FDA Head: Exposure ‘to Different Information Sources’ Hurting Rural Health Outcomes and ‘There Are Associations’ with Political Views

During an interview with CNBC on Thursday released on Tuesday, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said that health outcomes among people in rural areas are being negatively impacted by the fact that “people in rural areas are exposed to different information sources than people in urban areas” and there are “associations with political points of view.”

Califf stated [relevant remarks begin around 9:35] that, in addition to the usual disparities in life expectancy due to race, ethnicity, income level, and education level, “The big new one that we’re seeing really emerging in a major way is rural status. People in rural areas are faring much worse health-wise.”

Later, he stated that COVID deaths are among “people that are not up to date on their vaccination and don’t encounter clinicians who are up-to-date on the advantages of antivirals. But they’re also people who have been heavily influenced by people on the Internet telling untruthful things about the vaccination. And I’m not arguing here that we should suppress free speech, that’s not — the First Amendment is the First Amendment. But we have to counter that information with truthful information and reach many, many more people.”

He continued, “I think this is one of the keys to rural America is that we’re not reaching people in rural America as much as we should with this kind of information that could save their lives.”

CNBC Senior Health and Science Reporter Meg Tirrell then asked, “And when you say rural America, is that interchangeable with a political point of view or is it something about being in rural America that’s unique?”

Califf answered, “Well, I don’t — there are associations with political points of view. I don’t want to get into that topic specifically. It’s not my role as the head of a federal agency to talk about politics. But people in rural areas are exposed to different information sources than people in urban areas and I think that’s having an impact.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett