All posts tagged: RFK

RFK Jr. Suggests That Everyone Just Catch Measles

RFK Jr. Suggests That Everyone Just Catch Measles

Published by José

Image by Win McNamee via Getty / Futurism The anti-vaxxer in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now suggesting that the best way to not get measles is… getting measles? If you’re lost, us too. During an interview with Fox News, HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. insisted that getting the infectious disease was “normal” when he was a kid before claiming that being exposed to the virus provides longer-lasting immunity than inoculation. “It used to be, when you and I were kids, that everybody got measles. And the measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection,” said the brain-wormed blue blood. “The vaccine doesn’t do that. The vaccine is effective for some people for life, but for many people it wanes.” While there’s some research suggesting that “natural” immunity gleaned through measles infection can provide longer-lasting protective effects than immunization with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, studies have also shown that unvaccinated children who contract the virus are more likely to end up with weakened immune systems overall. …

The RFK Jr. Loyalty Test

The RFK Jr. Loyalty Test

Published by José

Leading the FDA has long been one of the greatest professional achievements in American health. At the start of every administration, doctors jockey for the role, hoping to steer an agency that regulates 20 cents of every dollar spent in the United States. To be the FDA commissioner who presides over the approval of a cure for a previously intractable disease, or who launches an investigation into a product that is sickening Americans, is to etch your name into the annals of modern medicine. Perhaps you’ve never heard of David Kessler, the FDA commissioner for much of the 1990s, but he is largely the reason the federal government regulates cigarettes at all. Marty Makary, Donald Trump’s pick for FDA commissioner, is undoubtedly qualified for the job. A longtime Johns Hopkins surgeon and best-selling author, he has advised the World Health Organization and been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. (Makary, whose confirmation hearings kicked off in the Senate this morning, told Senator Rand Paul that he spent part of yesterday removing a patient’s gallbladder.) …

RFK Jr. and MAHA’s Trivialization of Measles

RFK Jr. and MAHA’s Trivialization of Measles

Published by José

Contrary to what the health secretary says, the outbreak of disease in Texas is, in fact, unusual. Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Getty. February 27, 2025, 6:59 PM ET “It’s not unusual.” That’s how Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist and secretary of Health and Human Services, described an ongoing measles outbreak in and around Texas that has already infected more than 100 people and killed one child. This incident is, in fact, unusual. Until this week, someone hadn’t died of measles in this country since 2015, and endemic spread of the virus was declared eliminated in the United States 25 years ago. As the leader of our health-care system, Kennedy could have used his political megaphone to encourage vaccination. But he is a vocal critic of the measles shot, which has saved more than 90 million lives, and has claimed (with very modest evidence) that catching measles may reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. In keeping with those views, he has passed on the opportunity. Kennedy’s “Make …

MAHA: RFK Jr. Confirmed To Lead HHS Despite ‘Traitor’ McConnell Siding With Democrats

MAHA: RFK Jr. Confirmed To Lead HHS Despite ‘Traitor’ McConnell Siding With Democrats

Published by skeptic

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the Director of Health and Human Services on Thursday, despite Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-INO) as the sole Republican to vote against him.  The vote – which is ongoing, came after a heated battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, which voted 53-47 on Wednesday to invoke cloture, setting up the final confirmation showdown. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic and former environmental activist, only needs a simple majority of 51 votes to secure the position. Kennedy’s nomination has been a political firestorm from the start. His past claims linking vaccines to autism and other harms sparked a fierce backlash from Democrats, who grilled him in contentious confirmation hearings last month. But despite their objections, Kennedy managed to navigate the political minefield, thanks in part to key Republican senators who were initially hesitant but ultimately threw their support behind him. CONFIRMED! Congratulations, Bobby.Congratulations, America.Thank you, President Trump. pic.twitter.com/LQMYO1vdZR — Nicole Shanahan (@NicoleShanahan) February 13, 2025 A GOP Divide Over RFK Jr. With Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee refusing to advance Kennedy’s …

RFK Jr. tells senators he will not keep fees from vaccine lawsuit

RFK Jr. tells senators he will not keep fees from vaccine lawsuit

Published by Sam

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, told senators Friday he will divest his financial stake in a lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Merck over its vaccine that protects against human papillomavirus.  In a written response to questions from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kennedy said he is amending his ethics agreement… Source link

