Dr. Peter Lurie
@drpeterlurie.bsky.social
President of @cspinet.org, America’s food and health watchdog.
Previously: FDA, Public Citizen, and HIV policy research.
Previously: FDA, Public Citizen, and HIV policy research.
Good video by @kateschweitzer.bsky.social, who I spoke with about the safety, efficacy, and regulatory gray area of IV hydration spas.
IV hydration spas are a growing segment of the medical spa market but have been able to “slip between the cracks” of state and federal regulation.
A JAMA #MedicalNews article discusses the rise of IV hydration spas and the perceived benefits and known risks.
ja.ma/4p3FQnJ
A JAMA #MedicalNews article discusses the rise of IV hydration spas and the perceived benefits and known risks.
ja.ma/4p3FQnJ
November 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Good video by @kateschweitzer.bsky.social, who I spoke with about the safety, efficacy, and regulatory gray area of IV hydration spas.
Reposted by Dr. Peter Lurie
CSPI President @drpeterlurie.bsky.social spoke to @jama.com about the new trend of IV hydration spas and the concern about the risks of this growing markets that slips between the cracks of state and federal regulation and has the potential for significant adverse effects 👇
IV hydration spas are a growing segment of the medical spa market but have been able to “slip between the cracks” of state and federal regulation.
A JAMA #MedicalNews article discusses the rise of IV hydration spas and the perceived benefits and known risks.
ja.ma/4p3FQnJ
A JAMA #MedicalNews article discusses the rise of IV hydration spas and the perceived benefits and known risks.
ja.ma/4p3FQnJ
November 12, 2025 at 2:52 PM
CSPI President @drpeterlurie.bsky.social spoke to @jama.com about the new trend of IV hydration spas and the concern about the risks of this growing markets that slips between the cracks of state and federal regulation and has the potential for significant adverse effects 👇
Tune in now to @the1a.org on NPR to hear me speak about RFK, Jr., supplement regulations, and more 👇
RFK Jr., the FDA, and supplement regulations
Why are so many Americans turning to health alternatives today?
the1a.org
October 23, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Tune in now to @the1a.org on NPR to hear me speak about RFK, Jr., supplement regulations, and more 👇
My latest in JAMA with @gostin.bsky.social. While the MAHA Commission’s goal of reducing chronic diseases is vital, its proposals are weak and unproven.
💬 Viewpoint: The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission’s strategy to address chronic diseases in children relies on weak, voluntary, and unsupported initiatives while neglecting proven, evidence-based public health interventions.
ja.ma/4nXOPXr
ja.ma/4nXOPXr
October 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
My latest in JAMA with @gostin.bsky.social. While the MAHA Commission’s goal of reducing chronic diseases is vital, its proposals are weak and unproven.
Reposted by Dr. Peter Lurie
💬 Viewpoint: The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission’s strategy to address chronic diseases in children relies on weak, voluntary, and unsupported initiatives while neglecting proven, evidence-based public health interventions.
ja.ma/4nXOPXr
ja.ma/4nXOPXr
October 22, 2025 at 3:30 PM
💬 Viewpoint: The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission’s strategy to address chronic diseases in children relies on weak, voluntary, and unsupported initiatives while neglecting proven, evidence-based public health interventions.
ja.ma/4nXOPXr
ja.ma/4nXOPXr
As I say to @owermohle.bsky.social here, Means is monumentally unqualified for the job as Surgeon General. Even if she were qualified on paper, Means has taken some breathtakingly misinformed positions on matters of public health, including on birth control pills, raw milk, and the causes of autism.
Can Casey Means, Trump’s surgeon general pick, convince the country that RFK will Make America Healthy Again? | CNN Politics
The Stanford educated medical doctor has deep ties to MAHA but will have to convince senators and mainstream Americans of her qualifications as the nation’s top doctor.
www.cnn.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:22 PM
As I say to @owermohle.bsky.social here, Means is monumentally unqualified for the job as Surgeon General. Even if she were qualified on paper, Means has taken some breathtakingly misinformed positions on matters of public health, including on birth control pills, raw milk, and the causes of autism.
Reposted by Dr. Peter Lurie
RFK has mounted a full assault on @CDCgov-- slashing funding & staff, & and turned the agency into a political tool that can no longer be fully trusted on public health recommendations, especially vaccines.
