Keeping an eye on the Kennedy capers
A continuing series tracking the turmoil left in his wake
It’s difficult to keep up with all of the turmoil caused by Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. But here’s my latest attempt to capture some of it. Weeks like last week are becoming common.
First, the news from last week about a 33-year record number of measles cases.
Top Democrat Blames RFK Jr. for ‘Emergency’ Measles Outbreak. Rep. Chuck Schumer slammed the HHS secretary as the U.S. sees the highest number of cases in decades. - The Daily Beast
A Quarter-Century After Eliminating Measles, RFK Jr. Presides Over a Grim New Record - Splinter.com
How to Wreck the Nation’s Health, by the Numbers
That’s the headline of a guest essay in the New York Times by Dr. Steven Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University. Excerpts:
Mr. Kennedy has promised to tackle the burden of chronic disease, but around 390 cut grants were for studies of the most prevalent chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and obesity.
…
Diseases that are preventable and rare in modern countries may now pose a threat in the United States. The measles outbreak is our first warning. Other vaccine-preventable diseases will increase if politicians like Mr. Kennedy continue to cast experts aside, roll back immunization guidelines and sow doubt about their safety.
All this under the banner of “Make America Healthy Again.” In a dangerous sleight of hand, Mr. Kennedy goes before cameras to make a big deal about food dyes and bizarre claims about autism while his department erases programs to address the nation’s leading chronic diseases. For example, smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. If this administration’s goal is truly to make America healthier, why has it effectively shuttered the nation’s top office on smoking? Mr. Kennedy rightly promotes the importance of healthy eating, but the administration is cutting funding for food assistance. He warns about the dangers of pesticides, but the administration is reportedly reconsidering a ban on asbestos and is moving quickly to relax other regulations meant to protect Americans from toxins.
Bird Flu - let ‘er rip
Kennedy and the Agriculture Secretary have suggested that farmers “should consider maybe the possibility of letting it run through the flock so that we can identify the birds, and preserve the birds, that are immune to it.” Among experts’ reactions: “inhumane…dangerous…enormous economic consequences…terrible idea…recipe for disaster…no scenario where that is a good idea.”
Praising a company making the kind of food he criticizes
.Kennedy toured a food company, then said, “This is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again.” But the Associated Press reported:
…an Associated Press review of Mom’s Meals menu, including the ingredients and nutrition labels, shows that the company’s offerings are the type of heat-and-eat, ultraprocessed foods that Kennedy routinely criticizes for making people sick.
The meals contain chemical additives that would render them impossible to recreate at home in your kitchen, said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at New York University and food policy expert, who reviewed the menu for The AP. Many menu items are high in sodium, and some are high in sugar or saturated fats, she said.
Making MAHA fans mad by pushing wearables
Excerpt:
“My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years,” Kennedy said. He went on to reveal that a major government-funded ad campaign to promote wearables—a category of digital devices that includes Fitbits, Apple Watches, and similar devices—is in the works.
This is not what many of Kennedy’s most devoted fans want to hear.
Among the MAHA crowd reactions: “Horrifying…wearables are spy devices…medical shackles for prisoners of a medical police state.” Some also noted the conflict of interest of Trump appointees selling wearables and tracking for $199 a month. Will he cave to his and the Administration’s base?
Is he ready to kill the USPSTF?
Dr. Kenny Lin, who once worked for an agency supporting the USPSTF, wrote a warning back in May entitled, “Save the USPSTF.” He offered a balanced summary.
The USPSTF’s judgments are not perfect. On occasion, I have disagreed with its assessments, and I suspect that most family physicians have questioned a new or updated recommendation now and then. But it is clear that if the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality is eliminated and its functions are not replaced, or if the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act’s mandate and Congress does not act to preserve the USPSTF, we cannot ensure that evidence-based preventive care will remain affordable for everyone. In sum, our patients will suffer.
Last week, MedPage Today and many others reported on this somewhat shocking surprise announcement. Many view this as an omen for what may follow in the footsteps of Kennedy’s firing of all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Urging protection for USPSTF, members of 104 health organizations wrote ranking members of key Congressional committees last week.
Last week, Dr. Lin wrote again:
He ended with this:
As a former ACIP member recently told STAT, the message is clear: "Scientific expertise is no longer of use" unless it happens to align with what RFK Jr. already believes to be true. His terrible actions speak louder than words.
His words have included countless misstatements, inaccuracies, bravado not backed by evidence. The words and the actions need to be remembered because this era in federal health policy decision-making is already one for the history books.