(Mark Schiefelbein/AP photo/X screenshot)
The U.S. Health and Human Services is now highlighting a newly resurfaced 2017 social media post from Tylenol that warned against “using any of our products while pregnant” — unrelated to autism.
The Tylenol post, a reply to a Twitter user, stated: “We actually don’t recommend using any of our products while pregnant. Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns today.”
The HHS, fronted by Robert Kennedy Jr., reshared the eight-year-old post on Wednesday with the words, “No caption needed.”
The move comes days after Kennedy and President Donald Trump held a news conference during which the commander in chief struggled to pronounce the word acetaminophen — the key ingredient in Tylenol — and warned using it while pregnant could be linked to autism in kids.
“Taking Tylenol is not good,” Trump said. “It’s not good. For this reason, they are strongly recommending women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy.”
The old Tylenol tweet has gone viral in the MAGA world this week, with Trump loyalists using it to hit back at doctors and the political left, who claim Trump’s Monday announcement is not based on actual science and should be disregarded.
Tylenol has not disputed the authenticity of the 2017 tweet, but in a statement to Mediaite Wednesday, its parent company Kenvue said: “This eight-year-old consumer response is incomplete and did not address our full guidance on the safe use of Tylenol which has not changed”:
- Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy.
- Our products are safe and effective when used as directed on the product label.
- We recommend pregnant women do not take any over-the-counter medication, including acetaminophen, without talking to their doctor first.
Since the press conference on Monday, many doctors have disputed Trump’s Tylenol/autism warning — including the president’s own Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services chief Dr. Mehmet Oz., who walked back his boss’ remarks.
“We know that people who take Tylenol for prolonged periods of time during pregnancy seem to have a higher incidence of autism in aggregate,” Oz said Tuesday on Fox News. “So the message is not, ‘Never take Tylenol.’ It’s, ‘Take Tylenol judiciously.’ Take it by talking with your doctor. Make sure there’s an important reason to take it. Don’t take it willy-nilly because you think it’s so safe it couldn’t possibly cause a problem, because those assumptions appear to be erroneous.”
The post Now the HHS Is Touting 8-Year-Old Tylenol Tweet to Back Up Autism Warning first appeared on Mediaite.
