Tag: Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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

President-Elect Donald Trump has nominated antivaccine activist and anti-pharma conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. I've written about the damage he will do, if confirmed, to the CDC and FDA, but what about NIH, the greatest engine of biomedical research ever?

/ November 18, 2024
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
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
Prescription Drugs

Government watchdog warns about paid physician speeches touting drugs and medical devices

Paid speeches at lavish events touting drugs and medical devices risk charges of anti-kickback law violations, warns a recent government Special Fraud Alert. Will companies and doctors take heed this time?

/ December 3, 2020

Government watchdog to investigate politicization of CDC and FDA during COVID-19 pandemic

Based on numerous reports of White House interference, a government watchdog will investigate politicization of the CDC's and FDA's actions during the coronavirus pandemic.

/ October 22, 2020

Trump’s new CDC Director is very pro-vaccine, but was she also at one time a quack?

On Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price announced the appointment of Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald to head the CDC. Reassuringly, her record as Georgia Public Health Commissioner was pro-vaccine and relatively non-ideological. Not so reassuringly, a news report yesterday found that before entering public service she was peddling anti-aging quackery at her private practice. Where will her balance fall now...

/ July 10, 2017