Lab-grown meat rebrands itself to woo Trump — and RFK Jr

Lab-grown meat rebrands itself to woo Trump — and RFK Jr

Published by Sam

The chicken before me had neither lived nor died, but it did look really tasty. Five stories up, in a sunny event space tucked away in New York City’s Little Italy earlier this month, chefs had been busy preparing chicken lo mein noodles, empanadas, and shawarma. But the poultry that went into these dishes hadn’t come from a farm — it was grown from animal cells in a lab. Local restaurateurs and chefs mingling around the room had been invited to sample the dishes by Upside Foods, a leading brand in the lab-grown meat business. This was essentially a big pitch meeting: Upside Foods is working on launching a new product called “shreds” — similar to boneless, skinless, shredded chicken meat — and hoping to convince restaurants to buy it once it hits the market.  A few attendees, according to Upside Foods Chief Operating Officer Amy Chen, confessed they were nervous to try the lab-grown chicken, which is genetically identical to regular chicken but grown in a bioreactor. “I think for consumers, the idea of cultivated meat …

“I don’t need this”: John Mulaney cheekily quotes RFK Jr. while promoting new Netflix live talk show

“I don’t need this”: John Mulaney cheekily quotes RFK Jr. while promoting new Netflix live talk show

Published by Sam

“We will never be relevant,” quipped John Mulaney about his upcoming live talk show at Netflix’s 2025 preview event on Wednesday morning. And yet, the comedian did quote Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, from the confirmation hearing earlier that morning. In front of gathered journalists at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Mulaney introduced his upcoming series “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney,” which is inspired by his limited series “Everybody’s in LA” from 2024. “I will have the most successful talk show in world history.” Mulaney explained, “Netflix and I discussed this summer not being done with the show, and I was thrilled to do that. It was a total blast and it was one of those shows that neither Netflix nor I really needed to do. I never wanted to host a talk show, and they were getting out of the talk show game. So it was the perfect moment to do this.  “And I just heard Robert F Kennedy Jr. say during the confirmation …

Why it’s a terrible time for RFK Jr to lead US health policy

Why it’s a terrible time for RFK Jr to lead US health policy

Published by skeptic

Robert F Kennedy Jr testifying during his confirmation hearing on 29 January Win McNamee/Getty Images Robert F Kennedy Jr has been a controversial figure in US politics for years, and his nomination as President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has raised considerable concern. If he is confirmed for the position, he will be taking over at a time of chaos across US public health agencies. Trump plunged the country’s public health infrastructure into disarray in his first week… Source link

RFK Jr. Is an Excellent Conspiracy Theorist

RFK Jr. Is an Excellent Conspiracy Theorist

Published by Sam

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (Noa) using AI narration. Listen to more stories on the Noa app. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, is a longtime conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine activist. He thinks Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates are leaders of a “vaccine cartel” that intentionally prolonged or even started the coronavirus pandemic in order to promote “mischievous inoculations.” Kennedy also blames immunizations for autism and obesity (among other chronic diseases) in children. In the meantime, he isn’t really sure whether HIV causes AIDS, or whether vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles are actually dangerous. As a doctor, I have spent years following—and fighting—anti-vaccine falsehoods. Along the way, I’ve learned an important lesson: Despite RFK Jr.’s fringe beliefs, he often seems to make sense. Kennedy’s defenders celebrate his fondness for, and facility with, evidence. His real talent, though, is for the clever manipulation of facts. Kennedy is not just a conspiracy theorist; he’s a very good conspiracy theorist. When his confirmation hearing starts on Wednesday, …

RFK Jr. and the End of Enlightenment Rationality

RFK Jr. and the End of Enlightenment Rationality

Published by José

Frosty pine trees rim the edge of an icy lake. Snow is falling; spa music plays in the background. A gray-haired man with a pleasant face stands beside the lake. He begins to undress. He is going swimming, he explains, to demonstrate his faith, and his opposition to science, to technology, to modernity. “I don’t need Facebook; I don’t need the internet; I don’t need anybody. I just need my heart,” he says. As he swims across the lake, seemingly unbothered by the cold, he continues: “I trust my immune system because I have complete trust and faith in its creator, in God. My immunity is part of the sovereignty of my being.” Explore the February 2025 Issue Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. View More This is Călin Georgescu, the man who shocked his countrymen when he won the first round of the Romanian presidential election on November 24, despite hardly registering in opinion polls and conducting his campaign almost entirely on TikTok, where the platform’s rules, …