Stephanie Armour

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@StephArmour1

Kennedy’s Take on Vaccine Science Fractures Cohesive National Public Health Strategies

KFF Health News Original

A lack of faith in the soundness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new direction has led states to explore enacting their own vaccine policies. A patchwork of divergent recommendations and requirements could result.

In the Fallout From Trump’s Health Funding Cuts, States Face Tough Budget Decisions

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration has pushed a significant amount of health costs to states, whose budgets may already be strained by declining state tax revenues, a slowdown in pandemic spending, and economic uncertainty. State and local governments now face difficult decisions.

At CDC, Worries Mount That Agency Has Taken Anti-Science Turn

KFF Health News Original

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is more than an administrative shake-up. It marks a major offensive by Kennedy to seize control of the agency and impose an anti-science agenda, public health leaders say.

Listen: Regulatory Rollbacks and Federal Layoffs Threaten America’s Food Supply

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration’s anti-regulatory approach and cost-cutting moves risk unraveling the system of checks and balances that helps ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply, say consumer advocates and former employees of the FDA and Department of Agriculture.

In Rush To Satisfy Trump, GOP Delivers Blow to Health Industry

KFF Health News Original

The health industry couldn’t persuade GOP lawmakers to oppose big Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill for many reasons. A big one: Congressional Republicans were more worried about angering Trump than a backlash from hospitals and low-income constituents back home.

Vested Interests. Influence Muscle. At RFK Jr.’s HHS, It’s Not Pharma. It’s Wellness.

KFF Health News Original

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lambasted federal agencies he accused of being overly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. But he and other “Make America Healthy Again” notables have their own financial ties to the vast and largely unregulated $6.3 trillion global wellness industry that ethicists say raise red flags.

At Some Federal Beaches, Surf’s Up but the Lifeguard Chair’s Empty

KFF Health News Original

Some of the nation’s most well-known beaches are managed by the National Park Service, which saw about 1,000 employees laid off in February by the quasi-agency Department of Government Efficiency, then led by Elon Musk. The void has become a serious public health and safety concern.

Trump’s Team Cited Safety in Limiting Covid Shots. Patients, Health Advocates See More Risk.

KFF Health News Original

The FDA will encourage new clinical trials on the widely used vaccines before approving them for children and healthy adults. The requirements could cost drugmakers tens of millions of dollars and are likely to leave boosters largely out of reach for hundreds of millions of Americans this fall.