Céline Gounder

cgounder@kff.org

As US Birth Rate Falls, Feds’ Response May Make Pregnancy More Dangerous

ϳԹ News Original

A funding notice for Title X shifts the program’s emphasis from contraception to fertility, family formation, and addressing conditions that could cause infertility, including endometriosis. Experts say these priorities overlook key demographic trends, epidemiology, prevention of unwanted pregnancies, and the nation’s high maternal mortality.

CDC’s Acting Chief Promises a Return to Stability in a Tumultuous Moment

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Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health and interim leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the CDC staff, “I know that it has been such a difficult year.”

As Lung Disease Threatens Workers, Lawmakers Seek Protections for Countertop Manufacturers

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Crystalline silica, which is released into the air when workers cut and polish engineered stone, can scar human lungs beyond repair. Kitchen countertops made with this stone have triggered an increased rate of this fatal illness, doctors say.

Inside the FDA’s Vaccine Uproar

ϳԹ News Original

An internal email claiming covid vaccines killed children triggered a formal response from a dozen past FDA commissioners. The email, sent by the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, outlines a framework that could have significant impact on the nation’s vaccine policies.

Qué significa la decisión sobre la vacuna contra la hepatitis B para la gente

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Un comité de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades votó para poner fin a la recomendación universal de aplicar la vacuna contra la hepatitis B a los recién nacidos.

Vaccine Panel’s Hepatitis B Vote Signals Further Turbulence for Immunization Policy, Public Trust

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Clinicians and epidemiologists warn the decision to no longer recommend the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine could unravel decades of progress and expose newborns to a deadly, preventable disease.

Kennedy Sharpens Vaccine Attacks, Without Scientific Backing

ϳԹ News Original

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims that the aluminum ingredients in vaccines cause a variety of harmful reactions, from allergies to autism. Scientists say that’s wrong and warn of risks if they’re removed. Here are some of the basics.

Cáncer de mama y anticonceptivos: un nuevo estudio revela cómo se puede distorsionar la ciencia

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Mientras la desinformación sobre la salud de las mujeres se propaga más rápido que nunca, médicos dicen que una nueva investigación pone en evidencia los desafíos de comunicar con matices en la era de las redes sociales.

Waning Immunity and Falling Vaccination Rates Fuel Pertussis Outbreaks

ϳԹ News Original

New details from health officials suggest the whooping-cough surge may be part of a national pattern driven by slipping vaccine coverage and waning immunity, with infants bearing the brunt of the consequences.

The Quiet Collapse of America’s Reproductive Health Safety Net

ϳԹ News Original

The HHS office that administers the Title X family planning program has been effectively shut down. And with cuts to federal funding for other family health programs, expected Medicaid cuts, and the potential lapse of ACA subsidies, health leaders fear they are seeing the biggest setback to U.S. reproductive care in half a century.

Inside the High-Stakes Battle Over Vaccine Injury Compensation, Autism, and Public Trust

ϳԹ News Original

The evidence is unequivocal: Vaccines do not cause autism. Yet adding autism to the list of conditions covered by a federal payout program, as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems inclined to do, could threaten its financial viability. Such a move also would suggest that the science is unsettled, that vaccines may be riskier than diseases, which is a fallacy.

Amid Confusion Over US Vaccine Recommendations, States Try To ‘Restore Trust’

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The decisions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices matter, because insurers and federal programs rely on them, but they are not binding. States can follow the recommendations, or not.

Watch: How Controversies Over Vaccine Changes Affect You

ϳԹ News Original

Céline Gounder, ϳԹ News’ editor-at-large for public health, discusses leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and concerns over vaccine policy.

Senior CDC Officials Resign After Monarez’s Ouster, Citing Concerns Over Scientific Independence

ϳԹ News Original

Four senior officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced their resignations in recent days, citing what they described as growing political interference in the agency’s scientific work, particularly regarding vaccines.

Trump Administration Is Ending Multiple HIV Vaccine Studies, Scientists and Officials Say

ϳԹ News Original

The cuts will shutter two major HIV vaccine research efforts, and a National Institutes of Health senior official said the agency has been instructed not to issue any more HIV vaccine research funding in the next fiscal year, with few exceptions.