‘Pay no attention’: global health agencies dismiss false Trump claim on everyday painkillers

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that questioning the value of lifesaving vaccines was misguided and that evidence linking paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism was “inconsistent”.

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Wes Streeting, the UK health secretary, was even more direct in his criticism, telling ITV: “I trust doctors over President Trump, frankly, on this. “So I would just say to people watching: don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine.

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The European Medicines Agency also stuck by its guidelines. The EU agency’s chief medical officer, Steffen Thirstrup, said its advice was “based on a rigorous assessment of the available scientific data and we have found no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children”.

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Spain’s minister of health, Mónica García, dismissed Trump’s comments as science “denialism” that put lives at risk.

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Health Canada is pushing back against U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Tylenol use during pregnancy and childhood is linked to autism.

The government department said acetaminophen, the generic name for Tylenol, is a recommended treatment for pain and fever during pregnancy, and should be used as directed by a doctor, at "the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration." It noted untreated fever and pain can pose health risks to a fetus.

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