Out today in JAMA Health Forum
Peter Lurie CSPI
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Out today in JAMA Health Forum
Peter Lurie CSPI
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Assault on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—Budget Cuts, Political Control, and the Erosion of Trust
This JAMA Forum discusses measures the Trump administration has taken against the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that include budget cuts and program eliminations, workforce reductions ...
jamanetwork.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:53 PM
RFK has mounted a full assault on @CDCgov-- slashing funding & staff, & and turned the agency into a political tool that can no longer be fully trusted on public health recommendations, especially vaccines.
Out today in JAMA Health Forum
Peter Lurie CSPI
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Out today in JAMA Health Forum
Peter Lurie CSPI
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
The CDC is being severely weakened by the Trump administration, and with tightening political control, public trust in the CDC is diminishing. Read my latest in @jamahealthforum.com with colleague Larry Gostin.
Assault on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—Budget Cuts, Political Control, and the Erosion of Trust
This JAMA Forum discusses measures the Trump administration has taken against the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that include budget cuts and program eliminations, workforce reductions ...
jamanetwork.com
October 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The CDC is being severely weakened by the Trump administration, and with tightening political control, public trust in the CDC is diminishing. Read my latest in @jamahealthforum.com with colleague Larry Gostin.
America's strip malls and Main Streets are filling up with these "hydration spas," with little evidence that they have any health benefits as well as little regulation at the state/federal level.
We are excited to share a recently published study in @jamainternalmed.com which investigates state-level policies related to intravenous (IV) hydration spa regulation. Information regarding the safety of IV spas is limited (1/5)
October 7, 2025 at 6:16 PM
America's strip malls and Main Streets are filling up with these "hydration spas," with little evidence that they have any health benefits as well as little regulation at the state/federal level.
Like the previous report, this should not be taken seriously as science. But as a political document, we have not seen the last of it.
Today, RFK, Jr., USDA, and other leaders at HHS released the final "MAHA" Report, but the only thing this plan seems to make healthy again is industry profits, while ignoring the actual causes of chronic diseases and proven interventions.
From CSPI president @drpeterlurie.bsky.social 👇
From CSPI president @drpeterlurie.bsky.social 👇
RFK, Jr.’s MAHA report favors voluntary industry action over regulation
www.cspi.org
September 9, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Like the previous report, this should not be taken seriously as science. But as a political document, we have not seen the last of it.
Secretary Kennedy is right that conflict of interest is an important issue, but he is wrong that it is present at substantial levels on HHS vaccine advisory committees.
At RFK, Jr.'s disastrous hearing yesterday, Senator Bill Cassidy cited a study co-authored by CSPI president @drpeterlurie.bsky.social and USC's @profgenkanter.bsky.social regarding conflicts of interest. Is RFK, Jr. right when he says that 97% of members of vaccine panels had conflicts of interest?
September 5, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Secretary Kennedy is right that conflict of interest is an important issue, but he is wrong that it is present at substantial levels on HHS vaccine advisory committees.
Reposted by Dr. Peter Lurie
At RFK, Jr.'s disastrous hearing yesterday, Senator Bill Cassidy cited a study co-authored by CSPI president @drpeterlurie.bsky.social and USC's @profgenkanter.bsky.social regarding conflicts of interest. Is RFK, Jr. right when he says that 97% of members of vaccine panels had conflicts of interest?
September 5, 2025 at 11:03 PM
At RFK, Jr.'s disastrous hearing yesterday, Senator Bill Cassidy cited a study co-authored by CSPI president @drpeterlurie.bsky.social and USC's @profgenkanter.bsky.social regarding conflicts of interest. Is RFK, Jr. right when he says that 97% of members of vaccine panels had conflicts of interest?
Secretary Kennedy has chosen to foist his own personal pet theories onto the whole country with his reckless campaign to undermine vaccines and public trust in them. Read my statement on the news coming out of the CDC 👇
RFK, Jr. is systematically dismantling the public health infrastructure that keeps us safe from pandemics and vaccine-responsive diseases like Covid-19.
CDC purge and Covid vaccine restrictions threaten public health
www.cspi.org
August 28, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Secretary Kennedy has chosen to foist his own personal pet theories onto the whole country with his reckless campaign to undermine vaccines and public trust in them. Read my statement on the news coming out of the CDC 👇
Nobody would put these panels forward as representing the general scientific opinion.
