisers, signals that his dismantling of the science-based policymaking at HHS is likely far from over. 'The current administration is waging a war on science,' warned Celine Gounder, a professor of medicine and an infectious disease expert at New York University in a keynote talk in May to graduates of Harvard's School of Public Health. 'Today we see rising threats to the public health institutions that have kept our world safe for generations,' she said, citing 'cuts to research that benefits the lives of millions, looming public health emergencies that are not being addressed with the urgency they demand, and a continued coordinated attack on the very idea of the scientific process.' Gounder added: 'Over the past few months, we have seen the Trump administration engage not only in medical misinformation, but in active censorship of scientific discourse.' Since he took the helm at HHS, Kennedy's unscientific views on vaccines and some other medical matters coupled with the agency's widespread research and staff cuts, have prompted protests from scientists inside and outside HHS plus lawsuits. Medical experts say Kennedy's policies are helping 'sow distrust in vaccines' as measles cases soar to a more than three decade high, hurt vital healthcare research with draconian cuts, and helped foment a Trump administration 'war on science' mentality. Kennedy sparked a firestorm in June by ousting 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recommends vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and votes to provide updates to its vaccine schedule. He then named a new eight person vaccine panel – half of whom share Kennedy's distrust of vaccines – who quickly retracted recommendations for flu vaccines containing an ingredient which many anti-vaxxers have falsely connected to autism. That move sparked sharp criticism from veteran doctors with a national pediatric group, which opted to boycott its first meeting. 'Among the reasons we decided not to participate was because it clearly appeared to be an orchestrated effort to sow distrust in vaccines,' Sean O'Leary who chairs a committee on infectious diseases with the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Guardian. Dissent has also spread at the National Institutes of Health, where dozens of science researchers and other staff in June released a detailed document, dubbed the Bethesda Declaration, warning that key missions of the premiere research agency at HHS were being damaged by the Trump administration's budget cutting. Even before these moves, prominent healthcare scholars were sounding loud alarms about some HHS policies and the administration's anti-science mentality – including its draconian budget cuts for research and staff cuts totaling over 10,000. Gounder said there has been a 'flood of Orwellian doublespeak from public health agencies', contributing to declining vaccination rates and making Americans more susceptible to diseases like measles, which recently hit a level not seen since 2000 when measles was declared eliminated in the US. Her critique has been amplified by public protests from healthcare experts troubled by its vaccine policies and large cuts to research and staff at the Food and Drug Administration, the NIH and other parts of HHS. On a separate legal front, a Rhode Island federal court in July ruled against HHS and Kennedy and put a temporary stop to the drastic revamping of HHS and some of its staff cuts. The ruling provided a court victory to a group of 19 Democratic state attorneys general, plus the District of Columbia, which in May sued Kennedy – plus other HHS leaders such as the FDA commissioner and the CDC's acting director – attacking the restructuring as an 'unconstitutional and illegal dismantling' of the agency. Kennedy, they alleged, has 'systematically deprived HHS of the resources necessary to do its job'. The Rhode Island judge wrote that as members of the executive branch, Kennedy and the HHS do 'not have the authority to order, organize, or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress'. For his part, Kennedy in March issued a statement defending the early HHS move to cut 10,000 full-time jobs: 'We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic.' Those jobs have since been cut, as of Monday 14 July, after an 8 July order from the supreme court that allowed the restructuring plans to proceed. Many employees who were supposed to be laid off during the agency's first round of 10,000 layoffs in April have been in limbo as the order made its way through the court system and later paused by federal judges. The reorganization, in addition to cutting staff, was supposed to consolidate the department's 28 divisions into 15 and cut regional offices from 10 to five. Democrats in Congress too have voiced strong alarms about the thousands of HHS job cuts and their adverse impacts on healthcare and science. Ten congressional Democrats led by congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, whose district is home to thousands of NIH and FDA workers, wrote to Kennedy in March demanding the rehiring of thousands of illegally fired workers, warning of the 'harmful consequences' for patient healthcare and science research. Raskin told the Guardian that Kennedy and the Trump administration's actions reveal a 'complete disregard for the law making powers of Congress. Trump wants to be both the implementer of the laws and the legislative branch, but that is not his job. It's totally unconstitutional. They're trying to cut off funds that have been lawfully appropriated by Congress'. O'Leary and many other medical experts warn that the dangerous ideologically driven cuts at HHS will have long-term consequences. 'What we're seeing across HHS is deeply concerning,' said O'Leary 'NIH funding has never been politically or ideologically driven, but clearly that's what we're seeing now. Those cuts are going to have serious consequences for our country and healthcare.'
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. postpones another key health panel meeting. What could that mean for your health?
