Health

A Skeptical G.O.P. Senator Makes His Peace With Kennedy

Published

2 months ago

March 6, 2025

A Skeptical G.O.P. Senator Makes His Peace With Kennedy

Perhaps no vote was as agonizing for Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican and medical doctor, than his vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Trump’s health secretary. Mr. Cassidy wondered aloud for days how Mr. Kennedy, the nation’s most vocal and powerful critic of vaccinations, might handle an infectious disease crisis.

Now, as a measles outbreak rages in West Texas, Mr. Cassidy has found out. It all comes down, he said, to “the gestalt.”

On Monday, days after the Texas outbreak killed an unvaccinated child, Mr. Cassidy, the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, was clipping down a Capitol corridor when he was asked about Mr. Kennedy. He pointed to a Fox News Digital opinion piece in which Mr. Kennedy advised parents to consult their doctors about vaccination, while calling it a “personal” decision.

“That Fox editorial was very much encouraging people to get vaccinated,” he said.

Reminded that Mr. Kennedy had described it as a personal choice, Mr. Cassidy thought for a moment. “If you want to like, parse it down to the line, you can say, ‘Discuss with your doctor,’” Mr. Cassidy said. “He also said, ‘We’re making vaccinations available. We’re doing this for vaccination. We’re doing that for vaccination.’ So if you take the gestalt of it, the gestalt was, ‘Let’s get vaccinated!’”

Mr. Cassidy’s assessment — that the whole of Mr. Kennedy’s message was more than the sum of its parts — reflects how the measles outbreak has put a spotlight on how Mr. Trump’s unorthodox choice to run the country’s top health agency has brought a once-fringe perspective into the political mainstream, creating discomfort for some Republicans.

As the founder and chairman of his nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, and later as a presidential candidate, Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly downplayed the benefits of vaccination. He has also repeatedly suggested that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism, despite extensive research that has found no link.

Since winning Trump’s nod to head the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services, Mr. Kennedy has walked a careful line on the issue. Some of his recent statements, in which he stops short of denouncing vaccines, have angered some of his supporters. But his less than full-throated endorsement of vaccination, and his promotion of alternative remedies to treat measles, have angered mainstream scientists who say the one proven way to prevent measles is the vaccine.

“This, I would say, is the barest of the bare minimum that one can do in the middle of a measles outbreak,” said Dr. Adam Ratner, a New York City pediatrician who just published a book, “Booster Shots,” that warns of a measles resurgence.

But Del Bigtree, Mr. Kennedy’s former communications director and one of his closest allies, said Mr. Kennedy was doing exactly what he said he would do: putting all options on the table and letting parents decide for themselves.

He used the word “balance” to describe Mr. Kennedy’s approach, and said the media was being “incredibly disingenuous and in some ways alarmist and dangerous by creating a panic over a death from measles.”

Asked about Mr. Cassidy’s “gestalt” remark, Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the department, referred back to the Fox opinion piece. He said the health secretary’s comment could speak for itself: “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.”

Mr. Cassidy, a liver specialist, made his career in medicine treating uninsured patients as a doctor in Louisiana’s charity hospital system. He is a fierce proponent of vaccines.

But he is also facing a Republican primary challenger in 2026, and voting against Mr. Kennedy risked prompting Mr. Trump to endorse his opponent — and sparking a potential backlash among an increasingly vaccine-skeptical G.O.P. electorate.

Mr. Kennedy’s “medical freedom” movement, which he calls “Make America Healthy Again,” is now deeply entrenched in the Republican Party. The coronavirus pandemic turned many conservatives against vaccine mandates, even for children attending school. Around the country, nearly 1,000 candidates, nearly all Republican, ran for elective office in November with the backing of Stand for Health Freedom, a Florida nonprofit that has pushed to make it easier for parents to opt out of school vaccine requirements.

For Mr. Cassidy and other Republicans who were uneasy about Mr. Kennedy, the situation in West Texas is forcing a reckoning, said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist who is also a member of Rotary International, an organization that has set a goal of ending polio by promoting vaccination around the world.

“His position on vaccines was exceedingly well known when he was nominated, and when he was confirmed by the United States Senate,” Mr. Ayers said. “Everybody, with their eyes open, knew that his positions could lead to a resurgence of measles.”