“'These meetings are a chance to advance RFK’s pet peeves — talc, antidepressants, fluoride — with people who have been handpicked,' said @drpeterlurie.bsky.social, [CSPI President]."
FDA's new expert panels are rife with financial conflicts and fringe views
A series of panels convened by the Food and Drug Administration is raising concerns that the agency is skirting federal rules and promoting fringe views about antidepressants and other products.
apnews.com
August 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Nobody would put these panels forward as representing the general scientific opinion.
Reposted by Dr. Peter Lurie
CSPI President @drpeterlurie.bsky.social appeared on CNN yesterday to discuss RFK Jr.'s stunning decision to pull $500 million in funding away from development of mRNA vaccines - a decision that will have far-reaching impacts beyond just vaccines for COVID.
Video source: CNN
Video source: CNN
August 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM
CSPI President @drpeterlurie.bsky.social appeared on CNN yesterday to discuss RFK Jr.'s stunning decision to pull $500 million in funding away from development of mRNA vaccines - a decision that will have far-reaching impacts beyond just vaccines for COVID.
Video source: CNN
Video source: CNN
The job of Surgeon General of the United States is not an entry-level position.
Today, CSPI joined with @publiccitizen.bsky.social to co-lead a letter, signed by over 30 other organizations, to urge U.S. senators to reject the nomination of health and wellness digital personality Casey Means for Surgeon General.
Dozens of advocacy, health, and consumer groups urge senators to reject Trump nominee Casey Means for U.S. Surgeon General
www.cspi.org
July 25, 2025 at 9:14 PM
The job of Surgeon General of the United States is not an entry-level position.
RFK, Jr. continues the trend of plucking new hires from unscientific spaces and placing them in positions where they can spread their fringe ideas on a national scale. So-called medical journals like the "Journal of the Academy of Public Health" are the canary in the coal mine here.
RFK Jr. Turns to Fringe Medical Journal to Find New Hires
George Tidmarsh is a millionaire co-founder of a biotech firm, serial entrepreneur, neonatologist and adjunct professor at Stanford University. But his part in creating a fringe medical journal is the...
www.bloomberg.com
July 23, 2025 at 7:08 PM
RFK, Jr. continues the trend of plucking new hires from unscientific spaces and placing them in positions where they can spread their fringe ideas on a national scale. So-called medical journals like the "Journal of the Academy of Public Health" are the canary in the coal mine here.
“Restoring Gold Standard Science” is a move from the same toolbox as RFK, Jr.’s “radical transparency.” That is to say, it will do the exact opposite of what it says it will do. Excellent piece from @drdavidmichaels.bsky.social and Wendy Wagner.
Trump's "gold standard" for science gives political appointees—most of whom are not scientists—the authority to define scientific integrity and then decide which evidence counts and how it should be interpreted, David Michaels and Wendy Wagner argue:
Trump’s ‘Gold Standard’ for Science Manufactures Doubt
By emphasizing scientific uncertainty above other values, political appointees can block any regulatory action they want to.
bit.ly
July 22, 2025 at 6:42 PM
“Restoring Gold Standard Science” is a move from the same toolbox as RFK, Jr.’s “radical transparency.” That is to say, it will do the exact opposite of what it says it will do. Excellent piece from @drdavidmichaels.bsky.social and Wendy Wagner.
Just four months into his role as secretary, RFK, Jr. has already cast doubt on established science, fired staff across HHS, slashed funding for research, and pursued fringe health policies while showing no signs of producing and following scientific evidence that would improve the public's health.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 15, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Just four months into his role as secretary, RFK, Jr. has already cast doubt on established science, fired staff across HHS, slashed funding for research, and pursued fringe health policies while showing no signs of producing and following scientific evidence that would improve the public's health.
The FDA routinely allows substances to remain in foods long after evidence of harm emerges, but the Food Chemical Reassessment Act would ensure the FDA completes those evaluations in a timely manner and begins with chemicals that already have evidence of harm.
Consumers deserve to know that the foods they're eating are safe, but right now, thousands of harmful chemicals in our foods are going unchecked.
We must put the ‘F’ back in the FDA.
