Latest news with #medicaladvice
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘My Father Told Me...': RFK Jr. Makes Wild Warning Undermining Expert Health Advice
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday said assessing health guidance is similar to researching baby strollers as a new mom, urging Americans to 'be skeptical of authority' while serving in a top Cabinet position. CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Kennedy if he stood by his earlier comment that people should not be taking medical advice from him, even though his job involves communicating health guidance and recommendations based on his department's expertise. 'Yeah, absolutely,' Kennedy said. 'I'm somebody who is not a physician... and they should also be skeptical about any medical advice. They need to do their own research.' Kennedy added that when 'you're a mom, you do your own research on your baby carriage, on your baby bottles, on your baby formula,' suggesting a similar approach should be taken when assessing medical advice. When Collins pointed out that most mothers do not have medical degrees and would rather rely on their physicians, Kennedy claimed that health experts in a democracy 'are subject to all kinds of biases.' 'One of the responsibilities of living in a democracy is to do your own research and to make up your own mind,' he added. Kennedy also recalled a piece of advice from his father, suggesting it was relevant to their discussion. 'I would say, be skeptical of authority. My father told me that when I was a young kid, people in authority lie,' Kennedy said, baselessly claiming that 'critical thinking was shut down' during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, was nominated to serve in one of the country's top jobs by President Donald Trump, raising eyebrows during a House subcommittee hearing last week with his answer to a question about whether he would vaccinate his children against measles if they were still young. 'I don't think people should be taking advice, medical advice from me,' he said. 'I think if I answer that question directly that it will seem like I'm giving advice to other people, and I don't want to be doing that,' he continued. Kennedy, though, has not held back from lending credence to debunked conspiracy theories, including falsely suggesting that vaccines are linked to autism. While his Making America Healthy Again report, released on Thursday, did not touch on that specific claim, it still hinted that the growth of the immunization schedule for children may be detrimental to them, even though childhood vaccination saves millions of lives every year. 'Vaccines benefit children by protecting them from infectious diseases. But as with any medicine, vaccines can have side effects that must be balanced against their benefits,' the report reads. 'Parents should be fully informed of the benefits and risks of vaccines.' RFK Jr.'s MAHA Report Goes After Vaccines, Prescription Meds, Food Supply RFK Jr.'s MAHA Report Raises Concerns About Vaccines, U.S. Foods And Prescription Drugs RFK Jr. Has A Meltdown After Democrat Asks Him 1 Simple Question
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Forget the DEI hires – meet Trump's latest WTF hire
The US health secretary doesn't think you should really listen to him when it comes to health issues. During an appearance before House and Senate committees this week, Robert F Kennedy Jr, famous for his unconventional views about medicine and his revelation that a parasite ate part of his brain, seemed to think it was strange that lawmakers were asking him about vaccines. 'What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,' Kennedy said when pressed on whether he would vaccinate his child for measles. 'I don't want to seem like I'm being evasive, but I don't think people should be taking advice, medical advice, from me.' The US health secretary repeated his refrain about not wanting to give advice a number of other times. I, on the other hand, am desperate to dole out a bit of advice. Namely: it would probably be a good idea if a few people who actually knew what they were talking about were brought into the US government. I know, I know. Look at me being a crazy idealist! Still, at the very least, it might be wise to at least ensure that the people who are in charge of health issues know a thing or two about medicine. Alas, judging by some of Donald Trump's latest appointments, it would seem that I am asking far too much. See, for example, Dr Casey Means, who was nominated for US surgeon general last week. Means has got 'Dr' in front of her name, which sounds promising, but she's more of an influencer than a practitioner. Though she trained as a surgeon at Stanford, she never completed her medical residency afterward. Why? She says it's because she was disillusioned with traditional medicine, but a former colleague told the Los Angeles Times that it was due to anxiety. Means also doesn't have an active medical license. In short: she wouldn't be able to get a job as a doctor at your local hospital but she's being considered for the role of 'the nation's doctor'. As for experience working in government? She doesn't have any of that, either. What Means does have, Trump announced in a recent social media post, are 'impeccable 'MAHA' credentials'. That's the 'Make America healthy again' movement: a movement that is preoccupied with some very valid issues (processed food, corruption in the health industry) but mired in conspiracist thinking. Means has been on TV a lot to talk about Maha obsessions such as removing fluoride from drinking water. She also makes money from dietary supplements that she promotes on social media and has co-authored a book with her brother that claims 'almost every chronic health symptom that Western medicine addresses is the result of our cells being beleaguered by how we've come to live'. Which, of course, isn't completely false but has been accused of being overly simplistic. Means's brother, by the way, is also a prominent adviser to Kennedy. So are all the Maha crowd rejoicing in the streets at the idea of Means becoming surgeon general? Not quite. Her nomination has actually sparked Maha infighting. Some Maha voices think Means is not extreme enough, particularly when it comes to the Covid shot. These people seem to want a surgeon general who declares Covid was a hoax and bans vaccines altogether. The far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, meanwhile, who seems to have become one of Trump's most influential albeit unofficial advisers, isn't happy with Means because she thinks she's unserious. Writing on Twitter/X, Loomer said Means 'PRAYS TO INANIMATE OBJECTS, COMMUNICATES WITH SPIRIT MEDIUMS, USES SHROOMS AS 'PLANT MEDICINE' AND TALKS TO TREES! SHE ALSO DOESN'T EVEN HAVE AN ACTIVE MEDICAL LICENSE.' Loomer isn't the only one a little worried about Means's enthusiasm for psychedelic drugs including magic mushrooms – which the prospective surgeon general once suggested in a newsletter helped her find a romantic partner. Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms, is currently listed as a schedule I drug, defined as a substance 'with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse'. Means should probably be a little worried about what Loomer thinks, as Loomer may have played a part in ousting Trump's original pick for the position. That was Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News medical contributor and the sister-in-law of Mike Waltz, the former national security adviser. On X this month, Loomer called Nesheiwat 'a pro-Covid vaccine nepo appointee' who 'didn't go to medical school in the US'. (Nesheiwat has said that she got a degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, but it would seem that she actually earned her medical degree from a school in Sint Maarten.) Will Loomer topple Means before her confirmation (which hasn't been scheduled yet) as well? I don't know but I can tell you that if she does, it's unlikely that her successor will be any more qualified. The Trump administration, as we all know, has been waging war on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). If you're a (non-Trump-loving) woman or a minority, it doesn't seem to matter how many qualifications you have, you're automatically considered a 'DEI hire' and looked upon with suspicion. Many prominent people in the Trump administration, meanwhile, seem to be WTF hires. They are there because they're white, Trumpy and often in the family of someone influential (or they have been on Fox News). Whether we get Means or not, you can be sure that whoever is confirmed as the nation's top doctor will be completely unqualified to treat the US's Trump-induced ailments. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
What you need to know about pink eye
Paging Dr. Paul: Our resident health professional shares advice on dealing with pink eye, and what to look out for.
ABC News
07-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
AUDIO: Erin Patterson murder trial hears evidence from doctors who treated her
Doctors who spoke with and treated Erin Patterson in the days after a lunch which killed three people have given their testimony in court. One of the doctors told the court that Ms Patterson was adamant about leaving hospital, against medical advice.
