Screenshot 2025 04 18 at 6.08.43 am
Politics, Public Health, Research

Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More

More children ages 1 to 4 die of drowning than any other cause of death. Nearly a quarter of adults received mental health treatment in 2023, an increase of 3.4 million from the prior year. The number of migrants from Mexico and northern Central American countries stopped by the U.S. Border Patrol was surpassed in 2022 by the number of migrants from other nations. We know these things because the federal government collects, organizes and shares the data behind them. Every year, year after year, workers in agencies that many of us have never heard of have been amassing the statistics that undergird decision-making at all levels of government and inform the judgments of business leaders, school administrators and medical providers nationwide. The survival of that data is now in doubt, as a result of the Department of Government Efficiency’s comprehensive assault on the federal bureaucracy.

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Politics, University of Washington

Trump’s research cuts threaten to set off a wave of university brain drain

The University of Washington is one of the top research universities in the country. This is underscored by the amount of research dollars they get from the federal government. Federal dollars make up 55% of all university research dollars nationally. UW is No. 5 nationally in its spending of this money. That money pays for labs and people across the university, not just the School of Medicine.

Low poly style illustration of hands using a chainsaw to cut through a stack of papers
Health Policy, Politics, Research

Massive cuts to Health and Human Services’ workforce signal a dramatic shift in US health policy

Combined with previous reductions, these cuts may achieve some limited short-term savings. However, the proposed changes dramatically alter U.S. health policy and research, and they may endanger important benefits and protections for many Americans. They may also have severe consequences for scientific progress. And as some policy experts have suggested, the poorly targeted cuts may increase inefficiencies and waste down the line.

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influenza, Influenza/Flu, Politics, Vaccines

Flu deaths rise as anti-vaccine disinformation takes root

Flu-related deaths hit a seven-year high in January and February, the two months that usually account for the height of flu season, according to a Stateline analysis of preliminary federal statistics. There were about 9,800 deaths across the country, up from 5,000 in the same period last year and the most since 2018, when there were about 10,800.

Despite that, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has canceled or postponed meetings to prepare for next fall’s flu vaccine, when experts talk about what influenza strains they expect they’ll be battling.