With his characteristic histrionics and vehemence, the President of the US, Donald Trump, linked paracetamol and autism last Monday. He did so without relying on any scientific evidence, following a denialist path that he started in his first term and has intensified upon his return to the White House, where he has elevated controversial figures like the anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy.
This week's actions may be the most virulent against scientific knowledge and the functioning of Medicine. Without any robust data supporting his statements, he repeatedly advised pregnant women to stop taking paracetamol, linking the drug's consumption during pregnancy to a "high risk of autism," an unfounded claim that has been debunked by numerous healthcare professionals and scientific societies.
Trump also insinuated unfounded suspicions about vaccines yesterday and announced the imminent authorization of a drug to treat autism, despite lacking sufficient evidence to support its approval. Since taking office, he has dismissed top-level health institution officials, such as the CDC, cut funding for research, undermined vaccines, and put forth all sorts of anti-scientific arguments, but the trail of denialism goes way back... remember that during the worst moments of the pandemic, the US president advocated, without any evidence, the use of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and even suggested investigating the possible use of "disinfectant injections." "I'm not a doctor, but, well, I'm a person who has a good, 'you know what'," he stated unabashedly.
"Since taking office, Donald Trump has not stopped making strident statements," notes Javier Padilla, Secretary of State for Health, who emphasizes that the ruler's outbursts always sidestep the "real problem in the US, which is a healthcare model that excludes a large part of the population."
No, there is no evidence that paracetamol causes autism
What happened with paracetamol, he continues, "is a clear example of how to champion the pseudoscientific eccentricities of Robert Kennedy Jr. in a press conference with a performance that is grotesque." These statements, he adds, are likely to "result in patients not taking a medication they should only because of the fear that the US president has stirred up with a microphone in hand."
According to the Director of the Spanish Agency of Medicines, María Jesús Lamas, spreading these types of messages only erodes society's trust in science because drug development is a process based on the scientific method to ensure its quality, safety, and efficacy. "All decisions regarding authorization conditions (including indications, adverse reactions, administration conditions, etc.) are based on verified data evaluated by experts in the field," emphasizes Lamas. Therefore, she adds that ignoring this poses a double threat, "firstly, counterproductive for public health" and, "secondly, undermines the public's trust in various public and private scientific-technical organizations."
These are some of the most notorious occasions when the Trump Administration has disregarded science:
Paracetamol and autism, the latest "idea"
"Acetaminophen (paracetamol) may be associated with a very high risk of autism," stated the President of the US, Donald Trump, last Monday in a press conference where he was accompanied by the Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy, a figure under scrutiny for his clear anti-vaccine stance.
Although he did not provide any data to support his claims, Trump made statements like this: "If you are pregnant, do not take Tylenol (a popular brand of paracetamol in the US). Do not take it," he said. The president's assertions have been strongly criticized by the scientific community both inside and outside the country.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) released a statement on Tuesday reminding that paracetamol can be safely used during pregnancy and "there is no evidence" necessitating changes in the recommended usage indications so far. "Our recommendation is based on a rigorous analysis of the available scientific data, and we have found no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children," the statement reads.
Many healthcare professionals and scientific societies have echoed similar sentiments, such as the Spanish Society of Spanish Society of Pediatric Neurology (SENEP), which emphasized in a statement that "currently, there is no solid evidence to establish a causal relationship between paracetamol consumption during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder."
A Continuous Affront to Vaccines
The Secretary of Health whispers to Trump everything related to anti-vaccine stances. "The public health of the US is in danger, and let's hope it doesn't affect the rest of us," says the President of the Spanish Vaccination Association, Jaime Jesús Pérez. The recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) "had tremendous value and were unifying for everyone. Today, that's no longer the case," Pérez argues.
Trump's policy shift led to the dismissal of 17 members of that committee who were "handpicked" and "have little to no experience in the field of infectious diseases or vaccines," Pérez highlights. This has led to removing the Covid vaccine for children and pregnant women from the schedule and cutting funding for RNA vaccine research. Funds that provided a crucial boost to the formulas used during the pandemic.
Trump has also supported the long-standing anti-vaccine claim about the presence of mercury in vaccines. This would be thiomersal, used in multidose vaccines, and whose danger has not been proven. This compound is often associated with the development of autism. However, as Ana María Martín de Rosales, from the Pharmacotechnology group of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH), emphasizes, "in those countries where it has been removed from almost all childhood vaccines, the frequency of autism has continued to increase, contrary to what would be expected if thiomersal were behind it."
Similarly, just a few weeks ago, the White House also announced the removal of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, due to her refusal to accept vaccination guidelines lacking scientific support. The dismissal triggered a wave of resignations and strong criticism from the scientific community, which supported Monarez. In May, Kennedy announced that he was removing the Covid vaccine from the list of recommended immunizations for children and pregnant women.
Another blow to public health was the $500 million cut in the US for mRNA vaccine research, casting doubt on their safety, an argument debunked by various professionals and institutions.
On his first day in office, Trump announced that the country would withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) within the next twelve months. He argued that the reasons for this decision were "mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic and other global health crises," as well as "disproportionate payments compared to the dues of other countries."
The decision drew criticism from many specialists, such as Belén Tarrafeta, a pharmaceutical policy researcher at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp (Belgium), who, in statements to SMC Spain, pointed out that "the US withdrawal from the WHO will worsen the lack of funding, considering that the organization already faces a considerable deficit to fulfill its responsibilities. It is important to understand that the WHO's responsibilities increase as new resolutions are adopted, many of which are approved without the necessary funding, in addition to maintaining current operations. This implies that the gap in global health will be even greater."
In April 2020, as Covid was raging, Trump sparked controversy during a press conference where he suggested that the coronavirus could possibly be treated with injections of disinfectant into the body and also proposed irradiating patients with ultraviolet light, to the astonished look of a doctor accompanying him at the briefing. "Assuming we hit the body with a tremendous light, either ultraviolet or just very powerful," said the president, addressing Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, "I think you said that hasn't been tested but it's going to be tested." He then added, "Suppose we introduce the light inside the body, through the skin or in some other way. I think you said that's going to be tested too. Sounds interesting," he said, looking towards Dr. Birx. "And as for the disinfectant, it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. I don't know if there's a way you can use it as an injection, almost like a cleaning. It could be interesting to check that."
To conclude, he added, "I'm not a doctor but, well, I'm a person who has a good, you know what." Following these statements, Trump turned to Deborah Birx again to ask if she knew if "heat and light" could be used to treat the coronavirus. "It's not a treatment," the doctor responded. "Certainly, fever is a positive thing, when you have a fever, it helps your body respond. But neither heat nor light are a treatment."
The president, nevertheless, insisted: "It's something that should be looked at." His remarks were heavily criticized, as was the case when in May 2020 he claimed to have been taking the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine for weeks, a drug whose effectiveness was already being questioned by his own government. "I think it's good, I've heard a lot of positive stories about it. And if it's not good, I'll tell you. It's not going to hurt me. It's been around for about 40 years for malaria, lupus, and other things... I take it, frontline workers take it," he pointed out.