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The Senate is expected to vote Thursday on the confirmation of Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent lawyer and vocal vaccine critic, as the nation's health secretary, controlling USD 1.7 trillion in spending for vaccines, food safety and health insurance programs for roughly half the country. Despite several Republicans expressing deep skepticism about his views on vaccines, Kennedy is expected to win confirmation, absent any last-minute changes. Kennedy, 71, whose famous name and family tragedies have put him in the national spotlight since he was a child, has earned a formidable following with his populist and sometimes extreme views on food, chemicals and vaccines. His audience only grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Kennedy devoted much of his time to a nonprofit that sued vaccine makers and harnessed social media campaigns to erode trust in vaccines as well as the government agencies that promote them. With the backing of Republican President Donald Trump, Kennedy believes
Robert F Kennedy Jr is distancing himself from his anti-vaccine work as he seeks to become the leader of the nation's top health agency under President Donald Trump, according to government ethics documents released on Wednesday. Kennedy has pulled in roughly USD 10 million in income from his work over the past year, which includes speaking fees, leading an anti-vaccine nonprofit and legal fees, government ethics forms filed for his nomination show. He has millions of dollars more tied up in investments and other assets. If confirmed, he has promised to stop collecting fees on some of his vaccine lawsuits involving the US government. Kennedy is a lawyer who has worked on lawsuits involving environmental and vaccine injury claims against some of the country's biggest companies. He also said he would forgo payment from claims against the US under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation programme. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment about t
The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, acting secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services, Dorothy Fink, told agency staff leaders that an "immediate pause" had been ordered on -- among other things -- regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts and website posts until such communications had been approved by a political appointee. The pause also applies to anything intended to be published in the Federal Register, where the executive branch communicates rules and regulations, and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientific publication. The pause is in effect through February 1, the memo said. Agencies subject to the HHS directive include the CDC, the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration -- entities that fight ...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swept onto Capitol Hill late Monday, as the anti-vaccine health guru from the famous political family reintroduced himself to senators, this time as President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the nation's Health and Human Services Department. It was a soft-opening debut for Kennedy, whose wide-ranging views yes to raw milk, no to fluoride, Ozempic and America's favourite processed foods are raising alarms in the scientific community and beyond. In the Senate he's facing a mix of support, curiosity, skepticism and downright rejection among the senators who will be asked to confirm him to Trump's Cabinet. Kennedy's first stop Monday was on potentially friendly terrain, to the offices of GOP senators allied with Trump, the start of a weeks-long process. Ahead of the nominee's visits, Trump said he's a big believer in polio vaccines and sought to tamp down fears about Kennedy, saying he will be much less radical than people think. The man known simply as RFK, J
US President-elect Donald Trump has picked Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya as the director of the National Institutes of Health, the country's top health research and funding institutions. With this, Bhattacharya becomes the first Indian-American to be nominated by Trump for a top administrative position. Earlier, Trump picked Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency along with Tesla owner Elon Musk. However, that is a voluntary position and does not need confirmation from the US Senate. "I am thrilled to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to direct the Nation's Medical Research and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives," Trump announced. "Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying cause
Health officials said Saturday they have confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo. The person had travelled to eastern Africa and was treated in Northern California upon return, according to the California Department of Public Health. Symptoms are improving and the risk to the public is low. Mpox is a rare disease caused by infection with a virus that's in the same family as the one that causes smallpox. It is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in Africa that was spread through close contact including through sex. More than 3,100 confirmed cases have been reported just since late September, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of them have been in three African countries Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, cases of travellers with
US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announced his decision to nominate former Democratic presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. as his Secretary of Health and Human Services. The nomination for this top Cabinet position is subject to confirmation by the US Senate. Trump also announced his intent to nominate former Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia as Secretary for Veterans Affairs (VA). "I am thrilled to announce Robert F Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)," he said. For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it came to public health, the president-elect said, indicating the health policies of his second term beginning January 20, 2025. Trump said the safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everyone is protecte