Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Climate Change Allows Tropical Disease To Flourish In US; Cuts To mRNA Funding Are Alarming
In the heart of Illinois, while researching wildlife disease, I made a discovery that stunned me: More than half of the raccoons I sampled were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Most Americans have never heard of it. But this neglected tropical disease is no longer confined to the tropics. Its here, in the United States, spreading silently in wildlife. (Esther Onuselogu, 8/8)
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s decision to cancel $500 million in grants and contracts for mRNA vaccine development jeopardizes the health and safety of Americans both now and for years to come. (Lisa Jarvis, 8/7)
This summer, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Donald Trumps sweeping second-term domestic legislation. The bill does not cut Medicaid, the White House insists. It slashes taxes and offsets the revenue losses by tamping down on what Republicans describe as waste, fraud, and abuse in the health-insurance program. (Annie Lowrey, 8/7)
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is right when he says that chronic disease is on the rise in America and that our food system is at least partly to blame. Where he and his Make America Healthy Again movement err is in relying on flawed evidence to target particular foods. (Emily Oster, 8/8)
Funded by the Alzheimers Association and published in JAMA, this is the first large-scale randomized controlled trial to show that interventions such as diet changes, physical activity and cognitive exercises can help protect older peoples brains. (Leana S. Wen, 8/7)