Stat: Kennedy Cancels $500 Million In MRNA Vaccine Contracts 
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced that the government’s emergency preparedness agency will no longer fund work on messenger RNA vaccines, delivering a crippling blow to the country’s capacity to develop vaccines during the next pandemic or public health emergency. (Branswell, 8/5)

The effort to 'Make America Healthy Again' —

The Hill: Trump Admin Approves Food Stamp Restrictions In Six States
The Trump administration on Monday approved six additional states seeking to ban food stamp recipients from purchasing processed food. Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas and Florida received federal waivers to adjust Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) guidelines outlawing the purchase of junk food with state funds in 2026. (Fields, 8/5)

The New York Times: Kennedy’s Crusade Against Food Safety Rule Threatens Supplement Industry
By going after an obscure regulatory designation he describes as a “loophole,” Mr. Kennedy has put an industry he champions on the defensive. (Black, 8/6)

The Washington Post: Is Orange Juice Healthy? An FDA Sugar Proposal Renews The Debate
Orange juice, known for its tangy, sweet taste, could be made with slightly less sugary oranges under a regulation proposed Tuesday by the Trump administration. While that move can sound like a way to make America healthier, it’s actually at the behest of Florida’s citrus industry as it grapples with changes to the crop and its sugar levels. The Food and Drug Administration described the proposed change as unlikely to affect taste and nutritional value while providing “flexibility to the food industry.” (Roubein, 8/5)

On alcohol and substance use —

MedPage Today: Screen Every Adult For Unhealthy Alcohol Use, USPSTF Says
In updated draft guidance, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said that all adults should be screened for unhealthy alcohol use in primary care settings, recommendations that align with those from 2018. For adults who screen positive for "risky or hazardous drinking," the task force recommended brief behavioral counseling interventions — a grade B, based on moderate net benefit. (Firth, 8/5)

ABC News: CDC Launches New National Campaign To Tackle Mental Health, Substance Use Among Teens
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new campaign on Tuesday aimed at tackling mental health and substance use among teens ahead of the upcoming school year. The federal campaign, entitled Free Mind, aims to provide teens and their parents or caregivers with "resources and information about substance use, mental health and the connection between the two." (Benadjaoud, 8/5)

The Hill: Trump Threatens 250% Tariffs On Pharmaceutical Imports
President Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports, the highest rate he’s discussed to date. “We’ll be putting a, initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals,” Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “But in one year, one in a half years maximum, it’s going to go to 150 percent, and then it’s going to go to 250 percent, because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” Trump said. (Weixel, 8/5)

MedPage Today: Why Are Drug Prices So High? PBMs Are Only Part Of The Answer, Say GOP Advisers
There was one thing everyone agreed on at Monday's listening session on lowering the cost of prescription drugs: Something must be done to rein in pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Problems in the prescription drug marketplace such as lack of transparency "are compounded by the labyrinth of regulations and a web of intermediaries," including PBMs, Thomas DeMatteo, chief counsel to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at the listening session, which was hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the departments of Justice, Commerce, and HHS. (Frieden, 8/5)

On funding and research cuts —

Stat: Trump NIH Cuts Violated Federal Law, GAO Watchdog Office Says 
In a scathing report issued Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration, by abruptly canceling National Institutes of Health grants, had violated a 1974 law blocking presidents from withholding funding Congress has approved. (Oza and Molteni, 8/5)

NPR: CDC To Disburse Delayed Funds Including For Overdose Prevention, Staffers Say
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be able to fully fund the Overdose Data to Action or OD2A program ahead of a key budget deadline, according to a CDC senior leader. A second CDC staff member confirmed that "there have been developments and we are likely to have full funding," although they did not have details on when the funding would become available. Both spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity because they fear retribution for speaking to the press without authorization. Some staffers at CDC expressed to NPR that this appeared to be good news, although the funding situation was still fluid and confusing. (Simmons-Duffin and Mann, 8/5)

