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RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel expected to recommend delaying hepatitis B shot for children

A key federal vaccine advisory panel whose members were recently replaced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to vote to recommend delaying until age 4 the hepatitis B vaccine that's currently given to newborns, according to two former senior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.

16 Sep 2025

An HIV outbreak in Maine shows the risk of Trump’s crackdown on homelessness and drug use

Penobscot County, Maine, is grappling with the largest HIV outbreak in the state's history. Home to Bangor, a city of roughly 32,000, the county has identified 28 new cases over nearly two years.

16 Sep 2025

Parents fear losing disability protections as Trump slashes civil rights office

Devon Price, a 15-year-old boy with autism, has attended the largest school district in North Carolina for 10 years, but he cannot read or write. His twin sister, Danielle, who is also autistic, was bullied by classmates and became suicidal.

15 Sep 2025

Survey: Public support for MMR vaccine requirements in schools rises to 70%

Although Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted on social media in April that the "most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine," in a CBS News interview that month he said, "The federal government's position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating it."

13 Sep 2025

Acupuncture improves pain and function in older adults with chronic low back pain

According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), older Americans with chronic low back pain who received acupuncture had greater improvement in physical function and reduced pain than those who received usual medical care only, generally prescribed medications or physical therapy.

13 Sep 2025

Under Trump, FDA seeks to abandon expert reviews of new drugs

FDA leaders under President Donald Trump are moving to abandon a decades-old policy of asking outside experts to review drug applications, a move critics say would shield the agency's decisions from public scrutiny.

12 Sep 2025

A surgical team was about to harvest this man’s organs — until his doctor intervened

Lying on top of an operating room table with his chest exposed, Larry Black Jr. was moments away from having his organs harvested when a doctor ran breathlessly into the room.

12 Sep 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Countdown to government shutdown

Oct. 1 is the start of the next fiscal year, and unless Congress reaches agreement on continued spending, big parts of the government could shut down that day.

11 Sep 2025

Treating opioid use disorder during incarceration improves post-release outcomes

A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were significantly more likely to continue treatment six months after release than those who did not receive MOUD.

11 Sep 2025

RFK Jr. said ‘everybody can get’ a covid vaccine. Is that true?

When health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 4, several senators criticized him for restricting the covid-19 shots after promising in November he wouldn't “take away anybody's vaccines.”

10 Sep 2025

Fighting a health insurance denial? Here are 7 tips to help

When Sally Nix found out that her health insurance company wouldn't pay for an expensive, doctor-recommended treatment to ease her neurological pain, she prepared for battle.

4 Sep 2025

As insurers struggle with GLP-1 drug costs, some seek to wean patients off

After losing 50 pounds on the injectable weight loss medication Zepbound, Kyra Wensley received a surprising letter from her pharmacy benefit manager in April.

4 Sep 2025

Single penicillin injection found to be as effective as three doses for early syphilis

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that a single injection of the antibiotic benzathine penicillin G (BPG) successfully treated early syphilis just as well as the three-injection regimen used by many clinicians in the United States and elsewhere.

3 Sep 2025

Do pediatricians recommend vaccines to make a profit? There’s not much money in it

It makes sense to approach some marketing efforts with skepticism. Scams, deepfakes, and deceptive social media posts are common, with people you don't know seeking to profit from your behavior.

3 Sep 2025

Changes at NIH give political appointees greater power to fund or block research

The Trump administration has given notice that political appointees, rather than scientists, will ultimately decide who gets grant money from the world’s largest biomedical research funder — the federal government's National Institutes of Health.

3 Sep 2025

At CDC, worries mount that agency has taken anti-science turn

Public health and access to lifesaving vaccines are on the line in a high-stakes leadership battle at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

3 Sep 2025

Blue states that sued kept most CDC grants, while red states feel brunt of Trump clawbacks

The Trump administration's cuts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, according to a KFF Health News analysis.

26 Aug 2025

As measles exploded, officials in Texas looked to CDC scientists. Under Trump, no one answered.

As measles surged in Texas early this year, the Trump administration's actions sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists that kept them from performing the agency's most critical function — emergency response — when it mattered most, an investigation from KFF Health News shows.

25 Aug 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 60th, Medicare and Medicaid!

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed landmark legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid. Sixty years later, the programs represent a fifth of the federal budget and provide coverage to nearly 1 in 4 Americans.

21 Aug 2025

How early maltreatment impacts social and cognitive development

Research shows that early childhood maltreatment is associated with significant delays in social and cognitive development. Unfortunately, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, children under age one face the highest risk of maltreatment, particularly neglect. The Child Protective Services (CPS) system is responsible for responding to maltreatment and preventing its recurrence.

21 Aug 2025

Health and Human Services News and Research

RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel expected to recommend delaying hepatitis B shot for children

An HIV outbreak in Maine shows the risk of Trump’s crackdown on homelessness and drug use

Parents fear losing disability protections as Trump slashes civil rights office

Survey: Public support for MMR vaccine requirements in schools rises to 70%

Acupuncture improves pain and function in older adults with chronic low back pain

Under Trump, FDA seeks to abandon expert reviews of new drugs

A surgical team was about to harvest this man’s organs — until his doctor intervened

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Countdown to government shutdown

Treating opioid use disorder during incarceration improves post-release outcomes

RFK Jr. said ‘everybody can get’ a covid vaccine. Is that true?

Fighting a health insurance denial? Here are 7 tips to help

As insurers struggle with GLP-1 drug costs, some seek to wean patients off

Single penicillin injection found to be as effective as three doses for early syphilis

Do pediatricians recommend vaccines to make a profit? There’s not much money in it

Changes at NIH give political appointees greater power to fund or block research

At CDC, worries mount that agency has taken anti-science turn

Blue states that sued kept most CDC grants, while red states feel brunt of Trump clawbacks

As measles exploded, officials in Texas looked to CDC scientists. Under Trump, no one answered.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 60th, Medicare and Medicaid!

How early maltreatment impacts social and cognitive development

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