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suddenly postponed a meeting for another key federal advisory panel responsible for making health recommendations on preventative care. Members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force were notified by email that the Immediate Office of the Secretary is postponing the in-person meeting scheduled for July 10, according to someone with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. Task force members were slated to discuss recommendations regarding healthy diet, physical activity and weight loss to prevent heart disease in adults, among other agenda items. In an email sent to USA TODAY, HHS confirmed the task force will not meet July 10. The move rings alarm bells as it mirrors the secretary's actions prior to firing all 17 members of another federal advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in June, Carroll said, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The postponed USPSTF meeting also follows a recent Supreme Court decision that clarified Kennedy can remove task force members at will and can review their recommendations before they take effect. The postponed meeting 'is concerning,' said Dr. Aaron Carroll, CEO of AcademyHealth, a nonprofit medical group. 'Given what's just happened with ACIP, there's a real fear that this could happen again with USPSTF.' Recommendations made by ACIP have wide-ranging implications, guiding vaccine requirements for schools and impacting a government program offering free vaccinations for about half of America's kids. Kennedy quickly appointed eight new members a few days later, including some vaccine skeptics. Under the Affordable Care Act, the USPSTF has a major role in choosing what preventive health services will be covered by insurance plans at no cost to patients, such as cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted infections, mental health screenings and important medications. Forcibly removing task members without cause could threaten access to that care, said Carroll. USPSTF makes recommendations across specialties such as women's health and obesity, 'of which can easily be politicized,' he said. 'This is not just like a bureaucratic shuffling,' Carroll said. 'You're disrupting how patients access no-cost preventative care, how clinicians practice, how payers design coverage. … It's a chilling message to everyone.' The Supreme Court decision that clarified Kennedy's authority over USPSTF originated from a suit in Texas. Two Christian-owned businesses and individuals argued that health insurance plans they buy shouldn't have to cover medical tests and drugs they object to on religious grounds, such as the HIV-prevention regimen PrEP. More: What the Supreme Court Obamacare decision means for RFK Jr. Access to this type of care could be at risk if Kennedy appoints new task force members who carry certain political ideology, Carroll said. The postponed meeting prompted dozens of medical groups to send a letter to leaders of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions urging Congress to preserve task force procedures and duties. 'It is critical that Congress protects the integrity of the USPSTF from intentional or unintentional political interference,' according to the letter, signed by AcademyHealth, the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, among others. Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. postpones USPSTF meeting. What could that mean?
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Millennials born in 1990 are twice as likely to get colon cancer as Boomers born in 1950 — and that's not the worst of it
Early-onset colorectal cancer rates are surging around the world, and Millennials are in the crosshairs. According to a study published in the British Journal of Surgery, early-onset colorectal cancer, defined as cases diagnosed before age 50, has risen dramatically among both sexes in the US since the mid-1990s. While colon cancer is traditionally linked to older adults, diagnoses among younger people have skyrocketed in recent years. Advertisement Researchers explain that in comparison to adults born in 1950, those born in 1990 are twice as likely to develop colon cancer — and a whopping four times more likely to develop rectal cancer. And folks, it gets worse. 3 While colon cancer is traditionally linked to older adults, diagnoses among younger people have skyrocketed in recent years. Nataliya – Partially due to the assumption among care providers and patients that colorectal cancer is a disease for the elderly or middle-aged, young people tend to be diagnosed in the disease's later stages, making it harder to treat and cure. Advertisement Researchers note that younger patients are more likely to receive aggressive treatments and, due to their life stage, are faced with unique challenges in navigating care and survival. These younger patients, often diagnosed in their peak earning and reproductive years, are more likely to experience financial hardship and difficulty starting or expanding their families. Early-onset survivors are more likely to experience anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and body image issues than their older counterparts. Advertisement These recent findings are in line with a Centers for Disease Control analysis that found a 185% increase in colorectal cancer among people between 20 and 24 and a 333% increase among people between 15 and 19. Rates of early-onset colorectal cancer, the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer, are also rising in high-income countries beyond the US. An inventory of 20 European countries showed a significant spike in cases of early-onset colorectal cancer from 2004 to 2016. 'The incidence of GI cancers in adults younger than age 50 is rising globally,' said the paper's lead author, Sara Char. 'Ongoing research efforts investigating the biology of early-onset GI cancers are critical to developing more effective screening, prevention, and treatment strategies.' Due to the rise in younger cases, the US Preventive Services Task Force updated its colorectal cancer screening guidelines in 2021, lowering the recommended age to begin screening from 50 to 45 for adults of average risk. Advertisement 3 Rates of early-onset colorectal cancer, the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer, are also rising in high-income countries beyond the US. Crystal light – And we may need to lower it further, as a new study from Taiwan found that initiating colorectal cancer screening at 40 can reduce cases by 21% and deaths by 39% compared to starting screening at 50. Early-onset colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer-related death for men under 50 and the second-leading cause for women under 50 in the United States. 'It's been pretty alarming to all of us,' Dr. Coral Olazagasti, an assistant professor of clinical medical oncology at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, previously told The Post. 'In the past, you would think cancer was a disease of the elderly population. But now we've been seeing trends in recent years of people getting diagnosed with cancer earlier and earlier.' Early onset colorectal cancer disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian populations, with those of Native American descent reporting the highest rate of colorectal cancer of any racial and ethnic group. Among that number is Utah-based influencer Tanner Martin, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at 25 and lost his five-year battle with the disease in June. Advertisement 3 Utah-based influencer Tanner Martin, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at 25 and lost his five-year battle with the disease in June. The Washington Post via Getty Images A National Cancer Institute analysis from 1973 through 2009 revealed that 16.5% of American Indians/Alaska Natives, 15.4% of Hispanics, 12% of Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 11.9% of Black patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 50, compared to only 6.7% of non-Hispanic white patients. Oncologists have suggested that the concerning rise in early onset diagnoses and deaths could be due to obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, the Western diet, excess sugar consumption, and environmental factors such as pollutants in the air, soil, and water. Advertisement A 2019 study found that US women with a BMI over 30 had close to double the risk of developing early-onset colorectal cancer compared to women with lower BMIs. More recently, a groundbreaking 2025 study suggested that colibactin, a toxin produced by certain strains of E. coli, may be behind the recent surge in early-onset colorectal cancer cases. 'We believe this exposure occurs very early in life — likely during the first decade — when children are infected,' Dr. Ludmil Alexandrov, senior study author and a professor at the University of California, San Diego, told The Post. The CDC predicts that by 2030, early-onset colorectal cancer will become the leading cancer-related cause of death for people aged 20 to 49.
