Category: Politics and Regulation

Hyperbaric oxygen chamber

Quackery (still) kills: A five-year-old boy dies in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber

Even as quacks and antivaxxers take over our federal government's health apparatus, let's not forget why we need stronger, not laxer, regulation of "unconventional" medical practices.

/ March 17, 2025
informed consent vs. misinformed refusal

Misinformed refusal: What antivaxxers are really promoting when they invoke “informed consent”

Our new Secretary of Health and Human Services wants to change CDC messaging about vaccines to emphasize "informed consent." What he really means is misinformed refusal.

/ March 10, 2025
Great Barrington Declaration authors Jay Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorff, and Sunetra Gupta in front of AIER headquarters in Great Barrington, MA.

Paul Thacker relitigates criticisms of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and the Great Barrington Declaration

"Journalist" Paul Thacker defends Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and the Great Barrington Declaration by rehashing the same old deceptive rhetoric that was easily debunked when it was first employed.

/ March 6, 2025
Image of a USAID notification announcing a reduction-in-force affecting 1,600 personnel. Starting February 23, 2025, all direct hire personnel will be on administrative leave, except for specific designations.

Indiscriminate, Cruel, and Wasteful: Abandoning USAID clinical trials

The chaos and cruelty of its abrupt deconstruction are self-evident and already demonstrable

/ February 25, 2025
Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.)

How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will undermine and ultimately destroy US vaccination programs

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was nominated to be Secretary of Health & Human Services, I called him an "extinction-level threat" to public health. Here's how he will attempt to make vaccines extinct in the US.

/ February 24, 2025
So it begins: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attacks

So it begins: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as HHS Secretary and immediately starts dismantling US federal science infrastructure

The nightmare has come true. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been confirmed as HHS Secretary and didn't wait long to start dismantling federal science and health programs. The White House even formed a "MAHA commission" to draw up a battle plan.

/ February 17, 2025
National Institutes of Health (NIH).

DOGE vs. the NIH: Say goodbye to the greatest engine of biomedical research ever created

Friday, the Trump administration slashed indirect costs associated with NIH grants. What does this mean, and why could it be so disastrous for biomedical research?

/ February 10, 2025

The Trashing of Science by Robert F Kennedy Jr

If confirmed, Kennedy will keep trashing science and will continue exploiting the trashed science he helps create for his own benefit.

/ February 4, 2025
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) and Donald Trump. MAHA vs. FDA

MAHA: Echoes of The Secret

When you look at Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" movement, there is a notable echo of an idea once promoted by Oprah Winfrey, namely The Secret, combined with antivax and alt-med tropes.

/ February 3, 2025
The term "medical conservative" aligns with William Buckley Jr.'s definition of conservatism, which Vinay Prasad echoes. It describes someone who stands against unchecked progress in medicine, urging caution and critical evaluation to safeguard patient care.

An Open Letter to Dr. Vinay Prasad

Please recognize that you are now influencing the national public health policy and understand that being in authority is a very different job than simply questioning authority

/ January 30, 2025