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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Saturday that a Trump administration would, on its first day, “advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.” Kennedy linked fluoride to various illnesses, despite major medical associations supporting water fluoridation, which they say is safe and a benefit to public health. (Lebowitz, 11/3)

Former President Trump expressed tentative support for former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to remove fluoride from water. “Well, I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but it sounds OK to me,” Trump told NBC News on Sunday. “You know, it’s possible.” (Irwin, 11/3)

Former President Trump's plan to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "go wild" on federal oversight of food and medicine could have real and serious consequences. Even in an informal role, Kennedy could help diminish some of the most functional parts of the health care system, potentially leading to increases in preventable disease. Kennedy recently said in a Zoom organizing call that Trump has promised him "control of the public health agencies," including HHS, CDC, FDA, NIH and the USDA. (Owens, 11/3)

First came GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson’s pledge last Monday to overhaul the Affordable Care Act if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. Then Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of Trump’s transition team, on Wednesday endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s vaccine skepticism and suggested that a future Trump administration would empower Kennedy to help oversee vaccine data. Three days later, Kennedy announced that Trump would seek to remove fluoride from Americans’ drinking water as a Day 1 priority. The statements add up to a surreal final week of campaigning for Republicans in which several of Trump’s top surrogates are introducing unconventional — and generally unpopular — ideas that pit them against the health-policy establishment ahead of Election Day on Tuesday. The assorted proposals also add up to an agenda that would likely damage public health. (Diamond, 11/4)

Former President Donald Trump said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would have a “big role in the administration” if he wins Tuesday, telling NBC News in a phone interview that he is open to some of his more controversial ideas. Kennedy, who ran for president as an independent this year before he dropped his bid and endorsed Trump, has long spread conspiracies and falsehoods about vaccines and other public health matters. (Burns and Marquez, 11/3)

After losing her father during the pandemic, a young Wisconsin voter tries to persuade her community to vote in unprecedented numbers against Donald Trump. Whitley Riley’s father, Lawrence, was the first person in Milwaukee to die of covid-19. As Trump initially downplayed the lethal nature of the disease, covid had invaded Black neighborhoods like her own. Health departments in majority-White areas were more likely to receive resources to set up testing sites, distribute masks and engage in public education campaigns, even as rumors proliferated that Black people were somehow immune. (Samuels, 11/3)

A regional public health department in Idaho is no longer providing COVID-19 vaccines to residents in six counties after a narrow decision by its board. Southwest District Health appears to be the first in the nation to be restricted from giving COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccinations are an essential function of a public health department. (Shastri, 11/1)