Tag Archives: Robert Kennedy Jr.

The Associated Press reports: A coalition of state attorneys general sued the administration Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country. Officials from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia James, Kentucky Gov. …

ProPublica reports: Leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered staff this week not to release their experts’ assessment that found the risk of catching measles is high in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lagging, according to internal records reviewed by ProPublica. In an aborted plan to roll out the news, the agency would have emphasized …

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been secretary of Health and Human Services for all of six weeks, but he’s already vindicating his critics. First he downplayed a measles outbreak in Texas. Then he reportedly hired a trial-lawyer ally to work on a government study of the link between vaccines and autism. Now he …

The Daily Mail reports: HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. paid a visit to West Virginia to tout a law banning certain food dyes in the state on Friday. But Kennedy turned heads when he fat shamed the state’s GOP governor and suggested monthly weigh-ins. Trump’s top health official singled out Gov. Patrick Morrisey after the West Virginia leader introduced him. …

The Texas Tribune reports: The number of measles cases has risen to 400, a spike of 73 cases over the last three days, as the historical outbreak continues to rage on in West Texas, according to state officials on Friday. Of those, 41 patients have been hospitalized. State officials have been releasing updated measles numbers every Tuesday and Friday. The …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration on Friday pushed out Peter Marks [photo], the nation’s top vaccine regulator and an architect of the U.S. program to rapidly develop coronavirus vaccines, a move that comes as HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues his overhaul of the nation’s health and science agencies. Marks, who joined the Food and Drug Administration …

CBS News reports: The entire staff of the federal government’s Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy is expected to be laid off, multiple federal health officials told CBS News Friday. The moves are part of a broader restructuring plan ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that involves cutting 20,000 HHS positions. Much of the …

Nature reports: The massive changes in US research brought about by the new administration of President Donald Trump are causing many scientists in the country to rethink their lives and careers. More than 1,200 scientists who responded to a Nature poll — three-quarters of the total respondents — are considering leaving the United States following the disruptions prompted by Trump. …

Newsweek reports: Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Thursday morning that his department would cut 10,000 jobs and merge sections to create a new “Administration for a Healthy America” (AHA). The cuts will hit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to significantly cut the size of the department he leads, reshaping the nation’s health agencies and closing regional offices, according to documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Kennedy is set to announce Thursday the planned changes, which include axing 10,000 full-time employees spread …

Nature reports: The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun cancelling billions of dollars in funding on research related to the COVID-19 pandemic. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has killed more than 7 million people globally, including more than 1.2 million people in the United States, and continues to infect …

The New York Times reports: The Department of Health and Human Services has abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in federal grants to states that were being used for tracking infectious diseases, mental health services, addiction treatment and other urgent health issues. The cuts are likely to further hamstring state health departments, which are already underfunded and struggling with competing …

The New York Times reports: Doctors in West Texas are seeing measles patients whose illnesses have been complicated by an alternative therapy endorsed by vaccine skeptics including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary. Parents in Gaines County, Texas, the center of a raging measles outbreak, have increasingly turned to supplements and unproven treatments to protect their children, many of …

The Washington Post reports: A vaccine skeptic who has long promoted false claims about the connection between immunizations and autism has been tapped by the federal government to conduct a critical study of possible links between the two, according to current and former federal health officials. The Department of Health and Human Services has hired David Geier to conduct the …

The Associated Press reports: A surge of grant cancellations hit researchers focused on the health of gay, lesbian and transgender people last week, as the Trump administration continues to target what it describes as ideologically driven science. Last week the U.S. government terminated at least 68 grants to 46 institutions totaling nearly $40 million. Insights from minority populations can increase …

Mother Jones reports: The fake website, RealCDC.org, was first spotted in late January by intel threat researcher Kyle Ehmke. While the page displayed no content then, he noted it was administered through the same Cloudflare account as Children’s Health Defense’s website and other domains related to CHD. By March 20, according to Ehmke’s later research, and as corroborated by archived …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is shuttering HHS’ long Covid office as part of its reorganization, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO. The email was sent Monday by Ian Simon, the head of the Office of Long Covid Research and Practice. It said the closing is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ reorganization. One HHS …

NBC News reports: In an interview with Fox, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr. praised cellphone restrictions in schools and listed health hazards that he said were linked to phone use among children and teens — some backed by scientific research, others less so. Kennedy cited established links between social media use and depression and poor school performance. …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is considering killing some panels of outside experts that advise the CDC on key health threats like HIV and avian flu, according to an email seen by POLITICO. The email, sent to CDC leaders Friday, said HHS is “recommending termination” of the panels that are not mandated by law. Also known as advisory committees, the …

NBC News reports: The child’s grieving parents have given just one on-camera interview, to Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit group founded and led until recently by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the health and human services secretary. In a video that aired online Monday, the young parents stifled sobs, recalling how their unvaccinated daughter got sick from measles, then …