NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS

 


Featured topic: presidential appointments

 

On Science-Based Medicine

David Gorski posted:

 

Jonathan Howard posted:

 

Allison Neitzel posted:

 

Steven Novella posted:

 

On Respectful Insolence, “Orac” posted:

 

Edzard Ernst posted:

 

On McGill Office for Science and Society:

Jonathan Jarry posted:

 

Joe Schwarcz posted:

 

November 11 - NewsGuard “has identified 96 different provably false narratives, dating to 2016, that have been advanced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the anti-vaccine nonprofit he founded, Children’s Health Defense.”

 

November 12 - Christina Jewett wrote “Kennedy’s F.D.A. wish list: raw milk, stem cells, heavy metals.” The article also discussed hydroxychloroquine and chelation therapy.

 

November 14 – Andrea Love posted “RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary will be catastrophic for science & public health.

If this man who has spent forty years eroding trust in science and public health is installed in this role, there may truly be no turning back.” In another article, she wrote “RFK JR. can’t champion healthy food while spreading agriculture myths he fabricated.”

 

November 14 – Arthur Allen wrote “Scientists fear what’s next for public health if RFK Jr. is allowed to ‘go wild’.” “Should Kennedy win Senate confirmation, his critics say a radical antiestablishment medical movement with roots in past centuries would take power, threatening the achievements of a science-based public health order painstakingly built since World War II.”

 

November 15 – Jocelyn Kaiser and Meredith Wadman published “Prospect of RFK Jr. as head of HHS panics many in medical science community.” “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed radical change including scrutinizing long-standing vaccines and slashing staff at research and regulatory agencies.”

 

November 15 – Josh Bloom wrote “12 questions for RFK Jr.” “The announcement that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was chosen to possibly be the next head of HHS raises many questions about his suitability for the job, especially given some of his controversial beliefs.”

 

November 18 – A Statement from American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin was entitled “America deserves better than RFK Jr.” “To effectively lead our nation’s top health agency, a candidate should have the proper training, management skills, temperament and the trust of the public. Unfortunately, Mr. Kennedy fails on all fronts…Kennedy’s past statements and views on vaccines alone should disqualify him from consideration.”

 

November 20 – Fenit Neurappil wrote “RFK Jr. wants fluoride out of drinking water. Oregon shows what’s coming.”

 

November 20 - Dani Blum, Emily Schmall and Nina Agrawal wrote “Dr. Oz, tapped to run Medicare, has a record of promoting health misinformation.” “The heart surgeon turned TV star has championed healthy lifestyle habits. But he’s also promoted sham diet pills and ineffective Covid-19 treatments.”

 

November 24 – Lena Sun and others wrote “Trump health picks largely untested in fighting disease outbreaks.” “They have questioned vaccines and other interventions overseen by the health agencies they have been tapped to lead.”

 

November 27 – Miles Klee wrote “Dr. Oz spends Thanksgiving shilling supplements from company he invests in.” “Nominated by Trump to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, the celebrity doctor continues to peddle dubious health products.”

 

November 30 - Selam Gebrekidan and others wrote “How Kennedy has worked abroad to weaken global public health policy.” “The health secretary pick and his organization have worked around the world to undermine longstanding policies on measles, AIDS and more.”

 

 

Featured topic: COVID-19

 

Edzard Ernst:

 

November 9 – As noted in Consumer Health Digest, "Shot in the Arm" “is an 87-minute documentary from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy and Executive Producer Neil deGrasse Tyson. The documentary explores vaccine hesitancy historically and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic…It is now available to stream at no charge on pbs.org and via the free PBS app,” as well as several other platforms.

 

November 20 – Lawrence Hurley reported that “The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to protect doctors being investigated in Washington state for allegedly spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 virus.”

 

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Other topics

 

On Science-Based Medicine,

Mark Crislip:

 

Scott Gavura:

 

Steven Novella:

 

Edzard Ernst:

 

On McGill Office for Science and Society:

Jonathan Jarry:

 

Daniela Padres:

 

November – In Skeptical Inquirer, Edzard Ernst discussed “The harm of so-called alternative medicine.” Harms can be caused by: the therapy, diagnostic techniques, the practitioner, the SCAM [so-called alternative medicine] industry, poor research, and ideology. “The value of any treatment is not determined by either the harm or the benefit it generates; it depends crucially on the balance between the harms and the benefits it can produce. As the benefits of SCAM are often only marginal or entirely absent, even relatively minor risks count heavily. It follows that the risk-benefit balance of much of SCAM fails to be positive.”

 

November 1 – An increase in reactive oxygen species may be helpful for adaptation of muscles during athletic training, but have negative effects for performance. Larsen (Free Radic Biol Med. 2024 Nov 1;224:301-309 Paper) reviewed effects of acute antioxidant supplements on performance and recovery. “In conclusion, it seems as if the different antioxidants review in this paper, does not have a major effect on performance or recovery, when oral supplemented acutely to highly trained participants. When looking into less trained participants there seems to be an effect of both recovery as well as performance, when using some of the antioxidant mentioned.”

 

November 7 – As noted in Consumer Health Digest, “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending more than $536,000 in refunds to 56,686 consumers who bought Sobrenix, a supplement marketed by Rejuvica using unsupported claims it could reduce and even eliminate alcohol cravings and consumption” Press release.

 

November 12 – Emily Schmall wrote “Many kids’ melatonin supplements don’t contain the doses they claim.” “A new study by F.D.A. scientists found that some products contained more than six times the amount on the label.” The paper is: Pawar et al. Drug Test Anal. 2024 Oct 31. Epub ahead of print Abstract.

 

November 25 – Beth Mole wrote “Raw milk recalled for containing bird flu virus, California reports.” “One more reason drinking raw milk is a bad idea.”

 

 

Addition to previous month

 

October 19 – Alyce Collins wrote “Surgeon who beat cancer 3 times debunks alternative therapies – ‘No evidence’.” Juice cleanse, vegan diet, supplements, carnivore diet, cannabis oil, and fasting or low-calorie diets were discussed.




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