When President Donald Trump warned pregnant women against using Tylenol by tying it to autism without a proven link, the country listened, a @jeremyfaust.bsky.social & Barnett examination in the Lancet suggests
w/ @arianaec.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
Ahead of the midterms, RFK Jr. is messaging on food & drug pricing, and downplaying vaccines, as some Republicans warn vaccines could be a liability.
This comes as influential MAHA leaders want to spend big for GOP. Tony Lyons wants to raise $100M.
w/ @laurenweberhp.bsky.social
Kennedy, the founder of an anti-vaccine group, has upended the vaccine policy of the U.S.
But for the flu shot, he suggests it’s personal
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
HHS did not answer questions about the Secretary’s flu vaccine claims, but said about the campaign: “The Secretary directed a review to ensure federal messaging reflects evidence and earns credibility”
The secretary has linked his voice condition to the flu vaccine while in office. He has previously pointed to a flu vaccine insert.
We checked, and only one flu vaccine lists dysphonia, which is not the same thing as his condition, experts told us.
It can mean hoarse voice.
Our Post review found that Kennedy had disparaged the flu vaccine or linked it to his voice in at least 21 appearances.
That includes calling it “horribly dangerous”
Medical experts say the flu vaccine reduces hospitalization and death
Stein’s daughter Jessica — a 4-year-old who loved swimming, ballet and gymnastics — died of flu complications in 2002. The vaccine was not recommended by the CDC at the time for her age group, and Jessica was unvaccinated. “There aren’t many people that would put a toddler in the back seat without a car seat or not use a seat belt,” he said. “I could live my life without the flu vaccine, and my family could and I might survive it. But why would I roll the dice with my child’s life?”
In January, the Secretary’s team downgraded the recommendation for the flu vaccine for kids, which pediatricians and public health experts fear could lead to more disease and misery.
The day after he assumed office, a top aide reached out to CDC officials with a “direct ask” from Kennedy to kill flu vaccine campaign advertising amid one of the worst flu seasons in recent memory.
While there is no known cause for spasmodic dysphonia, brain injuries such as stroke and in rare cases genetic factors have been associated with the disorder. There is evidence to suggest a potential association between dystonias and certain drug use, three otolaryngologists told The Post. Kennedy has publicly discussed his past addiction to heroin. The voice experts noted there is some evidence that dystonias associated with drug use can be permanent or temporary.
Top voice experts said there is no evidence behind Kennedy’s linking of the flu vaccine to his spasmodic dysphonia, which is a type of dystonia
Instead they said drug use has a potential association with dystonias. Kennedy has detailed his struggles with heroin addiction.
🚨 Inside RFK Jr.’s long-running crusade against the flu vaccine w/ @lenasun.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social
-links vaccine to his voice condition without evidence
-moved to kill a flu vaccine campaign his 2nd day on job
-changed vaccine schedule
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
Trump's order to promote a widely used weedkiller sparked swift & fierce backlash from some MAHA supporters
With @laurenweberhp.bsky.social
washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
Well, I was laid off at The Washington Post today.
It's been an honor to work with some of the best journalists in the business.
I'm hoping to continue reporting, producing videos and finding long-forgotten archival footage.
If you have any openings, reach out.
I’m stunned and heartbroken. I’ve been laid off, along with so many dear colleagues. Making my way to The Post nine years ago felt like a dream come true.
Still working to hold power to account here
@washingtonpost.com on the health team amid our crushing losses yesterday.
Email/signal/DM with tips as the work continues.
"While children in California, which does not allow for nonmedical vaccine exemptions, are vaccinated against measles at 96 percent, there is not a single county in Idaho, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah or Wisconsin whose kindergarten rates meet herd immunity protection."
Our interviews with nearly 100 people reveal how Kennedy has upended the nation's public health and vaccine infrastructure.
His allies say they want him as secretary for 8 years.
Read our deep dive @rachelroubein.bsky.social @lenasun.bsky.social and me, edited by
@fenitn.bsky.social
During the Friday discussion, Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who was recently named as the panel’s new chair, was overheard telling another panel member that he wanted to talk to “some of the higher-ups” about the panel’s work. “You know, I feel like, you know, it’s, sort of like we feel like a little bit like puppets on a string as opposed to really being an independent advisory panel,” according to a transcript of the exchange captured by videoconferencing software and obtained by The Washington Post. Asked about those remarks, Milhoan wrote in a text message, “There are pressures from many organizations: federal, industry, medical organizations that are trying to influence by ad hominem attacks, when we are trying to look at and ask for data.”
!!!
The Post obtained hot mic comments by the chair of RFK Jr.'s CDC vaccine committee.
"We feel like a little bit like puppets on a string as opposed to really being an independent advisory panel" wapo.st/4atob4M
RFK Jr.'s campaign against artificial colors has sent the food industry scrambling. Inside one lab where scientists are inventing food dyes of the future ⬇
& photos by Andrew Spear
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
As always, @sherylnyt.bsky.social is a must read: "Facts were sometimes in short supply." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
And Politico's Lauren Gardner "The nonprofit imagines an America in which everyone realizes the danger they see in vaccination." www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Hines told me “I really support what MAHA is doing and CHD has been bushwhacking the path for a while now.” She added that the group has been listening to parents who said vaccines affected their children and investigating.
At the dinner and cocktails portion of the conference, RFK Jr.'s wife, actor Cheryl Hines, spoke with Russell Brand, the actor, podcaster and MAHA figure who has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges in Britain.
The editor in chief of The Atlantic @jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social said in response to Ladapo's comment:
“In fact, The Atlantic is not working towards the enslavement of humanity, but I appreciate his concern.”
“I saw reporters from The Washington Post and the Atlantic that represent these forces that — I have nothing against them, to be clear — they represent forces who are working toward the enslavement of humanity,” Ladapo said.
Florida’s surgeon general, Joseph A. Ladapo, who came under fire for announcing his push alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to seek to end vaccine mandates in the state, spoke to the crowd about the importance of fighting for what they believe in.
He also attacked mainstream media.
Peter Hildebrand, whose unvaccinated 8-year-old daughter Daisy died of measles-related complications in Texas this spring, said he would do everything in his power to protect his children from vaccines and try his best to never go to a hospital again.
Speakers highlighted efforts to roll back vaccine requirements for schoolchildren. Such efforts have alarmed public health officials across the country amid outbreaks and declining immunity, which have led to a 33-year high of annual measles cases and the deaths of three people.
The head of CHD Mary Holland told me “CHD is not anti-vax. We’re pro-informed consent...We’re not interested in people not having vaccines if they want it, but we think that, for the most part, truthful information isn’t provided, and everybody should have a choice.”
The mission has gone from the “fringe into the forefront,” Children's Health Defense advocacy and outreach manager Stephanie Locricchio said...She asked attendees to reduce electromagnetic radiation exposure by putting their phones on airplane mode and turning off Bluetooth.
Merchandise on sale at the weekend conference varied from $25 infant onesies emblazoned with “unvaxxed unafraid,” $75 MAHA scarves and $20 hats that said “RFK JR WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING” (those sold out Saturday).
The head of the MAHA Institute called for the removal of vaccines from the market and the end of the childhood vaccine schedule.
“Our job is to create a public opinion environment that gives the MAHA supporters in government the space to do their jobs,” Mark Gorton said.