Stat: Rare Disease Patients Caught Up In Overseas Research Funding Cuts 
Mid-April was a nerve-racking time to arrive on the National Institutes of Health campus outside Washington, D.C. — it was just two weeks after more than 1,000 NIH employees had been laid off in a chaotic downsizing of the federal workforce that disrupted many of the health agency’s core functions. Ellyn Kodroff had flown in from Chicago for the start of her daughter Jori’s experimental treatment for a rare digestive disorder. (Molteni, 8/6)

On Medicaid and veterans' health care —

The 19th: Medicaid Cuts Threaten Services For Pregnant People In Rural America
When there’s a maternal health emergency, Jessica Wheat springs into action. Alongside a group of specialized health providers at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Wheat works fast to make sure patients are able to have their babies delivered safely or their children given critical treatment at the Level III neonatal intensive care unit on site. “We have just an abundance of resources, and people that know what they’re doing,” the labor and delivery nurse said. That abundance is coming to an end. (Luthra and Rodriguez, 8/5)

KFF Health News: Congress Looks To Ease Restrictions On Veterans’ Use Of Non-VA Clinics And Hospitals
John-Paul Sager appreciates the care he has received at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, but he thinks it should be easier for veterans like him to use their benefits elsewhere. Sager, a Marine Corps and Army veteran, uses his VA coverage for non-VA treatment of back injuries stemming from his military service. But he said he sometimes must make several phone calls to obtain approval to see a local chiropractor. “It seems like it takes entirely too long,” he said. (Leys, 8/6)

On the threat of nuclear war —

Newsweek: US Flexes Nuclear Forces As Trump Rattles Saber At Putin
The United States has released footage showcasing its nuclear deterrence capabilities amid escalating tensions with Russia over a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. Following the release of the footage, Russia announced that it no longer recognizes restrictions on deploying conventional and nuclear missiles with ranges between 310 and 3,417 miles—banned under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. (Chan, 8/6)

EL PAÍS English: Last Survivors Of Hiroshima Warn The World Of Risk Of Another Nuclear Conflict: ‘We Haven’t Learned Anything In 80 Years’
Satoshi Tanaka, who was a year old when the US dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city on August 6, 1945, fears that memories of the disaster will fade as those that experienced it pass away. (Bonet, 8/6)

San Francisco Chronicle: Chikungunya Outbreak In China Prompts U.S. Travel Alert
U.S. health officials have issued a travel advisory for parts of China following a surge in chikungunya infections, a mosquito-borne viral disease that has sickened more than 7,000 people in Guangdong province since mid-June. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging travelers to exercise “increased caution,” particularly in the city of Foshan, the epicenter of the outbreak. (Vaziri, 8/5)

Bloomberg: Chikungunya Virus: China Revives Covid-Era Measures To Battle Outbreak
More than two years after ending pandemic emergency procedures, China has revived some Covid-era health controls in southern Guangdong province to prevent the spread of a painful mosquito-borne viral disease. Recording the identities of people buying commonly used medicines, reinstating mass testing, requiring travel history reports and undertaking community-level disinfection are among measures put in place to check chikungunya, after a city in the industrial hub reported a rare but massive outbreak of the virus this summer. (Kan, 8/5)

In related news about mosquito-borne diseases —

BBC: Ten Years After The Zika Outbreak: What Happened To The Babies Born With Microcephaly?
When Rute Freires was told by a doctor that her newborn daughter Tamara wouldn't live long, she started crying uncontrollably. Tamara had microcephaly - an abnormally small head - one of many conditions resulting from her mother being infected with the Zika virus while pregnant. Now nine-years-old, Tamara eats through a stomach tube. Her hands are increasingly stiff and contracted and she has a hard time holding her head still. "I was told early on that she wouldn't walk, she wouldn't speak nor smile," says Rute. Rute's daughter is one of the nearly 2,000 babies born to women who contracted the mosquito-borne virus in Brazil between 2015 and 2016. (Mota, 8/3)

