White House blames 'formatting issues' in health report that cited non-existent studies

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 30, 2025 7:46 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The wide-ranging "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited hundreds of studies, but a person look by the quality enactment NOTUS recovered that immoderate of those studies did not really exist.

Asked astir the report's problems connected Thursday, White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said the study volition beryllium updated. She did not straight respond to a question of whether artificial quality had been utilized to make the 72-page report, which calls for accrued scrutiny of the puerility vaccine docket and decried America's nutrient supply, pesticides and medicine drugs.

"I recognize determination was immoderate formatting issues with the MAHA study that are being addressed and the study volition beryllium updated." Leavitt told reporters during her briefing. "But it does not negate the substance of the report, which, arsenic you know, is 1 of the astir transformative wellness reports that has ever been released by the national government."

Leavitt said that the White House has "complete confidence" successful Kennedy.

NOTUS reported Thursday that 7 of the much than 500 studies cited successful the study did not look to person ever been published, portion its study said immoderate studies were besides misinterpreted successful the MAHA report.   

Katherine Keyes, an epidemiology prof astatine the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, was cited successful the study arsenic the writer of "Changes successful intelligence wellness and substance usage among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic," which the study said was published successful the aesculapian diary JAMA Pediatrics.

WATCH l Canadian medical, subject researchers spot much expressions of interest: 

Report 'should beryllium junked': nationalist wellness official

Keyes told Reuters that neither she nor the named co-authors of the insubstantial had written it.

According to Virginia Commonwealth University, psychiatry professor Robert L. Findling — who teaches astatine that school — did not writer the nonfiction cited successful the study arsenic "Direct-to-consumer advertizing of psychotropic medications for youth: A increasing concern" successful the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 

The studies attributed to Findling and Keyes nary longer appeared successful the MAHA study connected the White House website arsenic of Thursday evening.

Kennedy has spent decades sowing uncertainty astir the information of vaccines, raising concerns wrong the technological and aesculapian communities implicit the policies helium would prosecute arsenic wellness secretary. Since taking the role, thousands of workers astatine national wellness agencies person been fired and billions cut from U.S. biomedical probe spending — though astatine times successful legislature testimony, Kennedy has professed a deficiency of cognition of immoderate of the layoffs.

WATCH | Kennedy was confirmed, adjacent aft contentious confirmation: 

The MAHA study is expected to beryllium utilized to make argumentation recommendations that volition beryllium released aboriginal this year. The White House has requested a $500 cardinal US boost successful backing from Congress for the initiative.

Georges C. Benjamin, enforcement manager of the American Public Health Association, told the Washington Post that, "for each applicable purposes, [the report] should beryllium junked astatine this point."

"It cannot beryllium utilized for immoderate policymaking. It cannon adjacent beryllium utilized for immoderate superior discussion, due to the fact that you can't judge what's successful it.

COVID, vertebrate flu vaccine announcements questioned

It was the latest improvement successful a engaged week for Kennedy and the department. On Tuesday, helium announced successful a little video that COVID-19 vaccines are nary longer recommended for steadfast children and large women — a determination instantly questioned by respective nationalist wellness experts.

A Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) advisory sheet is acceptable to conscionable successful June to marque recommendations astir the autumn shots, but Kennedy decided not to hold for the technological panel's review. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, caput of the National Institutes of Health, appeared successful the video with Kennedy, but nary 1 from CDC did.

"There's nary caller information oregon information, conscionable them flying by the spot of their pants," said Michael Osterholm, manager of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

Some physicians and nationalist wellness leaders expressed interest that Health and Human Services officials disregarded a technological reappraisal process that has been successful spot for decades, successful which experts — successful nationalist meetings — reappraisal existent aesculapian grounds and hash retired the pros and cons of argumentation changes.

"It's a unsafe precedent," said Osterholm.

Among the problems, experts said, was the accusation that the coronavirus isn't unsafe to large women.

During the tallness of the pandemic, deaths of women during gestation oregon soon aft childbirth soared to their highest level successful 50 years. As well, gestation was connected the database of wellness conditions that would suffice idiosyncratic for a COVID-19 vaccination nether FDA's caller guidance model announced just last week.

"To accidental that they are not astatine immoderate hazard is simply incorrect," said Dr. Sean O'Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

As well, the The Trump medication this week cancelled $766 cardinal US paid to Moderna for vaccine development.

LISTEN |  Nicholas Florko, Atlantic staff writer, connected the microorganism successful the U.S. (from February): 

Moderna received $176 cardinal US successful July 2024 and $590 cardinal successful January. The January grant would person supported a late-stage objective proceedings that could person determined vaccine efficacy against pandemic viruses, including vertebrate flu, a institution spokesperson said connected Wednesday.

H5N1 vertebrate flu viruses spilled from chaotic vertebrate into cattle successful the U.S. past year, infecting hundreds of animals successful respective states. At slightest 70 radical successful the U.S. person been sickened by vertebrate flu infections, mostly mild, but one person died.

Some scientists fearfulness that continued mutation of the microorganism could let it to go much virulent oregon much easy dispersed successful people.