Halfway humanitarianism. In a move that prompted criticism, the U.S. will not contribute any doses to South Africa, even though it has the world’s highest HIV burden with about 8 million HIV-positive people, or 1 in 5 adults. www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...

“TikTok is flooded with factually incomplete warnings that contraceptives cause cancer and are as dangerous as smoking. Reproductive health advocates warn that studies like this can easily be taken out of context online and be reduced to a single alarming number.” kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

“What he does is say the opposite of what’s true, over and over again, and no one does anything about it,” said Paul Offit, MD. “If people stand back and let this happen, it’s only going to get worse.” www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...

How problems with misuse and adverse effects with anti-anxiety drugs were not emphasized when The White Lotus featured lorazepam use and in TikTok & Instagram posts on lexapro. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/lorazepam-...

This week marks one year of publishing my Substack newsletter - helping people improve their critical thinking about health care. See top 5 most-read articles. open.substack.com/pub/garyschw...

Health benefits of chocolate….for mice. Latest example in seemingly endless junk news chocoholic infatuation with weak or non-existent evidence. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/mice-and-c...

FDA’s announcement on banning black box warnings for estrogen was dominated by hyperbole, distortions, exaggerations & unfounded claims. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/fdas-menop...

From STAT News' morning newsletter: www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/h...

The seamier side of the FDA. Questions about who benefits most from some agency decisions: political favors or public health? garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/the-seamie...?

Behind-the-scenes ugliness in the competitive GLP-1 drug market. Lawsuits, dogfight over market dominance, pay-per-click advertising. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/ugliness-i...

Big Boost for Big Myth: New Report Pushing Debunked Vaccine-Autism Link Gets Millions of Views on X open.substack.com/pub/newsguar...

“An agency beset by all kinds of tumult in recent months. Observers characterized the spate of dismissals, policy reversals & controversies in all kinds of ways: Soap opera. Unpredictable. In total disarray. And, potentially, unprincipled.” www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/f...

Many are asking “Where’s the advantage in Medicare Advantage plans?” in this open enrollment period, as premiums & quality questions rise, while access/choice and pace of enrollment drops. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/red-flags-...

A leading candidate for the worst Surgeon General nominee ever. www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/five-healt...

A Surgeon Gen. nominee who gets $$$ from firms selling herbal remedies, algae/fiber/basil seed supplements, probiotics, phytonutrients, prenatal vitamins & hubby has tobacco investments!!! www.statnews.com/2025/09/16/c...

The FDA already has all the info needed to fill drug facts boxes - the same evidence that companies provide when they apply for drug approval. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

“The alliance, spanning states where roughly 1 in 3 Americans live, underscores the increasing fragmentation of a public health system that has been upended by HHS Secretary RFK Jr.” www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

“While many foundations say that their commitment to science journalism will continue, there is a feeling of apprehension among some reporters and editorial leaders.” undark.org/2025/10/15/s...

Let’s stop referring to “the media.” It is inaccurate. There is no such monolith - no such homogeneous entity. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/lets-stop-...

“What we’re seeing here is, ‘We believe this and we’re going to find the evidence to support that.’ That’s just inherently wrong in terms of how a scientific agency like the FDA operates.” www.statnews.com/2025/10/14/f...

I'll keep writing about the hypocritical “tenets of Gold Standard Science” that federal health folks brag about. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Try to fool me with every action you take - well, my momma didn’t raise no fool. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/gold-stand...

If this is the “Gold Standard Science” touted by an Executive Order to restore trust to American health policy, it’s doing just the opposite. Trust is looking more battered, broken and rusty by the day. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/gold-stand...

RFK Jr. "is dead wrong" claiming vaccines are ineffective. They "have saved lives, reduced severe impairments like paralysis, brain damage, & hearing loss, and saved us billions of dollars. Enough of the dangerous deceptions on vaccines." www.statnews.com/2025/10/10/m...

“He picks things that seem designed to get clicks on the internet. He gravitates toward magical-seeming, spectacular explanations like Tylenol and circumcision,” said Peter Hotez. www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outl...

How numbers help patients more than vague terms. Lessons for physicians, patients, journalists or anyone who communicates about health care. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/how-number...

6 former Surgeons General said, "We took an oath to declare dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

It’s Think Before You Pink time again. Not all fundraising promotions are the same - or legit. Some do more for companies & their products than for “the cause.” open.substack.com/pub/garyschw...

Trump called it “one of the biggest medical announcements that this office has ever made.” But experts questioned whether the moves will change the status quo much. www.statnews.com/2025/09/30/w...

Time to turn the Tylenol temperature down. Social media’s wild claims of a “liberal” pregnant woman dying of overdose, mass hospitalizations and organ failures. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/turn-the-t...

Trump health follies: fake video on "historic new health care system," a post promoting hemp-derived CBD, his FDA banning a dye that hasn't been used for decades & FDA Commissioner double-talk on acetaminophen & autism. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/the-trump-...

Regulators in Europe have issued new statements backing the safety of Tylenol use in pregnancy, effectively repudiating claims from the Trump administration that the medicine can cause autism in children. www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/t...

Collection of quotes from & about this strange event: "At times, I had to remind myself that, no, this was not a Saturday Night Live skit." garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/a-strange-...

Who writes this stuff for him? “It’s too much liquid,” Trump said of pediatric vaccines. “Too many different things are going into that baby at too big a number.” Please pronounce acetaminophen again for me! open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Trump reveals lack of knowledge of what he’s talking about & his insensitivity to women who “can’t tough it out.” youtube.com/shorts/UDMHZ...

President Donald Trump on Monday used the platform of the presidency to promote unproven ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism without giving new evidence. apnews.com/article/tyle...

Sign up for The Patient Revolution Town Hall on issues of trust in health care. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/sign-up-fo...

“Members were unprepared, misunderstood or ignored key data and highlighted flawed or inconclusive research often trumpeted by vaccine critics.” www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Has the nation’s largest health care company exploited incentives in the federal insurance program for seniors? www.startribune.com/why-unitedhe...

How can anyone go to work at CDC any more? open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

“Taking steps where it has no impact.” apnews.com/article/fda-...

Must-see TV, before it, too, is banned. youtu.be/_GXNJ3V9lzg?...

Association ≠ causation. So don’t talk about “effect” if cause-and-effect hasn’t been proven. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/you-could-...

“Most governments are trying to fight vaccine hesitancy with science and investment, while the United States heads in the opposite direction.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/w...

STAT News “pierced the hype” on one cancer test and on one cancer treatment. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/two-exampl...

A huge mistake in the making. kffhealthnews-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/kffhealt...

“America’s 80-year run as the world’s leader of biomedical research — and 50-year run as the global leader of cancer research — may very well be coming to a close, and for no apparent reason.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...

“It looks exactly like the report from Michelle Obama's task force in 2010…What's disappointing is that things that'd make a big difference aren't here…I want to see action. What are they going to do? They haven't said.” garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/marion-nes...