Public Health News | Measles outbreak, RFK Etc

[nycfan]

Video shows doctor with measles treating kids. RFK Jr. later praised him as an ‘extraordinary’ healer​

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/19/health/measles-rfk-texas-doctor?cid=ios_app

“A Texas doctor who has been treating children in a measles outbreak was shown on video with a measles rash on his face in a clinic a week before Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met him and praised him as an “extraordinary” healer.

Dr. Ben Edwards appeared in the video posted March 31 by the anti-vaccine group Kennedy once led, Children’s Health Defense. In it, Edwards appears wearing scrubs and talking with parents and children in a makeshift clinic he set up in Seminole, Texas, ground zero of the outbreak that has sickened hundreds of people and killed three, including two children.

Edwards is asked whether he had measles, and he responded, “Yes,” then said his infection started the day before the video was recorded.

“Yesterday was pretty achy. Little mild fever. Spots came in the afternoon. Today, I woke up feeling good,” Edwards said in the video.

Measles is most contagious for about four days before and four days after the rash appears and is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors and public health experts said Edwards’ decision to go into the clinic put children, their parents and their community at risk because he could have spread it to others. They said there was no scenario in which Edwards’ conduct would be reasonable. …”

“… Kennedy met with Edwards about a week after the video was posted by Children’s Health Defense, the group Kennedy led for years until December. In an April 6 post on X, Kennedy said he “visited with these two extraordinary healers,” including Edwards and another doctor, and praised their use of two unproven treatments for measles.

…
It was unclear whether Kennedy knew that Edwards had gone into his clinic while infected with measles before meeting him. A spokesperson for Kennedy said he is not anti-vaccine and that he is “committed to improving children’s health in America and has re-deployed resources to Texas to help with the current outbreak.” He did not answer why the health secretary chose to meet with and praise Edwards rather than any of the other doctors in West Texas who have been treating children in the outbreak.

Edwards told The Associated Press in an email that he “interacted with zero patients that were not already infected with measles” during the time he was infectious. “Therefore, obviously, there were no patients that were put in danger of acquiring measles since they already had measles.”

But Jessica Steier, a public health scientist, said the video shows Edwards in the room with people who do not appear sick, including parents of sick children and the people who visited the clinic from Children’s Health Defense. She also questioned what steps Edwards was taking to confirm people were sick with measles, rather than relying on guesswork. …”

 

[finesse]

One hell of a political stunt for an unconscionable suck up, though.

 

[JCTarheel82]

Video shows doctor with measles treating kids. RFK Jr. later praised him as an ‘extraordinary’ healer​

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/19/health/measles-rfk-texas-doctor?cid=ios_app

“A Texas doctor who has been treating children in a measles outbreak was shown on video with a measles rash on his face in a clinic a week before Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met him and praised him as an “extraordinary” healer.

Dr. Ben Edwards appeared in the video posted March 31 by the anti-vaccine group Kennedy once led, Children’s Health Defense. In it, Edwards appears wearing scrubs and talking with parents and children in a makeshift clinic he set up in Seminole, Texas, ground zero of the outbreak that has sickened hundreds of people and killed three, including two children.

Edwards is asked whether he had measles, and he responded, “Yes,” then said his infection started the day before the video was recorded.

“Yesterday was pretty achy. Little mild fever. Spots came in the afternoon. Today, I woke up feeling good,” Edwards said in the video.

Measles is most contagious for about four days before and four days after the rash appears and is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors and public health experts said Edwards’ decision to go into the clinic put children, their parents and their community at risk because he could have spread it to others. They said there was no scenario in which Edwards’ conduct would be reasonable. …”

This reads like something from a third world country where resources are scarce, but no it's just Texas.

 

[StrangePackage]

This reads like something from a third world country where resources are scarce, but no it's just Texas.

Everything's dumber in Texas

 

[lawtig02]

This reads like something from a third world country where resources are scarce, but no it's just Texas.

To be fair, intelligence is a highly underrated resource.

 

[finesse]

To be fair, intelligence is a highly underrated resource.

