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A key federal vaccine advisory panel has abandoned an attack on the covid-19 mRNA vaccines — a shift that comes as some Republicans warn that any more changes to vaccine policy could damage the party in the midterms. Some of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked vaccine advisers had been seeking to potentially stop recommending mRNA shots. That plan is no longer moving forward, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. (Sun and Roubein, 3/11)

More on the covid vaccine —

The husband and wife co-founders of the German biotech company behind the successful Covid-19 vaccine are to step down to launch their third start-up venture. Ugur Sahin, chief executive, and Ozlem Tureci, chief medical officer, of BioNTech, will leave the company they founded in 2008 by the end of the year, saying they were “ready to become pioneers again”. (Ralph, 3/10)

A rare clotting disorder puzzled doctors during the COVID vaccine rollout. New research reveals the unlikely chain of events that causes it. (Buka and Montague, 3/9)

Moderna’s Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccines appear to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in adults who are not pregnant or have a weakened immune system, according to a rapid review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. (Bergeson, 3/10)

Also —

Practitioners nationwide are striving to do what’s best for children’s health, while staying supportive in the face of mistrust and confusion. (Mandavilli, 3/11)

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a new approved use for the drug leucovorin, a synthetic form of vitamin B9 that the Trump administration has touted as a treatment for autism symptoms. But the new approval is not for autism — it’s for cerebral folate deficiency, a rare neurological condition characterized by low levels of vitamin B9 in the brain. (Bendix, 3/10)

On autism and Medicaid —

When Meghann Mitchell first launched her autism-therapy business in 2019, she took aim at an unlikely source of profit: Indiana’s taxpayer-funded Medicaid program, the public insurance system for the poor. The bet paid off. In 2023, the state paid Mitchell’s company, Piece by Piece Autism Centers, $29 million to provide therapy to just 84 patients—about $340,000 a child—according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Medicaid billing records. (Weaver, McGinty and Wilde Mathews, 3/10)

More on the Trump administration —

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was having rotator cuff surgery Tuesday, a spokesperson told MedPage Today. Kennedy plans to return to the office March 16, the spokesperson said. That person did not provide details about the reason for the procedure or which shoulder was repaired, and did not provide an update on his condition. Since his tenure at HHS began, Kennedy has frequently engaged in various physical activities publicly to promote his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda, including doing pull-ups at an airport event. (McCreary, 3/10)

The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog is investigating a complaint that alleges a former U.S. DOGE Service employee claimed he had access to two highly sensitive agency databases and planned to share the information with his private employer — a claim that, if true, would constitute an unprecedented breach of security protocols at an agency that serves more than 70 million Americans. (Kornfield, Dwoskin and Rein, 3/10)

Dr. Lara Jones still remembers her visceral reaction to the image of Liam Ramos. It wasn’t the most famous one, of the 5-year-old boy in a blue bunny winter hat and superhero backpack with ICE officers behind him. It was one from days later, of Liam slumped in his father’s arms while both were in custody in Texas. (Rodriguez, 3/10)

���ϳԹ��� News: Listen To The Latest '���ϳԹ��� News Minute'
Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: The Trump administration is calling for sharp restrictions on direct-to-consumer drug ads, and for some people facing skyrocketing health insurance costs, becoming eligible for Medicare because of a new diagnosis is a terrible irony. (Cook, 3/10)

In related news on transgender health care —

Though the SAVE America Act (formerly the SAVE Act) cleared the House in February, the Senate has avoided taking it up for a vote. Now, President Donald Trump has raised a series of demands that won’t make its passage any easier. Trump announced in a weekend social media post that he would “not sign other bills until this is passed, and not the watered down version — go for the gold,” a revision that could now put anti-trans measures in the bill. (Martinez and Rummler, 3/10)

Gabrielle Jones-Radtke has lived in El Paso for nearly her entire life. She loves El Paso — its community, its culture, its recent growth — but her favorite factor is its predictability. “If you’re young, you know, maybe that’s not the best thing,” Jones-Radtke said. “But once you get older and have a family, predictability is everything.” But a series of unpredictable circumstances is forcing her to move her family about 25 miles away to New Mexico. (Johnstone, 3/10)

