Latest Morning Briefing Stories
CDC Firings Undermine Public Health Work Far Beyond Washington
The Trump administration’s sudden firings have gutted training programs across the nation that bolstered state and local public health departments.
Journalists Discuss a Mysterious, Deadly Illness in Congo and Early Moves by Secretary RFK
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Human, Bird, or Dog Waste? Scientists Parsing Poop To Aid DC’s Forgotten River
A huge infrastructure project coupled with a new scientific review of microbes in the water could be bringing Washington, D.C., closer to a once-unimaginable goal — a safely swimmable Anacostia River.
Debido a los riesgos para la salud, no se puede nadar en el Anacostia desde hace más de medio siglo. El agua contaminada puede causar enfermedades gastrointestinales y respiratorias, así como infecciones oculares, nasales y cutáneas.
Los Angeles County Has Cut Homelessness, but Wildfires Threaten To Erase That Gain
As Los Angeles recovers from historic wildfires, both previously unsheltered and chronically homeless people are facing even greater instability. Some lawmakers and providers argue now is the time to put in even more resources to maintain the progress the county and state have made in fighting the crisis.
With RFK Jr. in Charge, Supplement Makers See Chance To Cash In
The FDA is already limited in policing claims of health benefits by makers of supplements and herbal remedies — a $70 billion industry. Get ready for even less regulation.
Journalists Discuss Health Care for Incarcerated Children and the Possibility of a Bird Flu Pandemic
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread
Health officials expect a measles outbreak in West Texas to exceed 100 cases because of low vaccination rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations more common and harder to contain.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe
President Donald Trump has said he won’t support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the program’s future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
An Ice Rink To Fight Opioid Crisis: Drug-Free Fun vs. Misuse of Settlement Cash
A decision about how to spend settlement funds in Carter County, Kentucky, which was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, offers a window into the choices that surround this windfall.
The Covid ‘Contrarians’ Are in Power. We Still Haven’t Hashed Out Whether They Were Right.
Jay Bhattacharya, nominated to lead the National Institutes of Health, opposed most covid mandates. Without an honest public debate about what worked and what didn’t, public health experts say, we’re even less prepared for the next pandemic.
Journalists Talk Southern Health Care: HIV Drug Access, Medicaid Expansion, Vaccination Rates
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Sights, Sounds Trigger Trauma for Super Bowl Parade Shooting Survivors
Survivors and witnesses of gun violence often freeze emotionally at first, as a coping mechanism. As the one-year mark since the parade shooting nears, the last installment in our series “The Injured” looks at how some survivors talk about resilience, while others are desperately trying to hang on.
Urgent CDC Data and Analyses on Influenza and Bird Flu Go Missing as Outbreaks Escalate
Delays in urgent CDC analyses of seasonal flu and bird flu, and the agency’s silence, will harm Americans as outbreaks escalate, doctors and public health experts warn.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Courts Try To Curb Health Cuts
Some of the Trump administration’s dramatic funding and policy shifts are facing major pushback for the first time — not from Congress, but from the courts. Federal judges around the country are attempting to pump the brakes on efforts to freeze government spending, shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, eliminate access to health-related webpages and datasets, and limit grant funding provided by the National Institutes of Health. Meanwhile, Congress is off to a slow start in trying to turn President Donald Trump’s agenda into legislation, although Medicaid is clearly high on the list for potential funding cuts. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Maya Goldman of Axios News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Mark McClellan, director of the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy and a former health official during the George W. Bush administration, about the impact of cutting funding to research universities.
Un año después del tiroteo del 14 de febrero que mató a una persona e hirió al menos a 24, los sobrevivientes y sus familias todavía tratan de rehacer sus vidas.
A Year After Super Bowl Parade Shooting, Trauma Freeze Gives Way to Turmoil for Survivors
Survivors and witnesses of gun violence often freeze emotionally at first, as a coping mechanism. As the one-year mark since the parade shooting nears, the last installment in our series “The Injured” looks at how some survivors talk about resilience, while others are desperately trying to hang on.
House Cats With Bird Flu Could Pose a Risk to Public Health
The current strain of bird flu is spreading from wildlife and livestock to house cats. To keep pets healthy, many virologists and veterinarians say, house cats shouldn’t eat raw food and should be kept indoors. Despite no known cases of H5N1 transmission between cats and people, some public health agencies and virologists are warning cat owners to be mindful of the theoretical risks to the health of humans in their households if a pet gets sick.
Gatos domésticos con gripe aviar podrían ser un riesgo para la salud pública
Un pequeño pero creciente número de gatos domésticos se han enfermado con H5N1, la cepa de gripe aviar protagonista del brote actual en el país, después de comer alimentos crudos o beber leche sin pasteurizar.
On the Front Lines Against Bird Flu, Egg Farmers Say They’re Losing the Battle
Tools used to contain previous bird flu outbreaks aren’t working this time, experts say. The virus has sickened at least 67 people in the U.S. and killed one, with egg producers begging for a new approach. “I call this virus a terrorist,” said one egg farmer, who lost 6.5 million birds to H5N1 in two weeks.
