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DECEMBER 2025 NEWS NOVEMBER 2025 NEWS OCTOBER 2025 NEWS
JANUARY, 2026
Featured topic: childhood vaccine schedule
Steven Novella (Science-Based Medicine): “RFK decimates vaccine schedule.”
Jonathan Howard (Science-Based Medicine): “The We Want Them Infected movement isn’t just for COVID any more.”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “On being Denmark.”
Infectious Diseases Society of America: “IDSA and over 200 health organizations urge Congress to conduct oversight of changes to vaccine schedule” and “IDSA statement on childhood vaccine schedule.”
American College of Physicians: “ACP issues dire warning: Adopting vaccination schedules based on those used by other countries will put U.S. lives at risk.”
American Academy of Pediatrics: “AAP: CDC plan to remove universal childhood vaccine recommendations 'dangerous and unnecessary'.”
American Public Health Association: “Trump RFK Jr.'s new vaccine schedule puts families at risk.”
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy: “Quiet dismantling: How 'shared decision-making' weakens vaccine policy and harms kids.”
Washington Post: “U.S. overhauls childhood vaccine schedule, recommends fewer shots.”
New York Times: “Kennedy scales back the number of shots recommended for children.”
ABC News: “Parents who delay baby's first vaccines also likely to skip measles shots.”
New York Times: “What to know about the new childhood vaccine schedule.”
Washington Post: “CDC 'blindsided' as child vaccine schedule unilaterally overhauled.”
Daily Beast: “Republican who cast key vote for RFK Jr. rages at his vaccine changes” [Bill Cassidy].
Politico: “The big plan behind Kennedy’s overhaul of childhood vaccines.” “Here’s how the downgrading of shots could make it easier for people who claim vaccine injuries to sue for millions, driving manufacturers from the market.”
ABC News: “Doctors say changes to US vaccine recommendations are confusing parents and could harm kids.”
Washington Post: “Lawsuit contests RFK Jr.’s new vaccine guidance for children.”
CBS News: “Medical groups' lawsuit attempts to undo the CDC's childhood vaccine schedule changes.”
CBS News: “American Academy of Pediatrics releases childhood vaccine recommendations that differ from CDC.”
Featured topic: vaccines (other)
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “And so 2026 begins…with a resurrection of the myth that COVID vaccines cause 'turbo cancers',” “RFK Jr. is definitely coming for your vaccines (part 6): Liability, ethics, and policy-based evidence making,” and “RFK Jr. is definitely coming for your vaccines (part 7): What, me worry (about polio and HPV)?”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “RFK Jr.’s Tuskegee experiment,” “You’ve got a friend in me. Influenza virus can rest assured that RFK Jr. will continue to have its back” and “A frightening interview” [Kirk Milhoan, ACIP Chair].
NPR: “A vaccine trial is called 'unethical' and a 'unique' opportunity. Is it on or off?”
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy: “RFK Jr. appoints 2 vocal opponents of vaccine use in pregnancy to federal advisory board” and “Moderna chief: Company won’t invest in new late-stage vaccine trials.”
Washington Post: “New RFK Jr. pick for vaccine panel: ‘I was not anti-vaccine. I am now’.”
Washington Post: “How RFK Jr. plans to bankrupt vaccine manufacturers.”
Axios: “Charted: the big measles surge.”
Science: “The Trump administration says some approved childhood vaccines need better studies. Scientists disagree.”
New York Times: “Rejecting decades of science, vaccine panel chair says polio and other shots should be optional.”
The Hill: “Chair of CDC’s vaccine panel questions need for polio vaccines, citing personal autonomy.”
USA Today: “How 'crunchy mom' vaccine skeptics found mainstream support in RFK Jr.”
KFF: “State recommendations for routine childhood vaccines: Increasing departure from federal guidelines.”
Derek Lowe (Science): “The disastrous US vaccine landscape.”
American Medical Association: “AMA statement on ACIP chair's comments on polio, routine vaccinations.”
CNN: “South Carolina measles outbreak is largest in US since measles was declared eliminated.”
Ars Technica: “Dozens of CDC vaccination databases have been frozen under RFK Jr.”
NJ.com: “Thousands more N.J. kids are skipping vaccines.”
Featured topic: other political developments
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “Revisiting the question of debating science deniers.”