The average American senior’s Medicare premiums last year were about 10% higher, or more than $200 annually, because of alleged overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans, congressional investigators found. Medicare Part B premiums that most seniors pay were partly pushed up by controversial health-insurer practices such as adding diagnoses to trigger higher payments, according to the Joint Economic Committee, a bipartisan group of lawmakers that advises Congress on financial matters. (Weaver and Wilde Mathews, 3/10)

In other Medicare news —

At age 69, Lynn Ianni is a pickleball whiz, zipping from dinks to drives energetically. When she suffered an injury on the court two years ago, she sought physical therapy, and was surprised to learn her Medicare insurance wouldn’t cover it. She was, according to Medicare records, dying and in hospice. “They said, ‘you're in hospice.’ And I said, ‘what? What are you talking about?” Ianni said. “‘Are you kidding me? Do I look like I’m in hospice?’” (Gold, Geller, Yamaguchi and Kates, 3/10)

More on the high cost of health care and private equity investments —

Elevance Health is expanding a policy to deduct pay from hospitals that refer some members to out-of-network providers. Beginning June 1, the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee may reduce California hospitals’ pay by 10% or terminate facilities from its network if hospitals refer commercial members to inpatient or outpatient providers without a contract, according to a notice sent to providers last month. Hospitals must not pass on the financial penalty to patients, the notice said. (Tepper, 3/10)

By 6:30 a.m. on a chilly Wednesday last year, the Surgery Center of Oklahoma is bustling. Six miles north of the state Capitol, beside a stretch of Route 77 lined with medical facilities, spouses waiting in the lobby scroll through their phones and slurp coffee from foam cups. A toddler in a Tigger-print medical gown and pajamas is on the way toward the operating room for his tonsillectomy, a doctor leading him by the hand. Those waiting include a young man in for a sinus operation and a middle-aged woman getting a hysterectomy. It’s a diverse caseload by the standards of your average surgery center—most SCs focus on just one branch of surgery, such as thoracic or orthopedic. But what really separates SCO is its price transparency. (Moore Gerety, 3/10)

Private equity’s influence over healthcare companies’ quality of care warrants new reforms for the firm's investing practices, a new report says. The report, published by NYU Stern’s Center for Business & Human Rights, aimed to document the problems observed in recent years stemming from PE ownership in healthcare, including hospital closures, reduced staffing and compromised healthcare services. (Gliadkovskaya, 3/10)

Private equity firms have become a major force in healthcare, investing more than $1 trillion over the last ten years, according to a recent report from New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. The report, published March 10 and authored by Michael Goldhaber, examines how private equity’s investments have impacted patient care, hospital finances and medical access. (Scheetz, 3/10)

Other health care industry updates —

Northwestern Memorial Hospital may move forward with a $96 million project to add more intensive care unit beds, a state board decided Tuesday — a plan that’s part of a larger growth strategy for the hospital. (Schencker, 3/10)

WellSpan Health is testing artificial intelligence — and a robot — to improve staff and visitors’ access to food options, particularly after-hours. The 400-square-foot kitchen, named Fresh Take Eatery, at WellSpan York Hospital in Pennsylvania features a robotic arm that prepares fresh meals 24/7. It is not designed for inpatient use. (DeSilva, 3/10)

CVS Health is making investments in digital health and patient engagement tech across the enterprise, including a partnership with Simile to lean on "agentic twins" to test and pilot new programs. The company has built these digital twins on 2.9 million consented responses from a group of more than 400,000 individuals, representing answers across more than 200 behavioral scenarios. This allows the AI versions to act as accurate stand-ins for the people they're based upon. (Minemyer, 3/10)

���ϳԹ��� News: Primary Care Is In Trouble. So Doctors Band Together To Boost Their Market Power
Western Massachusetts, a patchwork of rural communities and low-income cities, is a difficult place to find a primary care doctor if you don’t already have one. Frustrated patients often turn to online forums, asking for leads or advice on how to find a practice that is accepting new patients. One name repeatedly crops up in these discussions: Valley Medical Group. (Brown, 3/11)

