Category: Anti-Science

Kennedy Moves to Purge U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, told lawmakers at a Senate Finance Committee hearing that he intends to dismantle and reconstruct the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the federal committee responsible for recommending disease screening tests such as mammograms and colonoscopies and determining insurance coverage for preventive care. Kennedy called the existing committee “lackadaisical and negligent” and stated he would recruit new members, though he did not clarify whether he would fire current members or simply expand the panel. This effort follows Kennedy’s earlier purge of a CDC vaccine advisory panel, where he removed existing members and appointed his own replacements until a judge blocked those appointments.

Kennedy claimed the current task force lacks adequate representation from medical specialties including anesthesiologists and oncologists, and said the Department of Health and Human Services is now soliciting nominations and applications for new members. He also pledged to increase transparency in task force meetings but admitted he has “not done a good job” rescheduling meetings that were postponed indefinitely last year. Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, himself a physician, questioned whether Kennedy had a concrete reform plan, while Kennedy provided no specific timeline or methodology for restructuring the committee.

At the hearing, Democratic Senator Christine Smith of Minnesota pressed Kennedy on Medicaid cuts included in the Trump administration’s tax bill, noting the reductions in funding for breast cancer screenings and other preventive health programs. Kennedy falsely denied that legally enrolled Medicaid beneficiaries were losing coverage and, without evidence, attributed Medicaid cuts to health care fraud. He and Republican lawmakers repeated unsubstantiated claims about fraud but provided no documentation supporting the assertion.

The task force restructuring represents an abuse of power over an independent scientific body that provides guidance to physicians and insurance companies nationwide. Kennedy’s history of dismantling expert-led health committees and replacing them with ideologically aligned appointees signals an effort to subordinate public health recommendations to disinformation about vaccines and screening protocols. The blocking of his previous vaccine panel appointments by federal court demonstrates legal recognition of such overreach.

(Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-jr-set-to-overhaul-key-committee-that-issues-disease-screening-recommendations/?utm_campaign=sprinklr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&fbclid=IwVERFWARY_wVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe4SpCgnPHYbnMENG-EubY11nP-xm5MJxEkbF-hH2FVr7sQXFdinekVLBBAek_aem_jN1EA9Sr_qSDLx3DEzwTpA)

Trump signs executive order accelerating research into psychedelic drug therapies despite known deaths

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 18, 2026, to accelerate federal approval and research of psychedelic drug therapies, particularly ibogaine, for treating PTSD, depression, and addiction. Trump announced the order in the Oval Office alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz, and podcaster Joe Rogan, framing the initiative as benefiting veterans with severe mental health conditions.

Ibogaine remains classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance with limited human research and documented serious safety risks, including potentially fatal heart arrhythmias, neurological complications, and gastrointestinal side effects. The Drug Enforcement Agency designates it as having high abuse potential and no currently accepted medical use, though Trump claimed the order would eliminate “unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles” in the approval process.

Psilocybin, found in psychedelic mushrooms, has stronger clinical evidence than ibogaine for treating depression and received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for treatment-resistant cases. A Nature Medicine review of 12 studies showed psilocybin combined with psychotherapy produced response rates nearly three times higher and remission rates approximately four times higher than control groups, though long-term safety data and real-world effectiveness remain uncertain.

MDMA, used for PTSD treatment, failed to gain FDA approval in 2024 despite its Breakthrough designation due to concerns over clinical trial conduct, inconsistent results, and safety issues requiring additional research. The executive order directs the FDA to expedite review of psychedelics already designated as breakthrough therapy drugs and provides expedited rescheduling for any psychedelics later approved by the FDA for medical treatment.

Kennedy, who has criticized antidepressants and conventional mental health therapies, influenced the executive order through direct advocacy to Trump. Researchers emphasize that psychedelic treatments require careful medical supervision in controlled settings, with major safety concerns and limited data on long-term effects, even as early studies focus on severe, treatment-resistant mental health conditions.

