Public Health
Drug checking services save lives in the Netherlands. The Gulf South doesn’t have any
Both the U.S. and the Netherlands wrestle with the politics of drug use, but their approaches diverge in key ways that reflect deeper ideological divides.
Gulf South pharmacies make their own rules amid confusing COVID guidance: ‘It’s clear as mud’
Unclear rules and inconsistent interpretations of federal and state COVID-19 vaccination rules leave families confused and vulnerable patients unprotected.
The Trump administration is expected to link autism to Tylenol use during pregnancy
President Trump and HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are expected to tie autism to acetaminophen use during pregnancy, and present a cancer drug as a possible treatment. There is little credible scientific evidence for either claim.
RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel backs away from asking states to require an Rx for a COVID shot
The group voted to require people who want a COVID shot to be briefed on harms and benefits, but in a close vote, the panel failed to pass a change that would have asked states to require people to get a prescription.
‘We are rookies’: Day 2 of CDC vaccine meeting opens with a reversal and a surprise
RFK Jr.'s reshaped ACIP vaccine panel re-did a vote from yesterday on the MMRV vaccine and scrapped plans for another vote on the hepatitis B birth dose.
CDC’s vaccine advisers meet this week. Here’s how they could affect policy
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. chose everyone in the group. Their votes could affect vaccine access for certain childhood vaccines and and the COVID shots. Here's what's at stake.
Ousted CDC director testifies she was fired for resisting pressure from RFK Jr.
Susan Monarez says RFK Jr. told her to commit to decisions in advance, without reviewing evidence and to dismiss vaccine experts.
RFK Jr. wants to end mental health screenings in schools. Experts say it’s a bad idea
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are against schools giving kids standardized questionnaires about their mental well-being. But experts say they are wrong.
5 new members added to CDC vaccine advisory panel ahead of key meeting
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. picks more new vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, days before a two-day meeting to consider COVID and hepatitis B shots.
Wary of RFK Jr., Colorado started revamping its vaccine policies last spring
While Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., dismantles the federal institutions that set vaccine policy, states like Colorado are changing laws and regulations in an effort to preserve access to vaccines.
In 2024, COVID dropped from the list of top 10 causes of death in U.S.
For the first time since 2020, COVID is not one of the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S.
The MAHA plan for healthier kids includes 128 ideas, but few details
The Make America Healthy Again commission is proposing more than 100 moves to address the root causes of childhood chronic disease. Critics say other Trump administration moves contradict the goals.
Concerned about federal vaccine policies, states are crafting their own
As federal health agencies change their approach to vaccine policy leaving access for COVID shots uncertain, some states are taking things into their own hands.
Democrat who called RFK Jr. a ‘charlatan’ says U.S. is vulnerable to next pandemic
Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, says Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is "not following the science," like he said he would during his confirmation hearings earlier this year.
Senators from both parties grilled RFK Jr. on vaccines and more
In a blistering hearing, Senators from both parties challenged the health secretary to defend his actions, including on vaccines access and CDC leadership.
RFK Jr. to face questions about chaos at the CDC
Democratic lawmakers and more than a thousand current and former HHS staff say Kennedy's actions are endangering America's health. Kennedy says he came to clean house and he's delivering.
CDC director is out after less than a month; other agency leaders resign
"Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the Department of Health and Human Services wrote in a social media post. Her lawyers said she had neither resigned nor been told she was fired.
The latest COVID vaccines come with new FDA limits
The Food and Drug Administration approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines, but is restricting them to people at high risk for COVID complications.
Drowning prevention program comes to a halt at the CDC
A few years in, a CDC drowning prevention program was ready to share its findings on how to mitigate the leading cause of death among young children. Then the administration terminated that staff.
After the CDC shooting, federal workers pressure RFK Jr. for more protections
More than 750 current and former HHS employees signed a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding he stop spreading inaccurate information and guarantee the safety of the workforce.
Ticks are migrating, but scant surveillance may leave doctors in the dark on patient treatment
Health departments struggle to adequately survey for ticks to warn doctors about new species and the diseases they carry.
Gun violence hits Black communities hardest. Trump is rolling back prevention efforts
The suffering of America's gun violence crisis is concentrated in Black neighborhoods damaged by decades of disinvestment and racial discrimination. Trump is unravelling efforts to solve the problem.
Public health experts dismayed by RFK Jr.’s defunding of mRNA vaccine research
The Trump administration cancelled about $500 million for research into mRNA vaccines. The move slows progress in using the technology to prevent a future pandemic or treat disease, experts say.
CDC to disburse delayed funds for fighting fentanyl and more, staffers say
Much of the public health agency's $9 billion budget had been in limbo but funds are finally flowing, according to CDC staffers, including for a key overdose prevention program.
Teen suicide is on the decline, new federal data shows
The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health report found that in recent years, depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in teens have declined.
Senators introduce resolution supporting prevention task force RFK Jr. may disband
The task force makes recommendations for medical screenings that doctors' groups rely on and that guide what preventive services most insurance covers without copay.
In a first, the Senate confirms a new CDC director
Susan Monarez is the first director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to require Senate confirmation. She's also the first director without a medical degree in more than 70 years.
How a friend’s overdose drove a leading addiction scientist to look for answers
After Nabarun Dasgupta lost a close friend to an overdose, he dedicated himself to addiction research and trying to empower drug users with lifesaving information.
4 things to know about the vaccine ingredient thimerosal
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against flu shots containing the ingredient thimerosal. Why is the additive, safely used since the 1930s, being questioned again?
Netherlands police embrace a public health approach to drugs. Will it work in the South?
Despite the opioid crisis’ deadly toll, U.S police treat drug use as a criminal issue. But in the Netherlands, a public health approach has seen better results.
In effort to protect children, France bans smoking at parks and beaches
Smokers are no longer allowed to light up in public parks, at swimming pools, or at beaches, or "anywhere children may be present," said French health and family minister Catherine Vautrin.
RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisers raise disproven fears about the preservative thimerosal
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted on the flu vaccine, raising concerns about a rarely used preservative. Medical groups worry this will "sow distrust" in vaccines.