���ϳԹ��� News: Cosmetic Surgery Investigation Prompts Warnings For Patients, And A Push For Tighter Safety Standards
An investigation into cosmetic surgery chains by ���ϳԹ��� News and NBC News has prompted consumer warnings from industry groups representing plastic surgeons and a call for more transparency around physician disciplinary actions in California. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which represents 12,000 doctors, is now warning patients to “do their homework” before getting liposuction, a Brazilian butt lift, a “Mommy Makeover,” or other cosmetic procedures. (Schulte, 3/11)

A plan to prevent cuts to a program that provides drugs to AIDS patients passed through the Florida Senate on Tuesday, but it’s unclear whether the House will agree to it. (3/11)

The leaders of Florida’s health care and child welfare agencies will stay in their jobs after the Senate voted Tuesday to confirm them. Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Shevaun Harris and Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But they weren’t confirmed last year as a scandal involving the transfer of Medicaid settlement money to a political committee swirled, were approved over the objections of a smattering of Democrats. (Rohrer, 3/11)

More health news from across the U.S. —

Pregnant women in Missouri will have an easier time getting a divorce under a bill passed by the state legislature. The Missouri Senate voted 29-0 Tuesday to pass the bill. Because it has already passed the House and because the Senate did not change it, it now goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is expected to sign it into law. (Kellogg, 3/10)

The Minnesota Department of Health released initial findings from a report Tuesday indicating that the state’s uninsured rate has climbed from an all-time low to the highest level in six years, raising concerns about potential future declines in health insurance coverage. (Zurek, 3/10)

North Carolina’s new Medicaid plan for children in the foster care system has enrolled more than 32,000 young people, and state and health plan officials told lawmakers Tuesday they’ve cut the average time to arrange a child’s placement from 45 days to 16. (Baxley, 3/11)

Hundreds of reproductive rights advocates, including dozens from Louisiana, gathered in New Orleans this past weekend (March 6-8) for the second annual Storyteller Convening hosted by the nonprofit advocacy organization Abortion in America. Abortion in America was co-founded in 2024 by the late former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, political strategist Lauren Peterson and Kaitlyn Joshua, a southeast Louisiana native who rose to national prominence for sharing her story of being denied miscarriage care due to tightened anti-abortion laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. (Yehiya, 3/10)

After a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, the federal government sued the company and agreed on a deal to cover cleanup costs and provide health monitoring. But now, a federal judge has said not so fast. The judge just allowed East Palestine residents to intervene in the lawsuit after independent tests revealed dangerous contamination persists in the area. (McHugh, 3/10)

Nearly 40% of nonorganic fruits and vegetables grown in California contain traces of pesticides that are also PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” according to a new investigation. California supplies nearly half of the vegetables and more than three-quarters of the fruits and nuts eaten in the United States. (LaMotte, 3/11)

A series of Republican state legislatures are advancing, or have already passed, laws severely limiting the ability of state agencies to set environmental regulations, despite warnings from the scientific community that such measures could increase risk of serious health problems, including cancers. Versions of a “Sound Science” bill, proffered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and supported by other business trade groups, have been signed into law in Alabama and Tennessee, and nearly identical bills are moving through state legislatures in Utah and Kentucky. (Pillion, 3/11)

Cassava Sciences has rebranded as Filana Therapeutics, shedding the baggage associated with the old name as the biotech plants itself in a new therapeutic area. As Cassava, the biotech mounted a failed attempt to show that its simufilam could improve outcomes in Alzheimer’s disease. By the time the phase 3 data sank the Alzheimer’s program last spring, Cassava was facing a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation and class-action litigation tied to alleged scientific misconduct and misleading statements. The company recently reached settlements in the DOJ case and class-action lawsuit. (Taylor, 3/10)

On weight loss drugs —

Novo Nordisk received a warning from the Food and Drug Administration for failing to report suspected incidents of side effects caused by its medicines, a step that is required by federal law. (Silverman, 3/10)

The obesity drug semaglutide (Wegovy) conferred a significantly higher risk of ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) than any other GLP-1 agonist, including semaglutide for diabetes (Ozempic), an analysis of FDA data showed. (Bankhead, 3/10)

