Health
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services
From LifeSiteNews
Kennedy’s sharp criticism of the HHS has opened an unprecedented opportunity for reform.
The U.S. Senate voted 52-48 on Thursday to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as America’s next secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), cementing an unconventional partnership between Republican President Donald Trump and an ex-Democrat and longtime critic of the medical establishment.
Kennedy, nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and son of the late Attorney General Robert Kennedy, is a longtime environmental and medical activist, who initially attempted to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democrat nomination, switched to an independent bid against both Biden and Trump after months of accusing party leadership of having “rigged” the primary process against him, and ultimately dropped out and endorsed Trump in August 2024.
Senators voted 53-47 to invoke cloture on Wednesday, limiting debate over the nomination to a final 30-hour window before a simple-majority confirmation vote. As of press time, Kennedy secured at least 50 votes, meaning that even if the remaining 50 vote against him, Vice President J.D. Vance will be able to break the tie. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to vote no.
Instrumental to Republican support was Kennedy’s assurance that he would implement pro-life policies at HHS despite his ardently pro-abortion history, and convincing senators like Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that he was less opposed to conventional vaccines than his history suggests. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), another expected holdout, announced the day before she would support him.
Kennedy now rises to the top of the very national health bureaucracy he has so sharply criticized for so long, opening an unprecedented opportunity for reform. Whether it will be taken, however, remains to be seen.
As one of the country’s most vocal critics of the COVID establishment and vaccines more generally, Kennedy joining forces with Trump was crucial to reassuring voters that the second Trump administration would take a critical reassessment of the COVID shots that the returning president has previously embraced, although most of Kennedy’s comments since joining Trump have focused on other issues, such as conventional vaccines and harmful food additives.
During the confirmation hearings, Kennedy called the first Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed initiative, which birthed the COVID vaccines in record time, “an extraordinary accomplishment and demonstration of leadership by President Trump.” Trump himself has also recently met with Microsoft chief Bill Gates and artificial intelligence executives about potential future OWS-like initiatives for mRNA-based vaccines targeting cancer and HIV.
From LifeSiteNews
By Stephen Kokx
Ivermectin has been praised by many doctors and natural medicine users as a remedy for COVID and other illnesses, despite being attacked by mainstream media and Big Pharma.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has approved ivermectin to be sold over the counter without a prescription.
Dismissed as “horse paste” by the mainstream media and Big Pharma during the COVID-19 outbreak, ivermectin was praised by many doctors and wholistic and natural medicine users for helping them overcome coronavirus symptoms.
Podcaster Joe Rogan was one public person the media was especially critical of after he announced he used ivermectin. America’s Frontline Doctors, actor Mel Gibson, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who now serves as the Trump administration’s Health and Human Services Secretary, have also defended ivermectin as well as hydroxychloroquine. Gibson has stated that he has friends who have been cured of their cancer thanks to the drugs.
Sanders signed the bill into law on Tuesday after it received bipartisan support from the Arkansas legislature, which approved it by a 78-14 and 29-5 vote in the state House and state Senate, respectively. The law will go into effect 90 days after the chamber adjourns for summer recess.
Medical freedom activists in the state are telling local media that they look forward to seeing how ivermectin can help alleviate illness.
“We don’t know what the future holds for the human drug, but to me it validates the doctors that were demonized for using it,” one person said.
GOP state Sen. Alan Clark likewise remarked: “I’m more trusting of my constituents’ and friends’ common sense than I am of the medical industry at the moment.”
Ivermectin won FDA approval in 1998 under the brand name Stromectol, produced by pharmaceutical giant Merck, and is intended to treat parasitic infections.
In 2021, comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore compared drug giant Pfizer’s expensive new antiviral drug for COVID with ivermectin, which is far cheaper.
“I’ve never seen the propaganda machine so hard at work as it’s been against ivermectin,” Dore said on his podcast. “Ivermectin won a Nobel Prize for human medicine in 2015, but the media really has everyone believing it’s for horses.”
Former NFL star quarterback Aaron Rodger also defended ivermectin during COVID. While appearing on ESPN, he said he was using the drug along with Vitamin C and zinc to manage his symptoms.
“Why do people hate ivermectin? … You can’t make any money off of it,” he remarked.
Alberta
Province announces plans for nine new ‘urgent care centres’ – redirecting 200,000 hospital visits
Expanding urgent care across Alberta
If passed, Budget 2025 includes $17 million in planning funds to support the development of urgent care facilities across the province.
As Alberta’s population grows, so does the demand for health care. In response, the government is making significant investments to ensure every Albertan has access to high-quality care close to home. Currently, more than 35 per cent of emergency department visits are for non-life-threatening conditions that could be treated at urgent care centres. By expanding these centres, Alberta’s government is enhancing the health care system and improving access to timely care.
If passed, Budget 2025 includes $15 million to support plans for eight new urgent care centres and an additional $2 million in planning funds for an integrated primary and urgent care facility in Airdrie. These investments will help redirect up to 200,000 lower-acuity emergency department visits annually, freeing up capacity for life-threatening cases, reducing wait times and improving access to care for Albertans.
“More people are choosing to call Alberta home, which is why we are taking action to build capacity across the health care system. Urgent care centres help bridge the gap between primary care and emergency departments, providing timely care for non-life-threatening conditions.”
“Our team at Infrastructure is fully committed to leading the important task of planning these eight new urgent care facilities across the province. Investments into facilities like these help strengthen our communities by alleviating strains on emergency departments and enhance access to care. I am looking forward to the important work ahead.”
The locations for the eight new urgent care centres were selected based on current and projected increases in demand for lower-acuity care at emergency departments. The new facilities will be in west Edmonton, south Edmonton, Westview (Stony Plain/Spruce Grove), east Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Cold Lake and Fort McMurray.
“Too many Albertans, especially those living in rural communities, are travelling significant distances to receive care. Advancing plans for new urgent care centres will build capacity across the health care system.”
“Additional urgent care centres across Alberta will give Albertans more options for accessing the right level of care when it’s needed. This is a necessary and substantial investment that will eventually ease some of the pressures on our emergency departments.”
The remaining $2 million will support planning for One Health Airdrie’s integrated primary and urgent care facility. The operating model, approved last fall, will see One Health Airdrie as the primary care operator, while urgent care services will be publicly funded and operated by a provider selected through a competitive process.
“Our new Airdrie facility, offering integrated primary and urgent care, will provide same-day access to approximately 30,000 primary care patients and increase urgent care capacity by around 200 per cent, benefiting the entire community and surrounding areas. We are very excited.”
Alberta’s government will continue to make smart, strategic investments in health facilities to support the delivery of publicly funded health programs and services to ensure Albertans have access to the care they need, when and where they need it.
Budget 2025 is meeting the challenge faced by Alberta with continued investments in education and health, lower taxes for families and a focus on the economy.
Quick facts
- The $2 million in planning funds for One Health Airdrie are part of a total $24-million investment to advance planning on several health capital initiatives across the province through Budget 2025.
- Alberta’s population is growing, and visits to emergency departments are projected to increase by 27 per cent by 2038.
- Last year, Alberta’s government provided $8.4 million for renovations to the existing Airdrie Community Health Centre.
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