RFK for HHS gets its own thread

89th

@Jolly said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

One question that keeps coming up, is why do Europeans live six years longer than Americans? Is a partial reason the food additives they ban vs. the same ones that American companies can use?

I think that's Kennedy's wheelhouse...Questions like the above. Can his leadership result in better health policy and health studies for Americans?

Better food, more walking, same medicine.

LuFins Dad

@Jolly said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

One question that keeps coming up, is why do Europeans live six years longer than Americans? Is a partial reason the food additives they ban vs. the same ones that American companies can use?

Obesity rates, car accidents, drug deaths are all MUCH higher than Europe. We have over 10 times more drug fatalities than Europe.

Jolly

@89th said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

@Jolly said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

One question that keeps coming up, is why do Europeans live six years longer than Americans? Is a partial reason the food additives they ban vs. the same ones that American companies can use?

I think that's Kennedy's wheelhouse...Questions like the above. Can his leadership result in better health policy and health studies for Americans?

Better food, more walking, same medicine.

They don't have the same medicine.

Renauda

Statistically Canadians live longer as well Probably the water, clean air and respect for institutions of law and order.

jon-nyc

@89th said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

@Jolly said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

One question that keeps coming up, is why do Europeans live six years longer than Americans? Is a partial reason the food additives they ban vs. the same ones that American companies can use?

I think that's Kennedy's wheelhouse...Questions like the above. Can his leadership result in better health policy and health studies for Americans?

Better food, more walking, same medicine.

Better diet in general.

It’s funny to see the same party that pilloried Michele Obama for wanting to put broccoli on lunch trays is now going to support sweeping interventions in the food industry by a life-long leftist democrat.

Jolly

You can put broccoli on school trays. And then you can rake it off in the trash.

People and children need to eat healthier, but it's got to be something palatable, something they will eat, something they can afford and something they can prepare.

Just say "eat this", will work as well as "just say no".

jon-nyc

Horace

@jon-nyc said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

That'll make for some interesting sunlight during the confirmation hearings. If it checks out, it'll strike a blow against vaccine disinformation. I'll be curious to hear how RFK jr responds.

LuFins Dad

@jon-nyc said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

@89th said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

@Jolly said in RFK for NIH gets its own thread:

One question that keeps coming up, is why do Europeans live six years longer than Americans? Is a partial reason the food additives they ban vs. the same ones that American companies can use?

I think that's Kennedy's wheelhouse...Questions like the above. Can his leadership result in better health policy and health studies for Americans?

Better food, more walking, same medicine.

Better diet in general.

It’s funny to see the same party that pilloried Michele Obama for wanting to put broccoli on lunch trays is now going to support sweeping interventions in the food industry by a life-long leftist democrat.

Yep, I was chuckling over that the other day…

jon-nyc

Axtremus

@Jolly said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

One question that keeps coming up, is why do Europeans live six years longer than Americans? Is a partial reason the food additives they ban vs. the same ones that American companies can use?

Maybe it's the gun culture.

Axtremus

@Renauda said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

Statistically Canadians live longer as well Probably the water, clean air and respect for institutions of law and order.

Maybe it's the gun culture.

jon-nyc

It would be interesting to see what the life expectancy here is if you exclude murders, suicides, and overdose deaths. That would do a better job measuring just health outcomes. Not that mental health doesn’t factor into the others.

LuFins Dad

@jon-nyc said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

It would be interesting to see what the life expectancy here is if you exclude murders, suicides, and overdose deaths. That would do a better job measuring just health outcomes. Not that mental health doesn’t factor into the others.

Auto accident deaths are much higher here, as well.

LuFins Dad

It’s also worth noting that the extreme drop in US life expectancy noted ~ 2012 or so to 2021 has reversed course. I suspect opioids overdoses play a bigger part in our aggregate life expectancy than previously supposed…

Renauda

@Axtremus said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

@Renauda said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

Statistically Canadians live longer as well Probably the water, clean air and respect for institutions of law and order.

Maybe it's the gun culture.

Maybe it is and some might even think that. I couldn’t possibly comment either way.

89th

@jon-nyc said in RFK for HHS gets its own thread:

Now you made me research this for 20 minutes.

Dr. Offit's post is not very accurate, although I do agree overall that anti-vax misinformation may have led to some deaths.

Here are better facts.

Yes, two infants died in 2018 due to that medical mistake
The Samoan government took longer than desired to make it clear to the public it was a medical mistake
The Samoan government paused vaccines, which is where the outbreak came from <- Key point
Kennedy didn't flood facebook with misinformation, but the anti-vax organization in which he is chairman did
Kennedy did talk with Samoan officials asking for more proof that the vaccines were not dangerous
Kennedy (and DeNiro! yes the actor who likes to talk politics even though he's just a celebrity) have held press conferences in the past about vaccines and possible links to autism (DeNiro's kid has it, btw) but focused on Thimerosal (mercury), which is weird since it hasn't really been used since 2001

So, the statement "as a consequence [of Kennedy] vaccination rates fell from 70 percent to 30 percent and therefor killed 83 kids" is not really accurate.

It was mostly the Samoan government's actions that caused the outbreak, although the misinformation that spread on facebook during that year certainly did not help.

Reference links where I got this info:

https://reliefweb.int/report/samoa/measles-outbreak-pacific-situation-report-no-3-29-november-2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50625680

https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/fact-checking-presidential-candidate-robert-f-kennedy-jr-on-vaccines-autism-and-covid-19/

https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/anti-vaccination-advocates-double-down-as-measles

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/world/asia/samoa-measles.html

https://www.vox.com/2017/2/15/14622632/robert-de-niro-rfk-jr-vaccine-press-conference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Health_Defense