Robert Califf

The Wellness Playbook Acemannan is the latest supplement promising to cure cancer. It won’t.

Interesting example of the problem with supplement regulation, unless you believe in "buyer beware" as a regulatory strategy. Particularly concerning knowing how vulnerable cancer patients are.

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The Toilet Seat Challenge Test RFK Jr. snorted cocaine off toilet seats without suffering infections. He’s no longer scared of germs.

Tragic comedy.

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Addressing Social Needs Saves Money and Improves Health in Medicaid. Now Scale It. New evaluation results from CMMI reinforce findings from North Carolina that screening for and addressing upstream drivers of health reduces costs and improves outcomes — without cutting benefits.

Evidence based policy!

80million.substack.com/p/addressing...

A titan of vaccine development sees his field’s achievements slip away Stanley Plotkin, the 93-year-old "godfather of vaccines," is watching his field’s achievements slip away.

Blunt and important perspective.

www.statnews.com/2026/03/02/s...

I don't think its quite as bad as this & supplements can be beneficial, but there are significant issues with dietary supplement quality and evidence for risks and benefits. I'll be addressing in substack soon (just my opinion, of course!).

www.foodpolitics.com/2026/03/the-...

Some good ideas here.

www.foodpolitics.com/2026/02/http...

RFK Jr. May Eliminate the USPSTF, Original Task Force Members Warn Dismantling the task force would be 'an existential threat to clinical practice,' they said

I hope not!

www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/...

MAHA hypocrisy in action: glyphosate - Food Politics by Marion Nestle Despite RFK Jr's insistence on getting glyphosate sayout of the food supply, President Trump says it is essential to national security.

This is why we have a history of a public, transparent process for these types of trade-off decisions.

www.foodpolitics.com/2026/02/maha...

The Trump Administration Is Ending Aid That It Says Saves Lives The State Department will let lifesaving projects expire because “there is no strong nexus between the humanitarian response and U.S. national interests,” according to an internal email.

Painful to read, but deserves consideration.

www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

What's happening with prices at the grocery store? - Food Politics by Marion Nestle An analysis from Trace One finds grocery prices to be rising rapidly, up 0.7% in December, the largest one-month increase since October 2022,

A stubborn problem.

www.foodpolitics.com/2026/02/what...

Weaponizing the FDA Against Vaccines By rejecting Moderna’s application for an mRNA influenza vaccine, RFK Jr.’s FDA is advancing his anti-vaccine agenda.

"Adequate and well controlled studies"--different opinions deserve vigorous public discussion and input from experts in the field (a key part of the law).

open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...

COVID-19 vaccination and short-term mortality risk: a nationwide self-controlled case series study in The Netherlands - European Journal of Epidemiology Excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic partly exceeded COVID-19-related deaths, indicating that other causes may have contributed. We conducted a retrospective data-linkage study including all ...

Interesting new analysis of entire population of the Netherlands. Covid infection causes serious rise in death and severe illness. Covid vaccination prevents death and severe illness.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

@steverattner.bsky.social

This article bluntly raises some difficult issues about corporate influence on the new dietary guidelines.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Measles Outbreak Worsens in South Carolina Measles cases in South Carolina reached 920 as of February 6, according to an update from the state’s public health department.

Hope my home state can change course on this--its encroaching into my current home in NC!

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Dr Nestle with some common sense. The concept of ideology is important.

www.foodpolitics.com/2026/02/diet...

Why the FDA Blocked Moderna’s New Flu Shot The head of the agency’s vaccine division, Vinay Prasad, has overruled pushback from career staffers.

Concerning reporting from a reliable reporter.

www.wsj.com/health/healt...

What’s new in the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines and why it matters (or doesn't) Federal nutrition advice has evolved over the years.

Level-headed summary on dietary guidelines.

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Some good points here.

www.foodpolitics.com/2026/02/fda-...

Opinion | A U.S. Life Expectancy Milestone It hit 79 years in 2024, which is a record and regains pandemic losses.

Great news no life expectancy, but hard to see how having 5 years shorter life expectancy makes our health system better than other high income countries.

www.wsj.com/opinion/u-s-...

Philanthropy and Congenital Heart Disease Time to Act

Some thoughts on congenital heart disease advocacy and philanthropy.

robcaliff272993.substack.com/p/philanthro...

When Misjudging Risk Becomes Its Own Preventable Harm The Cost of Fear of Rare Side Effects Overshadowing Clear Benefits

Vaccines and statins--failure to effectively communicate or counter the misinformation is costing a lot of lives, causing disability and costing a lot of $$.

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RFK Jr’s War on the World’s Children RFK Jr. has just withdrawn any future U.S. support from a program that has saved more than 20 million lives in resource-poor countries

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Former FDA commissioner: HHS leadership is focused on policy-based evidence, not evidence-based policy “Doctors are not a flock of free-range chickens wandering about offices and hospitals and making up best practices, one clinician at the time,” writes Robert Califf.

An attempt to summarize why evidence based medicine and public health are not opposites (in a short space!).

www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/a...

Opinion | The long-lasting effects of viruses — and the anti-vaccine movement For some people, a viral infection can have devastating long-term effects.

This needs to be read widely.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Robert Wachter & Eric Topol - Discuss a Giant Leap Book YouTube video by Eric Topol

Highly recommend this one if you're interested in where AI in the practice of medicine is headed.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eDH...

RSV immunizations are keeping lots of babies out of the hospital Some good news for parents and for tiny lungs

Good news and real opportunity to reduce suffering.

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DeSantis’ Canadian drug import plan in Florida goes from campaign trail to tough realities The state’s effort has stalled in part because it failed to win over the Canadian drug industry, which has consistently warned the Canadian government that the U.S. program jeopardized the country’s d...

Not a surprising outcome. Seems to me that if Congress can ok a workaround like importation, it could ok negotiating for a fair price in the first place. Canada never hid its concerns and plans but some people didn't want to hear it.

www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Capturing Lightning in a Bottle The Unique Challenges of Writing a Book on AI and Healthcare

A good book and nice to see an ECG symbol on the cover as an old fashioned cardiologist!

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in the long run, govt recommendations should be the result of transparent public dialogue and revealing the basis for scientific recommendations. Dr. Mayne, as I would have expected, lays out the disregard for transparency, balance and scientific analysis.

When Politics Poisons Process: How Ideology and Industry Interests Trump Science in the New Dietary Guidelines for Americans Recently, the Trump administration announced the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) with great fanfare.

This one is highly recommended. Whether you agree or disagree with the guidelines (for example, I like the aggressive tone on "highly processed foods" & continued focus on reducing sugar & salt),

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