(Source: https://abcnews.com/Health/trump-signs-executive-order-accelerating-research-psychedelic-drug/story?id=132171927)

Starmer told ‘drill, baby, drill’ by Trump over North Sea oil fields | The Independent

Donald Trump pressured Prime Minister Keir Starmer to expand North Sea oil and gas drilling, using the phrase “drill, baby, drill” and demanding Scotland abandon wind energy development. Trump claimed the United Kingdom is “tragic” for refusing to exploit North Sea oil reserves and stated that Aberdeen “should be booming” with fossil fuel extraction, despite Europe’s stated energy security needs.

Trump asserted that Norway profits by selling North Sea oil to Britain at double the price, implying the UK should extract and sell its own resources instead. He reiterated his long-standing opposition to wind energy, calling it an “expensive joke,” and demanded the UK cease wind turbine development in Scotland while prioritizing oil drilling.

The Republican president’s intervention in UK energy policy reflects his consistent push to expand fossil fuel extraction globally and his hostility toward renewable energy infrastructure. His demands contradict the UK government’s stated climate and energy transition goals, positioning Trump as openly hostile to clean energy policy regardless of national sovereignty or environmental commitments.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/trump-starmer-north-sea-oil-drill-b2957519.html)

Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Dodges Vaccine Questions at Senate

Casey Means, Donald Trump’s nominee for US surgeon general, testified before the Senate health committee on Wednesday and repeatedly declined to directly answer questions about vaccine guidance. Despite graduating from Stanford School of Medicine, Means does not have an active medical license, did not complete her surgical residency, and is not board-certified, instead building her career as a wellness influencer aligned with health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s vaccine skepticism.

When pressed by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy on whether she would encourage routine childhood vaccinations like the MMR vaccine, Means avoided a direct answer and instead emphasized parental “autonomy” in medical decisions. She similarly sidestepped questions about whether vaccines cause autism, a discredited theory promoted by Kennedy, and declined to affirm whether the flu vaccine prevents hospitalization, instead offering only that it prevents severe illness “at a population level.”

Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders expressed serious concerns about Means’s ability to counteract Kennedy’s disinformation about vaccine safety and efficacy at a time when measles outbreaks are spreading across the country, including the worst outbreak in South Carolina in over 30 years. Means also faces significant conflicts of interest stemming from undisclosed financial partnerships with wellness products, with Senator Chris Murphy noting apparent violations of Federal Trade Commission rules regarding compensation for product promotion.

Under Kennedy’s direction at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Trump administration has terminated grants, driven out career public health experts, and installed anti-vaccine loyalists to the immunization advisory committee despite Kennedy’s assurances during his own confirmation that he would not interfere with its composition. Means’s nomination represents a direct threat to evidence-based public health policy, with former Surgeon General Richard Carmona calling it a “disgrace” and stating the role requires “a real leader” equipped to combat disinformation.

Means abandoned her medical residency after becoming “disillusioned with traditional healthcare” and co-founded a glucose-monitoring company while co-authoring a book with her brother, a Kennedy adviser, arguing that metabolic health offers alternatives to conventional medicine. This is Trump’s second surgeon general nomination; his first nominee, Dr Janette Nesheiwat, was withdrawn after reports of misleading medical credentials emerged.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/25/casey-means-surgeon-general-nominee)

Trump Erases EPA Climate Endangerment Finding, Kills Greenhouse Gas Rules

President Trump announced the elimination of the federal government’s scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment, a move that strips the EPA of its legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide, methane, and four other greenhouse gases. Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” rejected decades of peer-reviewed research and the scientific consensus accepted by presidents of both parties since Richard Nixon, whose advisers warned of climate dangers in the 1970s, and George H.W. Bush, who signed an international climate treaty.

The action directly accelerates the transition away from pollution controls on fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources like solar and wind. By terminating what Trump called the “disastrous Obama-era policy,” the administration eliminated the regulatory framework that had allowed the federal government to impose limits on the emissions driving heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and other extreme weather events documented by climate scientists.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stood alongside Trump at the White House announcement, visibly approving of the decision Trump described as “about as big as it gets.” The move represents the culmination of a yearslong campaign by conservative activists and fossil fuel industry interests—including oil, gas, and coal companies—to block the nation’s shift away from carbon-intensive energy sources.