Jonathan Howard (Science-Based Medicine): “MAHA gave us MAGA 2.0. Remember the enablers.”
Steven Novella (Science-Based Medicine: “RFK turns food pyramid on its head.” “In short – the recommendations are a mess. They are not evidence-based, not well-thought out from a public health perspective, and not even internally consistent. They are unlikely to make Americans more healthy, and in fact are likely to do the opposite.”
Edzard Ernst: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: all his dangerous pseudo-medical ideas in a nutshell” and “The destruction of public health in the United States.”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “RFK Jr.’s strategy for restoring trust.”
The Guardian: “Canadian officials say US health institutions no longer dependable for accurate information.”
Gizmodo: “Florida’s surgeon general [Joseph Ladapo] is now peddling fake water.”
New York Times: “Several of Kennedy’s dietary advisers have ties to meat and dairy interests.”
Washington Post: “California is adding a supplement [folic acid] to tortillas. RFK Jr. calls it ‘insanity’.”
The Hill: “Federal judge orders HHS to restore $12m in funding to American Academy of Pediatrics.”
New York Times: “Kennedy weakens U.S. Preventive Services Task Force”
New York Times: “No link between acetaminophen in pregnancy and autism, a study finds.” The paper is by D’Antonio and others.
Ars Technica:”FDA deletes warning on bogus autism therapies touted by RFK Jr.’s allies” and “US officially out of WHO, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars unpaid.”
Gavin Yamey and Jonathan Shaffer (BMJ): “Trump and RFK Jr are dismantling public health—aided and abetted by powerful doctors.”
Other topics
On Science-Based Medicine,
Mark Crislip:
“Pet acupuncture and Life.” Claims made in the Life section of The Oregonian were discussed.
Scott Gavura:
“Detox 2026: What big wellness wants you to believe.” “Science and our understanding has progressed, but the fundamentals have not. The organs responsible for detoxification, our skin, liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract, continue to do their jobs efficiently in the vast majority of people, without you needing products or services to help them.”
Steven Novella:
“WHO on traditional medicine.” “I understand that the WHO is trying to leverage existing traditional medicine infrastructure to get effective treatments to people who lack access to modern biomedicine. I also get that they are trying to be respectful to local cultures and traditions. They do need to take a global perspective. And I applaud their stated dedication to a scientific approach. In the past they have even taken hard stances against things like homeopathy…Unfortunately at times they fall victim to pro-CAM propaganda and the clever marketing of shoddy research.” (see also two items by Edzard Ernst below)
Edzard Ernst:
“Distrust in chiropractors and their trade is more than justified.” “All of this ties in well with many of my previous posts on chiropractic. I might therefore just add this: What can you expect from a profession that was founded by one of the most infamous snake oil salesmen in US history?”
“The credibility of trials of spinal manipulative therapy is questionable.” “But what does it mean for patients? In my view, it is a reminder for all of us to be skeptical about the claims made by chiropractors, osteopaths and other providers of SMT – even if they claim to be based on evidence.”
“Cupping therapy for cervical spondylosis? No!” “I do agree with the authors’ call for caution – but with little else of what they state. Here are some of my concerns: A trial comparing two supposedly active treatments is an ‘equivalence study’; and such investigations require much larger sample sizes that 80. Equivalence studies only make sense, if one of the two treatments has been shown beyond doubt to be effective; this is not the case for electroacupuncture nor for FC [fire cupping therapy]. As it stands, the study does not control for placebo effects; thus the findings are in accordance with both treatments being pure placebos. A study with 80 patients tells us as good as nothing about the safety of the interventions; to draw conclusions about safety is thus unwarranted. My conclusion (yet again) is this: If you design a nonsense study, you are asking for a nonsense result.”
“The WHO has gone Goopy for traditional medicine.” “The WHO says it is sifting the wheat from the chaff in order to save lives – but critics fear it is pandering to India and China.”
“How the WHO is misleading the public about so-called alternative medicine (SCAM).” WHO “aims to apply rigorous scientific analysis to all them [traditional treatments] in order to properly assess their claimed benefits and potential harms. By 2034, it says, it will publish a definitive list of which traditional treatments work – and which don’t…Considering these problems, I fear, that the ‘WHO Summit on Traditional Medicine’ might be full of good will…but this and similarly ignorant, naive and promotional initiatives certainly are leading us up an expensive, wasteful and dangerous garden path.”