If only people would understand that using it grows it and storing it away for later is a waste. Conservataion is not always the answer.

 

[nycfan]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests compensating families of some people with autism​

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests compensating families of some people with autism

The Health and Human Services secretary defended his claims about children with autism that drew backlash last week, saying he was referring to a quarter of those diagnosed.

www.usatoday.com

“Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. − who has long spread debunked claims surrounding autisms and vaccines − suggested compensating families of some Americans with autism, calling them "injured."

"Bottom line, the more than 25% of people who have severe autism will never go on a date, write a poem, live independently, or have a job," Kennedy shared April 18. "We need to identify the exposures that are causing this epidemic and compensate the families of the injured." …”

 

[mpaer]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests compensating families of some people with autism​

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests compensating families of some people with autism

The Health and Human Services secretary defended his claims about children with autism that drew backlash last week, saying he was referring to a quarter of those diagnosed.

www.usatoday.com

“Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. − who has long spread debunked claims surrounding autisms and vaccines − suggested compensating families of some Americans with autism, calling them "injured."

"Bottom line, the more than 25% of people who have severe autism will never go on a date, write a poem, live independently, or have a job," Kennedy shared April 18. "We need to identify the exposures that are causing this epidemic and compensate the families of the injured." …”

Reparations Cool Good precedent for those oppressed

 

[Zoo_View]

This reads like something from a third world country where resources are scarce, but no it's just Texas.

Texas - a third-world country where resources are scarce.

Highland Park and other well-off parts of Texas? You’re fine. Bumfuck Tejas? You’re on your own.

A third-world country.

 

[altmin]

RFK Jr. Spews Even More Nonsense on Autism, Covid in Latest Interview

During a radio interview this past Sunday, RFK Jr. argued that autism was worse than the pandemic because "COVID killed old people."

gizmodo.com

On Sunday morning, RFK Jr. was a guest of the WABC 770 AM radio show The Cats Roundtable, hosted by John Catsimatidis. Kennedy once again falsely claimed that autism is an epidemic, adding that its harms dwarfed the “COVID epidemic and the impacts on our country because COVID killed old people.” It’s only the latest bit of autism-related nonsense spewed by RFK Jr. in recent weeks.

 

[altmin]

FDA suspends milk testing

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-suspends-milk-quality-tests-amid-workforce-cuts-2025-04-21/

 

[nycfan]

Kennedy Declares ‘Sugar Is Poison’ While Announcing Ban on Food Dyes​

The health secretary is ratcheting up his campaign against the food industry.

RFK Jr. Announces Ban on Food Dyes and Says ‘Sugar Is Poison’

The health secretary is ratcheting up his campaign against the food industry.

www.nytimes.com

“… Mr. Kennedy’s comment came during a highly publicized news conference where he also asserted that he has “an understanding” with major food manufacturers to remove petroleum-based food colorings from their products by 2026.

No one from the food industry attended the event, and none have publicly agreed to Mr. Kennedy’s demands, although the International Dairy Foods Association has pledged to eliminate artificial colors in milk cheese and yogurt sold to schools as part of the federal lunch and breakfast programs by the start of the 2026 school year.

However, Mr. Kennedy and his advisers said that every major food manufacturer and some fast-food companies have contacted the agency looking for guidance.

… He ratcheted up his campaign with the remark about sugar, lamenting that government agencies recommend “a huge amount of sugar” for children, “and it’s hurting them, and it’s addicting them, and it’s changing their taste buds.”

The Food and Drug Administration recommends that added sugar — sugar that is not found naturally in foods, including fruit — account for no more than 10 percent of the diet for both children and adults. …”

 

[nycfan]

 

[Healing]

Between tariffs and rfk jr, farmers gonna need more welfare.

 

[Mulberry Heel]

Between tariffs and rfk jr, farmers gonna need more welfare.

Just don't call it socialism or government handouts - it's only deserved taxpayer support to help our patriotic Trumper farmers weather the necessary trade wars instigated by Dear Leader to save us all and return us to the glory days of the Gilded Age. Welfare and handouts are terms to be used for other, less worthy non-Real Americans.

