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Internal Trump administration document reveals massive budget cut proposal for federal health agencies
The preliminary memo, sent from White House budget officials to the Department of Health and Human Services, previews the administration’s plans to slash discretionary federal health spending and rework health agencies in the image of President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s “Make America Healthy Again” mandate. …
US measles cases are undercounted, experts say, but real numbers are proving hard to pin down
During a Cabinet meeting last week, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed what is now the second-worst measles outbreak in the US since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000. Kennedy has claimed repeatedly that measles cases have “plateaued,” despite contradictory data from his own …
CDC denies Milwaukee’s request for help with unsafe lead levels in public schools
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has denied a request from Milwaukee’s public health department for assistance in managing unsafe lead levels in the city’s public schools, citing the loss of its lead experts in mass firings last week across federal health agencies. EpiAid is a CDC program …
New antibiotic is effective against gonorrhea, could be first new treatment since 1990s, study says
A new type of antibiotic for treatment of urinary tract infections in women could also work against gonorrhea infections, a new study finds. This could put the medication, called gepotidacin, on track to become the first new antibiotic for gonorrhea since the 1990s. “Gepotidacin is a novel oral antibacterial treatment …
US autism rate continues to rise, CDC says, pointing to greater awareness and better screening
A new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the autism diagnosis rate has increased among US children, continuing a long-term trend that experts have largely attributed to better understanding of and screening for the condition. About 1 in every 31 children was diagnosed with …
RFK Jr.’s long, complicated history with the measles vaccines
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week made his strongest endorsement yet of the measles vaccine amid an ongoing outbreak that has killed three and infected more than 600 people across the US. But his recent push for people to get vaccinated for measles stands in …