Definition of COI: "The deal brings deeper involvement by the Trump family into a multibillion-dollar sector that has new opportunities for growth following changes imposed by the Trump administration."
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
"Smith directed his strongest ire against...mercantilism, which measured success by hoarded gold and trade surpluses, not by human well-being. It benefited special interests at the expense of the public..." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/o...
Good point. There are no perfect heroes.
'...researchers estimated a generic version of semaglutide...could be made for $28 to $140 per person a year and then sold at low prices once patents expire this year in several countries." www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20... via @statnews.com
“…the idea that America can go into a rough neighborhood, hit our enemies hard, kill some of their leaders and force them to RESPECT OUR HEGEMONY is not some brilliant innovation…”
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/o...
“Eisenhower and Lincoln were rarities… But their standards—the virtues they revered, the human sympathies they never allowed to narrow—are ones we need to celebrate and to guard against those who would subvert them.”
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
But is he really?
www.statnews.com/2026/03/06/f... via @statnews.com
“On vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, Americans say they are more likely to accept the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics than the CDC by nearly a 4-1 margin.”
www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/stark-divide...
Heckuva time to cut 5% of VA healthcare jobs, just as you choose to start a war across the Middle East…
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/u...
"... the decision came only after she was already hours into the pre-surgical process... [and] after pre-paying for the surgery, she now is waiting on a refund following the cancellation..."
www.wsmv.com/2026/02/26/t...
“Why even bother arguing with a recent claim by Mr. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security implying that it could deport 100 million people, approximately double the total number of immigrants in the entire country?”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/o...
This is how low its gone: he just has to say he’ll support vaccination for measles and suddenly he’s a breath of fresh air. Sigh.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/h...
Before vaccines, the mortality rate for Diptheria was ~30%,
mortality from H flu meningitis was ~5%,
mortality from Meningococcal meningitis was ~12%,
and mortality from tetanus was ~100%.
I sincerely hope his kids don't get any of these vaccine preventable diseases.
There is overwhelming evidence of no link between vaccines and autism, but Cassie Means says, "I think it’s important to just keep it [the possiblity of a link] on the table.”
Why? It's a classic Merchants of Doubt tactic & she's selling something.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/25/c... via @statnews.com
“Copying Denmark’s vaccine schedule without copying Denmark’s health care system doesn’t give families more options — it just leaves kids unprotected from serious diseases,”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/h...
The first of two special issues from the NCHED team has been published in the Journal of the American College of Dentists!
🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷
NCHED has been working for two years to shine a light on work being done at the intersection of humanities & ethics in dentistry.
commons.ada.org/cgi/viewcont...
The polio vaccine has “absolutely been a victim of its own success...People aren’t scared of polio any more... People don’t really see the daily side of living with a vaccine-preventable disease...and that’s the problem.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Purely a pressure tactic. I’d bet literally everyone in DHS leadership knows that TSAPre saves time and resources for the Department. Now they’ll have to watch everyone take off their shoes, which will cost DHS more. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/u...
Its sad that we have to choose between civil rights and easier air travel. But I’ll take the longer line if it means no more masked federal agents dissapearing people off the street based on the color of their skin.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/u...
The quips in response to this plan are too easy… www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/u...
The rural doctor shortage is bad in Canada, and much much worse in Nigeria, which is where rural Canada is now sourcing new doctors.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/w...
“…large language models… can pick up on what information resonates with you most powerfully and expose you to more of it, mistakenly assuming that it’s what you want… like how social media algorithms can encourage doomscrolling.”
NB: That’s a programming choice.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/o...
Instead of ~700m for influence on and access to massive WHO resources he wants to spend $2b to go it alone, and “certainly accomplish only a fraction of what we did by working together with the entire world.” #Fiscalidiocy
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
"...‘this patient for months was too afraid to leave her home and risk encountering ICE at a clinic or lab. It’s a cruel calculus: seek essential medical care and risk detention, or stay home and risk her life." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/o...
“As Americans, we deserve national parks that tell stories of our country’s triumphs and heartbreaks alike. We can handle the truth.”
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Declaration of Helskinki, Provision 33: The benefits, risks, burdens, and effectiveness of a new intervention must be tested against those of the best proven intervention(s), except in the following circumstances: If no proven intervention exists, the use of placebo, or no intervention, is acceptable; or If for compelling and scientifically sound methodological reasons the use of any intervention other than the best proven one(s), the use of placebo, or no intervention is necessary to determine the efficacy or safety of an intervention; and the participants who receive any intervention other than the best proven one(s), placebo, or no intervention will not be subject to additional risks of serious or irreversible harm as a result of not receiving the best proven intervention. Extreme care must be taken to avoid abuse of this option
Maybe not in FDA guidance directly, but use of best available standard of care as comparator is a core concept in research ethics. E.g., Declaration of Helsinki... Yes, Moderna is arguing they should be able to skirt this rule, but I'm not going to defend that, even to score valid political points.
“Of course, a sovereign country can decide whatever they want...”
Yes, it's unethical, but I disagree that countries should do unethical trials without cost; otherwise, what's the point of international research ethics standards? www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/h... via @statnews.com
All you say is true about Kennedy, AND IMHO it doesn't help our cause to call out a decision that's defensible as though it's not. I'd rather focus on the MANY clear and obvious violations of ethics, research, and practice that are being perpetrated.
Actually it's the opposite. FWIW, I'm no fan, and if he were backing placebo-controlled flu vaccine trials, I'd be all over that. But he's arguing for using the best available therapy as control, which is appropriate even though pharma often tries to get out of it.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19723252/
I think it matters that *in this case* he is right that Moderna should not have tested a new flu vaccine in people over 65 by comparing it to a sub-optimal dose of the comparator. These pharma clinical trial shenanigans should be called out.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m... via @statnews.com