On covid and flu —

USA Today: New COVID Variant 'Stratus' Spreading In US: Symptoms, What To Know
A new COVID variant is climbing the ranks in the U.S., becoming the third-most common strain of the summer. Variant XFG, colloquially known as "Stratus," was first detected in Southeast Asia in January but accounted for less than about 0% of cases in the United States until May. By late June, it was estimated to account for up to 14%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Walrath-Holdridge, 8/5)

Newsweek: Map Shows States Where COVID Is Rising
COVID-19 cases are reported to be rising in 27 states and "likely growing" in 12 states more as well as in Washington D.C., according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The national health body warned that COVID-19 infections are estimated to be "growing or likely growing in 40 states [including D.C.], declining or likely declining in zero states, and not changing in nine states," as of July 29. (Kim, 8/5)

CIDRAP: Influenza, Not Tamiflu, May Raise Risk Of Neuropsychiatric Events In Kids
For 20 years, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) has carried a black-box warning suggesting that use in pediatric patients may be linked to neuropsychiatric events, including confusion, delirium, and abnormal behavior. But a new study in JAMA Neurology debunks this association and suggests that influenza itself, not Tamiflu use, increases a child’s risk of experiencing neuropsychiatric events when ill. (Soucheray, 8/5)

MedicalXpress: New Flu Drug Combo With Chocolate Compound Outperforms Tamiflu
In a potential game-changer for how we treat the flu, scientists have unveiled a new drug pairing that outperforms Tamiflu—the most widely used anti-influenza medication—against even the deadliest flu strains, including bird (avian) and swine flu. The surprising duo? One of them is theobromine, a compound found in chocolate. (Lock, 8/4)

New Atlas: The 1918 Spanish Flu Virus Has Been Reconstructed From 107-Year-Old Lung
The preserved lung of an 18-year-old Swiss man has been used to create the full genome of the 1918 "Spanish flu," the first complete influenza A genome with a precise date from Europe. It offers new insights into the deadly pandemic that claimed the lives of up to 100 million people. (Thompson, 8/3)

Also —

CIDRAP: Many Studies Of Air-Cleaning Tech Say They Curb Viral Spread, But New Review Raises Questions
Although many studies on air-cleaning technologies conclude that they prevent the indoor spread of respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, only a small fraction examine whether they reduce human infections or identify potential harmful emissions, finds a scoping review published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 8/5)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: The Republican megabill President Donald Trump signed July 4 could lead rural health facilities to close, and previously rare mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue are on the rise in the U.S. July 24 Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Affordable Care Act health plans will likely be more expensive next year, and work requirements for Medicaid recipients can be expensive and hard to navigate for enrollees. (Cook, 8/5)

NBC News: Third Person Has Died, 67 Sickened From Legionnaires' Cluster In Harlem
A third person has now died and nearly 70 people have fallen ill as part of a growing Legionnaires’ cluster in Harlem, city health officials reported Tuesday. The disease was initially detected on July 25; since then, three people have died and 67 people have been diagnosed, the New York City Health Department revealed in its latest update. That’s up from the same numbers reported just a day ago, with the Health Department said there had been two deaths and 58 confirmed cases. (Shea and Zakaria, 8/6)

AP: Medical Transport Plane Crash On Navajo Nation Kills Four
A small medical transport plane crashed and caught fire Tuesday on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, killing four people, the tribe said in a statement. A Beechcraft King Air 300 from the CSI Aviation company left Albuquerque, New Mexico, with two pilots and two health care providers, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and CSI Aviation. It crashed in the early afternoon near the airport in Chinle, about 300 miles (483 kilometers) northeast of Phoenix. (Billeaud and Baumann, 8/6)

AP: Tennessee Executes Man Without Deactivating Implanted Defibrillator
A man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two young daughters in the 1980s said he was “hurting so bad” while he was given a lethal injection Tuesday in Tennessee, where authorities had refused to deactivate his implanted defibrillator despite claims it might cause unnecessary, painful shocks as the drugs were administered. Black’s attorney said they will review data kept by the device as part of an autopsy. Black died at 10:43 a.m., prison officials said. It was about 10 minutes after the execution started and Black talked about being in pain. (Mattise, 8/6)

