Category: Public Health
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.
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.
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
The attack on the NIH has begun
Donald Trump has been sworn in, and his new administration has immediately turned its sights on the NIH. The danger to US biomedical research has never been more acute.
Why Did the FDA Ban Red Dye #3
The FDA recently removed FD&C Red No. 3 from the list of approved food additives. This was not based on any new data or interpretation of the data, but rather was a response to a petition from food safety and environmental groups. Their argument was in turn based on the Delaney Clause, a 1960 law saying that the FDA must ban any...
Trouble in (MAHA) paradise?
Even as President Donald Trump is inaugurated today and his pick for HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. prepares to face confirmation hearings, there is trouble in "make America healthy" paradise.
COVID Is Still Here, But Changing
My hospital just reinstituted mask mandates for all staff working with patients. They also advise patients to wear masks while in the hospital, but have not made it a requirement. I still have a stash of N95 masks so it was easy, and all too familiar, for me to comply, but I admit it created an unpleasant flash-back. All things considered, I...
Surgeon General Alcohol Warning
In 1964 the US Surgeon General released its first report on the health risks of smoking and tobacco use. This turned out to be a landmark move, paving the way for the following decades of progressively more restrictive regulation of public tobacco use and marketing. In 1964 smoking was at its peak in the US, when 42% of Americans smoked. Today the...
The Semmelweis gambit: A red flag for defending bad science and quackery
A proponent of the Great Barrington Declaration is comparing rejection of its "natural herd immunity" approach to the pandemic to the rejection of Ignaz Semmelweis and his findings. It's a deceptive comparison beloved of all manner of scientific cranks.
The willful blindness of RFK Jr’s supporters
Shrug, move on and never admit you were wrong