“Yoga for opioid withdrawal: A new randomized [BUT PHONY!!!] clinical trial.” “As the type of yoga employed in this study is bound to generate a sizable placebo effect, it would easily be enough to cause the observed outcomes. Let me put it even more bluntly: this study design is unable to tell us whether the yoga therapy or a placebo response was responsible for the observed result.”
“Retractions in journals of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM).”
“Spinal manipulative therapy for adults with chronic low back pain, an update of a Cochrane Review.” “Once again, it has been confirmed that most trials of SMT are, because of their failure to report adverse effects, in violation of ethical standards. But the importance of this excellent review lies elsewhere. Despite 76 published RCTs, there is huge uncertainty about the benefits of SAM. What should we make of this fact? In my view, it highlights that: the studies are often of poor quality; the effect of SMT are so small that they are negligible; patients with back pain should look for treatments that are safe and effective; the choice can therefore not be SMT.”
“Pulsed electromagnetic-field-therapy for non-specific low back pain?” “In summary, I fear that the authors of this review are too optimistic and lack critical thinking in evaluating the existing evidence. My conclusion therefore differs from theirs: Many RCTs [randomized controlled trials] suggest that PEMF is effective for non-specific low back pain. Yet, due to serious limitations of the primary studies, no firm conclusion can be drawn.”
“So-called alternative medicine (SCAM) for autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.” “In view of these – and many other – flaws of the review, I fear that I might have to re-write the conclusions: Many SCAMs have been studied as treatments for ASD. The results of these investigations fail to show that any of them is effective in alleviating the symptoms of ASD. Unless sound evidence emerges, SCAM cannot be recommended for ASD.”
“Comparative efficacy of acupressure and magnetic therapy vs. diclofenac sodium for pain management in upper urinary tract calculi.” “So, all I need to do to fake the effectiveness of a so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) like AMT is to start treating patients when a wave is subsiding. This can easily appear as though AMT had a remarkable effect of 86%. Subsequently, the pain will recur. And this is probably what happened in this study! What I am trying to convey is that I am not convinced that AMT did much at all…My conclusion is therefore yet again: if you design a silly study, you get a silly result.”
“Fatal lead poisoning from an herbal hemorrhoid cream.”
“Acupuncture as treatment of cancer-therapy induced fatigue? No!” “The only study to produce some apparently sound evidence turns out to be a pilot study. Such studies are supposed to test feasibility, not effectiveness! In view of all this, it is fair, I think, to draw a definitive conclusion, after all: At present there is no compelling evidence that acupuncture works for cancer-related fatigue.”
“Mindfulness components and their clinical efficacy: A critical review of an ongoing debate.” “I have often commented on what I see as the current hype around mindfulness. To me, the evidence suggests that it is not nearly as effective as its proponents are trying to make it out to be.”
“Death due to acupuncture-induced multiple organ injuries.” “It highlights that even minor puncture injuries can result in serious damage…I would add that the paper clearly demonstrates that not only acupuncture but also the acupuncturist can cause severe harm, particularly when he/she is poorly or not at all trained.”
On McGill Office for Science and Society:
Jonathan Jarry:
“The crank magnetism of chiropractors.” “Take-home message: Chiropractic is not a medical specialty but an alternative practice concocted by a magnetic healer in 1895 who thought he cured a man of his deafness by cracking his spine. Many chiropractors advertise services, supplements, and gadgets that have nothing to do with treating back problems. Factors that explain this include needing to pay back large student debts; being courted by businesses promising to teach them how to get rich from chiropractic; and believing in magical notions”
“Gua sha is exotic wellness that leaves a mark.” “Take-home message: Gua sha is a popular practice in Asia where an edged tool is used to massage the body until bruises appear, and the technique is claimed to help treat any health problem. Studies of gua sha’s alleged health benefits are small and do not manage to exclude placebo effects, since there is no placebo version of gua sha. One of the main risks is infection if the tool is reused on multiple patients without being properly sanitized, as gua sha can create small cuts and pick up disease-carrying microorganisms. A softer version of gua sha is popular on social media, where influencers smooth out their face without creating bruises, but the effect of this massage on puffiness is unlikely to be significant.”
