Category: Featured Headlines
WHO signs international pandemic response treaty without the U.S.
Washington Post As countries overwhelmingly passed a WHO global pandemic agreement, top U.S. health official Robert F. Kennedy Jr. invited states to reject the “moribund WHO.” After three years of intensive negotiations, the World Health Organization on Tuesday adopted the world’s first agreement on how to cooperate and respond to future pandemics — without the support […]
May 20, 2025
FDA Officials Detail Plan to Limit COVID Shots
MedPageToday FDA officials have outlined their new approach to COVID-19 vaccine approvals, allowing immunogenicity endpoints for high-risk groups, while calling for randomized controlled trials for those at lower risk. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, and Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Vinay Prasad, MD, MPH, detailed the new framework in a “Sounding Board” […]
May 20, 2025
What to Know About the Hepatitis A Outbreak in L.A. County
NYT A highly contagious liver infection is surging among groups who are not typically at risk. At least seven people have died. Public health officials in Los Angeles County have declared an outbreak of hepatitis A, a highly contagious liver infection driven by a virus that can, in rare cases, cause severe illness. The condition, […]
May 14, 2025
Staff exodus at US farm agency leaves fewer experts to battle bird flu
Reuters Hundreds of veterinarians, support staff and lab workers at the animal health arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture have left under the Trump administration’s push for resignations, according to three sources familiar with the situation, leaving fewer specialists to respond to animal disease outbreaks. The departures come as the country battles its longest-ever […]
May 14, 2025
RFK Jr. defends widespread HHS cuts, response to measles outbreak during House hearing
ABC News Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., before a House committee Wednesday morning, defended the massive cuts to the department’s workforce and laid out his priorities for the Trump administration’s proposed budget — all while he is expected to field questions about his history of promoting conspiracy theories and controversial comments about vaccines. […]
May 14, 2025
Measles cases hit six-year high in South Korea amid outbreaks across south-east Asia
The Guardian South Korea passes annual tally for 2024 already, as Vietnam and Thailand continue to battle outbreaks. South Korea has recorded the highest number of measles cases in six years, adding to concerns that low vaccination rates combined with international travel are contributing to further outbreaks elsewhere in the region. The country has confirmed 52 cases so far this […]
May 7, 2025
States loosen vaccine rules — even as measles outbreak rages
Politico With a longtime vaccine skeptic serving as the country’s top health official, the movement is likely to make further inroads. The U.S. is on track to surpass 1,000 measles cases this year as the viral illness — once so rare that most young doctors don’t recognize the telltale rash — makes an alarming comeback. […]
May 7, 2025
RFK Jr. Hits NIH With More Layoffs, Plans to Bring Others Back
Bloomberg The National of Institutes of Health laid off another 200 employees as part of the health department’s large-scale reduction-in-force carried out last month, with plans to bring back a similar number of employees for other areas. The agency on May 2 sent notices to “less than 250 employees” that they were affected by the […]
May 7, 2025
H5N1 Bird Flu Cases Have Slowed in Animals and People
Medpage Today Detections of H5N1 avian influenza have slowed in both animals and humans, but continued surveillance is warranted, CDC researchers said. In dairy cattle, cases surged over the fall and early winter but eased in January, while cases in poultry flocks fell after February, and came down last month in backyard flocks, according to data […]
May 7, 2025
Texas measles total tops 700 cases amid rises in other states
CIDRAP The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) today reported 19 more cases since its last update on May 2, lifting the state’s total to 702 cases. As the country’s biggest measles hot spot, the state has reported outbreak-linked cases from 29 counties, mainly in west Texas. So far 91 people have been hospitalized, […]
May 7, 2025