Latest news with #RobertKennedyJr.
UPI
20 hours ago
- Health
- UPI
Feds funding 5-year, $10M East Palestine derailment health study
Ohio National Guard 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 7, 2023. Photo courtesy of Ohio National Guard/ Twitter June 19 (UPI) -- The National Institutes of Health is undertaking an extended study of the health effects that East Palestine, Ohio, residents have experienced due to the 2023 train derailment there. The NIH is allocating $10 million to fund the study that will continue for five years and assess the long-term health impacts from the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that was carrying toxic chemicals. "The people of East Palestine have a right to clear,science-backed answers about the impact on their health," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said. He credited Vice President JD Vance for raising awareness of the need to study the potential health effects on East Palestine's 4,658 residents. Vance was a U.S. senator representing Ohio when the derailment occurred. "It was incredibly frustrating watching the Biden administration refuse to examine the potentially dangerous health impacts on the people of East Palestine following the train derailment," Vance said. "This historic research initiative will finally result in answers that this community deserves," he added. The Norfolk Southern freight train included 38 railcars carrying toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethyleneglycol and benzene. Many of the railcars were vented or intentionally burned over two days to rid them of the toxic chemicals, which the National Transportation Safety Board a year ago said was a mistake. NTSB members conducted a public hearing in East Palestine last June to publicly discuss the derailment that was caused by a defective wheel bearing that overheated and failed. Norfolk Southern and its contractors erred when they vented or burned off the contents of five tank cars that had derailed and contained vinyl chloride. The venting and burning created a toxic plume that spread across 16 states and exposed about a third of the nation's population to the chemicals. Many East Palestine residents have reported experiencing many health-related symptoms afterward, including headaches and respiratory, skin and eye irritations. Other concerns include the potential long-term effects on maternal and child health and psychological, immunological, respiratory and cardiovascular impacts. The NIH-funded study will focus on short- and long-term health affects from exposure to the chemicals, public health tracking and how to address community health concerns. "[President] Joe Biden abandoned East Palestine and left a community of working Americans behind when they needed him the most," Moreno, R-Ohio, said. "This is a huge step toward finally getting justice for East Palestine."
New York Post
2 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Anti-vax RFK could derail Trump
A word of warning to Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.: Restoring Americans' trust in the feds' public health decisions means hiring truly fair-minded, science-driven folks — not anti-vax crackpots. RFK Jr. last week canned all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), saying: 'A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.' NY Post assistant editorial page editor Brooke Rogers shares this story.
UPI
3 days ago
- Business
- UPI
Investors flock to Chinese herbal medicine stock with no revenues
Regencell Bioscience Holdings' NASDAQ stock price rallied with a 280% increase on Monday and another 25% on Tuesday after a recent 38-for-1 stock split took effect on Thursday. File Photo by Angelina Katsanis/UPI | License Photo June 17 (UPI) -- Shares in Hong Kong-based Regencell Bioscience Holdings nearly quadrupled in value amid a 38-to-1 stock split despite the firm reporting no revenues. The stock split triggered a 280% share price increase on Monday, CNBC reported, and continued a 58,000% increase in its price in 2025, with a closing cost of $78 per share on the NASDAQ trading platform on Tuesday. The stock reached a high of $81.23 during morning trading and slumped slightly to $75.47 during Tuesday's after-hours trading. The stock is rated as a "buy" on the TipRanks website after Regencell officials on June 2 announced the stock split to improve its liquidity and value for shareholders. The stock split gave investors 37 shares for each share held on June 12. The shares began trading on a split-adjusted basis on Monday, according to Seeking Alpha. The firm has no reported revenue but says it is developing a Chinese herbal treatment for childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. The firm was established in 2014 and has been traded on NASDAQ under the RGC symbol since 202. It had a market capitalization of $29.7 billion at the end of trading on Monday. The market capitalization rose another 25% on Tuesday, with a total value of $36 billion. The stock traded for pennies per share last year but now has a greater market value than highly recognized businesses, including Kraft Heinz, Lululemon and eBay, according to CNBC. Part of the increased investor interest is due to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. raising awareness of alternative medicines. Regencell Chief Executive Officer Yat-Gai Au controls more than 86% of the company's outstanding shares, according to FactSet. Little information is available about the potential effectiveness of the company's claims regarding its three traditional Chinese medicine formulas that are supposed to treat mild to severe forms of ADHD and autism with natural herbal medications in liquid form. Company officials in October reported no generated revenue and no regulatory approvals for its three liquid medicines. They reported net losses of $6.06 million in 2023 and $4.36 million in 2024. A Regencell patient case study in late 2023 said 28 patients were treated over three months during a second trial, which showed improvements in ADHD and autism. A dozen patients participated in a 2021 study to treat COVID-19, which indicated improvement in their symptoms.
