By Adam Garrie, Breaking News Reporter, The MAHA Report
Last week was ripe with MAHA-related news. Below are highlights. Please also check out MAHA Action’s weekly MAHA Minute Video for more public health policy news.
President Calls for Honesty From Big Pharma
Last week kicked off with President Trump issuing a stern warning to pharmaceutical companies to “justify the success of their various Covid Drugs.” The president noted that Pfizer showed him “extraordinary” data in private that differs from what is available to the public.
Kennedy Announces CDC Reforms
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s CDC reforms happened last week against a backdrop of a contentious Senate hearing on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, Kennedy wrote an eloquent column for The Wall Street Journal, explaining how his reforms at the CDC were about restoring public faith in an agency that had strayed from its mission. In the article, Kennedy explained that the CDC had diverted resources away from its stated mission of preventing the spread of disease, toward politicized and bureaucratic endeavors that do not serve the public.
Kennedy also promised that the CDC will no longer artificially dissociate the fight against chronic disease from the fight against infectious disease, noting that high rates of chronic disease magnify the risks of endemic infectious illnesses.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz voiced strong support for CDC reforms, saying, “I’m almost offended by the accusation that the CDC was in a good place. We all lived through Covid… it was a catastrophic failure for the CDC. Mask mandates, six-foot distancing—it didn’t make sense.”
Florida Embraces Medical Freedom
Florida Surgeon, General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, announced the end of vaccine mandates across the state. This means that schools can no longer discriminate against families whose youngsters have not received vaccines. Dr. Ladapo compared vaccine mandates to government tyranny and slavery.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also announced a new statewide MAHA Commission designed to implement the policies of Secretary Kennedy throughout what the Governor calls “The Free State of Florida.”
HHS Embraces Religious Freedom
Paula M. Stannard, Director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, sent a letter to members of the Vaccines for Children Program (VCP) stating that all state, municipal, or other distributors must follow federal and civil rights laws, which include religious exemptions for vaccine mandates.
“States have the authority to balance public health goals with individual freedom, and honoring those decisions builds trust,” Secretary Kennedy said, “Protecting both public health and personal liberty is how we restore faith in our institutions and Make America Healthy Again.”
Kennedy further stated that VCP providers “must respect state laws protecting religious and conscience-based exemptions to vaccine mandates.”
Radical Transparency at the NIH
NIH Director Dr. Bhattacharya announced a new framework which will allow for the publication and presentation of new research from scientists. According to Dr. Bhattacharya, “NIH is adopting an agency-wide framework that embeds principles of academic freedom within our Intramural Research Program. This framework strengthens existing policies so that every NIH scientist can share their research findings, whether publishing, presenting, or engaging with the media, without fear of interference or retaliation.”
Covid Emergency Ends
FDA Commissioner Dr. Makary noted that almost all other industrialized countries have long moved on from mass vaccine recommendations for Covid. In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, entitled “Why the FDA Doesn’t Support Covid Boosters Forever," Makary outlined scientific findings that mRNA and other Covid vaccines are not necessary for healthy children and adults.
Kennedy Stares Down Senators
During a heated exchange before the Senate Finance Committee, Secretary Kennedy discussed large-scale reforms to public health agencies designed to end the politicization of science and restore gold standard objectivity.
During the hearing Kennedy sharply criticized the Biden administration’s handling of CDC data, describing it as chaotic and obscuring critical insights into Covid mortality, vaccine harms, and efficacy. He revealed that the CDC had destroyed pivotal data from a 2002 study linking the MMR vaccine to childhood autism, raising concerns about transparency.
Rejecting the label of “anti-vaccine,” Kennedy emphasized a nuanced stance, acknowledging that while some medicines offer benefits that outweigh risks, others fall short. In a pointed exchange, he criticized Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) for failing to address the surge in chronic diseases during his long tenure.
Engaging with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kennedy refuted claims of opposing voluntary Covid vaccinations, clarifying that individuals could access vaccines after consulting physicians, while accusing Warren of accepting over $800,000 in pharmaceutical donations. When Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) inquired about the politicization of Covid data, Kennedy shot back that the administration sidelined dissenters, stifling scientific inquiry.
I left the Democratic Party after the DNC destroyed the campaign of Senator Sanders, as exit polls showed he was the clear favorite during the primaries. But, after watching that sorry excuse for a Senate hearing where they targeted our HHS Secretary as an evil villain - that entire cult of pharmaceutical sycophants is dead to me. I want NOTHING to do with them, for as I see it - if you are reflexively against what Robert Kennedy Jr says or does in regard to the health and wellbeing of our citizenry, you exemplify the worst proclivities which exist in the form of human beings. All you’ve done is make us chattel for the worst of capitalism and it is my sincere hope to see the Democratic Party die a painful death. Though you’re an “Independent” this includes you Senator Sanders. I thank God Robert Kennedy Jr is exposing the sins of mercantilism, especially that which consciously destroys the health of INNOCENT children.
A long road ahead and all NIH employees should embrace RFK Jr. goals to change the sick care system to a true health care system. Those who don’t understand are obstructionists and need to leave. The 1000 + who signed the letter saying he should be fired should be the first to go. The mass media has failed to educate the American public on how sick a nation we are and why.