Vaccines

Watch: How Controversies Over Vaccine Changes Affect You

KFF Health News Original

Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discusses leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and concerns over vaccine policy.

Do Pediatricians Recommend Vaccines To Make a Profit? There’s Not Much Money in It

KFF Health News Original

Four pediatricians said evidence-based science and medicine and a desire to keep kids healthy drive doctors’ childhood vaccination recommendations. And while pediatric practices might make money immunizing privately insured children, most practices likely break even or lose money from providing the shots.

Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research

KFF Health News Original

The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to politicos, NIH workers say.

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: As Kids Head Back to School, Parents Sort Out Confusion Over Vaccine Access

KFF Health News Original

Confusion over federal immunization policy could have major implications for how families with private insurance and Medicaid pay for routine vaccinations. Some doctors are encouraging parents not to wait and get their children shots as soon as they are eligible.

Blue States That Sued Kept Most CDC Grants, While Red States Feel Brunt of Trump Clawbacks

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration’s cuts of public health funds to state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of where someone lives, a new KFF Health News analysis shows.

As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.

KFF Health News Original

Trump officials sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists, slowing their response to the measles outbreak in West Texas. Cases surged and sparked new outbreaks across the U.S. and Mexico. Together, these linked outbreaks have sickened more than 4,500 and killed at least 16 in the U.S. and Mexico.

Kennedy’s Anti-Vaccine Strategy Risks Forcing Shots Off Market, Manufacturers Warn

KFF Health News Original

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is targeting the government’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, without which manufacturers might cease producing shots.

Ya llega la temporada de gripe. ¿Deberías vacunarte? ¿Lo cubrirá el seguro?

KFF Health News Original

El Secretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., quien se ha opuesto a las vacunas, coincidió en que la mayoría de las personas deben vacunarse contra la gripe.

It’s Almost Flu Season. Should You Still Get a Shot, and Will Insurance Cover It?

KFF Health News Original

Doctors and public health leaders, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend that most people 6 months old and older get the 2025-26 flu vaccine — and it’s still covered by most insurance plans.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Trump Further Politicizes Science

Podcast

President Donald Trump’s latest executive order about science and medicine seeks to take funding decisions out of the hands of career scientists and give them to political appointees instead. And a gunman, reportedly disgruntled over covid vaccines, shoots at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, killing a law enforcement officer. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of the health services research group AcademyHealth, about how to restore the public’s trust in public health.

Cuidado con los “datos alternativos”, no deben ser un motivo para dejar de vacunarse

KFF Health News Original

La deficiente comunicación científica del gobierno y los que diseminan información errónea en internet han abonado el terreno para que los datos alternativos crezcan como la mala hierba.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Kennedy Cancels Vaccine Funding

Podcast

The Health and Human Services secretary is winding down nearly $500 million in mRNA research funding, citing false claims that the technology is ineffective against respiratory illnesses — and notching a victory for critics of the covid vaccines. And President Donald Trump is demanding drugmakers drop their prices, quickly, but it’s unclear how he could make them comply. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.

Aclarando la confusión sobre las vacunas contra covid-19

KFF Health News Original

Las agencias dentro del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales responsables de especificar quién debe vacunarse no están necesariamente sincronizadas, emitiendo recomendaciones en apariencia contradictorias.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm

Podcast

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, is eyeing an overhaul of two more key entities as part of his ongoing effort to reshape health policy. And President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that would enable localities to force some homeless people into residential treatment. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sara Rosenbaum, one of the nation’s leading experts on Medicaid, to mark Medicaid’s 60th anniversary this week.