RFK Jr. has had a really, really bad couple of weeks.
Not long ago, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s agency, the US Department of Health and Human Services, shocked the medical community by rolling back federal recommendations for Covid vaccines — potentially yanking access from most Americans, including children and pregnant people. In response, America's leading physician groups defied him — saying they would keep recommending shots for the most vulnerable populations. Then came the chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The director was abruptly ousted, top leaders resigned in protest, and one called the standoff with Kennedy "an existential battle between science and anti-science." And just yesterday, more than 1,000 current and former HHS staffers signed a letter demanding Kennedy's resignation, accusing him of endangering the nation's health.
Today, Vox is breaking the story that Kennedy's HHS and the White House have buried a major — and harrowing — federal study on American alcohol consumption.
The takeaway is staggering: Americans are about to get national health guidance on alcohol that ignores some of the best science we have. And we're the first to tell you why. Don't miss this one.
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—Paige Vega, climate editor