Make America Healthy Again - Trump populism comes to health regulation (1 Viewer)

[superchuck500]

This is going to need a thread as we move forward - there are now clear signs that Trump supports a new, critical if not dubious approach on vaccination, and his HHS nominee RFK Jr. regularly espouses eating raw milk and raw meat . . . dietary components most experts agree are more dangerous than their heated counterparts.

Health is certainly one of those areas were anti-institutionalism and turning to popular influencers over medical science comes with genuine risk of harm.

Today Trump provided his most clear indication that he is a vaccine skeptic - claiming (falsely of course) that the USA doesn't "do as well" as other nations that use no vaccines at all.

 

[superchuck500]

I just can’t believe that “I never heard of these things as a kid” is a basis for US health policy.

 

[coldseat]

I just can’t believe that “I never heard of these things as a kid” is a basis for US health policy.

Can't believe this moron is a cabinet level secretary. But then there's the moron in chief.

 

[TampaJoe]

I just can’t believe that “I never heard of these things as a kid” is a basis for US health policy.

Do you dispute that the rates for these conditions have increased over the past couple of decades? Do you not think it is worthy to try to determine the cause of the increase in these conditions? Would it worthy to consider whether we can somehow reduce or minimize the rates of these conditions.

I’m sure I disagree with RFK on many things but if he can recommend changes that will make us and our children healthier, I’m prepared to be open minded.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

Do you dispute that the rates for these conditions have increased over the past couple of decades? Do you not think it is worthy to try to determine the cause of the increase in these conditions? Would it worthy to consider whether we can somehow reduce or minimize the rates of these conditions.

I’m sure I disagree with RFK on many things but if he can recommend changes that will make us and our children healthier, I’m prepared to be open minded.

Changes in criteria, expanded access to testing, and more awareness among parents seem to be viable and logical reasons. Do you think those are more likely than RFK Jr's position that vaccines cause autism?

 

[TampaJoe]

Changes in criteria, expanded access to testing, and more awareness among parents seem to be viable and logical reasons. Do you think those are more likely than RFK Jr's position that vaccines cause autism?

I think those may very well be part of the problem. I also think there may very well be other causes and these other external factors have increased the overall rates of these conditions. I don’t believe kids are healthier today than they were when I was growing up.

So yeah, I may disagree on some specific points (vaccines for instance) while agreeing that we need to pay more attention to what we put in our bodies be it food or medicine.

Once you develop these conditions, it is difficult to impossible to reverse. Better to be into prevention. That makes all kinds of sense to me so I’m interested in whatever suggestions he may come up with. Not to say I will agree but I am interested in whatever suggestions / recommendations he may have.

 

[UriUT]

Changes in criteria, expanded access to testing, and more awareness among parents seem to be viable and logical reasons. Do you think those are more likely than RFK Jr's position that vaccines cause autism?

Brian Scalabrine has a famous saying for his critics: "I am closer to Lebron James than you are to me."

You, sir @cuddlemonkey, are closer to an epidemiologist than that person is to a high school biology student.

 

[superchuck500]

Do you dispute that the rates for these conditions have increased over the past couple of decades? Do you not think it is worthy to try to determine the cause of the increase in these conditions? Would it worthy to consider whether we can somehow reduce or minimize the rates of these conditions.

I’m sure I disagree with RFK on many things but if he can recommend changes that will make us and our children healthier, I’m prepared to be open minded.

Pluto wasn’t discovered until 1930 but it was always there. Breast cancer rates grew substantially in the 1980s but researchers are quite certain that it was due to dramatically better diagnostic tools (ie mammograms).

Yes of course it’s always value to be researching causes in hopes of mitigating incidence - but we have been researching autism. There are whole facilities and grants dedicated to it.

And then RFK - a man with no medical or research background whatsoever - comes in as HHS Secretary and says things like “these things weren’t talked about when I was a kid” as if it’s some empirical basis for any reasonable observation? It’s junk science based on lingering notions that have been discredited but will now be the basis for US policy and resources advanced by fringe non-specialists. The mere fact that he’s even talking about it like this dismisses decades of legitimate research.

And did you hear how he described autism? We’re supposed to be open minded about that? This is nothing more than medical populism

 

[zztop]

Pluto wasn’t discovered until 1930 but it was always there. Breast cancer rates grew substantially in the 1980s but researchers are quite certain that it was due to dramatically better diagnostic tools (ie mammograms).

Yes of course it’s always value to be researching causes in hopes of mitigating incidence - but we have been researching autism. There are whole facilities and grants dedicated to it.

And then RFK - a man with no medical or research background whatsoever - comes in as HHS Secretary and says things like “these things weren’t talked about when I was a kid” as if it’s some empirical basis for any reasonable observation? It’s junk science based on lingering notions that have been discredited but will now be the basis for US policy and resources advanced by fringe non-specialists. The mere fact that he’s even talking about it like this dismisses decades of legitimate research.

And did you hear how he described autism? We’re supposed to be open minded about that? This is nothing more than medical populism

We're also starting to see a rise in colon cancer, but it is probably just coincidence that testing is encouraged at a younger age compared to a few decades ago

 

[MT15]

Pluto wasn’t discovered until 1930 but it was always there. Breast cancer rates grew substantially in the 1980s but researchers are quite certain that it was due to dramatically better diagnostic tools (ie mammograms).