This decision dismantles protections that had been grounded in scientific fact for decades. By erasing the endangerment finding, Trump’s administration declared that the overwhelming majority of scientists worldwide are incorrect about the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and planetary warming, contradicting a body of evidence that has informed climate policy across multiple presidential administrations.

(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/climate/trump-epa-greenhouse-gases-climate-change.html)

U.S. changes childhood vaccine schedule to require fewer immunizations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on January 5, 2026, that it is eliminating routine childhood vaccinations for numerous diseases previously covered under federal recommendations. Children will still receive vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Hib, pneumococcal disease, HPV, and chickenpox, but vaccinations for hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, RSV, bacterial meningitis, influenza, and COVID-19 are now classified as optional through “shared clinical decision-making.” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine opponent, stated the changes “protect children, respect families, and rebuild trust in public health.”

The policy reversal stems from a December 2025 presidential memorandum signed by President Trump directing the health department to align the pediatric vaccine schedule with practices from peer-developed countries, specifically citing Denmark’s more limited schedule of 10 diseases. However, public health experts including Dr. Kelly Gebo of George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health note that Denmark’s approach reflects its disease prevalence, universal healthcare system, and higher screening rates for conditions like hepatitis B—factors absent in the United States, where less than 85% of pregnant women receive hepatitis B screening.

Pediatricians and public health officials rejected the changes as dangerous and unnecessary. Dr. René Bravo, president of the California Medical Association, stated the decision “undermines decades of evidence-based public health policy and sends a deeply confusing message to families at a time when vaccine confidence is already under strain.” The American Academy of Pediatrics condemned the schedule as “dangerous and unnecessary” and announced it will continue publishing its own independent immunization recommendations.

The federal changes follow a pattern of health authority reversals under Trump appointees. A Kennedy-led CDC panel previously voted to drop the routine newborn hepatitis B vaccination, a decision that contradicts 35 years of disease elimination since the vaccine’s 1991 introduction. Dr. James Alwine, a virologist with Defend Public Health, characterized the rollback as releasing “viruses and bacteria that were under control” onto vulnerable populations, describing the policy as fundamentally incompatible with disease prevention efforts in the United States.

Insurance companies remain required to fully cover all vaccines on the revised schedule, including those now designated optional. Four states—California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii—announced in September they would adopt independent immunization schedules based on American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical group recommendations, effectively rejecting the federal revision.

(Source: https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2026-01-05/u-s-changes-childhood-vaccine-schedule-to-require-fewer-immunizations)

Trump EPA Abandons Vital Fine-Particle Pollution Regulation

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the Trump administration, is set to abandon a crucial regulation aimed at limiting fine-particle pollution, a decision met with significant backlash from scientists and experts. This rule, which was solidified during the Biden presidency, established stricter guidelines on fine particulate matter, notably soot, which is recognized as the deadliest air pollutant in the U.S.

In a recent announcement, the EPA justified its move by claiming the prior administration lacked the authority to enforce these tighter regulations. Critics argue that this reversal will likely result in increased air pollution and associated health risks, potentially leading to more premature deaths across the country.

Scientific consensus indicates that fine particulate matter is linked to serious health issues, including respiratory and cardiovascular problems. The rollback of these protections could exacerbate existing public health crises, raising alarms among environmental advocates.

The Biden-era rule was implemented to protect vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by air pollution, specifically in urban and industrial areas. Environmental advocates are now warning that this latest action undermines years of progress in combating air quality issues and upholding public health standards.

This development reflects a broader trend under the Trump administration of prioritizing deregulation at the potential expense of environmental health and safety, which has drawn widespread condemnation from public health officials and environmentalists alike.

CDC Alters Vaccine-Related Autism Claims, Echoing RFK Jr.’s Views

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reversed its longstanding assertion that vaccines do not cause autism, aligning its current messaging with the controversial beliefs of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This dramatic change was marked by a significant update to the CDC’s website, which now implies that existing studies have not definitively ruled out a link between infant vaccines and autism, contradicting decades of established scientific consensus.