Hims & Hers Health Inc. has hired Kathryn Beiser, who led communications at Eli Lilly & Co. for five years, as the telehealth company charts a new era selling brand-name obesity drugs. Beiser, a public relations veteran who’s held senior positions at a number of companies including Kaiser Permanente, resigned from Lilly last year. She officially joined Hims last month as chief communications officer and reports to Chief Executive Officer Andrew Dudum. (Muller, 3/10)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Medtronic has signed a definitive agreement to acquire neurovascular medtech company Scientia Vascular for $550 million. The deal is expected to close in the first half of Medtronic’s fiscal 2027, which starts in April. It is subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. (Dubinsky, 3/10)

Monday, the Australian biopharma broke ground on an expansion at its Kankakee, Illinois, facility, a move set to substantially bolster CSL’s production capacity for plasma-derived therapy. (Kansteiner, 3/10)

Four Illinois mothers would never have allowed their prematurely born babies to be fed a specialized formula made by Abbott Laboratories had they known about the risks, an attorney for the parents argued in court Monday, while a lawyer for the company countered that the formula is not dangerous and that additional warnings about it would not have prevented the infants from getting sick. (Schencker, 3/10)

AbbVie’s CEO Robert Michael is emerging from his sophomore year at the helm with $32.5 million in 2025 compensation, marking a hefty 75% spike from his first-year pay and solidifying the rising chief as one of the highest-paid executives in the biopharma industry. (Becker, 3/10)

A new blood test could determine a woman’s dementia risk as early as 25 years before symptoms emerge. That’s according to new research from the University of California San Diego, which found that a specific biomarker protein associated with early pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease was "strongly linked" to future dementia risk. (Rudy, 3/10)

A single high-strength dose of psilocybin was more effective than nicotine patches for helping smokers quit, a pilot randomized trial showed. (Monaco, 3/10)

A Public Health Alerts report today notes that cigarette smoking in US adults dropped from 10.8% in 2023 to 9.9% in 2024, while the use of other tobacco products, such as cigars and e-cigarettes, stayed flat, and 18.8% of US adults—or about 48 million—used at least one tobacco product in 2024. Public Health Alerts, a new collaboration between NEJM Evidence and CIDRAP, fills a gap in reliable data, offering expert-reviewed reports that translate frontline observations into actionable public health evidence. An NEJM Evidence editorial explains the initiative further. (Wappes, 3/10)

In 2013, when Kate Regan was a senior in high school, she became fixated on health and nutrition. She found content from online creators who made “what I eat in a day” videos inspiring. What she didn’t realize at the time was that this curiosity was masking a developing eating disorder. (Lyons, 3/10)

The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers Monday about oysters and clams that could be contaminated with norovirus and were sent to nine states, including California, Florida and New York. The shellfish caution covers "certain raw oysters" harvested by Drayton Harbor Oyster Co. and Manila clams harvested by Lummi Indian Business Council from Feb. 13 to March 3, the FDA said in a statement. (Li, 3/10)

The first patient I met as a medical student was a middle-aged delivery man and a former track athlete. He was recovering from his second amputation due to uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. When he told me he never realized how much his “high sugars” could cost him, I wasn’t sure what to say. (Lauren Rice, 3/11)

The revolving door at the Food and Drug Administration has pushed out another top official: Vinay Prasad, the controversial head of the agency’s vaccine and gene therapy arm, will depart in April. Patients and industry alike should breathe a little easier. The FDA has spent the last year embroiled in controversy and chaos — much of it due to Prasad’s top-down approach to regulation and dysfunctional leadership style. (Lisa Jarvis, 3/10)

Affordable, accessible AI prescribing could be genuinely liberating for patients and clinicians alike. It could reduce costs, eliminate barriers to routine care and free physicians to focus on cases that truly require human judgment. Four dollars to get a prescription is a cheap price. But cutting corners on evidence for AI prescribing is bound to exact a far heavier cost. (Joseph V. Sakran and Rahul Gorijavolu, 3/9)

A recent Nature Medicine article proposes a different approach: Instead of trying to define what qualifies as ultra-processed, define what does not qualify. (Lena S. Wen, 3/10)

Stunningly cynical. That’s the only way to describe a proposed new antiabortion-rights measure backed by Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson, the Johnson County Republican. The resolution — a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution, which would have to be approved by voters — obscures its intent by parading as a Sunflower State version of the late, lamented Equal Rights Amendment. (Joel Mathis, 3/10)