Vaccines Archives - Page 2 of 41 - ��ýҕ�l Health News

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Health Spending Is Moving in Congress

Episode 430

Jan. 22, 2026

Lawmakers appear on the brink of passing a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services and a bipartisan health policy bill delayed for over a year. But the outlook is bleaker for the health care outline released by President Trump last week. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel to discuss his new book, “Eat Your Ice Cream.”

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As US Is Poised To Lose Measles-Free Status, RFK Jr.’s New CDC Deputy Downplays Its Significance

Measles is at a 30-year high in the U.S., but technicalities may stave off the loss of the nation’s measles elimination status.

By Amy Maxmen

Jan. 21, 2026

A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and JD Vance waving to an audience at a conference in D.C. Behind them is a sign reading "MAHA Summit."

GOP Promotes MAHA Agenda in Bid To Avert Midterm Losses. Dems Point to Contradictions.

As fractures emerge in the Make America Great Again movement, some Republicans see its health-focused "MAHA" counterpart as the party’s next big thing. But doubts abound.

By Stephanie Armour

Jan. 20, 2026

��ýҕ�l Health News On Air

Physician-Journalist Shines Light on Measles Upsurge and New GLP-1 Study

��ýҕ�l Health News' editor-at-large for public health recently took to the airwaves to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of her appearances.

Jan. 17, 2026

A photo of an older man having a bandage placed on his arm after receiving a vaccine.

The New Old Age

Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew

Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found.

By Paula Span

Jan. 14, 2026

A photo zoomed in close-up on an ingredients list. The focus is on a list of food dyes.

RFK Jr.’s MAHA Movement Has Picked Up Steam in Statehouses. Here’s What To Expect in 2026.

“Make America Healthy Again” policies driven by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made major strides in state legislatures, with food additives among the most common targets. The trend is expected to continue this year.

By Alan Greenblatt

Jan. 13, 2026

The Week in Brief

Vaccines Jettisoned by CDC Safeguarded Millions From Disease

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

By Arthur Allen and Jackie Fortiér

Jan. 9, 2026

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

New Year, Same Health Fight

Episode 428

Jan. 8, 2026

Congress returned from its break facing a familiar question: whether to extend the expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans that expired at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke a promise to Bill Cassidy, the chairman of Senate health committee, by overhauling the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines will be recommended. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

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A woman holds a young child, who is wearing a tie-dye shirt and a bandage, on her hip

The CDC Just Sidelined These Childhood Vaccines. Here’s What They Prevent.

The CDC is recommending fewer childhood vaccines, although the ones it has jettisoned from the recommended schedule have successfully battled serious illness for years. Experts warn that if vaccine uptake falls, millions could be hospitalized — or worse — as a result of preventable diseases.

By Arthur Allen and Jackie Fortiér

Jan. 6, 2026

A building seen through the glass of a wind shield next to an outdoor bench. An etching in the glass reads "FDA" and the sign above the entrance to the building in the distance reads "Food and Drug Administration."

Inside the FDA’s Vaccine Uproar

An internal email claiming covid vaccines killed children triggered a formal response from a dozen past FDA commissioners. The email, sent by the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, outlines a framework that could have significant impact on the nation’s vaccine policies.

By Céline Gounder

Dec. 19, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Time’s Up for Expanded ACA Tax Credits

Episode 427

Dec. 18, 2025

A last-minute push from Democrats and four moderate Republicans will force a House vote on renewing enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, but not until January. That means millions will have to choose between paying dramatically more or dropping coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially drops the federal recommendation for newborns to receive a hepatitis B shot. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lizzy Lawrence of Stat join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tony Leys, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, and the panel discusses the year’s biggest developments in health policy.

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A photo of the CDC's ACIP panel in a room. A television broadcast camera is seen recording the meeting in the center of the frame.

Vaccine Panel’s Hepatitis B Vote Signals Further Turbulence for Immunization Policy, Public Trust

Clinicians and epidemiologists warn the decision to no longer recommend the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine could unravel decades of progress and expose newborns to a deadly, preventable disease.

By Céline Gounder

Dec. 12, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Crunch Time for ACA Tax Credits

Episode 426

Dec. 11, 2025

Dec. 15 is the deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans that begin Jan. 1, and Congress remains at odds over letting expanded tax credits for the plans’ premiums expire and increasing the cost of insurance for millions of Americans. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to remake vaccine policy to reflect ideology rather than science. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown professor Linda Blumberg about the GOP’s health plans.

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A photo of the ACIP hearing from the press section. Reporters type on laptops in the foreground. In front of them is a large TV screen showing Robert Malone speaking. The full panel is seen behind the screen.

In RFK Jr.’s Upside-Down World of Vaccines, Panel Votes To End Hepatitis B Shot at Birth

A session of a vaccine panel dominated by skeptics was chaotically at odds with past practices of the CDC, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described as a “cesspool of corruption.” His crew voted to end a 34-year recommendation to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B.

By Arthur Allen

Dec. 5, 2025

An exterior photograph of an emergency entrance at a hospital at daybreak.

While Scientists Race To Study Spread of Measles in US, Kennedy Unravels Hard-Won Gains

Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. It’s a contentious question, because the findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status.

By Amy Maxmen

Dec. 5, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

The GOP Still Can’t Agree on a Health Plan

Episode 425

Dec. 4, 2025

Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include. Meanwhile, the CDC and FDA are roiled by debates over vaccines. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project tracking opioid settlement payments.

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Under Kennedy, America’s Health Department Is in the Business of Promoting Kennedy

Under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services increasingly uses its social media channels to promote Kennedy himself and his agenda. Interviews with over 20 former and current employees provide a look inside an agency where personality and politics steer communications with the public.

By Darius Tahir

Dec. 4, 2025

A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate hearing.

RFK Jr. Wants To Delay the Hepatitis B Vaccine. Here’s What Parents Need To Know.

A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.

By Jackie Fortiér

Dec. 2, 2025

A mobile health van with a yellow a-frame side out front reading "do not enter"

South Carolina’s Measles Outbreak Shows Chilling Effect of Vaccine Misinformation

When a measles outbreak emerged in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in October, health officials announced that most cases were tied to one public charter school, where only 17% of the 605 students enrolled during the 2024-25 academic year provided documentation showing they had received their required vaccinations.

By Lauren Sausser

Nov. 26, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Trump Almost Unveils a Health Plan

Episode 424

Nov. 25, 2025

Just weeks before some tax credits for Affordable Care Act premiums expire, the Trump administration floated a plan to extend the enhanced aid — but it was met with immediate GOP pushback. Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to revise its website to suggest childhood vaccines might be linked to autism. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Joanne Kenen and Joshua Sharfstein about their new book, “Information Sick: How Journalism’s Decline and Misinformation’s Rise Are Harming Our Health — And What We Can Do About It.”

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