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Former Leader of Anti-Vaccine Group Founded by RFK Jr. To Present at First Meeting of New CDC Vaccine Advisers
A former leader of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense (CHD) will present this week on thimerosal in flu vaccines at a meeting of the newly appointed vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to a CDC official with knowledge of the decision who wasn’t authorized to reveal the information.
The presenter, Lyn Redwood, is a nurse practitioner with experience in pediatrics and family medicine, according to a bio posted on CHD’s website, which notes she is president emerita of the organization. She previously served as president of the World Mercury Project in 2016, which “expanded its mission” two years later to become Children’s Health Defense, which was founded by current U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Thimerosal is a preservative used in vaccines to prevent microbial growth, but it was removed from most shots decades ago because of concerns that it contains a form of mercury. Subsequent studies showed thimerosal — which contains ethylmercury, a form that’s cleared from the body much more quickly than methylmercury, the kind found in some fish — wasn’t linked to neurodevelopmental issues, including autism.
Nonetheless, it became a key focus of groups, like CHD, that argue vaccines are linked to autism.
Trump Administration Launches $10M Health Study for East Palestine Residents After Toxic Spill
At the urging of Vice President JD Vance, the Trump administration is launching a new initiative to study the long-term health consequences for local residents in East Palestine, Ohio, after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and spilled its contents.
The Trump administration is putting up $10 million toward a five-year initiative that will, among other things, utilize “longitudinal epidemiological research” to better understand the short- and long-term health effects of exposure to hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol and benzene residue.
The initiative will also utilize public health tracking and surveillance and newly established communication channels between researchers, public officials and community stakeholders to support the initiative and develop solutions.
“There was a terrible train crash, and then there was a controlled burn of toxic chemicals that went into the atmosphere,” Vance said in a video announcement posted to social media, alongside U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya.
Top Drug Regulator Is Retiring as FDA Departures Mount
Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, the top drug regulator at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is retiring from the agency in July.
Corrigan-Curay, who took over as acting director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in January, broke the news to staff in an email shared with STAT. She said she decided to leave the agency after taking a recent vacation, and thanked staff for their “unwavering support, especially during recent challenging times.”
“What has made this decision so difficult for me is all of you,” Corrigan-Curay wrote. “I do not mean to let anyone down, but I believe I need to follow my instincts.”
What the Texas Food Label Law Means for the Rest of America
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed sweeping legislation Sunday to slap warning labels on potentially tens of thousands of food and beverage packages — a move that could have ripple effects across the country.
The first-of-its-kind bill requires labels on foods containing 44 dyes or additives commonly found in the country’s food supply, such as in baked goods, candy and drinks.
The new mandate will set off a scramble within the food industry, which must decide whether to reformulate its products to avoid warning labels, add the newly mandated language, stop selling certain products in Texas or file lawsuits against the measure.
Trump Administration Actions Contradict MAHA Rhetoric on Toxic Chemicals
It was a surreal moment for Susanne Brander. She was sitting in the audience at a conference in April as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke about the health effects of exposure to harmful chemicals in our food, air and water.
As she listened, Kennedy cited recent research on microplastics from researchers in Oregon, finding these tiny particles had shown up in 99% of the seafood they sampled.
“It was definitely our study,” says Brander, an ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University who co-authored the research along with a team at Portland State University.
The problem was, just an hour earlier while in line for breakfast, an email had popped into her inbox notifying her that a federal grant she’d relied on to fund her research for years — from the Environmental Protection Agency — was being terminated.
Colorado’s New Law Protects Vaccine Recommendations From RFK Jr.’s CDC Overhaul
As the new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary makes unprecedented moves to undermine the current U.S. policy on vaccines, Colorado is leading the way in maintaining immunization recommendations, writing some protections into law.
Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at the helm of HHS and by extension, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fired everyone on a federal vaccine advisory panel that makes policy and recommendations for the CDC. He also lifted recommendations for pregnant women and healthy children to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Kennedy has said he’s restoring public trust by entirely replacing the members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, commonly called the ACIP. But vaccine and public health experts are dubious. Colorado lawmakers saw this conflict coming and started preparing for the change, particularly to this critical national panel of doctors and vaccine experts, during this year’s legislative session.
So they passed a bill along party lines, later signed into law by the governor, which directs the state’s board of health to take into consideration recommendations from other high-profile doctors’ groups, not just the CDC panel.
Vinay Prasad Named Chief Medical and Science Officer at FDA
Vinay Prasad will now hold three separate jobs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), solidifying his position as a top adviser to Commissioner Marty Makary.
Prasad will serve as the agency’s chief medical and scientific officer, in addition to leading the center that regulates vaccines, gene therapies, and the blood supply, according to an internal memo obtained by STAT. Traditionally, the agency’s chief scientist and chief medical officer have been two distinct roles.
“In this capacity, he will serve as a trusted advisor to the FDA Commissioner and other senior officials on cross-cutting and emerging medical and scientific issues impacting regulatory science and public health,” Makary wrote in the memo announcing the news to staff. The agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
