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FACT FOCUS: Trump makes false claims as he signs order urging revisions around childhood vaccines

While issuing an executive order on Monday aimed at getting states to revise childhood vaccine recommendations, President Donald Trump and others in his administration repeated several false claims about those vaccines, as well as their relationship to autism. The order recommends separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate single-disease shots and […]

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Trump’s vaccine order hands some MAHA voters a win. It also gives Democrats an attack line

NEW YORK | President Donald Trump pivoted the nation’s attention back to vaccines this week with an executive order that aims to scale back the childhood immunization schedule and space out shots into separate visits. After acting to overhaul the nation’s vaccine policy and guidance, the Trump administration had recently largely stepped back from additional […]

8 mins read

Trump signs order calling for spacing out childhood vaccines, against medical groups’ guidance

NEW YORK | President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held but discredited theory that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits. The order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and administering all […]

9 mins read

Fauci contempt vote reflects the enduring politics of COVID

NEW YORK | Dr. Anthony Fauci is sitting before Congress, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on TV debating COVID lockdowns and Americans can’t agree on what science to trust. You might think it’s 2020 again. Six years after COVID-19 thrust the world into the fear and uncertainty of a global pandemic, Republicans in power aren’t […]

3 mins read

New kind of flu shot is on the way as the FDA approves Moderna’s mRNA-based vaccine

WASHINGTON | The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new kind of flu vaccine for older people, the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturer Moderna said. The shot, named mFlusiva, is intended for adults age 50 or older. Other brands of flu shots already […]

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CDC nominee says she won’t betray science — and also backs Kennedy’s actions

The Trump administration’s latest nominee to lead the nation’ top public health agency drew frustrated reactions from some U.S. senators on Wednesday when they pressed her on whether she would protect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from political meddling. Dr. Erica Schwartz told the Senate health committee she “will never betray the science” […]

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Hegseth announces new policy to test troops for low testosterone

WASHINGTON | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.” The new screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he […]

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EPA promised a Make America Healthy Again agenda. It has yet to materialize, frustrating activists

WASHINGTON | Last December, after Make America Healthy Again activists drew up a petition to get him fired, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin pledged to release a formal agenda of MAHA priorities that his agency would pursue, including protections against harmful chemicals and other health concerns. But eight months after its first mention and […]

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Cassidy tried to get along with Trump after his impeachment vote. Retribution came anyway

NEW ORLEANS | When Charles Wandfluh voted in Louisiana’s Republican primary over the weekend, he could only conjure the unflattering image of a panicked rodent when talking about Bill Cassidy’s desperate attemp t to cling to his U.S. Senate seat despite opposition from President Donald Trump. “He’s just a squirrel running around the tree, chasing […]

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FDA’s new playbook: Lots of media announcements but not much rulemaking

WASHINGTON | In one of his first major announcements as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called a news conference to unveil a plan to “phase out” synthetic food dyes. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary opened the event by saying his agency was “removing all petroleum-based food dyes” from U.S. foods. But the […]