Politics
Trump warns pregnant women against Tylenol use
- White House vows to revolutionise health in US.
- Trump insists ‘taking Tylenol is not good.
- Paracetamol cited as among safest painkillers during pregnancy.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday vehemently insisted that pregnant people should “tough it out” and avoid Tylenol over an unproven link to autism, and urged major changes to the standard vaccines administered to babies.
The Republican leader’s announcement, rife with sweeping yet unsubstantiated advice, came as the White House has vowed to revolutionise health in the United States, and as experts across medicine and science voice broad concern over the administration’s initiatives that appear intent on unravelling decades of medical consensus.
Medical groups including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have long cited paracetamol — the primary ingredient in Tylenol — as among the safest painkillers to take during pregnancy.
But Trump, who hammered on his message in increasingly emphatic terms, insisted that “taking Tylenol is not good” and to “fight like hell not to take it.”
He said pregnant people should “tough it out,” and that only an “extremely high fever” would justify taking the over-the-counter medicine.
That’s not true: fever and pain can pose serious threats to both the mother and the developing foetus.
Arthur Caplan, the head of NYU’s medical ethics division, called Trump’s display “dangerous,” “unscientific” and “full of misinformation.”
“I worry that pregnant women are going to feel guilty if they took Tylenol. They’re going to feel they let down their babies. They’re going to feel that they were unethical in terms of trying to treat fever. That’s just not fair, and it’s not anything that anybody should be feeling,” Caplan told AFP.
Debate ongoing
The Food and Drug Administration was far more muted than Trump on the topic, saying in a letter to physicians that “a causal relationship has not been established” and that scientific debate was ongoing.
A literature review published last month concluded there was reason to believe a possible link between Tylenol exposure and autism existed — but many other studies have found an opposite result.
Researchers behind the August report cautioned that more study is needed and that pregnant people should not stop taking medication without consulting their doctors.
David Mandell, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told AFP that research suggests the possible risks posed by taking Tylenol while pregnant seem “to be lower than the risk of having an uncontrolled infection during pregnancy.”
Anti-vax ‘threat’ to children
Identifying the root of autism — a complex condition connected to brain development that many experts believe occurs for predominantly genetic reasons — has been a pet cause of Trump’s health chief, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy for decades has spread debunked claims that vaccines cause autism.
On Monday he touted the drug leucovorin, a form of vitamin B first used to alleviate chemotherapy side effects, as an “exciting therapy” that could help children with the disorder whose symptoms vary widely across a spectrum.
The FDA on Monday said it was approving the drug’s tablet form to help a subset of children who have “cerebral folate deficiency.”
Vaccines were also on the rambling agenda of Trump’s conference.
He ardently repeated anti-vax movement talking points as top figures in the administration, including Kennedy, nodded along.
He sowed doubt over standard vaccines including the MMR shot — which covers measles, mumps and rubella — and implied he would end the common use of aluminium in vaccines, the safety of which has been widely studied.
And the president pushed for a major change to the routine vaccine schedule given to infants, insisting without evidence that there’s “no reason” to vaccinate newborns against the incurable, highly contagious Hepatitis B.
That statement stands in direct contradiction of broad medical consensus formed over decades. Many experts say the best way to prevent maternal transmission of the disease, which can cause liver damage and cancer, is to vaccinate babies within the first day of life.
Trump’s push comes days after an influential advisory panel handpicked by Kennedy stopped short of advising to delay the first dose of Hepatitis B vaccine by one month.
They deemed more discussion was necessary — offering temporary relief to many experts across public health who said postponing that shot could have dire results.
“Spacing out or delaying vaccines means children will not have immunity against these diseases at times when they are most at risk,” said Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Paediatrics, on Monday.
“Any effort to misrepresent sound, strong science poses a threat to the health of children.”
- Ragasa swept through the northern Philippines on Monday.
- Ragasa disrupts 700 flights, Hong Kong Observatory warns of sea surge.
- Macau, Shenzhen prepare for impact, evacuations and shelters activated.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong braced for Super Typhoon Ragasa on Tuesday, the world’s most powerful tropical typhoon this year, shutting schools and some businesses, while most passenger flights were scheduled to be suspended later in the day until early Thursday.
Ragasa, packing hurricane-force winds of up to 220km/h (137 mph), is edging closer to the coast of neighbouring southern Guangdong province in China, the Hong Kong Observatory said.
Authorities in the financial hub are set to raise the typhoon signal to 8, its third highest, by 2:20pm (0620 GMT), which will prompt most businesses and transport services to shut down. About 700 flights have been disrupted.
The observatory said it will assess if it needs to issue a higher warning late on Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Ragasa swept through the northern Philippines on Monday, prompting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to order the country’s disaster response agency to go on full alert and mobilise all government agencies.
The Hong Kong Observatory said hurricane-force winds offshore and on high ground were likely in Hong Kong on Wednesday, with heavy rain expected to lead to a significant storm and sea surge in the densely packed city.
It warned of rising sea levels, which it said would be similar to those seen during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, both of which caused billions of dollars in damage.