That's why @delauro.house.gov and I are introducing a bill to get toxic chemicals out of our foods.
We must put the ‘F’ back in the FDA.
That's why @delauro.house.gov and I are introducing a bill to get toxic chemicals out of our foods.
Schakowsky, DeLauro Introduce Legislation to Help Ensure the Food We Eat is Safe
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Ranking Member of the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and U.S. Representativ...
schakowsky.house.gov
July 10, 2025 at 9:25 PM
The FDA routinely allows substances to remain in foods long after evidence of harm emerges, but the Food Chemical Reassessment Act would ensure the FDA completes those evaluations in a timely manner and begins with chemicals that already have evidence of harm.
More sleight of hand on “radical transparency” at HHS.
FDA today published complete response letters for 200 drugs, citing my research when I was at FDA. But they are only disclosing the CRLs for drugs that were subsequently approved – and these are already available on the FDA website. (1/2)
FDA today published complete response letters for 200 drugs, citing my research when I was at FDA. But they are only disclosing the CRLs for drugs that were subsequently approved – and these are already available on the FDA website. (1/2)
July 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM
More sleight of hand on “radical transparency” at HHS.
FDA today published complete response letters for 200 drugs, citing my research when I was at FDA. But they are only disclosing the CRLs for drugs that were subsequently approved – and these are already available on the FDA website. (1/2)
FDA today published complete response letters for 200 drugs, citing my research when I was at FDA. But they are only disclosing the CRLs for drugs that were subsequently approved – and these are already available on the FDA website. (1/2)
Usually these overrides are meant to be less restrictive, making a product available when reviewers are more cautious. It's hard not to think that antipathy towards COVID vaccines is playing a large role in this override.
A top USDA vaccine official overrode agency experts by recommending *against* the broad use of two COVID vaccines. CSPI Pres. @drpeterlurie.bsky.social says he’s never seen an override like this before.
From @owermohle.bsky.social & @reportergoodman.bsky.social at CNN 👇
From @owermohle.bsky.social & @reportergoodman.bsky.social at CNN 👇
Top FDA vaccine official rejected broad use of Covid-19 shots, documents show | CNN
The US Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official overrode agency experts in May to recommend against the broad use of two Covid-19 vaccines, newly released documents show.
www.cnn.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Usually these overrides are meant to be less restrictive, making a product available when reviewers are more cautious. It's hard not to think that antipathy towards COVID vaccines is playing a large role in this override.
The MAHA Report is rightly concerned about industry-funded research, but ceding ground to industry won’t help. It’s self-evident that cutbacks in federal funding will leave the field open to the very corporate funding RFK Jr. has decried.
The Trump administration has declared that it will aggressively combat chronic disease in America. But its actions tell a much different story. How can we "make America healthy again" when we don't fund scientific research?
‘MAHA Report’ calls for fighting chronic disease, but Trump and Kennedy have yanked funding
www.cspi.org
July 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The MAHA Report is rightly concerned about industry-funded research, but ceding ground to industry won’t help. It’s self-evident that cutbacks in federal funding will leave the field open to the very corporate funding RFK Jr. has decried.
The NIH grant terminations were arbitrary and capricious, and have now been ruled unlawful. Judge Young’s ruling thankfully starts researchers getting back to work delivering progress on cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, HIV, and other health challenges facing our diverse population.
BREAKING: A federal judge in Massachusetts (the Reagan-appointed William Young) has declared the Trump administration's cuts to NIH grants — ostensibly over Trump's EOs on gender ideology and DEI — are "illegal" and "void." He's ordering many grants restored.
June 16, 2025 at 6:56 PM
The NIH grant terminations were arbitrary and capricious, and have now been ruled unlawful. Judge Young’s ruling thankfully starts researchers getting back to work delivering progress on cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, HIV, and other health challenges facing our diverse population.
RFK: Let's question Pharma drugs, which have actual evidence, and open the market to experimental therapies sometimes made by "charlatans."
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/h...
Kennedy Says ‘Charlatans’ Are No Reason to Block Unproven Stem Cell Treatments
www.nytimes.com
June 6, 2025 at 1:33 PM
RFK: Let's question Pharma drugs, which have actual evidence, and open the market to experimental therapies sometimes made by "charlatans."
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/h...