Sophie Pellar:
“Taking off the rose coloured glasses: The pink Himalayan salt grift.” “Claims that it “detoxifies” the body, meaningfully alters blood pH, or provides substantial health benefits don’t survive even casual scientific scrutiny.”
Joe Schwarcz:
“Fishing for the benefits of fish oil supplements.” “What is the bottom line here? Forget the Zinzino ratio test and the expensive supplements. If fish intake is low, consider an inexpensive omega-3 supplement, 1-1.5 grams combined EPA and DHA a day.”
“Probiotics and sex” (video with transcript).” Bottom line? Certain oral probiotics that end up emerging from women’s bottoms may have a beneficial effect on sexual function.” However, the study cited showed statistically significant benefit but only marginal clinical benefit.
January 4 – As described in Consumer Health Digest, “Science writer Brian Dunning has described QAnon’s promotion of the farfetched notion that the elites, but not regular people, have access to a specially designed device called a medbed that can heal all maladies” (Skeptoid).
January 5 – Nick Tiller (Skeptical Inquirer) wrote “Four festive biohacks to avoid in 2026.” Topics covered were Abs of Steel Cream, herbal detox inhalers, mouth taping, and intravenous hydration therapy.” All these quick hacks share a common thread: they pose as simple solutions to complex problems.”
January 12 – Benji Edwards (Ars Technica) wrote “Google removes AI health summaries after investigation finds ‘dangerous’ flaws.” “The removals came after the newspaper found that Google’s generative AI feature delivered inaccurate health information at the top of search results, potentially leading seriously ill patients to mistakenly conclude they are in good health.”
January 12 – Perry and Chin wrote “The Unregulated rise of kratom drinks: emerging challenges and policy recommendations” (Public Health Rep. 2026 Jan 12:333549251403378. Epub ahead of print). “…It is critical to monitor emerging industries whose products carry a risk of addiction for similar warning signs [as with OxyContin and Juul]. We identify kratom drinks as one such product, arguing that lax regulation, aggressive marketing, and consumer confusion make them a looming public health threat.” (see also January 26 item below)
January 13 – Lindsey Bever (Washington Post) wrote “The science behind an herbal remedy that has worked for thousands of years.” “Ginger — whether taken in capsules or fresh, homemade tea — can ease mild to moderate nausea, but research doesn’t show that it consistently reduces vomiting. It also hasn’t been shown to help with nausea related to stomach viruses, hangovers or chronic acid reflux.”
January 19 – Aimee Bernard and others (Unbiased Science) published “No, measles doesn’t cure cancer.” “Scientists are engineering viruses to hunt down cancer cells, and it’s working. Clinical trials are underway. One therapy is already FDA-approved. This is happening because researchers spent decades figuring out how to make viruses safe and precise—not because wild infections have secret healing powers. Wild measles isn’t a cancer treatment. It’s a disease that causes brain swelling, immune amnesia, and death. There’s no version of ‘just get measles’ that protects your kid. There’s only risk.”
January 26 – White and others published “Nonswallowed kratom-derived products: Unlawful dietary supplements that endanger public health” (Public Health Rep. 2026 Jan 26:333549251410520. Epub ahead of print). “We identified 49 kratom-derived products being sold in the form of sublingual strips (24%), buccal pouches (8%), and vaping products (67%). Most contained 7-hydroxymitragynine (an alkaloid that the US Food and Drug Administration seeks to make a controlled substance), but we also identified mitragynine extract and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl products. The majority had flavoring or a scent, and some had mascots, pictures of fruit or mint, or formulation colors or packaging that could appeal to children. Most products were not sold in child-resistant packaging. Several kratom vaping products additionally contained intoxicating hemp cannabinoids.”
Addition to previous month
December 24 – Hoffman and others published “Is the current regulatory framework for direct-to-consumer microbiome-based tests sufficient to protect consumers from medical, economic, and dignitary harms? (Journal of Law and the Biosciences, Volume 12, Issue 2, July-December 2025, lsaf024). “Yet, there are no standards for confirming the analytical or clinical validity of these tests, and company marketing claims border on disease claims. Yet, DTC microbiome testing companies are largely being ignored by the federal agencies that have the authority to regulate them, either because they lack the resources or they view them as exempt from medical device regulation under existing law or as a low priority.”