Water levels will rise about two metres (six feet) along Hong Kong’s coastal areas and maximum water levels could reach up to 4-5 metres (12-15 feet) in some areas, the observatory said, urging residents to take appropriate precautions.
Local authorities handed out sandbags on Monday for residents to bolster their homes in low-lying areas, while many people stockpiled daily necessities.
Long queues formed at supermarkets; milk and meat sold out and vegetable prices at fresh-produce markets tripled, according to Reuters witnesses on Monday.
Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange will remain open. It changed its policy late last year to continue trading whatever the weather. Chinese authorities have activated flood control measures in several southern provinces, warning of heavy rain from late on Tuesday.
Residents in the world’s largest gambling hub of Macau are also bracing for significant impact, with school closures and evacuation plans under way.
In China’s technology hub Shenzhen, authorities said they have prepared more than 800 emergency shelters.
Taiwan’s government has evacuated more than 7,600 people from mountainous southern and eastern areas, while transport disruption continued for a second day on Tuesday with 273 flights cancelled and some rail services suspended.
A flag-raising ceremony was held outside the Palestinian mission in London on Monday, a day after the UK announced it would recognise the State of Palestine, along with Australia, Canada and Portugal.
Other countries, including France, are due to follow suit in recognising Palestinian statehood at the annual UN General Assembly that opens Monday in New York.
Head of Mission Husam Zomlot hailed the “long overdue” recognition as the flag was raised in front of a crowd outside the building in Hammersmith in west London.
Holding up a plaque reading “Embassy of the State of Palestine”, Zomlot said it would be put up soon, “pending some legal work, some bureaucratic work”.
He called the recognition move an “acknowledgement of a historic injustice” at a time of “unimaginable suffering” for the Palestinian people in the war in Gaza.
He said the UK’s recognition had particular resonance as Britain was pivotal in laying the groundwork for the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Palestinian Authority could now “set up an embassy and an ambassador in the UK”.
“We will set out the diplomatic steps with the Palestinian Authority, there will be a series of different stages and processes to go through,” Cooper told the BBC.
“On that practical side the most important thing is that it’s part of that process to keep everyone working towards a two-state solution,” she added.
Questioned on when the British consulate in east Jerusalem would become an embassy, Cooper said it had been there for longer than the Israeli state, “so it will continue for now, and we will set out the diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority”.
Following Sunday’s announcement, Britain’s foreign ministry updated its travel advice page to remove the reference to “Occupied Palestinian territories”, replacing it with “Palestine”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the push for recognition as “absurd”, saying it would “endanger” Israel’s existence.
He has also vowed to accelerate the creation of new settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The war in Gaza follows Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 65,208 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the UN considers reliable.
- US lawmakers believe there should be more frequent visits
- First House of Representatives visits Beijing in six years.
- Dong says visit to strengthen China-US communications.
A delegation of US lawmakers met with Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun on Monday in the first House of Representatives visit to Beijing in six years, with talks aimed at bolstering exchanges including military-to-military communication.
The bipartisan delegation was led by Democratic US Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the current top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the US Defense Department and armed forces.
“We are the first delegation from the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and we feel strongly that there should be more frequent visits and more robust conversation,” Smith told Dong.
“We want to open up the lines of communication. And in particular around military matters,” Smith said, according to a pool report organised by the US embassy in Beijing.
Trip follows call between leaders
Dong said the visit marked a “good” phase in efforts to strengthen China-US communications, according to the pool report.
He urged the lawmakers to “eliminate interfering and restrictive factors and adopt constructive and pragmatic measures” to help improve military-to-military relations and bilateral ties, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
The Chinese military is willing to build stable and positive military ties based on respect and peaceful coexistence, while safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, Dong was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
The trip followed a call on Friday between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping as they seek a way out of strained ties exacerbated by trade tensions, US curbs over semiconductor chips, the ownership of TikTok, Chinese activities in the South China Sea, and matters related to Taiwan.
The leaders agreed to further talks on the sidelines of a forum in South Korea at the end of October. Trump also said he would visit China early next year and that Xi would come to the US at a later date.
In a readout of the meeting issued in Washington, Smith said that the US delegation also discussed with Chinese officials the current status of economic negotiations and the impact that tariffs are having on bilateral trade, the need for China to help stem the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl to the US and the status of negotiations on the future of TikTok.
“The delegation discussed the issue of critical minerals and concerns with China’s actions to restrict the global supply and processing of rare earth minerals,” Smith said.
Smith said the delegation emphasised the need to increase dialogue and transparency between the two countries, especially at the military-to-military level, including stressing that the US seeks a peaceful resolution to the issue of Taiwan.
In a separate meeting between China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and the visiting US lawmakers on Monday, He called on Beijing and Washington to “engage in candid communication, enhance trust and resolve doubts” to develop stable, healthy and sustainable trade and economic relations, according to Xinhua.
The US lawmakers were welcomed by Premier Li Qiang, China’s No.2 political leader, on Sunday.
The COVID-19 pandemic ended formal House visits in 2020, and relations rapidly unravelled due to intense debate over the origins of the coronavirus that spread all over the world.
Hong Kong braces for Super Typhoon Ragasa; schools, businesses shut
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