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Tag: RFK

  • RFK Jr. to End ‘Godsend’ Narcan Program That Helped Reduce Overdose Deaths Despite His Past Heroin Addiction

    RFK Jr. to End ‘Godsend’ Narcan Program That Helped Reduce Overdose Deaths Despite His Past Heroin Addiction

    Despite his own history of overcoming heroin addiction, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is backing plans to end a federal Narcan distribution program credited with helping drive a steep drop in U.S. overdose deaths.

    Narcan, the widely-used overdose reversal drug, has played a major role in reducing opioid-related deaths, particularly amid the fentanyl crisis.

    A $56 million annual grant program through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has funded the distribution of Narcan to first responders across the country, training over 66,000 individuals and distributing more than 282,500 kits in 2024 alone. Recent CDC data shows a nearly 24% drop in overdose deaths for the 12 months ending September 2024, the sharpest one-year decline in decades—an achievement partly attributed to widespread naloxone access.

    Speaking at the Illicit Drug Summit in Nashville on Thursday, Kennedy reflected on his personal struggle with addiction and emphasized the importance of community, treatment, and hope in solving the drug crisis, USA Today reported. However, behind the scenes, the Trump administration’s draft budget includes major cuts to addiction programs, including the termination of the Narcan grant, according to The Independent.

    “Narcan has been kind of a godsend as far as opioid epidemics are concerned, and we certainly are in the middle of one now with fentanyl,” Donald McNamara of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. “We need this funding source because it’s saving lives every day.”

    Though Kennedy has previously praised interventions like Narcan as critical to saving lives, he now frames the crisis as one requiring deeper, spiritual and societal change rather than relying solely on “nuts and bolts” medical solutions.

    The proposal has drawn swift condemnation from addiction specialists and public health advocates, who warn that cutting Narcan funding could reverse the progress made against overdose deaths. Critics argue that removing life-saving tools while broader societal fixes are slowly pursued would leave vulnerable communities at risk.

    While national overdose deaths have declined, experts warn the epidemic is far from over, especially in states still experiencing surges. Ending federal Narcan support could slow or even reverse recent gains.

    Originally published on Latin Times

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  • RFK Jr. Is Giving Families ‘False Hope’ By Claiming He’ll Figure Out Cause of Autism by September, Former FDA Vaccine Head Warns

    RFK Jr. Is Giving Families ‘False Hope’ By Claiming He’ll Figure Out Cause of Autism by September, Former FDA Vaccine Head Warns

    Dr. Peter Marks, the former top vaccine official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for giving what he called “false hope” to families by claiming that the Trump administration will identify the cause of autism by September.

    Marks, who resigned earlier this month amid mounting frustration with Kennedy’s promotion of vaccine misinformation, appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation to challenge Kennedy’s recent assertion that a massive federal research initiative would soon pinpoint and eliminate the root causes of autism.


    Kennedy announced the effort through the National Institutes of Health. “By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we will be able to eliminate those exposures,” he promised.

    “Giving people false hope is something you should never do,” Marks said in response to Kennedy’s announcement.

    “I don’t see any possible way [to get the answer that quickly],” Marks continued. “Autism is an incredibly complicated issue.”

    Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has implied that vaccines may be among the environmental toxins driving autism rates. However, Marks dismissed that notion, citing the overwhelming body of research showing no link between vaccines and autism. “We’ve studied them in so many millions of children,” he said.

    The controversy comes amid a deadly resurgence of measles in the US, with three unvaccinated individuals—including two young girls from Seminole, Texas—dying in recent weeks. Measles had been declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, but new outbreaks have developed in certain under-vaccinated communities.

    Kennedy has offered only tepid support for the measles vaccine, telling CBS that “people should get the measles vaccine” but reiterating his opposition to mandates. He has also promoted unproven alternatives like vitamins and cod-liver oil.

    Marks blamed the recent pediatric measles deaths on Kennedy and his staff, describing it as “the epitome of an absolute needless death.”

    “These kids should get vaccinated—that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles,” Marks emphasized.

    In his resignation letter, Marks criticized Kennedy for spreading misinformation and undermining public trust in safe and effective vaccines.

    “Truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary,” Marks wrote. “He wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

    Originally published on Latin Times



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  • RFK Jr. Pushes Unproven Measles Treatments Amid Surge; Experts Urge Vaccination

    RFK Jr. Pushes Unproven Measles Treatments Amid Surge; Experts Urge Vaccination

    As measles cases spike in Texas, affecting 159 people, hospitalizing 22, and claiming the life of a school-aged child, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressed “deep concern” about the outbreak while promoting an unconventional treatment protocol.

    “As the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I am deeply concerned about the recent measles outbreak,” Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.

    In a Fox News interview, Kennedy Jr. praised measles treatment using vitamin A, the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin, and cod liver oil, claiming they yield “good results.” However, health experts warn that it should not replace vaccination and caution against relying on it entirely.

    Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It starts with fever, cough, and red, watery eyes before a telltale rash appears. While most cases resolve on their own, complications like pneumonia, blindness, and brain inflammation can be severe, especially for unvaccinated individuals.

    Kennedy Jr. acknowledged that vaccines not only protect individual children from measles but also contribute to community immunity, safeguarding those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. However, in an opinion piece on Fox Nation, Kennedy Jr. said the decision to vaccinate kids will be a personal choice. Meanwhile, he emphasized the importance of good nutrition and the consumption of vitamins such as A, B12, C, D, and E as the “best defense against” chronic and infectious illnesses.

    He also pointed to a 2010 study showing that two doses of vitamin A treatment reduced measles mortality by 62%. The same study found that the measles vaccine is highly effective, with one dose preventing 85–95% of cases and two doses up to 98%.

    Since vaccines remain the only proven way to prevent outbreaks, some doctors worry that promoting unconventional therapies during a surge could undermine vaccination efforts and fuel misinformation online.

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reaffirmed last week that vaccination remains the strongest defense against measles, as no specific antiviral treatment exists. However, the agency acknowledged that supportive care, including vitamin A administration under the guidance of a physician may help in managing the infection.

    “Relying on vitamin A instead of the vaccine is not only dangerous and ineffective, but it puts children at serious risk,” Dr. Sue Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told The Washington Post.

    Experts like Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security believes that supplementation with vitamin A helps in cases where there are deficiencies but it “really doesn’t have much of a role in the current discussion on the West Texas measles epidemic because it becomes a distraction about what we really need to focus on, which is vaccinating our kids.”

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  • Trump Admin Cancels Key Vaccine Policy Meetings as Health and Science Agencies Prepare for RFK Jr. Takeover

    Trump Admin Cancels Key Vaccine Policy Meetings as Health and Science Agencies Prepare for RFK Jr. Takeover

    President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled a number of key vaccine policy meetings as health and science agencies prepare for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take over as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    A number of the National Institutes of Health’s study sections, during which fellowship and grant applications are reviewed, were canceled, potentially delaying grant distribution, Stat News reported.

    Additionally, the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria meeting, scheduled for Jan. 28-29, and a National Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting, scheduled for Feb. 20-21, were also canceled.

    “Peer review via study sections is required by law in order for the NIH to disburse most of the $40 billion annual extramural budget,” Norman E. Sharpless, a former director of the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, told Stat News.

    “If study sections and advisory council meetings are postponed for more than even a brief period, this will likely lead to interruptions in grant funding, which is bad for U.S. biomedical research.”



    An NIH spokesperson explained the cancellations are part of “a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization.” Scholars, however, fear the delays and their ambiguous conclusion could have detrimental domino effects on their research.

    “If study sections don’t meet on time, then that could delay grants being distributed, which affects the ability of labs to pay their students and postdocs and staff,” Rebecca Pompano, a chemist and biomedical engineer at the University of Virginia, told Stat News. “In some cases, if there was a gap in funding, it could result in someone either not being hired at all or having to be laid off.”

    Pompano’s fears are compounded by RFK Jr.’s plans to overhaul the NIH. In the past, he has attacked the NIH for not studying the role of vaccines in autism and promised to fire “entire department” at the Food and Drug Administration, AP News reported.

    Originally published by Latin Times

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  • Thousands of Doctors Come Out Against Letting RFK Jr. Become Health Secretary: ‘He Is Actively Dangerous’

    Thousands of Doctors Come Out Against Letting RFK Jr. Become Health Secretary: ‘He Is Actively Dangerous’

    More than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter addressed to the Senate urging the legislature to vote against confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    “The health and well-being of 336 million Americans depend on leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system,” the letter reads. “RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this essential agency — he is actively dangerous.”

    The letter, published online by the Committee to Protect Health Care, cites numerous instances in which RFK Jr. voiced statements or beliefs incompatible with legitimate medical practice. These include unsubstantiated beliefs that accused vaccines are linked to autism and anti-depressants are linked to school shootings, reported NBC News.

    Kennedy was nominated for the Secretary of Health position by President-elect Donald Trump in November 2024. He has been meeting with senators in advance of his confirmation hearing.

    “This appointment is a slap in the face to every health care professional who has spent their lives working to protect patients from preventable illness and death,” the letter continued.

    “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be confirmed and those who are spending their time undermining him will have no place and no voice at HHS,” Katie Miller, Kennedy’s spokesperson within the Trump transition team, told NBC News. “Good luck and best wishes to them.”

    Kennedy has received criticism from other groups and institutions for his beliefs regarding medicine. Health care consumer advocacy group Community Catalyst said that Kennedy was a “wholly unqualified and a dangerous pick.” Furthermore, the nonprofit consumer rights group Public Citizen stated that Kennedy would “endanger people’s lives if placed in a position of authority over health.”

    Originally published by Latin Times.

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