 

[nycfan]

 

[altmin]

nothing sinister has ever been done with a list of people with a certain medical condition before...

RFK Jr.'s autism study to amass medical records of many Americans

The autism study is planning to link confidential data "with broad coverage in the U.S. population" in one place for the first time.

www.cbsnews.com

The National Institutes of Health is amassing private medical records from a number of federal and commercial databases to give to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new effort to study autism, the NIH's top official said Monday.

The new data will allow external researchers picked for Kennedy's autism studies to study "comprehensive" patient data with "broad coverage" of the U.S. population for the first time, NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said.

"The idea of the platform is that the existing data resources are often fragmented and difficult to obtain. The NIH itself will often pay multiple times for the same data resource. Even data resources that are within the federal government are difficult to obtain," he said in a presentation to the agency's advisers.

Medication records from pharmacy chains, lab testing and genomics data from patients treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service, claims from private insurers and data from smartwatches and fitness trackers will all be linked together, he said.

 

[altmin]

Kennedy Declares ‘Sugar Is Poison’ While Announcing Ban on Food Dyes​

The health secretary is ratcheting up his campaign against the food industry.

RFK Jr. Announces Ban on Food Dyes and Says ‘Sugar Is Poison’

The health secretary is ratcheting up his campaign against the food industry.

www.nytimes.com

“… Mr. Kennedy’s comment came during a highly publicized news conference where he also asserted that he has “an understanding” with major food manufacturers to remove petroleum-based food colorings from their products by 2026.

No one from the food industry attended the event, and none have publicly agreed to Mr. Kennedy’s demands, although the International Dairy Foods Association has pledged to eliminate artificial colors in milk cheese and yogurt sold to schools as part of the federal lunch and breakfast programs by the start of the 2026 school year.

However, Mr. Kennedy and his advisers said that every major food manufacturer and some fast-food companies have contacted the agency looking for guidance.

… He ratcheted up his campaign with the remark about sugar, lamenting that government agencies recommend “a huge amount of sugar” for children, “and it’s hurting them, and it’s addicting them, and it’s changing their taste buds.”

The Food and Drug Administration recommends that added sugar — sugar that is not found naturally in foods, including fruit — account for no more than 10 percent of the diet for both children and adults. …”

Non natural food dyes have been banned in Canada for a while now.

Photo comparison of side-by-side cereal from the US and Canada sparks heated debate: 'I am not buying a box ...'

One Redditor elucidated the striking discrepancy between American and Canadian Froot Loops.

www.thecooldown.com

 

[nycfan]

 

[Delta74]

Kennedy Declares ‘Sugar Is Poison’ While Announcing Ban on Food Dyes​

The health secretary is ratcheting up his campaign against the food industry.

RFK Jr. Announces Ban on Food Dyes and Says ‘Sugar Is Poison’

The health secretary is ratcheting up his campaign against the food industry.

www.nytimes.com

“… Mr. Kennedy’s comment came during a highly publicized news conference where he also asserted that he has “an understanding” with major food manufacturers to remove petroleum-based food colorings from their products by 2026.

No one from the food industry attended the event, and none have publicly agreed to Mr. Kennedy’s demands, although the International Dairy Foods Association has pledged to eliminate artificial colors in milk cheese and yogurt sold to schools as part of the federal lunch and breakfast programs by the start of the 2026 school year.

However, Mr. Kennedy and his advisers said that every major food manufacturer and some fast-food companies have contacted the agency looking for guidance.

… He ratcheted up his campaign with the remark about sugar, lamenting that government agencies recommend “a huge amount of sugar” for children, “and it’s hurting them, and it’s addicting them, and it’s changing their taste buds.”

The Food and Drug Administration recommends that added sugar — sugar that is not found naturally in foods, including fruit — account for no more than 10 percent of the diet for both children and adults. …”

At least one thing that he’s gotten right (sugar is poison). Now the question is, how long until the Sugar lobbyist get to him or the President?