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Opinion: There’s a Reason so Many Americans Trust RFK Jr. And Dr. Oz
Neither Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, nor Dr. Mehmet Oz, his pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a stranger to scandal. But it’s their connection to “wellness” ideology, which includes the belief that health is holistic and that individuals are the most qualified experts on their own experience — that should command our attention.
Kennedy and Oz are dangerous choices to lead major federal agencies because they amplify the worst aspects of that sprawling wellness culture: conspiracy theories, cheap hucksterism and an anti-institutionalism that undermines the very agencies they’ve been slated to run. But we must separate our justified outrage at Trump choosing them from two key truths: The health issues they discuss pose legitimate problems for many Americans — that’s how each became so popular — and the wellness movement in which they participate has positively contributed to our understanding of health and well-being in the U.S.
Vaccination Rates for Flu and Covid Are Low This Season, CDC Says
Vaccination rates for the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus are low for adults in the U.S. so far this season, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As of Nov. 9, an estimated 35% of U.S. adults had gotten the new flu vaccine, and nearly 18% had received the new COVID-19 vaccines, CDC data shows. However, the agency noted that many unvaccinated adults reported that they intend to get their shots.
The vaccination rate for the flu as of October was roughly equivalent to the same time last year, the CDC found. By the end of 2023, nearly 44% of Americans were estimated to have gotten a flu shot.
The rate of COVID-19 vaccination is also similar to last November, around 15%.
The CDC has recommended flu and COVID-19 shots for everyone 6 months and older
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Digital Doctors Are Coming. Regulators Need to Catch Up.
Microsoft’s new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered healthcare suite plans to “shape a healthier future” through advances in everything from medical imaging to nursing workflows, painting a rosy picture of better patient care. Meanwhile, major health systems and medical schools from Yale to Harvard to the University of Michigan are exploring or rolling out AI initiatives to enhance care delivery and improve access.
Yet, as we stand at this technological crossroads, it’s worth asking whether our enthusiasm for AI in healthcare might be outpacing our ability to navigate its potential pitfalls.
As a physician, I’ve seen both the benefits and limitations of AI-assisted triage. In my emergency department, we use AI to prioritize patients based on admission likelihood. While it helps with patient flow, it can miss complex cases, like an elderly patient on blood thinners with a head injury. For now, medical staff maintain significant oversight, meticulously double-checking AI-generated recommendations.
Bombshell Fauci Documentary Nails The Whole COVID Charade
With the changing of the guard, it’s time for long-promised accountability over the unprecedented COVID-19 scam. Not only has Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) promised to hold feet to the fire as the head of the Senate’s government oversight panel, we may actually have a shot at a special counsel investigation and more with Trump’s incoming Attorney General pick, Pam Bondi — a loyalist who’s on record supporting the lab-leak hypothesis.
As regular readers vividly recall, ZeroHedge paid a hefty price for our early reporting on the pandemic, after we suggested that a Chinese lab playing weaponized God with bat COVID-19 might have “something to do” with the COVID-19 outbreak across town.
Millions in ad revenue evaporated. Corporate media (brought to you by Pfizer!) penned numerous hit-pieces, and various companies such as PayPal, Amazon and Mailchimp dropped us like a hot rock; other outlets suffered similarly. However brave reporting from journalists like Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, Paul Thacker and Lee Fang — armed with factual evidence from Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (now X) and various FOIA lawsuits, has provided more than just breadcrumbs.
Now, four years later, the entire charade has been exposed piece by piece. A new must-watch documentary by two-time Peabody Award-winning and four-time Emmy nominated director Jenner Furst, a self-described progressive who has broken with the Democratic party, ties it all together.
