Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has touted vitamin A as a measles treatment, but the side effects of a vitamin overdose are dire.
Why it matters: The vitamin can treat some patients who are already infected but should only be administered under doctors' guidance.
The sweeping reorganization of the federal health bureaucracy includes designating a new top cop at the Health and Human Services Department.
Why it matters: The HHS enforcement and appeals offices that, in a nutshell, arbitrate disputes over agency decisions and decide whether providers are following the rules,have historically operated as separate divisions that each answer directly to the secretary.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says sweeping layoffs and restructuring in the department will bring order to a bureaucracy he claims is in "pandemonium." But experts say the overhaul also likely gives him far greater control over dozens of federal health agencies.
Why it matters: HHS has long functioned like a decentralized behemoth, with key decisions on hiring, grant funding, and public health priorities often in the hands of career staff and scientists.
