CDC Archives - Page 3 of 28

The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA

Episode 423

Nov. 20, 2025

Republicans are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the CDC altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, 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 those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.

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A Small Texas Think Tank Cultivated Covid Dissidents. Now They’re Running US Health Policy.

Fueled by covid backlash, a libertarian author created the Brownstone Institute in 2021. In recent months, people with ties to the group have catapulted to the highest levels of U.S. government, exercising significant authority over access to vaccines and scientific research.

By Rachana Pradhan

Nov. 19, 2025

Wielding Obscure Budget Tools, Trump’s ‘Reaper’ Vought Sows Turmoil in Public Health

Through shrouded bureaucratic maneuvers, White House budget director Russell Vought and DOGE have quietly upended outbreak response, HIV treatment, and dementia care in communities across America.

By Amy Maxmen

Nov. 7, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Happy Open Enrollment Eve!

Episode 420

Oct. 30, 2025

A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

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A photo of gloved hands putting a bandage on a patient's arm after giving them a vaccine.

Despite the Hoopla, Vaccines Should Be in Reach This Cough-and-Cold Season

Recommendations surrounding covid vaccinations and other such shots have been confusing. Ultimately, though, little has changed. Here’s what you need to know.

By Michelle Andrews

Oct. 22, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Schrödinger’s Government Shutdown

Episode 418

Oct. 16, 2025

Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.

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A photo of a hand holding a syringe of the hepatitis B vaccine.

In Hepatitis B Vaccine Debate, CDC Panel Sidesteps Key Exposure Risk

At a recent meeting of a key vaccine advisory panel, members debated changes to the timing of hepatitis B vaccination, while largely ignoring the risk of early childhood transmission from day care or household contact. A few days later, President Donald Trump did the same.

By Jackie Fortiér

Sept. 29, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Public Health Further Politicized Under the Threat of More Firings

Episode 415

Sept. 25, 2025

In a rambling news conference that shocked public health experts, President Donald Trump — without scientific evidence — blamed the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen, and too many childhood vaccines, for the increase in autism diagnoses in the U.S. That came days after a key immunization advisory panel, newly reconstituted with vaccine doubters, changed several long-standing recommendations. Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Demetre Daskalakis joins KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories. Meanwhile, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Rovner with the rest of the news, including a threat by the Trump administration to fire rather than furlough federal workers if Congress fails to fund the government beyond the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.

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KFF Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Trump Claims ‘No Downside’ to Avoiding Tylenol During Pregnancy. He’s Wrong.

Doctors say acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, is safe to take during pregnancy. Other over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen aren’t recommended because they can harm fetal development. Untreated fever in pregnancy can pose maternal and fetal health risks.

By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact

Sept. 24, 2025

A close up view of a woman getting vaccinated.

Amid Confusion Over US Vaccine Recommendations, States Try To ‘Restore Trust’

The decisions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices matter, because insurers and federal programs rely on them, but they are not binding. States can follow the recommendations, or not.

By Céline Gounder

Sept. 24, 2025

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Follow the Fallout of CDC Director’s Firing and Trump’s Health Policies

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Sept. 21, 2025

Mercury in Your Hot Dog? Vaccine Skeptics Face Their Limits at Crucial CDC Meeting

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting on vaccines pitted scientific expertise against vaccine skepticism. An often confusing debate ended with critics of the current vaccine schedule tabling a vote to remove one of its cornerstones.

By Arthur Allen and Renuka Rayasam

Sept. 19, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Ousted CDC Officials Clap Back at RFK Jr.

Episode 414

Sept. 18, 2025

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Former CDC Director Susan Monarez speaks inside a Senate hearing room.

Watch: Fired CDC Chief Says RFK Jr. Demanded She Roll Back Vaccine Policies Without Evidence

Susan Monarez and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief medical officer Debra Houry described turmoil in an agency dominated by anti-vaccine political officials nominated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

By Arthur Allen and Hannah Norman

Sept. 17, 2025

RFK Jr. Said ‘Everybody Can Get’ a Covid Vaccine. Is That True?

Although the FDA has approved the vaccines for anyone 65 or older and anyone at least 6 months old who is at risk of a severe covid infection, barriers to coverage and access persist.

By Grace Abels, PolitiFact and Maria Ramirez Uribe, PolitiFact

Sept. 10, 2025

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Discuss Fallout of CDC Turmoil and Recap Bitter RFK Senate Hearing

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Sept. 6, 2025

The Week in Brief

Public Health Experts See More Trouble at CDC as Kennedy Looks To Exert Control

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Stephanie Armour

Sept. 5, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC

Episode 412

Sept. 5, 2025

A combative Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, appeared before a Senate committee Thursday, defending his firing of the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other changes that could limit the availability of vaccines. Meanwhile, Congress has only a few weeks to complete work on annual spending bills to avoid a possible government shutdown and to ward off potentially large increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who discusses his “Bill of the Month” report about a woman’s unfortunate interaction with a bat — and her even more unfortunate interaction with the bill for her rabies prevention treatment.

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RFK Jr. Faces Senate Finance Committee: A Live Discussion

KFF Health News’ Stephanie Armour, Julie Rovner, and Arthur Allen and KFF’s Josh Michaud discuss the biggest takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

Sept. 4, 2025

Watch: How Controversies Over Vaccine Changes Affect You

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.

By Céline Gounder

Sept. 3, 2025

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