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RFK Jr. Says HHS Staffers Working for Big Pharma Should ‘Move Out’
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said any staffers in the department who are “working for the pharmaceutical industry” should “move out.”
Kennedy was confirmed in a 52-48 Senate vote Thursday, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) the only dissenting Republican.
“I have a list in my head … we have a generic list of the kind of people that — if you’ve been involved in good science, you have got nothing to worry about,” Kennedy told Fox News. “If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I’d say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry,” he added.
DOGE is cutting the federal workforce as a whole, with probationary employees considered some of the most vulnerable.
Trump Casts Psychiatric and Weight-Loss Drugs as Threats to Children
President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to scrutinize the “threat” to children posed by antidepressants, stimulants and other common psychiatric drugs, targeting medication taken by millions in his latest challenge to long-standing medical practices.
The directive came in an executive order Thursday that established a “Make America Healthy Again” commission led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized the use of those drugs and issued false claims about them. The order said the commission should prepare a “Make Our Children Healthy Again” assessment within 100 days that examines “the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.”
The directive comes as children and teens endure a mental health crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Kennedy also has made childhood nutrition and healthful food a signature issue. He has been critical of the boom in weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro.
FDA Issues Back-To-Back Vaccine Approvals as RFK Jr. Takes HHS Seat
Days after vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the FDA issued a pair of vaccine approvals — one for GSK’s meningococcal shot and another for Bavarian Nordic’s chikungunya jab.
GSK’s Penmenvy can now be used to immunize patients aged 10 through 25 years, eliciting protection against the five major Neisseria meningitidis serogroups — A, B, C, W and Y — and helping to prevent invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). According to the pharma, Penmenvy “could simplify meningococcal vaccination delivery and help protect more U.S. adolescents” against IMD.
GSK is “excited” about Penmenvy’s approval, CSO Tony Wood said. The vaccine will “help improve meningococcal vaccination coverage in the U.S., especially for IMD caused by serogroup B,” the leading cause of the disease in teens and young adults, he said.
GSK’s 5-In-1 Meningococcal Shot Wins FDA Approval
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday gave a green light to a new meningococcal vaccine from GSK. Dubbed Penmenvy, the “5-in-1” shot is approved for people aged 10 through 25 years old and targets the five most common types of bacteria that cause invasive meningococcal disease, which can lead to life-threatening complications.
Penmenvy combines components of GSK’s existing shots Bexsero and Menveo. By simplifying immunization, it could help boost vaccination rates, which have remained low due to a complex vaccine schedule.
“Any new opportunity to increase access to what is just so critical to individual and public health, is a good thing,” said Julie Howard, a clinical advisor at the pharmaceutical consulting firm MMIT.
U.K. Lawmaker Wants Regulators to Probe Pharma Companies Over ‘Misleading’ COVID-19 Vaccines Statements
A member of the U.K. Parliament is calling for regulators to audit pharmaceutical companies that have made misleading statements to the public about their COVID-19 vaccines. And the move comes after Moderna was chastised for the second time in five months by a U.K. trade group over its attempts to recruit children into a late-stage clinical trial for its COVID-19 shot.
In the latest instance, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, a self-regulating arm of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, pointed to two online articles and four tweets that were made in connection with recruiting patients. The oversight body noted the communications had not been subject to the regulatory approval process.
Moreover, one tweet was found to be “unacceptable” because it used a photograph of a 12-year-old girl with a teddy bear and certificate, along with language encouraging children to take part in the Phase 3 trial. Another photograph appeared to show the child with her mother and a pediatrician. The recruitment center then responded to its own post by providing contact info to participate.
Texas Measles Cases Are Up, and New Mexico Now Has an Outbreak. Here’s What You Need to Know
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 58 cases as of Tuesday, and eight people in neighboring eastern New Mexico also have been diagnosed with measles. Public health officials in New Mexico have said they suspect some of the state’s cases are linked to the Texas outbreak, but haven’t confirmed it.
Measles is a highly contagious disease. Here’s what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles, as well as what’s happening in Texas and New Mexico.
The West Texas cases are concentrated in Gaines County, which has 45 infections. Terry County to the north has nine confirmed cases, while Lubbock and Lynn counties have a case each and Yoakum County has two. The Texas Department of State Health Services said Monday that 13 people are hospitalized with measles.