The New York Times: 3 Years Before Midtown Manhattan Shooting, Nevada Police Had Gunman Committed
Shane Devon Tamura’s mother was desperate. Her son was inside a Las Vegas motel, threatening to kill himself, according to a 911 call released on Tuesday by the Metropolitan Police Department there. She told the 911 operator she wasn’t sure he was carrying a gun, but she knew he owned one and had a backpack with a holster that could hold such a weapon. (Cramer and Harris, 8/5)

St. Louis Public Radio: Study Finds PFAS In St. Louis Beer
St. Louis is a city known for its beer. A recent study indicates that some of the beer produced in the United States — including in St. Louis — contains polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.” The study, titled “Hold My Beer,” was led by Jennifer Hoponick Redmon at research institute RTI International. (Mizelle, 8/6)

KFF Health News: As California’s Behavioral Health Workforce Buckles, Help Is Years Away
This spring, the Good News Rescue Mission, which runs the only emergency homeless shelter in Shasta County, received a game-changing $17.8 million state grant to build a 75-bed residential treatment facility in a region where thousands struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. Now comes the hard part — recruiting and hiring 10 certified substance use counselors and about a dozen other staff members to work at the new site, about 170 miles north of the state capital. (Mai-Duc, 8/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy Weight-Loss Drug Sales Surge Despite Copycat Issues
Novo Nordisk said second-quarter sales of its blockbuster Wegovy weight-loss drug soared 67% on year, despite waves of U.S. patients using generic unbranded versions of the drug. The Danish company last week slashed full-year guidance, warning that copycat versions of its obesity and diabetes drugs in the U.S. were holding back sales of its branded treatments. Its share price plummeted on the news. (Chopping, 8/6)

Bloomberg: Linda Yaccarino Shifts To Run GLP-1 Tech Upstart After Elon Musk’s X
Linda Yaccarino, who recently left Elon Musk’s X social media site, is taking the helm at eMed, a telehealth company that offers access to weight-loss drugs. The digital health upstart sold Covid tests with results it confirmed virtually during the pandemic, then pivoted to offering weight-loss drugs more recently. The company announced Yaccarino’s appointment as chief executive officer on Tuesday. (Muller, 8/5)

Medscape: Weight-Loss Meds In Teens Make Some Pediatricians Uneasy
Though obesity treatment is a critical need, there are no long-term data on the use of weight-loss drugs in adolescents. (McKnight, 8/6)

In health industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Ascension Launches The Clinical Innovation Institute
Ascension announced the launch of an institute aimed at researching and developing technology to improve patient care and clinician experience. The Clinical Innovation Institute will center innovations in digital health, electronic health records and clinical research, said Dr. Thomas Aloia, executive vice president and chief clinical officer, in a Tuesday interview. (DeSilva, 8/5)

Modern Healthcare: Bayada Home, Elara Caring Turn To AI To Improve Efficiency
Home health companies are leaning into artificial intelligence to offset staff shortages and potential reimbursement cuts — but only in areas where the technology has been successful. Providers that piloted AI tools are getting more serious about their investments because the proposed $1 billion Medicare rate cut next year could change the calculus for the industry. Enhabit Home Health and Hospice, Bayada Home Health Care, Elara Caring and others are prioritizing investments in AI tools they believe have a proven track record in healthcare and guarantee a return on their investments in the face of the potential cuts. (Eastabrook, 8/5)

CNN: A Warmer, Humid World Where Ticks Thrive Is Increasing Spread Of Lyme And Other Diseases 
This year, people are seeking emergency care for tick bites in the highest level since 2017, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and reported cases of Lyme disease have continued to rise through the years. Experts say the increases are driven by warmer temperatures due to climate change and the expanding presence of ticks in more areas in the US and Canada — including places where people are less familiar with the risks and how to prevent disease. (Koda, 8/5)

More health and wellness news —

Fox News: Obesity-Related Cancer Deaths Have More Than Tripled In US Over Past Two Decades
Obesity-related cancer deaths have soared in the U.S. over the last two decades, rising from 3.73 million to 13.52 million. That's according to a study by researchers at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health, which was presented last month at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco. (Stabile, 8/5)