As vaccination rates have dropped around the country, public health experts have warned that measles would be the first infectious disease to come back. But the Texas measles outbreak cannot be blamed on Mr. Kennedy. The disease began spreading within the Mennonite community, an insular Christian group that settled in West Texas in the 1970s; many Mennonites are unvaccinated and vulnerable to the virus.

Mr. Kennedy minimized the situation in Texas during a Cabinet meeting with Mr. Trump last week, saying measles outbreaks in the United States are “not unusual.” His Fox opinion piece promoted the use of vitamin A, which studies have shown is useful in treating measles in malnourished children.

He followed up with a prerecorded Fox News interview that aired on Tuesday, in which he said parents and doctors should consider alternative approaches, including cod liver oil, for the treatment of measles. He also acknowledged that vaccines “do prevent infection.” But once again, Mr. Kennedy did not urge Americans to get vaccinated.

The Texas Department of Health issued a health alert on Jan. 23 reporting two cases of measles. Since then, nearly 160 people have contracted the illness and 22 have been hospitalized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that it had sent some of its “disease detectives” to Texas to support local officials in the response.

By Wednesday, while Mr. Cassidy appeared satisfied with Mr. Kennedy’s handling of the matter, the senator was pushing another key health nominee on questions of measles, vaccines and autism.

He wanted to know whether Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, appearing before the Senate health committee for his confirmation hearing as Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health, intended to spend tax dollars on research into the discredited theory that vaccines cause autism. Mr. Cassidy had repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, tried to get Mr. Kennedy to reject that theory in his own confirmation hearing.

Dr. Bhattacharya told the senator he was “convinced” that there is no link between the measles vaccine and autism. But like Mr. Kennedy, he said he supported additional research, if only to assuage the fears of nervous parents.

Mr. Cassidy was incensed, saying the matter had already been settled by years of extensive research. New studies, he said, would waste taxpayer dollars and take away money from studies that might uncover the true causes of autism. He pounded his fist on the table.

“If we’re pissing away money over here,” he said with a wave of his hand, “that’s less money that we have to actually go after the true reason.”

And in any event, Mr. Cassidy said, further research would not change minds. “There’s people who disagree that the world is round,” he said, adding, “People still think Elvis is alive.”

To secure Mr. Cassidy’s vote last month, Mr. Kennedy made a series of concessions, which Mr. Cassidy outlined in a Senate floor speech. They included a pledge not to disband the committee of experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines, and to leave intact statements on the C.D.C.’s website saying that vaccines do not cause autism.

Mr. Kennedy also promised to have an “unprecedentedly close collaborative working relationship” with Mr. Cassidy, and to meet or speak with him “multiple times a month,” and to give Congress advance notice of any vaccine policy changes.

“I will carefully watch for any effort to wrongfully sow public fear about vaccines between confusing references of coincidence and anecdote,” Mr. Cassidy said then.

On his way into the Senate chamber on Monday, he said he thought Mr. Kennedy was doing a good job with the Texas response. “He’s handling it well,” the senator said. He was asked if he had spoken to Mr. Kennedy about the measles outbreak.

“We speak on a regular basis,” Mr. Cassidy said, adding: “Let’s leave it at that.”

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Health

FDA says ‘dangerous’ substance known as ‘gas station heroin’ poses major risk to young people

Published

54 minutes ago

May 13, 2025

Press Room

FDA says ‘dangerous’ substance known as ‘gas station heroin’ poses major risk to young people

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is sounding the alarm on a dangerous drug referred to as “gas station heroin,” that can lead to serious harm, including death.

FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary sent a letter to his colleagues last week to draw their attention to what he called a “dangerous and growing health trend” facing the nation and young people. Makary said there is an increasing number of adverse events involving products that contain tianeptine.

Tianeptine, often called “gas station heroin,” is sold in gas stations through a variety of products, despite the drug not being approved by the FDA.

“I am very concerned,” Makary wrote. “I want the public to be especially aware of this dangerous product and the serious and continuing risk it poses to America’s youth.”

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The “supplement” commonly goes by the brand names ZaZa or Tianna Red. (Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office)

The products are typically sold at convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops and online retailers, and go by names like Tianaa, ZaZa, Neptune’s Fix, Pegasus and TD Red.

Makary said the FDA is following the distribution and sale of products that contain tianeptine but called on his colleagues to disseminate information about the drug while appreciating the magnitude of its underlying danger.

