Jun 11 RFK Jr. names 8 vaccine panel replacements, including a critic of COVID vaccines By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Kennedy’s decision to “retire” the previous 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was widely decried by doctors’ groups and public health organizations, who feared the advisers would be replaced by a group aligned with Kennedy’s desire to reassess — and… Continue reading
May 21 Who is eligible for a COVID shot? What to know about the latest U.S. changes By Laura Santhanam The shift was a marked departure from previous FDA guidance, which recommended an annual COVID vaccine for everyone 6 months and older. Continue reading
May 14 U.S. overdose deaths fell by 27% last year — the largest one-year decline ever recorded By Mike Stobbe, Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press Annual overdose deaths are still higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, says the CDC, which has been collecting comparable data for 45 years. Continue reading
May 02 216 children have died from flu this season, CDC reports By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press More U.S. children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday. Continue reading
Apr 10 CDC officials start planning for the splintering of their agency By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Several parts of CDC — mostly those devoted to health threats that aren't infectious — are being spun off into the soon-to-be-created Administration for a Healthy America, the agency official told senior leaders in calls and meetings. Continue reading
Apr 01 PHOTOS: Hundreds of HHS employees wait in a line stretching around the building to find out if their job is gone By Associated Press One staffer waiting in line loudly joked: “Is this an April Fool’s joke?”… Continue reading
Apr 01 Mass layoffs begin at HHS agencies responsible for research, tracking disease and regulating food By Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press The cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and senior leaders, leaving the federal government without many of the key experts who have long guided U.S. decisions on medical research, drug approvals and other issues. Continue reading
Mar 13 Trump administration withdraws nomination of vaccine critic David Weldon for CDC director By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press The Republican-controlled Senate health committee announced Thursday morning that it was canceling a planned hearing on Weldon's nomination — less than an hour before it was scheduled to begin. Continue reading
Feb 28 CDC report finds HPV vaccine is preventing U.S. women from getting cervical cancer, adding to evidence By Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press From 2008 to 2022, rates for precancerous lesions decreased about 80 percent among 20- to 24-year-old women who were screened for cervical cancer. Continue reading
Feb 06 A different version of bird flu detected in dairy cows in Nevada By JoNel Aleccia, Associated Press Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu that's different from the version that has spread in herds since last year. Continue reading