Category: Politics
As Florida plans to end all vaccine mandates, Western states form vaccine alliance
The contrasting moves come amid turmoil at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where several top leaders resigned last week to protest efforts by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to dismiss CDC Director Susan Monarez for pushing back against Kennedy’s vaccine policies.
At CDC, Worries Mount That Agency Has Taken Anti-Science Turn
HHS Director Robert F. Kennedy, Jrs’ move to put his stamp on the CDC means states that have long relied on the agency’s expertise and help in crises such as disease outbreaks will largely be left to fend for themselves
Washington, California and Oregon to offer independent immunization recommendations
In response to recent federal actions that have undermined the independence of the CDC and raised concerns about the politicization of science, Washington, California and Oregon Washington are beginning the process to provide evidence-based unified recommendations to their residents regarding who should receive immunizations and to help ensure the public has access and credible information for confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy.
As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.
“CDC hasn’t reached out to us locally,” Katherine Wells, the public health director in Lubbock, Texas, wrote in a Feb. 5 email exchange with a colleague two weeks after children with measles were hospitalized in Lubbock. “My staff feels like we are out here all alone,” she added.
How stripping diversity, equity and inclusion from health care may make Americans sicker
The Trump administration’s funding cuts will most directly affect the health of members of marginalized groups, including, but not limited to, people of color, women and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and transgender.
The pediatrician association’s move comes on the heels of unprecedented changes made earlier this year by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, in how the government approves and issues guidance on vaccines.
RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That.
Research conducted over the past two decades has established that environmental factors can combine with genetics to increase the risk of autism. Some of those environmental risks could be reduced by the very measures the Trump administration is rolling back.
State public health departments fear looming federal cuts in Trump’s next budget
If lawmakers hew to Trump’s vision, then state and county public health departments would be hit hard. States contribute to their own health departments, but a lot of them rely heavily on federal funding. Around half of local public health department funding comes from federal sources
RFK Jr’s Vaccine Policies Could Undermine Coverage — and Trust
In June, the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ousted all 17 members of a panel that makes vaccine recommendations to the U.S. government.
Many vaccine experts were dismayed.
Medicaid cuts are likely to worsen mental health care in rural America
Medicaid cuts in the massive tax and spending bill signed into law earlier this month will worsen mental health disparities in those communities, experts say, as patients lose coverage and rural health centers are unable to remain open amid a loss of funds.
How 17M Americans enrolled in Medicaid and ACA plans could lose their health insurance by 2034
As a public health professor, I see these changes, which will be phased in over several years, as the first step in a reversal of the expansion of access to health care that began with the ACA’s passage in 2010. About 25.3 million Americans lacked insurance in 2023, down sharply from 46.5 million when President Barack Obama signed the ACA into law. All told, the changes in the works could eliminate three-quarters of the progress the U.S. has made in reducing the number of uninsured Americans following the Affordable Care Act.
Congress Is Pushing for a Medicaid Work Requirement. Here’s What Happened When Georgia Tried It.
Congressional Republicans, looking for ways to offset their proposed tax cuts, are seeking to mandate that millions of Americans work in order to receive federally subsidized health insurance.
Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal
In Monday’s ruling, the judge determined that the directives that led to the grant terminations were “arbitrary and capricious” and said they had “no force and effect.” The judge’s ruling ordered the funding of the grants to be restored. It only covers grants that have been identified by the plaintiffs in the cases.
Covering health misinformation: What journalists need to rethink
Debunking health misinformation isn’t just about correcting false claims. It’s about building trust, choosing words with care, and meeting people where they are, without compromising the facts
‘MAGA’ Backers Like Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ — Until They Learn of Health Consequences
Nearly two-thirds of adults oppose President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” approved in May by the House of Representatives, according to a new poll.
And even Trump’s most ardent supporters like the legislation a lot less when they learn how it would cut federal spending on health programs, the poll shows.