Tianeptine is licensed and marketed in some countries as an atypical antidepressant, and in countries where it is approved, the typical labeled dose to treat depression is 12.5 mg orally, three times per day, Makary said.

When higher doses are taken, they can produce euphoria. Some countries have taken steps to restrict how tianeptine is prescribed or dispensed and have even revised the labels to warn people of its potential addiction.

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The FDA is warning about the dangers of tianeptine. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)

In the U.S., though, tianeptine is not listed as part of the Controlled Substances Act.

The drug is often taken recreationally, though if stopped abruptly, users could experience withdrawal symptoms similar to those associated with opioid withdrawal – craving, sweating, diarrhea and more.

If tianeptine is ingested, Makary wrote, adverse events could include agitation, coma, confusion, death, drowsiness, hypertension, nausea, respiratory depression, sweating, tachycardia and vomiting.

Two years ago, New Jersey health officials warned that two products sold as dietary supplements in gas stations and online – Neptune’s Elixir and ZaZa Red – had caused a spike in illnesses.

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New Jersey health officials raised concerns in 2023 about Neptune’s Fix Elixir, a product containing tianeptine, after a cluster of illnesses was reported in connection with the product. (FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs, Health Fraud Branch)

Between June and November 2023, there were 20 reported cases of tianeptine causing “severe clinical effects” in New Jersey, as noted in a Feb. 1 alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 2023, the FDA posted an alert warning of the dangers of Neptune’s Fix or any other product containing tianeptine.

“FDA has received severe adverse event reports after use of Neptune’s Fix products, including seizures and loss of consciousness leading to hospitalization,” the agency stated.

“FDA considers tianeptine to be a substance that does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary ingredient and is an unsafe food additive. The FDA is aware of several serious adverse event reports associated with tianeptine.”

On Jan. 28, 2024, Neptune Resources, LLC, the maker of Neptune’s Fix, issued a voluntary recall of its products due to the presence of tianeptine — but experts are warning that other products may also contain the drug.

Anyone who is using tianeptine or a product containing tianeptine and is experiencing withdrawal symptoms can call the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 or seek emergency medical assistance, experts advised.

Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

Health

Trump Plan Would Tie Some Drug Prices to What Peer Nations Pay

Published

17 hours ago

May 12, 2025

Press Room

Trump Plan Would Tie Some Drug Prices to What Peer Nations Pay

President Trump will sign an executive order on Monday aimed at lowering some drug prices in the United States by aligning them with what other wealthy countries pay, he said on Truth Social on Sunday evening.

The proposal he described, which alone cannot shift federal policy, is what he calls a “most favored nation” pricing model. Mr. Trump did not provide details about which type of insurance the plan would apply to or how many drugs it would target, but he indicated that the United States should pay the lowest price among its peer countries.

“Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,” he wrote in his social media post.

Any such plan will most likely be subject to challenges in court, and it is not clear whether it will pass legal muster, especially without action by Congress.

In his first term, Mr. Trump tried unsuccessfully to enact a version of this idea for Medicare, the health insurance program that covers 68 million Americans who are over 65 or have disabilities. That plan would have applied only to 50 drugs, administered at clinics and hospitals, that are paid for by Medicare. A federal court blocked it, ruling that the administration had skipped steps in the policymaking process.

The pharmaceutical industry bitterly opposes the idea, which would almost certainly cut into its profits, and has been lobbying against it as discussions of the policy have regained steam in Washington in recent weeks. Companies have warned that such a policy would lead them to spend less on research, depriving patients of new medicines.

“Government price setting in any form is bad for American patients,” Alex Schriver, an official at the drug industry’s main lobbying group, PhRMA, said in a statement. He added, “Policymakers should focus on fixing the flaws in the U.S. system, not importing failed policies from abroad.”

Mr. Trump’s embrace of the idea sets him apart from most Republicans, who have tended to be skeptical of government price setting. Democratic lawmakers have proposed versions of the idea.

Ameet Sarpatwari, an expert in pharmaceutical policy at Harvard Medical School, said that Mr. Trump was tapping into an idea that had “populist appeal.”

Mr. Trump has long complained that the United States pays much more than other wealthy countries do for the same drugs. And he is right. In the United States, prices for brand-name drugs are three times as high, on average, as those in peer nations.

That is in spite of the fact that much of the research that leads to new drugs takes place in American laboratories and hospitals.

Drugmakers generate a substantial majority of their worldwide profits from sales in the United States and typically design their business strategy around the U.S. market.

