Category: Politics and Regulation

Extinction-level event. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

RFK Jr. is now an extinction-level threat to federal public health programs and science-based health policy

A week ago, Donald Trump said that, if elected, he would let Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "go wild" on healthcare. RFK Jr. has said that he'd immediately remove fluoride from drinking water, while surrogates say he'd work to prove vaccines unsafe. This is why a Trump Presidency could represent an extinction-level event for science-based federal health policy.

/ November 4, 2024
A grayscale image of a man wearing glasses and a suit, speaking into a microphone against a black background.

Bhattacharya for the CDC?

The Stanford health economist turned right-wing pandemic star could help take down academia and scientific institutions in a second Trump administration

/ November 3, 2024
An individual labeled as Dr. Daszak is speaking at a formal meeting, seated at a table with microphones and documents. Several people in suits are sitting in the background.

EcoHealth Alliance Fights Back

The organization scapegoated by the lab leak-promoting GOP-led House Covid subcommittee publishes its defense

/ October 31, 2024
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) and Donald Trump. MAHA vs. FDA

RFK Jr. declares MAHA war against the FDA

In a post on X/Twitter, antivaxxer turned Trump supporter Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. declared MAHA war on the FDA, should Trump be elected. What would this actually mean in practice?

/ October 28, 2024
Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.)

Antivaxxers easily see through the misdirection of RFK Jr.’s MAHA

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been antivax for two decades. His fellow travelers are not happy about his leaving out vaccines in his "Make America Healthy Again." To them it's an obvious misdirection, and they are turning on him.

/ October 14, 2024
NCCIH Logo defined

The NCCIH embraces the quackery that is “functional medicine”

The process of "integrating" quackery with medicine continues apace as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health embraces the quackery that is "functional medicine."

/ September 30, 2024
Joseph Ladapo

Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s assault on public health in Florida: Will it be coming to the federal government next year?

The Florida Department of Health, run by Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, just released guidance on COVID-19 vaccines based on antivax tropes. Is the federal government next?

/ September 16, 2024
Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.)

RFK Jr.’s MAHA manifesto: How not to “make America healthy again”

Shortly after endorsing Donald Trump for President, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed he and Trump will "make America healthy again." His proposals to do that range from semi-reasonable to outright quackery.

/ September 9, 2024
A scattered assortment of US dollar bills in various denominations, including $100, $50, and $20 notes, displaying portraits of historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Ulysses S. Grant. The bills overlap and cover the entire frame.

Hopkins Business School to Platform COVID-19 Contrarians at Health Policy Symposium

Drs. Jay Bhattacharya, Scott Atlas, and Marty Makary are also set to speak at Stanford next month

/ September 8, 2024
A historic illustration depicting an operation with medieval Islamic physicians. One patient lies on a table while three doctors dressed in traditional robes and turbans tend to him, one holding his wrist and the others examining and discussing the patient.

The Biopolitics of Quackademic Medicine in Iran

The problem of quackademic medicine in a place we in the US don't often consider.

/ August 27, 2024