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The Big Story

Kennedy takes on ‘conflicts of interest’ in medical journals

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to prohibit government scientists from publishing work in medical journals and instead publish work in new “in-house” publications.

During a Tuesday episode of the podcast “The Ultimate Human,” Kennedy threatened to stop government scientists from publishing in journals like The Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA because they are beholden to the pharmaceutical industry.

All three of those journals have published original, peer-reviewed research for decades and contribute to the distribution of scientific information across the planet.

Kennedy called the journals “corrupt,” adding that they only spread propaganda from pharmaceutical companies and are no longer scientifically credible.

The forthcoming “in-house” journals will replace the trio as the pre-eminent scientific journals.

“They are going to become the pre-eminent journals, because if you get NIH funding it is anointing you as a good, legitimate scientist,” he said.

The podcast episode aired the same day Kennedy announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would stop recommending the COVID-19 vaccine to children and pregnant women.

Kennedy’s comments also come a week after the Trump administration released its long-awaited MAHA report, which contradicted several medical conventions related to vaccines and medications previously deemed safe to use.

Kennedy has long believed that medications like vaccines and psychiatric drugs are overused in the U.S. and causing some health problems among children.

In the report, the Trump administration expresses concern over American children taking too many medications, noting that more children are taking stimulant drugs, antidepressants, antipsychotics and asthma medication than they did 30 years ago.

“There is a concerning trend of overprescribing medications to children, often driven by conflicts of interest in medical research, regulation, and practice,” the report reads. “This has led to unnecessary treatments and long-term health risks.”

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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Kennedy takes on ‘conflicts of interest’ in medical journals

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