Ottawa Citizen
13-06-2025
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
Experts fear upheaval in the U.S. could fuel vaccine distrust in Canada
Article content Health and immunization experts are reassuring Canadians that vaccine guidance is independent and based on scientific rigor in Canada after all 17 members of the committee that provides vaccine guidance in the United States were abruptly purged this week. Article content U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. dismissed all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), long considered the gold standard of vaccine guidance. Kennedy said the move would restore trust in the medical establishment and vaccines. Article content Article content Article content At least one expert fears the upheaval in the U.S. could fuel increased vaccine distrust and confusion in Canada. Article content Article content But there could also be benefits for Canada, University of Ottawa epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan says. Article content 'It means the world is going to look to us to fill the gap of global leadership,' he said. Article content The actions by Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, have been widely criticized by public health officials, doctor's groups and others throughout the U.S. who fear politicization of the committee and promotion of vaccine skepticism and conspiracy theories that will reduce routine vaccine uptake. Article content Kennedy's appointment of eight replacement members this week — including several with anti-vax leanings — furthered concerns. Article content Ottawa's Dr. Anne Pham-Huy, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at CHEO and chair of Immunize Canada, a coalition promoting the benefits of immunization, said she was 'profoundly shocked and deeply concerned' to learn about the dismissal of all 17 members of ACIP. Article content Article content Article content 'These are experts in the science of vaccinology, public health, infectious diseases and immunology,' she said. 'It is a group of experts that make recommendations based on science. To remove a group of individuals when that is their role is worrisome.' Article content Article content Pham-Huy said she was concerned the U.S. move could lead to increasing mistrust around immunization recommendations, including in Canada. Article content 'Recommendations should be based on science, not ideology or politics. Vaccines are not supposed to be political,' she said. Article content 'I am increasingly spending more time trying to counsel on things that used to be basic,' she said. That includes talking to some families about why tetanus is a concern and why the vaccine is important. She said she was not alone in hearing more questions and concerns about vaccines than she had in the past. She said she was happy to answer questions and talk with families, but the trend was worrisome.
The Hill
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Hill
RFK's MAHA report targets food, drug, tech industries: Key takeaways
The Trump administration issued its long-awaited Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report on Thursday, hammering various industries while deviating from mainstream science on key issues including farming practices, vaccinations and psychiatric medications. President Trump appointed Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. to lead the MAHA Commission, which issued its first report on children's health Thursday. It pointed to four key factors which it says are hurting U.S. children: ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, digital behavior and 'overmedicalization.' The report identifies pesticides and other chemicals as potentially having harmful health impacts, but stops short of recommending actions to limit them – disappointing some advocates. When it came to childhood mental and physical health, the report concludes that large corporations are distorting the U.S. health system for the sake of profits. Here's what you should know: 'There is a growing concern about the link between environmental health risks, particularly cumulative risks, and chronic disease,' the report states. 'Furthermore, in the past nearly 30 years, the chemicals children are exposed to have grown – and no country fully understands how the cumulative impact of this growth impacts health,' it continues. However, rather than calling for specific actions against these health threats, the report says more studies are needed, including from the National Institutes of Health, to fully understand the impacts of things like microplastics and pesticides. In particular, it mentions glyphosate, the chemical in Roundup Weedkiller which has been the subject of thousands of lawsuits, many of which allege that it causes cancer, though the company has denied this. The report also mentions Atrazine, a commonly used pesticide that has been found to disrupt the endocrine system and has been banned in the European Union Also on the list to study more are PFAS, toxic substances used in nonstick and waterproof products that can last in the environment for hundreds of years, as well as phthalates, which are used to make plastics flexible and have been found to disrupt the endocrine system. The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House altered the report to remove references to the company Monsanto, information about PFAS lobbying and conflicts of interest in chemical regulation. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin told reporters that the Trump administration would not be pursuing a 'European, mandate-driven regulatory system that stifles growth.' Lori Ann Burd, environmental health program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told The Hill that identifying a problem but not pursuing actions was not good enough. 'It's really disappointing that, after all the promises that the commission was going to stand up to powerful corporate interests and really get to the bottom of what is making Americans so sick, it caved to these powerful corporate interests,' Burd said. 