MedPage Today: Brain Training Relieves Low Back Pain Long-Term
Cognitive functional therapy (CFT) for chronic low back pain yielded benefits that far outlasted a 6-month program initially delivering it, researchers said. When patients participating in a randomized trial were followed up after 3 years, mean self-reported function and pain scores in those assigned to CFT (with or without biofeedback) still showed significantly greater improvement relative to a usual-care control group, according to Mark Hancock, PhD, of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues. (Gever, 8/5)

Newsweek: Chronic Pain Science Has Advanced. Why Are Treatments Stuck In The Past?
Dr. Adriaan Louw has heard the term "pain revolution" before. The physical therapist and scientist has been researching chronic pain for more than 30 years. Over the decades, he has witnessed the rise of opioid prescriptions—and seen them replaced by other prescription medications and invasive medical procedures. He has watched patients be dismissed as malingerers as doctors struggle to ease their debilitating symptoms. For a while, it seemed to Louw and his small group of colleagues that no one really understood chronic pain. Patients were still hurting. (Kayser, 8/6)

On mental health —

CNN: Childhood Verbal And Physical Abuse Leave Similar Impacts, Study Shows 
Cruel words can leave a mark on a child –– and may have as much of an impact as physical abuse, new research has found. People who experienced physical abuse as a child were at a 50% increased risk of reporting low mental health in adulthood compared with those with no abuse, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Open. Those who experienced verbal abuse had a 60% increase in likelihood of low well-being. (Holcombe, 8/5)

AP: NFL Bans 'Smelling Salts' During Games To Prevent Concussion Risks
The NFL is banning the use of “smelling salts” during games, saying the products aren’t proven to be safe and also could mask signs of a concussion. The league sent a memo to teams on Tuesday explaining the decision to ban smelling salts and any other ammonia inhalant during pregame activities, games and halftime on the sideline or locker rooms. (Dubow, 8/5)

The Boston Globe: Congress Should Reauthorize Hospital-At-Home
Over the past five years, hospitals struggling with overcrowding have experimented with an innovative idea: providing hospital-level care at home. Results, so far, are promising. With the authority for those services soon set to expire, Congress should act to let them continue. (8/5)

The Boston Globe: How Health Trackers Could Promote Human Flourishing
WHOOP, a company based in Kenmore Square, estimates your “physiological age.” Oura assesses your “cardiovascular age.” Tonal pitches “strength training for longevity,” while Peloton now emphasizes “healthy aging.” Each platform offers a dashboard of metrics and a path to optimize them. The message: If you can improve your numbers, you can live longer and better. (David Shaywitz, 8/5)

Stat: Cuts To Cancer Research Can’t Diminish Hope 
Long before I was a doctor, I was a caregiver. When we were in our 20s, my husband was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. We did everything we could. We fought it with the best treatments we could afford, leaning on hope, science, and one another. But he still died. And in the end, cancer didn’t just take him. It unraveled our financial stability, too. Medical costs, lost income, caregiving demands — it left me emotionally and economically shattered. (Fumiko Chino, 8/6)

Stat: Medicare Should Cover FDA-Approved Devices, Medicines 
In a recent interview, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary declared that Medicare should automatically cover FDA-designated breakthrough devices — a rare and refreshing commonsense reform in a health care system riddled with red tape and inefficiency. Aligning reimbursement with FDA approvals will allow for better patient care by unlocking faster access to lifesaving treatments, unleash private-sector innovation, and help lower long-term costs. (Steve Forbes, 8/6)

The CT Mirror: A Presidential Attack On The Unhoused
President Trump’s Executive Order issued July 24 is a shameful, reactionary assault on the most vulnerable members of our communities. By prioritizing the involuntary institutionalization of unhoused individuals, empowering municipalities to criminalize homelessness, and defunding Housing First and harm reduction strategies, this administration has willfully abandoned the decades of proven, evidence-based public health practices that have helped countless individuals find safety, dignity, and stability. (Steve Werlin, 8/5)