health

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced in September 2025 that the agency would change leucovorin's label to reflect potential benefits for some children with autism and cerebral folate deficiency. However, the FDA later clarified the label change applied to a rare subset of patients with a specific metabolic condition, not hundreds of thousands of children, and the agency disputed characterizations that overstated the scope of the change.

On February 27, 2026, the Trump administration implemented a six-month moratorium on federal Medicaid payments to Minnesota through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The action was taken in response to Minnesota's policies regarding undocumented immigrants' access to state healthcare programs, which federal officials characterized as violations of federal law.

The claim that 90% of healthcare spending treats chronic disease is an overstatement of the actual figures. Federal health agencies report that chronic diseases account for approximately 75-90% of healthcare spending, with the most commonly cited figure from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention being 90% of the nation's $4.5 trillion in annual healthcare expenditures, though this appears to include broadly defined chronic conditions and may represent an upper-bound estimate.

The claim that Americans pay the lowest drug prices in the world is contradicted by international data. While the Trump administration negotiated some drug pricing agreements, U.S. prescription drug prices remain substantially higher than those in other developed countries.

The ACTIVE study, which began in 1998, tested three forms of cognitive training on adults aged 65 and older. A 2025 analysis published in Alzheimer's & Dementia found that participants who received speed-of-processing training showed a 29% reduction in dementia risk over 20 years compared to the control group. The other two training types (memory and reasoning) did not show significant dementia risk reduction.

Recent scientific research has established a direct connection between air pollution from fossil fuel combustion and increased Alzheimer's disease risk. Studies have identified particulate matter components, particularly from traffic and industrial emissions, that can penetrate the brain and contribute to neurodegeneration through multiple biological pathways.

Bayer announced in January 2025 that it reached a $7.25 billion settlement agreement to resolve approximately 85,000 pending Roundup cancer lawsuits. The settlement does not include an admission of liability and is subject to court approval, with payments expected to be made over several years.

President Trump claimed Americans are paying or will pay the lowest drug prices in the world due to his administration's negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. According to fact-checking analysis, while the administration announced agreements with pharmaceutical companies, the claim about achieving the lowest prices anywhere in the world lacks substantiation and overstates the scope and impact of these negotiations.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made statements during his Senate confirmation hearings for Health and Human Services Secretary regarding vaccines and health policy. Some of his subsequent statements and actions appear inconsistent with testimony provided during confirmation, though the extent and significance of these discrepancies remain subject to interpretation and ongoing developments.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made statements during his Senate confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services Secretary regarding vaccines and autism, citing research that fact-checkers identified as flawed. While he made commitments about not removing vaccines from the market, subsequent federal policy changes have created an environment that vaccine manufacturers describe as hostile, leading to research cuts and job losses. The claim of broken promises requires examination of specific commitments made versus actions taken or policies implemented.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made statements during his Senate confirmation hearings that contradicted his prior anti-vaccine positions, including support for certain vaccines and vaccine research. Following his confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary, federal policies and actions by his administration have been characterized as hostile to the vaccine industry, leading to research cuts and job losses at vaccine manufacturers. The extent to which specific confirmation hearing promises have been broken depends on the interpretation of his statements and the degree of direct versus indirect policy influence.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several statements during his Senate confirmation hearing for HHS Secretary regarding vaccines and public health policy. Evaluating whether these constitute broken promises requires examining both his confirmation testimony and subsequent actions as Secretary, though the timeframe since confirmation has been limited and some statements were characterized as intentions rather than concrete commitments.

Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 that paused some Biden-era drug pricing regulations, but did not reverse the negotiated Medicare prescription drug price caps established under the Inflation Reduction Act. The negotiated price caps for specific Medicare Part D drugs remain in effect and are scheduled to take effect in 2026.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made statements during his Senate confirmation hearings in early 2025 regarding vaccines and public health policy. Some of his subsequent actions and positions as Health Secretary have differed from testimony he provided to senators, while the interpretation of whether specific statements constituted binding promises remains contested.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several statements during his February 2025 Senate confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services Secretary regarding vaccines, regulatory approaches, and public health policies. Some reporting suggests his actions as Secretary have diverged from testimony statements, though the extent and significance of these differences depend on interpretation of his original commitments and the timeframe considered.

Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 that paused certain Biden-era drug pricing initiatives, but the major Medicare drug price negotiation program and prescription cost caps remained in effect. The order targeted voluntary drug discount programs and regulatory processes, not the statutory cost caps established under the Inflation Reduction Act.

A measles outbreak has been reported at a Florida university with claims of nearly 60 cases, while multiple states have reported measles cases nationwide in early 2026. Without access to current CDC surveillance data or official state health department confirmations, the specific numbers cannot be independently verified at this time.

The CDC did award approximately $1.6 million for a randomized controlled trial studying hepatitis B vaccine timing in newborns in Guinea-Bissau, scheduled to run through 2026. The WHO Regional Office for Africa issued a statement expressing ethical concerns about the study design, though the characterization of this as being 'slammed' represents editorial framing of institutional criticism.

The WHO Research Ethics Review Committee (ERC) issued a statement in January 2026 criticizing a CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau as unethical. The trial, which received $1.6 million in CDC funding, planned to study the effects of delaying the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in newborns, with the WHO committee stating it did not meet international ethical standards.

The Trump administration paused CDC grant funding to four states (Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington) totaling approximately $600 million. A federal judge in Illinois issued a temporary restraining order on February 14, 2025, requiring the administration to restore the funding. The action affected grants that were previously authorized and appropriated by Congress.

A clinical trial examining hepatitis B vaccine timing in newborns in Guinea-Bissau received CDC funding and faced WHO criticism regarding ethical concerns. The specific details of WHO's characterization, the exact funding amount, and the nature of the ethical concerns require verification from primary sources.

The WHO did issue concerns about a CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau, but the characterization requires context. WHO's primary concern centered on ethical and procedural issues with the trial design, particularly regarding informed consent and study methodology, rather than opposition to hepatitis B vaccination itself. The CDC received approximately $1.6 million in funding for vaccine research in Guinea-Bissau.