'They have joined every administration before them in cowering in fear when faced with the power of Big Ag,' she added. Kennedy has been vocal in his belief that many medications like vaccines and psychiatric drugs are overused in the U.S. and, in aggregate, causing some of the health problems plaguing America's children. These beliefs were reflected in the commission's findings. The report noted the use of stimulant drugs, antidepressants, antipsychotics and asthma medications have all increased among children within the past 30 or so years. It further cast speculation on childhood vaccination schedules, noting that the number of vaccines implemented in the U.S. exceeds that of many European vaccine schedules. 'These time trends significantly outpace more moderate increases seen in other developed countries. Psychotropics for ADHD or one example, prescribed 2.5 times more in US than in British children, and 19 times more than in Japanese youth,' the report stated. Kennedy has claimed that childhood psychiatric drugs are 'insufficiently scrutinized' and addictive. Childhood psychiatrists blasted Kennedy's rhetoric as unhelpful to children with mental illnesses. 'There is some concern, even more so in the field, that many children with depression and mental health disorders do not get access to the mental health services that they need, and that includes the comprehensive treatment that we would recommend, which is beyond just SSRIs, but also therapy and other supports,' Lisa Fortuna, a child psychiatrist and chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Children, Adolescents and Their Families, previously told The Hill. While stopping short of blaming vaccines for directly contributing to chronic illnesses and acknowledging that immunizations 'benefit children by protecting them from infectious diseases,' the report claimed there has been 'limited scientific inquiry into the links between vaccines and chronic disease.' To improve the understanding of vaccines and any links to chronic disease, the report supported 'more rigorous clinical trial designs' that include placebos, larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods. Kennedy was perhaps the country's most prominent vaccine skeptic prior to becoming HHS Secretary. He has continually refused to acknowledge data disproving any links between vaccinations and autism, even when confronted during his confirmation hearing by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), himself a physician. Under Kennedy and Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Makary, HHS has moved forward with plans to enforce a new requirement for placebo testing on all new vaccines, though how this rule will be implemented remains unclear. Placebo-controlled testing is already a standard part of the vaccine approval process and Kennedy told the Senate Appropriations Committee this week that he did not think it was ethical to retest all vaccines against a placebo. The report blamed the 'overmedicalization of American children' on 'corporate capture.' It claimed the outsized influence of large corporations on public institutions had distorted 'scientific literature, regulatory processes, clinical practices and public discourse.' 'The corporate capture of media, primarily through lavish advertising campaigns that are uniquely targeted to American consumers (no other developed country allows direct advertising of drugs to consumers, other than New Zealand where such advertising is heavily regulated and federally controlled) confers a notable level of reliance on the industry by those that benefit financially,' the report read. 'While in the U.S. the pharmaceutical industry has the First Amendment right to have these advertisements, studies suggest that they have a strong influence on those who view them, potentially increasing inappropriate prescription.' Again, there was not a recommendation to take action against pharmaceutical advertising, though the commission suggested the constant exposure to pharmaceutical advertisements was responsible for 'potentially increasing inappropriate prescriptions.' The report blamed 'a sedentary, technology-driven lifestyle' that's developed over the past 40 years for increasing 'chronic physical and mental health diseases,' with childhood behaviors differing vastly from prior generations. Citing data from the American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numerous studies published within the last 15 years, the report noted how larger shares of children don't meet healthy standards of fitness and fewer children take part in daily physical activities. These conclusions align with what has been observed globally, with a 2019 study finding that 81 percent of adolescents aged between 11 and 17 years of age were 'insufficiently physically active.' 'Parallel to the decline in physical activity, American youth face a deepening psychosocial crisis. This is marked by rising mental health disorders, significant sleep deficits, chronic stress, and pervasive loneliness, all exacerbated by the widespread influence of technology,' stated the report. 'The crisis persists despite rising therapy rates, with some suggesting it may exacerbate the issue.' Social media use was also cited in the report as having a negative impact on childrens' mental health, echoing initiatives from the Biden administration. Then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a health advisory in 2023 warning that increasing evidence suggests social media use was damaging youth mental health. At the same time, screen usage has also been potentially linked to a reduction in some risky behaviors, like substance use and motor vehicle accidents, though whether there is a direct cause is unclear. As with 'overmedicalization,' the report took issue with the role that large corporations have in children's use of social media as well as public health messaging. 'Technology corporations suggest a reach over childhood health that stretches well beyond the direct harms of screen exposure, actively shaping the contours of scientific discourse and the public-health policies that follow,' it stated, noting how federal agencies coordinated with social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'These informal, largely invisible coordination between agencies and platforms — coupled with undisclosed ranking algorithms — compresses the range of permissible debate on childhood-health questions and can bury legitimate scientific concerns while impacting parental supervision.' Nathaniel Weixel contributed