Pharmaceutical companies argue that the higher prices in the United States come with an added benefit: Industry-funded analyses have found that patients in the United States get medicines faster, and with fewer insurance restrictions, than those in other countries.

Health

AI tool scans faces to predict biological age and cancer survival

Published

18 hours ago

May 12, 2025

Press Room

AI tool scans faces to predict biological age and cancer survival

A simple selfie could hold hidden clues to one’s biological age — and even how long they’ll live.

That’s according to researchers from Mass General Brigham, who developed a deep-learning algorithm called FaceAge.

Using a photo of someone’s face, the artificial intelligence tool generates predictions of the subject’s biological age, which is the rate at which they are aging as opposed to their chronological age.

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FaceAge also predicts survival outcomes for people with cancer, according to a press release from MGB.

A simple selfie could hold hidden clues to one’s biological age — and even how long they’ll live. (iStock)

The AI tool was trained on 58,851 photos of “presumed healthy individuals from public datasets,” the release stated.

To test the tool’s accuracy, the researchers used it to analyze photos of 6,196 cancer patients taken before radiotherapy treatment.

Among the people with cancer, the tool generated a higher biological age that was about five years higher than their chronological age.

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The researchers also tested the tool’s ability to predict the life expectancy of 100 people receiving palliative care based on their photos, then compared it to 10 clinicians’ predictions. FaceAge was found to be more accurate than the clinicians’ predictions.

The researchers’ findings were published in The Lancet Digital Health.

Mass General Brigham developed a deep-learning algorithm called FaceAge, which generates predictions of the subject’s biological age from a photo. (Mass General Brigham)

“We can use artificial intelligence to estimate a person’s biological age from face pictures, and our study shows that information can be clinically meaningful,” said co-senior and corresponding author Hugo Aerts, PhD, director of the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) program at Mass General Brigham, in the release.

“This work demonstrates that a photo like a simple selfie contains important information that could help to inform clinical decision-making and care plans for patients and clinicians,” he went on.

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“How old someone looks compared to their chronological age really matters — individuals with FaceAges that are younger than their chronological ages do significantly better after cancer therapy.”

The goal is for the tool to help eliminate any bias that may influence a doctor’s care decisions based on the perception of a patient’s appearance and age.

“While FaceAge may outperform clinicians in some survival predictions, it should augment human judgment, not override it.”

The researchers noted that more research is needed before the tool could be rolled out for clinical use.

Future studies will include different hospitals and cancer patients at various stages of the disease, according to the release. Researchers will also evaluate FaceAge’s ability to predict diseases, general health status and lifespan.

To test the tool’s accuracy, the researchers used it to analyze photos of 6,196 cancer patients taken before radiotherapy treatment. (iStock)

“This opens the door to a whole new realm of biomarker discovery from photographs, and its potential goes far beyond cancer care or predicting age,” said co-senior author Ray Mak, MD, a faculty member in the AIM program at Mass General Brigham, in the release.

“As we increasingly think of different chronic diseases as diseases of aging, it becomes even more important to be able to accurately predict an individual’s aging trajectory. I hope we can ultimately use this technology as an early detection system in a variety of applications, within a strong regulatory and ethical framework, to help save lives.”

ER physician on AI

Dr. Harvey Castro, a board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on artificial intelligence based in Dallas, Texas, was not involved in FaceAge’s development but shared his comments on the tool.

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“As an emergency physician and AI futurist, I see both the promise and peril of AI tools like FaceAge,” he told Fox News Digital.

“What excites me is that FaceAge structures the clinical instinct we call the ‘eyeball test’ — a gut sense of how sick someone looks. Now, machine learning can quantify that assessment with surprising accuracy.”

Among the people with cancer, the tool generated a higher biological age that was about five years higher than their chronological age. (iStock)

Castro predicts that FaceAge could help doctors better personalize treatment plans or prioritize palliative care in oncology — “where resilience matters more than a birthdate.”

The doctor emphasized, however, that caution is key.

“AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on,” Castro noted. “If the training data lacks diversity, we risk producing biased results.”

“While FaceAge may outperform clinicians in some survival predictions, it should augment human judgment, not override it.”

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Castro also cautioned about potential ethical concerns.

“Who owns the facial data? How is it stored? Do patients understand what’s being analyzed? These questions matter as much as the technology itself,” he said.