Robert M. Califf
Robert McKinnon Califf is an American cardiologist who served as the 25th commissioner of food and drugs from 2016 to… more
Source: Wikipedia
H-index:
119
i hope one day we'll have the evidence about which supplements are beneficial, which are useless, but not detrimental, and which are dangerous.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/w...
A Plea From Doctors: Cool It on the Supplements
www.nytimes.com
Thoughtful response to assertions that vaccines don't save lives (or prevent suffering).
www.statnews.com/2025/10/10/m...
www.statnews.com/2025/10/10/m...
RFK Jr. says vaccines don’t save lives. He’s wrong
Now RFK Jr. is claiming vaccines don’t actually save lives. Here’s the math to show what he gets wrong.
www.statnews.com
by Eric J. Topol — Reposted by Robert M. Califf, Ruairidh Milne, Christina Pagel
Waning immunity. A significant Covid wave in England. No new variant.
Thanks Prof Pagel for highlighting and contextualizing
Thanks Prof Pagel for highlighting and contextualizing
Glad to see this happening. It won't work unless there are systems and people to be responsive, so I hope the resource and people issues will be successfully engineered.
www.foodpolitics.com/2025/10/a-ma...
www.foodpolitics.com/2025/10/a-ma...
A MAHA Win? Beginning to close the GRAS loophole. - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
In what looks like a MAHA win, the FDA is starting the regulatory process to close the GRAS Loophole.
www.foodpolitics.com
Doggone it. Wachter just wrote a lot of stuff i was planning to write.
open.substack.com/pub/robertwa...
open.substack.com/pub/robertwa...
Will AI Rescue Primary Care?
Eventually, But Not Yet
open.substack.com
Reposted by Robert M. Califf
From the 6 Surgeon Generals who served across administrations since President Bush: "Secretary Kennedy is entitled to his views. But he is not entitled to put people’s health at risk. He has rejected science, misled the public and compromised the health of Americans."
Opinion | Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr.
We took an oath to declare dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today.
www.washingtonpost.com
Another good discussion of issues that I believe are frequently confused.
open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...
open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...
Routine vaccinations, sanitation, and a look back at history
Sanitation vs. vaccine impact, requirements, universal recommendations, Hep B and more
open.substack.com
Dr Wachter gives a good summary of the evolving issues in LLM, textbooks, digital tools and decision support.
open.substack.com/pub/robertwa...
open.substack.com/pub/robertwa...
Medicine’s AI Knowledge War Heats Up
The Battlegrounds May Surprise You
open.substack.com
Some real wisdom here: "It’s far easier to focus on individual mothers, and the unproven promise of miracle drugs, than to create a system that supports us all."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/o...
Opinion | How Moms Got Caught in Trump’s Cross Hairs
www.nytimes.com
important book. Sobering in terms of pointing out that the issue is mostly the food environment, heavily subsidized by our tax money. Redirecting it will require both will to change and regulation. California has started.
www.foodpolitics.com?lctg=333222006
www.foodpolitics.com?lctg=333222006
Food Politics by Marion Nestle
www.foodpolitics.com
There are reasons that California's health status is better than most of U.S. Other states could learn from this.
This is important--overall looks good, but my FDA friends have reminded me that there are a lot of nuances that could need adjustment. Eliminating food insecurity for children is enormous.
www.foodpolitics.com/2025/09/27888/
www.foodpolitics.com/2025/09/27888/
California legislature passes bill banning ultra-processed foods from schools-and defining them - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
So many readers have sent me notices about California’s Senate having unanimously passed a bill banning ultra-processed foods from schools---and defining what they are---that I just have to write abou...
www.foodpolitics.com
This article highlights the lack of much needed evidence about potential benefits and risks of dietary supplements.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/l...
www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/l...
FDA’s leucovorin approval could be a boon for supplement makers
Parents may flock to a dietary supplement with the same key ingredient as leucovorin, which the FDA just approved for children with autism. But there are drawbacks.
www.statnews.com
Since its generic there are no deep pockets in industry to fund such a trial. Let's get the answers!
Given the prominence this is being given from the top, i hope NIH or PCORI will fund an adequate sized, high quality clinical trial to define the benefit-risk profile of this intervention to treat autism.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/w...
What Is Leucovorin, the Medicine Being Approved for Autism Treatment?
www.nytimes.com
by Robert M. Califf — Reposted by Kathryn A. Phillips
An opinion about the need to better understand the framing and decision making that impacts so much of preventive public health--"habits" and inconveniences to prevent low probability, but high impact future events in return for some up front risk.
substack.com/@robcaliff27...
substack.com/@robcaliff27...
Interventions for Low-Probability Events
Recently, I have been struggling to understand why so few people have taken the updated COVID booster when the benefit-risk calculation seems so straightforward.
substack.com
Academic institutions and professional organizations would be well-served to read this article.
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies
To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.
carnegieendowment.org
I hope this is widely read. It reflects the extraordinary diligence of CDC during the extreme stress of the pandemic. None of this information is secret--it was discussed and presented publicly.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/19/c...
www.statnews.com/2025/09/19/c...
Covid-19 vaccines protect children from severe disease. Here is the evidence
“Over and over again, Covid-19 has shown it can cause severe disease in children, disease that is preventable by a safe and effective vaccine,” writes former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
www.statnews.com
by Eric J. Topol — Reposted by Robert M. Califf
That's right. It could have been worse.
Brace for more to come.
Brace for more to come.
"“I hope Dr. Cassidy shows up,” said Dr. Benjamin, “and not Senator Cassidy.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/u...
Cassidy, His Job in Peril, Scrutinizes Kennedy on Vaccines
www.nytimes.com