A CDC advisory panel vote to recommend against use of seasonal influenza vaccines containing small amounts of thimerosal followed a presentation that misled on the risks of the rarely used preservative. There isn’t evidence that thimerosal in vaccines is harmful, and studies assessing a variety of health problems, including neurological conditions, have supported its safety.
As the Republican budget bill, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, nears the July 4 deadline set by the White House, lawmakers have been ramping up the rhetoric. We referee the claims from both sides.
The chair of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly constituted vaccine advisory committee announced in his first meeting that the panel will revisit the longstanding practice of vaccinating all babies against hepatitis B, questioning whether it was “wise” to administer shots “to every newborn before leaving the hospital.” Experts, however, say there are valid reasons to vaccinate babies against hepatitis B, and that it has proven to be safe and very effective.
A document the Department of Health and Human Services distributed to members of Congress to justify recent changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations misrepresented scientific research to make unfounded claims about vaccine safety for pregnant people and children.
The Department of Health and Human Services has defended cuts to vaccine research with statements that mislead on the safety of mRNA technology, despite an extensive history of testing.
Under the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services has canceled or frozen billions of dollars in scientific research grants and attempted to cull around 20,000 agency employees, including some scientists. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., however, has misleadingly claimed that there have been no cuts to “life-saving” research or “working scientists.”
In signing an executive order aimed at reducing U.S. drug prices, President Donald Trump said some prices would be cut in half or more “almost immediately.” But the order is light on details of how the plan would be implemented.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has misleadingly claimed that vaccines are not tested in placebo-controlled trials. Now, an HHS spokesperson has used similar language in a statement that falsely said there’s little available evidence on whether vaccines are safe.
To commemorate his first 100 days in office this term, President Donald Trump gave a speech in Michigan and granted interviews to several news outlets. In our review of his remarks, we found false and misleading claims, including quite a few Trump has made before.
In announcing new autism prevalence data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. distorted scientific research to argue that there is an “epidemic” of autism that must be due to an “environmental toxin.”