US Pulls Covid Shot Recommendation For Children And Pregnant Women

NPR: CDC To Stop Recommending COVID Vaccine For Kids, Pregnant Women
The federal government has removed COVID-19 vaccines from the list of shots recommended for healthy pregnant women and children, federal health officials announced Tuesday. ... The decision will make it much harder for parents to get their children vaccinated and for pregnant people to get the shots because insurance companies will likely no longer pay for them. (Stein, 5/27)

The Hill: US And Argentina Launch Alternative Health Body To WHO
The top health authorities of the U.S. and Argentina are launching what they call an “alternative international health system” separate from the World Health Organization (WHO). On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive starting the yearlong process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO. In February, Argentinian President Javier Milei followed suit. (Choi, 5/27)

More from HHS —

Politico: RFK Jr. Threatens To Bar Government Scientists From Publishing In Leading Medical Journals
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to stop government scientists from publishing their work in major medical journals on a podcast Tuesday as part of his escalating war on institutions he says are influenced by pharmaceutical companies. Speaking on the “Ultimate Human” podcast, Kennedy said the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet, three of the most influential medical journals in the world, were “corrupt” and publish studies funded and approved by pharmaceutical companies. (Cirruzzo, 5/27)

ProPublica: The USDA Ended A Program That Helps Tribes Get Healthy Food
As he has promoted the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, has lamented the toll that processed foods have taken on the health of Americans, in particular Native Americans. Prepackaged foods have “mass poisoned” tribal communities, he said last month when he met with tribal leaders and visited a Native American health clinic in Arizona. (Hudetz, 5/27)

Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Draws Ire For Tobacco Cuts Amid War On Chronic Disease
Recent cutbacks at the Department of Health and Human Services will hurt, or even reverse, decades of progress in reducing the use of addictive tobacco products, more than 80 public health organizations and advocacy groups warned in a letter to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ... In the letter, the group said the agencies are already stretched thin, and further layoffs would derail efforts to remove unauthorized products and hold tobacco companies accountable. (Rutherford, 5/27)

Regarding Medicaid —

The Hill: 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Raises Concerns For Millions Of Americans
Much of the savings in the legislation come from Medicaid. The bill would cut nearly $800 billion from the program through a combination of provisions including work requirements on “able-bodied adults” through age 64 without dependents, a freeze on provider taxes, more frequent checks of people’s eligibility, and reducing federal Medicaid payments to states that provide health care coverage for migrants without legal status. (Lane, Folley, Weixel and Frazin, 5/27)

KFF Health News: In Arizona County That Backed Trump, Conflicted Feelings About Cutting Medicaid
Like many residents of this copper-mining town in the mountains east of Phoenix, Debbie Cox knows plenty of people on Medicaid. Cox, who is a property manager at a real estate company in Globe, has tenants who rely on the safety-net program. And at the domestic violence shelter where she volunteers as president of the board, Cox said, staff always look to enroll women and their children if they can. (Levey, 5/28)

On workforce and funding cuts —

The Washington Post: One Of The Biggest Trump Administration Personnel Cuts Almost Went Unnoticed
When Florenzo Cribbs walked into the Perry Family Free Clinic each week in Madison, Wisconsin, Parker Kuehni and his colleagues erupted in applause. It is a tradition there. Every patient who shows up is cheered for keeping their appointment. Kuehni, a 25-year-old AmeriCorps member, scheduled Cribbs’s medical, dental and mental health visits, prepped his exam room, took his health history and handed him off to the clinic’s volunteer doctors. He also greeted Cribbs, asked about his week and talked with him in the waiting room, before seeing him out. He followed up later with resources for food, housing or insurance. (Malhi, 5/27)

Stat: Lawmaker Wants To Know How FDA Can Police Drug Ads After Cutting Key Staff
Amid ongoing controversy over pharmaceutical advertising, one lawmaker wants to know how the U.S. government will enforce regulations after the Food and Drug Administration let go numerous employees from the office that oversees prescription drug promotions. (Silverman, 5/27)

Boston Globe and Stat: Young Scientist May Abandon Research As Options Shrink After NIH Cuts
Becks Padrusch‘s fondest memories growing up were of trips to Boston’s Museum of Science, where the Arlington native got to touch animal organs and watch with fascination as chickens hatched in incubators. As a toddler, Padrusch, who uses they/them pronouns, insisted on bedtime stories about the solar system and how the planets formed. By age 5, Padrusch knew they wanted to be a scientist. (Serres and Parker, 5/27)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Zach Dyer reads this week’s news: Federal funding cuts are gutting HIV prevention programs, and financial pressures are leading to the closure of clinics that provide abortion care even in states where it’s legal. Sam Whitehead reads this week’s news: Using “elderspeak” with seniors can be harmful, and independent pharmacists worry tariffs could force them to close. (5/27)