The previous CDC communication clearly stated that no evidence supported a link between vaccines and autism, citing reputable studies, including a comprehensive review from the National Academy of Medicine. The revised content has drawn criticism, notably from autism advocacy groups, who have expressed deep concern that the agency is succumbing to political pressure rather than adhering to scientific facts. Leaders from the Autism Science Foundation lament the shift, emphasizing that either the data has been deliberately ignored or manipulated to fit an administration agenda.

This concerning trend reflects broader issues within the CDC, as several officials have recently resigned amid claims of politicization of health science. Former personnel have underscored how the agency is straying from its commitment to presenting unbiased, evidence-based information. Dr. Debra Houry, a former chief medical officer at the CDC, noted that without experienced scientists involved in discussions, the agency risks propagating ideological narratives instead of factual science.

Kennedy’s controversial stance on vaccine safety has emboldened anti-vaccine activists, who now celebrate the CDC’s updated messaging as a confirmation of their long-debunked beliefs. This situation not only undermines public health but also instills fear and confusion among parents regarding vaccine safety. The failure to uphold scientific integrity in public communications is alarming, especially when considering the detrimental impact on vaccination rates and the potential resurgence of preventable diseases.

The CDC’s current public health messaging marks a troubling pivot that contradicts the overwhelming scientific consensus regarding vaccines and autism. As the agency continues to evolve its stance under Kennedy, American children may face increased risk from misinformation disguised as scientific inquiry. The actual health implications of this shift could resonate for generations, emphasizing the urgent need for accountability and a return to evidence-based public health policy.

Trump Urges Pregnant Women to Avoid Tylenol, Spreads Misinformation

President Donald Trump recently reiterated his alarming warnings about Tylenol on his Truth Social platform, advising pregnant women against its use unless absolutely necessary. This bizarre social media outburst, replete with all-caps statements, implied that Tylenol could increase autism risks when taken during pregnancy, conflating health advice with unfounded speculation.

Trump’s September 26 post, bearing striking similarities to this recent message, further fueled health fears without any scientific backing. He called for pregnant women to consider breaking up standard vaccination schedules for childhood diseases, promoting a fragmented approach that deviates from established medical guidelines.

Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, has been endorsed by health experts as a safe pain reliever for pregnant women when needed. Medical authorities uniformly refute Trump’s claims, emphasizing that there is no credible evidence linking acetaminophen use during pregnancy to autism. Trump’s continuous disregard for scientific consensus raises significant concerns amidst a public health crisis.

Accompanying his recent post was a dubious article from the Daily Caller, alleging governmental negligence in addressing potential risks associated with Tylenol. This narrative, while sensational, lacks the critical scrutiny demanded by reputable journals and further exemplifies Trump’s distortion of factual information for his agenda.

As Trump continues to disseminate disinformation, experts call for vigilance in combating his medically unfounded claims. This pattern of anti-science rhetoric threatens public health, demonstrating how dangerously uninformed statements can shape perceptions about crucial health choices.

Trump Pushes Looser Pollution Rules and $625 Million for Coal

The Trump administration is pushing for softer environmental regulations and increased funding aimed at reviving the struggling U.S. coal industry. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to delay critical pollution standards that were implemented during President Biden’s term, allowing more harmful substances to be released into waterways.

This rollback on pollution regulations is significant as it would permit power plants to emit toxic substances like mercury and arsenic, potentially increasing cancer rates among affected communities. Furthermore, the Interior Department announced its intention to make over 13 million acres of federal lands available for coal leasing, particularly targeting regions in North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.

Accompanying these regulatory loosening efforts, the Energy Department is proposing a substantial investment of $625 million to bolster the coal sector. This funding includes $350 million designated for the recommissioning and retrofitting of coal plants, along with $175 million aimed at fostering projects within rural areas reliant on coal.

This broad deregulation and funding strategy not only represents a glaring disregard for environmental health but also highlights a troubling preference for fossil fuels over renewable energy sources that could provide a sustainable future. The consequences of such a pivot risk exacerbating climate change while benefitting only a select group of fossil fuel magnates.

Trump’s focus on coal is emblematic of a regressive energy policy seeking to elevate the interests of powerful corporate lobbies at the expense of public health and environmental safety, a clear reflection of his administration’s allegiance to wealthy elites and a complete disregard for working families and the planet.

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