Sen. Paul to Newsmax: NIH Funded Research on Avian Flu Years Before COVID
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was funding gain-of-function research to mutate the avian flu at least 10 years before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday on Newsmax. He added that Dr. Anthony Fauci was director of its National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the time.
“The NIH has funded research to mutate the avian flu to make it more transmissible through the air and among mammals,” the Kentucky Republican said on “National Report.” “This is very, very dangerous research.” Paul’s comments came after President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order limiting gain-of-function research, which he and many others say enhanced the pathogens for the virus causing COVID-19, with the pandemic occurring as a result of the virus from a research laboratory in Wuhan, China.
Paul also said he agrees with Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who told Newsmax in March that there were grants at U.S.-based labs to perform gain-of-function experiments, including on bird flu, even though Redfield said he didn’t know if the funds were spent.
Vinay Prasad, in His Own Words, Outlines the Philosophy He’ll Bring to the FDA
People seeking roles in government are often careful about what they say in public, or at least somewhat hesitant to freely share their opinions. It’s difficult to know exactly what’s going on in their heads.
Not Vinay Prasad. The new top regulator of vaccines and gene therapies at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never shied away from speaking his mind — whether in academic papers, on social media, or on a diary-esque Substack called “Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughts.”
Like FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and the National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, Prasad is a classic contrarian. The oncologist and hematologist has relentlessly called out perceived conflicts of interest in health care and the high prices commanded by various approved medical products, not to mention what he often sees as the limited evidence of their effectiveness.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he criticized the use of boosters in young people and vaccine mandates, among much else.
HHS Launches Autism Data-Sharing Pilot — a Landmark Step?
In a bold, but scrutinized announcement, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today unveiled a data-sharing initiative between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to explore root causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through access to real-world data.
The program, framed as a pilot effort under President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s chronic disease agenda, raises as many questions as it claims to answer. The pilot project will link CMS claims data for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees diagnosed with ASD to an NIH platform integrating wearables, electronic health records, and other real-world data — all under a secure, privacy-compliant framework.
Secretary Kennedy cast the initiative as an overdue step toward transparency: “We’re pulling back the curtain… to deliver the honest answers families have waited far too long to hear.” The plan ambitiously aims to decode trends in autism diagnoses, measure health outcomes by intervention type, map disparities in care, and calculate the economic toll of ASD on families and the healthcare system.
Trump Administration Has Shut Down CDC’s Infection Control Committee
The Trump administration has terminated a federal advisory committee that issued guidance about preventing the spread of infections in health care facilities. The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) crafted national standards for hand-washing, mask-wearing and isolating sick patients that most U.S. hospitals follow.
Four committee members said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delivered the news about HICPAC’s termination to members Friday. A letter reviewed by NBC News — which members said the CDC sent out after a virtual meeting — says the termination took effect more than a month previously, on March 31.
According to the letter, the termination aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for a reduction of the federal workforce.
Texas Bill That Would Outlaw Lab-Grown Meat Passes Senate Committee, Heads to Senate Vote
The Houston Chronicle reported:
Texas lawmakers have filed a bill that would outlaw the manufacture, possession and sale of cell-cultured protein, an alternative to animal meat. Senate Bill 261, authored by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, has advanced out of committee and will head to the full Senate. It would still need approval of the House and the signature of Gov. Greg Abbott.
Here’s what you need to know about cultured meat products.
Cell-cultured meats, or lab-grown meats, are a food product made from cultured animal cells, according to SB 261. The cells can be taken from livestock, poultry, seafood or other animals, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
