After Kennedy's confirmation, Trump establishes 'Make America Healthy Again' commission
Public health experts remain alarmed about Kennedy’s rise from a fringe figure in the alternative health world to one of the most senior and influential positions in U.S. health care.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the recently confirmed health and human services secretary, will chair a new commission focused on addressing chronic disease.

President Donald Trump established the commission Thursday with an executive order he issued just hours after the Senate confirmed Kennedy. The Make America Healthy Again Commission, as it’s called, will consist of several high-ranking federal officials, including the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and the directors of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public health experts remain alarmed about Kennedy’s rise from a fringe figure in the alternative health world who endorsed a variety of debunked ideas to one of the most senior and influential positions in U.S. health care. He has said he would support the CDC’s recommended vaccination schedule, but that has done little to assuage concerns that he may promote an anti-vaccine agenda with HHS.

Doctors and researchers across the country also remain on alert for cuts to funding after the NIH suddenly sought to limit what is known as indirect funding, which helps cover costs such as equipment, maintenance and personnel. The NIH oversees 60,000 grants a year that support about 300,000 researchers.

The executive order reflects many of the priorities Kennedy shared at his confirmation hearings last month. He has suggested pausing infectious disease research in favor of studying the origins of chronic diseases, though scientists say the two fields are closely linked. He has also advocated for stricter regulations of food additives and environmental chemicals to better align with European standards.

The order calls for a national focus on reducing chronic disease rates in the United States, pointing to rising rates of cancer, obesity, diabetes, asthma and autism spectrum disorder.

“Americans of all ages are becoming sicker, beset by illnesses that our medical system is not addressing effectively. These trends harm us, our economy, and our security,” it reads.

The order establishes a policy to eliminate conflicts of interest from federally funded health research, support research into “the root causes of why Americans are getting sick” and work with farmers to ensure that food in the United States is the healthiest and “most affordable in the world.”

Under the executive order, the commission has 100 days to submit a report to the president on childhood health issues. The report will include an assessment of “the threat that potential over-utilization of medication, certain food ingredients, certain chemicals, and certain other exposures pose to children,” as well as “the prevalence of and threat” of prescribing antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants and weight-loss drugs.

The commission also has 180 days to submit a strategy to restructure the federal government’s response to chronic disease in children, including “ending federal practices that exacerbate the health crisis or unsuccessfully attempt to address it.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kennedys-confirmation-trump-establishes-make-america-healthy-commissio-rcna192136

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