| | | | |  | | By Daniel Payne, Erin Schumaker and Carmen Paun | | | | |  Del Bigtree, a vaccine skeptic who was communications director for Kennedy’s presidential campaign, is among those suggesting candidates. Francis Chung/POLITICO | AP | Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s associates are looking for staff members to work under him at HHS — should the Senate confirm him. Kennedy needs nearly 300 doctors to fill administration positions. Del Bigtree, a vaccine skeptic who runs the nonprofit Informed Consent Action Network and was communications director for Kennedy’s presidential campaign, is among those suggesting candidates. Though Bigtree and Kennedy share pronounced skepticism about vaccines long considered safe and effective, they aren’t looking only for doctors with similar views, Bigtree said. “Bobby doesn’t have to select some specific group of docs and scientists that have an agenda,” he told Daniel. “You don’t need someone with an agenda other than: Let’s make it public.” The team is looking for people with diverse views who want to make government data and reviews public, and who don't have ties to the pharmaceutical or agricultural industries, which Bigtree said could lead to “purchased science” that's friendly to those industries. Taking it to the Hill: Several Senate Republicans have recently pointed to the importance of national vaccine programs, noting the number of lives saved — and that could be saved in the future. Once Kennedy explains his plans in meetings with lawmakers, many of which are scheduled for this week, it will ease concerns, Bigtree said. “I think all he has to do is set the record straight, and all these shoulders will relax,” Bigtree said. “If the vaccine program is working for you, nothing is going to change.” Even so: The incoming administration’s plans aren’t always clear and sometimes seem to contradict: — After President-elect Donald Trump announced Kennedy as his HHS pick, Kennedy said he wasn’t interested in taking vaccines away from people who want them — a point Bigtree repeated. — Trump later said pulling vaccines was on the table, pending a review with Kennedy, despite strong evidence and widespread scientific acceptance of their safety. — Kennedy has argued that the regulatory agencies must be overhauled, including potentially removing entire departments. — Trump later said Kennedy wouldn’t upset the current system or try to remake it.
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The Parliament Palace, Bucharest, Romania. | Carmen Paun / POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. CEOs are attending psychedelic drug retreats geared toward executives in an effort to improve their business leadership skills, The New York Times reports. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
| | |  Researchers will use AI and mobile applications to gather the biomedical data to create “female digital health twins.” | Seth Wenig/AP Photo | The University of Pittsburgh is launching an artificial intelligence-fueled women's health research center. Its goal is to shrink gender-related health disparities by speeding women's health research. The Vijayalakshmi Innovation Center in Women’s Health Analytics and Research, or VIHAR, will bring together researchers from around the world to develop AI tools to perform research and analysis more quickly. How so? Researchers will use AI and mobile applications to gather the biomedical data to create “female digital health twins.” Researchers worldwide will be able to use those digital twins to model strategies for preventing and treating illnesses that disproportionately affect women and girls. It's personal: In addition to funding from Pitt’s School of Medicine, the center received money from Vishnu Vardhan and Harsha Vardhini, who founded Vizzhy Inc., an AI health systems company. The center is named after their mother, who had pregnancy complications the siblings believe could have been avoided with better women's health research. What's next: The center plans to build on biomedical research coming out of Pitt, including the work of its founding director, Vanathi Gopalakrishnan. A biomedical data scientist, Gopalakrishnan’s research includes using large datasets to identify preventable causes of death among women, like maternal mortality. VIHAR also plans to partner with organizations invested in global women's health research, such as the Women’s Health and Education Center and the World Health Organization.
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Drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide are an entry point for health systems to start treating obesity as a chronic disease, WHO officials argue. | Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP | Weight-loss drugs could transform obesity treatment worldwide, top World Health Organization officials wrote in JAMA today. But the drugs won't solve obesity on their own, say Drs. Francesca Celletti and Francesco Branco of the WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety and Jeremy Farrar, WHO’s chief scientist. How so: Drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide, which were licensed by the Food and Drug Administration in 2021 and 2023, are an entry point for health systems to start treating obesity as a chronic disease, which can be treated with a combination of therapies and lifestyle changes, they argue. “It is imperative to deliver a corresponding health system response that ensures universally available services to prevent, treat, and manage the disease in a way that is accessible, affordable, and sustainable.” That hasn’t happened so far in the U.S., where drugs remain expensive and in short supply. Criteria to qualify for weight-loss drug treatment in America include having a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, the threshold for obesity, or having a BMI of 27 or more, and one at least one obesity-related condition, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. The WHO officials said they oppose those models. They should be replaced with models that recognize obesity as a chronic disease that demands a social, public health and clinical response, the WHO officials say. What’s next: The WHO is working on weight-loss drug guidelines for adults with obesity, which will provide clarity on their clinical indications and use, including in developing countries. The WHO plans to publish the guidelines in July 2025, according to the three officials. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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