Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Issues New Tylenol Warning: Do Not Give It To Kids For 'Any Reason'
Bloomberg: Trump Ratchets Up Pressure On Tylenol With Warning For Kids
President Donald Trump on Friday intensified his campaign against Tylenol to include young kids, posting on his Truth Social that parents shouldn’t give children the drug “for virtually any reason” without providing scientific evidence for the claim. Tylenol — and the active ingredient acetaminophen — is safe for young children to use to treat fevers, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children under 12 weeks old should not be given acetaminophen unless directed by a doctor, the AAP said. (Nix, 9/26)
ABC News: NIH To Spend $50M On Autism Cause Studies, Experts Say US Should Focus On Treatments
In the wake of the White House's announcement of a potential link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism, the administration also unveiled the launch of the Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI). Under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the initiative will award $50 million to about a dozen projects looking at finding the causes of autism and improving outcomes for autistic individuals. (Kekatos, 9/26)
The Conversation: Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy Not Linked To Autism, Our Study Of 2.5 Million Children Shows
United States President Donald Trump recently claimed that using the common painkiller acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol and by the brand name Tylenol in the US) during pregnancy is fueling the rise in autism diagnoses. He then went on to suggest pregnant women should “tough it out” rather than use the common painkiller if they experience fever or pain. (Gardner, Lee and Ahlqvist, 9/28)
CNN: In Doctors’ Offices, The Consequences Of Trump’s Comments On Tylenol And Vaccines Are Immediately Clear
Hours after President Donald Trump’s announcement linking acetaminophen use during pregnancy with autism in children, a mother sat in my office, sobbing. Had she caused her child’s autism by treating the debilitating headaches she suffered while she was pregnant? (Bracho-Sanchez, 9/26)
NBC News: Before Trump Touted The Drug Leucovorin For Autism, These Families Had Already Tried It
Last winter, Brian Noonan read online that some doctors were prescribing an obscure drug, typically given to cancer patients, for autism. Curious, he looked into it for his son Benjamin, who had just been diagnosed with autism in October. “We jumped on it,” Noonan said. “It felt right and it made sense.” The medication was leucovorin, also called folinic acid. It’s a synthetic form of vitamin B9 or folate, which the body needs to make healthy blood cells. During pregnancy, folate is important to reduce the risk of birth defects. (Lovelace Jr., 9/28)
The Wall Street Journal: Trump Is Betting That Stance On Vaccines, Autism And Tylenol Will Rally His MAGA Base
Jennifer Foskey, who has a 12-year-old daughter with autism, eagerly voted for President Trump last fall for the third time. When he labeled Tylenol use by pregnant women as a potential cause of autism on Monday, she felt a mixture of guilt and shock. “I’ve had four pregnancies, and I’ve taken Tylenol with all of them, just for all the aches and pains that come along with being pregnant,” the Jacksonville, Fla., homemaker said. “So I thought, was this my fault?” (Andrews and Li, 9/27)