Yes of course it’s always value to be researching causes in hopes of mitigating incidence - but we have been researching autism. There are whole facilities and grants dedicated to it.

And then RFK - a man with no medical or research background whatsoever - comes in as HHS Secretary and says things like “these things weren’t talked about when I was a kid” as if it’s some empirical basis for any reasonable observation? It’s junk science based on lingering notions that have been discredited but will now be the basis for US policy and resources advanced by fringe non-specialists. The mere fact that he’s even talking about it like this dismisses decades of legitimate research.

And did you hear how he described autism? We’re supposed to be open minded about that? This is nothing more than medical populism

It’s most probably eugenics, actually.

 

[zztop]

US FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts
The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its food safety and nutrition division, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

(also)

The FDA this month also suspended existing and developing programs that ensured accurate testing for bird flu in milk and cheese and pathogens like the parasite Cyclospora in other food products.

 

[brandon]

The FDA this month also suspended existing and developing programs that ensured accurate testing for bird flu in milk and cheese and pathogens like the parasite Cyclospora in other food products.

As someone who spent a couple nights in the hospital and six total weeks fighting Cyclospora back in 2023, let me just say, this is forking awful.

Cyclospora is no joke.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

I think those may very well be part of the problem. I also think there may very well be other causes and these other external factors have increased the overall rates of these conditions. I don’t believe kids are healthier today than they were when I was growing up.

So yeah, I may disagree on some specific points (vaccines for instance) while agreeing that we need to pay more attention to what we put in our bodies be it food or medicine.

Once you develop these conditions, it is difficult to impossible to reverse. Better to be into prevention. That makes all kinds of sense to me so I’m interested in whatever suggestions he may come up with. Not to say I will agree but I am interested in whatever suggestions / recommendations he may have.

Nobody on the spectrum developed autism. One hundred percent of people with autism were born with it.

 

[Dragon]

I think those may very well be part of the problem. I also think there may very well be other causes and these other external factors have increased the overall rates of these conditions. I don’t believe kids are healthier today than they were when I was growing up.

So yeah, I may disagree on some specific points (vaccines for instance) while agreeing that we need to pay more attention to what we put in our bodies be it food or medicine.

Once you develop these conditions, it is difficult to impossible to reverse. Better to be into prevention. That makes all kinds of sense to me so I’m interested in whatever suggestions he may come up with. Not to say I will agree but I am interested in whatever suggestions / recommendations he may have.

Vaccines are not the problem. They are literally saving lives every day. There has been a lot of scientific studies and all have deemed the vaccines safe. Autism is genetic. Not something you "develop" - not something you can "get rid of" So lets stick to facts shall we?

• Twin studies have consistently shown high heritability:
  • If one identical twin is autistic, the chance the other is also autistic is as high as 60–90%.
  • For fraternal twins, that rate drops significantly, which suggests a strong genetic component.
• Family studies show that autism often runs in families:
  • Siblings of autistic children are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with autism themselves or showing traits related to the autism spectrum.
• Genetic research has identified hundreds of genes associated with autism:
  • Many of these genes are involved in brain development and synaptic function.
  • In some cases, autism is linked to rare single-gene mutations (e.g., Fragile X syndrome or Rett syndrome), but most cases involve a complex combination of common genetic variants.
• Parental age: The older the parents the bigger the chance of genetic mutations

I understand that autism can be confusing and even scary for some people to understand, but the claim that vaccines cause autism has been thoroughly debunked by decades of scientific research.

The original study that linked vaccines to autism—by Andrew Wakefield in 1998—was fully retracted by The Lancet in 2010 due to ethical violations, undisclosed financial conflicts of interest, and falsified data. Wakefield also lost his medical license. The Lancet Retraction Notice: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4

Since then, more than a dozen large-scale studies from around the world have found no link between vaccines and autism. CDC – Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html

Also, autism is not a disease to be “cured.” It’s a neurodevelopmental condition, and many autistic individuals consider it an integral part of who they are. Misinformation can cause real harm—whether it's parents avoiding life-saving vaccines or people being subjected to dangerous “cures.”

 

[Eeyore]

US FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts
The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its food safety and nutrition division, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

(also)

The FDA this month also suspended existing and developing programs that ensured accurate testing for bird flu in milk and cheese and pathogens like the parasite Cyclospora in other food products.

Everybody is going to get magarrhea

 

[Optimus Prime]

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr doubled down on his claim that autism is worse than Covid-19, which has killed more than 7 million people worldwide.

Just two days after he underscored in a previous statement that autism is worse than Covid because the virus killed “old people,” Kennedy appeared Tuesday night on Fox News and insisted that autism is “20 times worse than Covid-19, in terms of the economic impact, the social impact, the moral impact on our country.”……..

RFK Jr again says autism is worse than Covid, which he has noted killed ‘old people’

Kennedy drew ire after claiming ‘autism destroys families’ last week

www.independent.co.uk

 

[TampaJoe]

Nobody on the spectrum developed autism. One hundred percent of people with autism were born with it.

I was speaking more broadly and not just about autism. I’m not an expert on autism.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

I was speaking more broadly and not just about autism. I’m not an expert on autism.

You were replying to my comment that was specifically about autism.

 

[TampaJoe]

You were replying to my comment that was specifically about autism.

I’m glad I was able to clarify that for you.