Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Days After Alleged Assassination Plot, Feds Want To Loosen Gun Rules
The New York Times: Trump Administration Announces Moves To Sharply Curtail Gun Regulations
The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a sweeping rollback of gun regulations, prompting criticism from gun control advocates who called the moves misguided and dangerous. ... The changes include rescinding a 2024 regulation from the Biden administration that sought to end what gun control advocates call the “gun show loophole.” That exemption allowed unlicensed dealers to sell firearms without performing a background check to see if the prospective buyer was prohibited by law from owning a gun. The administration also plans to rescind a 2023 rule that restricted pistol braces, an attachment that enables the shooter to hold the weapon against their shoulder like a rifle. A federal court had already struck down that rule. (Barrett, 4/29)
CNN: No Gun Debate After White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting
Unlike after President Reagan was shot in 1981, there’s been no sign of a fresh gun debate after an armed man attempted to storm a dinner featuring President Trump. (Bradner, 4/30)
More from the Trump administration —
Stat: FDA Tests 16 Brands Of Baby Formula, Affirms Their Safety
The FDA tested 312 samples from 16 infant formula brands for contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and the “forever chemicals” known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The vast majority had undetectable or very low levels of contaminants, the agency said, with levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic coming in below federal requirements for drinking water across all samples. (Todd, 4/29)
The Hill: NHTSA Bans Chinese Airbag Inflators Linked To Deaths
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday banned Chinese airbag inflators tied to at least 10 car crash deaths and injured two other people. NHTSA said an investigation revealed that frontal driver airbags exploded, sending large metal fragments into drivers’ chests, necks, eyes and faces. All recorded accidents took place in a GM or Hyundai vehicle, but the NHTSA said it “cannot confirm the risk is limited to these makes and models.” (Fields, 4/29)
Stat: NIH Grants Are More Competitive And Complicated
The likelihood of snagging National Institutes of Health grants has plunged to historic lows, forcing frustrated academic researchers to resort to a variety of tactics to try to obtain funding and, in some cases, keep their jobs, according to a nationwide STAT survey and follow-up interviews with respondents. (Oza, 4/30)
Capital & Main: Family Seeks Answers On Afghan Man’s Death In ICE Custody
When Naseer Paktiawal found out that his older brother was not feeling well after being taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in mid-March, he called an ambulance. Paktiawal said he watched the ambulance drive up to the Dallas facility where ICE processes people its officers have arrested. Later, he said he received another call from his brother, who told him that his condition was worsening and that the medics never checked on him. (Morrissey, 4/29)
NPR: Trump's Team Cuts Aid To Family Planning Programs Abroad
"I'm on your veranda." That's the text Prossy Muyingo would get each night for years, sent by a 28-year-old standing outside her home in central Uganda. Immediately, Muyingo would pour a glass of water and, from the sideboard in her living room, fetch a birth control pill and bring it outside. "She was swallowing [the pill] from my house," explains Muyingo, who served as a community health worker in Mityana District for 12 years. The woman had told Muyingo that she feared her husband would beat her if he knew about the birth control. (Emanuel, 4/29)
On vaccine policy —
NBC News: Trump Administration Appeals Ruling That Blocked RKF Jr.'s Vaccine Overhaul
The Trump administration has appealed a Massachusetts federal judge’s ruling that blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent overhaul of the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule. A filing Wednesday evening in the District of Massachusetts indicates the administration is appealing Judge Brian Murphy’s order March 16. Murphy put any decisions made by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee on hold, ruling that Kennedy replaced the committee “unlawfully.” (Edwards and Grumbach, 4/30)
CIDRAP: RFK Jr Holding Up Distribution Of $600 Million In Vaccines To Foreign Nations: Report
New reporting from Politico says the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is holding up $600 million in funds that Congress has appropriated for the use of vaccines in low-income countries. The move is intended to put pressure on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the report said. Gavi said it has not received any funding for this year or last year, and the missing funds make up 15% of its operating budget. (Soucheray, 4/29)
