Topic: public health policy
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AI is overwhelming peer review. Can it survive?
A health economist's study found that HPV vaccine mandates for elementary students do little to reduce cervical cancer rates, but a peer reviewer misinterpreted the work as questioning the vaccine itself rather than analyzing policy effectiveness. The peer review system is strained by a massive s...
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Kennedy’s Germ Theory Rejection Debunked in Senate Hearing
During a Senate hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders confronted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his rejection of germ theory, and Sen. Bill Cassidy fact-checked and debunked Kennedy’s denialist claims in real time. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist with no scientific background, advocates for...
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How AI Is Fighting Antibiotic Resistance
AI-powered diagnostics can identify antibiotic-resistant infections with over 99% accuracy in hours instead of days, potentially saving lives by enabling faster treatment decisions for time-sensitive conditions like sepsis. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics, combined with a stagnant drug developm...
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CDC Study Confirms COVID Vaccine Benefits, Release Blocked
A CDC study found this season's COVID-19 vaccine significantly reduces severe outcomes, but its publication was blocked by agency leadership citing methodological concerns. The halted research, which used a standard test-negative design, showed vaccinated healthy adults had a 50% lower risk of ur...
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HHS Develops AI Tool to Analyze Vaccine Injury Claims
The U.S. HHS is developing a generative AI tool to analyze its national vaccine safety database (VAERS) to identify patterns of adverse events, raising concerns it could be misused to support anti-vaccine agendas. Critics are alarmed by the involvement of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a va...
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FDA Rejects Moderna's mRNA Flu Vaccine Application
The FDA rejected Moderna's application for its mRNA flu vaccine, citing concerns over the design of its pivotal clinical trial, which the company claims had received prior agency feedback. The agency specifically questioned the comparator vaccine used in Moderna's large Phase 3 study, even though...
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