Dr Jay K. Varma

Introduction

On my Thermometer YouTube series, I recently sat down with Dr. Tom Farley—former Health Commissioner of New York City and Philadelphia—to discuss a disturbing new shift in U.S. public health policy. Under the Trump administration’s new “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative, health decisions are being shaped by ideology rather than by evidence.

In this in-depth interview, we dissect how pseudoscience is gaining ground in government policy and why it matters to anyone who cares about facts, health, and the future of science.

The “Make America Healthy Again” Report

The MAHA Commission was formed under executive order to examine rising rates of chronic disease among children. Instead of reviewing the best available epidemiologic data and evidence, the report is framed around a nostalgic, fact-free vision of a time when “America was healthier.” It’s a vision based far more on political messaging than public health evidence. As Tom noted, the report appears to be rooted in the personal beliefs of RFK Jr., including unsupported claims about childhood disease rates and dubious concerns about vaccines.

From Fact to Fiction: Misinformation in the Report

The report starts by redefining chronic disease in an unscientific way. It lumps together conditions like asthma, autism, ADHD, allergies, and obesity as if they share common causes and solutions.

The report does address some important public health problems, particularly the rise in childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. Both of these are well-documented to be increasing in children and largely driven by ultra-processed (or “junk”) foods.

But from there, the report gets weird. It blames mental illness in teens on food additives, links allergies to vaccines, and treats unsupported theories as settled science. It claims that 60% of kids have chronic illness today compared to 6% in the past, without any legitimate data to support that number. As Tom and I discussed, it’s a blend of half-truths, misinterpretations, and outright lies.

The Rise of Pseudoscience in Health Policy

The MAHA report outright fabricates information. Some references lead to journals that lack peer review, which basically means someone typed some text in a word processing software, turned it into a PDF, emailed it to the journal with a check, and had it published. That’s not the way high-quality scientific journals work, and those “studies” have no scientific value.

Other references in the report cite studies that simply don’t exist. This is not some minor low-level report. This is the signature health policy report of a presidential administration. If a high school student submitted this for their term paper, they’d like be given an “F” and subjected to a disciplinary hearing.

This kind of pseudoscience is particularly dangerous because it masquerades as legitimate science. It borrows the language of evidence-based medicine to argue against it—claiming, for example, that vaccines haven’t been tested properly, when in fact, COVID vaccines went through large randomized controlled trials and real-world surveillance.

The goal is to sow doubt, and then for MAHA supporters to sell supplements and alternative therapies as part of an ideological worldview that discredits science altogether.

COVID Vaccination in Pregnancy: Science vs. Politics

Perhaps the clearest example of how anti-science ideology is reshaping public health came in May 2025, when the U.S. dropped its recommendation for COVID vaccination in pregnancy.

Let’s be clear. Data from the U.S. and globally show that COVID infection in pregnancy increases risk for preterm birth, preeclampsia, ICU admission, and death. And vaccination helps reduce those complications with no concerns about safety. The CDC originally recommended vaccination based on that evidence, which was and remains the right call.

But in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter), RFK Jr., the FDA commissioner, and the NIH commissioner reversed course without any input from CDC experts or clinicians. The U.S. is now the only country in the world that doesn’t recognize pregnancy as a high-risk group for COVID. .

When Scientific Review Is Replaced with AI

One of the most alarming features of the MAHA report is its apparent reliance on AI-generated content with minimal human review. The report includes fabricated studies, misquoted references, and material copied from low-quality websites.

At CDC, I personally experienced the rigors of scientific clearance: multiple rounds of review, correction of tables, validation of data sources, and internal debates about methodology. Was it tedious? Absolutely. But it ensured credibility and accuracy.

What we’re seeing now is a complete breakdown of that system. It’s post-science: a world in which data is replaced by narrative, and fake studies hold the same weight as peer-reviewed research.

What You Can Do

As we concluded in our discussion, it’s time to raise your voice if you care about clean air, safe vaccines, and evidence-based medicine.

Contact your local and national representatives. Ask for transparency. Demand that public health agencies be led by scientists, not ideologues. And most of all, keep yourself informed. Support journalists, researchers, and doctors working to separate truth from propaganda.

To hear our full conversation, visit my YouTube channel, Thermometer. And to follow Dr. Farley’s thoughtful work on health systems and prevention, check out his Substack newsletter, Healthscaping.