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Bill Gates, RFK Jr. ‘Agreed to Disagree’ on Vaccines, Gates Says
Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has met once with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. since he took office, and the two “agreed to disagree” about vaccines, Gates told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Kennedy has long promoted doubts about vaccine safety and efficacy, and as health secretary, he has upended U.S. vaccine policy.
The pair met in July, Gates’ staff said. The Gates Foundation is one of the biggest global health funders, and Gates is a prominent supporter of immunizations. “We agreed to disagree on some things about vaccines, but moved on to talk about areas that we would agree on,” said Gates.
Gates said that he was concerned, though, that skepticism on vaccines was spreading from the U.S. “It is tragic that we see this vaccine skepticism, because even though the number of additional deaths in the rich world is likely to be modest, every life should count,” he said.
Kenvue Braces for Wave of New Lawsuits Over Tylenol’s Potential Link to Autism
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Kenvue is preparing for an explosion of litigation over its popular pain reliever Tylenol after the Trump administration warned that the drug’s active ingredient is a potential cause of autism.
The finding by President Trump’s health officials, which Kenvue and some medical societies dispute, could provide ammunition to plaintiffs’ attorneys who are seeking to reverse losses in older lawsuits alleging the medicine caused the neurodevelopmental disorders. And it could unleash thousands of new lawsuits in the coming years, people familiar with the matter say.
Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen — the active ingredient of Tylenol and other medications — is a potential cause of autism.“Don’t take it,” said Trump several times at a press conference, occasionally adding a qualifier that pregnant women could take it if absolutely necessary.
Trump’s ‘Tough It out’ to Pregnant Women Meets Wave of Opposition by Medical Experts
Federal health officials are telling Americans no, they shouldn’t take Tylenol during pregnancy for fear of autism and yes, they should try a drug used in cancer care to treat children who have developed autism. The medical world disagrees. “We were actually pretty alarmed by some of the output that was coming from the administration,” Marketa Wills, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, said in an interview.
At a remarkable White House briefing on Monday, President Trump and his top health and science officials said Tylenol use in pregnancy caused some cases of autism in children and said leucovorin, a form of vitamin B9, could treat the disease.
The event has drawn a flood of pushback from medical societies, autism organizations, and pediatric experts through official statements, interviews, and social media. Much more research is needed on the claims about Tylenol and leucovorin in particular, experts emphasized.
‘I’ve Seen a Rise in People Rejecting the Flu Jab’
A doctor said he has seen a rising number of people turning down free flu jabs alongside an increase in “general anti-vax” sentiment. Most eligible adults will be able to get a free flu vaccine on the NHS from Oct. 1 but there has been a small drop in the number of over-65s in the West Midlands getting the jab between 2023-24 to 2024-25, according to official figures.
In the near decade he has been a GP, Birmingham doctor Arun Ahluwalia said he had seen an increase over the past few years in the number of people refusing it. “Even in that brief time, I’ve noticed there are far more people declining the flu vaccine who I think wouldn’t have declined it before, which is a real shame,” he said.
Some of those patients have always been against vaccines, said the GP, but he added some have really changed their position in recent years. They can be quite hard to convince or discuss vaccinations with, he stated. “When I’ve asked them for reasons why they don’t want to get vaccinated, I get some interesting responses back, none of which I feel are evidence-based,” Dr. Ahluwalia said.
‘Nightmare Bacteria’ Cases Are Increasing in the US
Infection rates from drug-resistant “nightmare bacteria” rose almost 70% between 2019 and 2023, according to a new report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists. Bacteria that are difficult to treat due to the so-called NDM gene primarily drove the increase, CDC researchers wrote in an article published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Only two antibiotics work against those infections, and the drugs are expensive and must be administered through an IV, researchers said. Bacteria with the gene were once considered exotic, linked to a small number of patients who received medical care overseas.
Though the numbers are still small, the rate of U.S. cases jumped more than fivefold in recent years, the researchers reported. “The rise of NDMs in the U.S. is a grave danger and very worrisome,” said David Weiss, an Emory University infectious diseases researcher, in an email.
Pfizer Boosts Obesity Drug Prospects With $7.3 Billion Deal to Buy Metsera
Pfizer on Monday said it would buy weight loss drugmaker Metsera in an up to $7.3 billion deal, including future payments, as it scrambles to win a slice in the booming obesity drug market. Pfizer said it will pay an initial $47.50 a share in cash for Metsera, a nearly 43% premium to the biotech company’s Friday’s closing price of $33.32. That gives the deal an enterprise value of $4.9 billion.
The pact also includes a contingent value right worth up to $22.50 a share based on potential clinical and regulatory achievements for Metsera’s medicines, which could bring the total value to $70 a share. The deal is expected to close at the end of the year. Shares of Metsera rose more than 60% in premarket trading on Monday, while Pfizer’s stock rose more than 1%.
The move comes after a string of setbacks for Pfizer in the obesity space. The pharmaceutical giant struggled to develop its own lead obesity drug candidate, danuglipron, before deciding to scrap it entirely in April due to safety concerns. Pfizer also discontinued a different once-daily pill in June 2023 due to elevated liver enzymes in patients who received it.
