US President Donald Trump on Monday urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol over an unproven link to autism and urged major changes to the standard vaccines given to babies.
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The announcement comes as the White House has vowed to revolutionise health in the United States, as experts across medicine and science voice broad concern over the administration’s initiatives.
Medical professionals have long cited acetaminophen – widely known as paracetamol in the UK, Europe and much of the rest of the world – as among the safest painkillers to take during pregnancy, especially as fever and pain can also pose dangers to both the mother and the developing fetus.
But Trump insisted that “taking Tylenol is not good”.
“For this reason, they are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary. That’s, for instance, in cases of extremely high fever that you feel you can’t tough it out,” he said.
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During his news conference Trump then pushed major changes to the routine vaccine schedule given to infants, insisting without evidence that there is “no reason” to vaccinate newborns against the incurable, highly contagious hepatitis B.