All articles tagged with #hhs
Health Secretary RFK Jr. is launching a government-backed podcast, The Secretary Kennedy Podcast, in an HHS studio to promote transparency and discuss chronic disease and health issues, framing it as exposing corruption and lies; critics worry it may spread misinformation, while officials say it will broaden public health messaging.
Malone claimed the CDC vaccine advisory panel ACIP had been disbanded and would be rebuilt after a court injunction, sparking online buzz; he later retracted, and HHS said no official move had been announced, leaving the panel’s fate uncertain amid ongoing legal challenges and debates over qualifications.
A federal judge blocked HHS's overhaul of the U.S. vaccine schedule and paused the replacement of the CDC's vaccine advisers, leaving ACIP's future uncertain as its planned meeting was canceled and the legal challenge proceeds.
A federal judge blocked several HHS vaccine policy changes pushed by Secretary RFK Jr., ruling that he overstepped authority by firing and replacing ACIP members and by withdrawing vaccine recommendations without proper procedural steps. The ruling halts those actions pending further litigation, keeps vaccines in the political spotlight, and underscores the balance between rapid policy moves and legal governance in public health.
A federal judge blocked parts of RFK Jr.'s push to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule, halting a memo that would reduce the number of recommended vaccines from 17 to 11 and pausing 13 newly appointed ACIP members and their votes. The judge ruled the changes bypassed the committee's evidence-based process and violated federal law, delaying the policy shift while the case proceeds. Medical groups and the American Academy of Pediatrics praised the decision, while HHS signaled it will seek to overturn the ruling.
A federal judge ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s replacement of the vaccine advisory panel likely violated federal law, staying all ACIP votes and invalidating 13 new appointees, effectively blocking the panel from meeting. The January changes to the U.S. immunization schedule were also blocked as arbitrary and capricious. The ruling, a win for the AAP, could be appealed, and the decision resets vaccine policy to established processes under HHS guidance while delaying any sweeping shifts in recommendations.
An editorial in The Lancet denounces RFK Jr.’s first year as US Health Secretary as a failure, accusing him of politicizing health policy, sidelining expert advice, reversing decades of scientific guidance, and neglecting key public-health programs and vaccine research; it calls for his resignation and congressional accountability, while Kennedy has previously attacked medical journals.
The US Preventive Services Task Force, which issues evidence-based guidance on preventive care and screenings, has not met since March 2025, prompting concerns it is being sidelined by the Health and Human Services Department. With several seats vacant and the first meeting of the year postponed, doctors fear delays in updating recommendations and insurance coverage for services like mammograms, colorectal screening, and HPV testing. Analysts warn of a “quiet paralysis” that could erode trust in advisory groups and affect care for millions as staff turnover and political shifts feed uncertainty.
The Trump administration announced a plan to dismantle parts of the Education Department by moving school-safety and student-mental-health programs to Health and Human Services and transferring oversight of foreign gifts and contracts to higher education to the State Department, a move that drew bipartisan skepticism in Congress while officials said funding should remain stable and not disrupt ongoing programs.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is developing a generative AI tool to scan VAERS data and generate hypotheses about potential vaccine injuries; the tool has not yet been deployed and has been in development since 2023. Critics worry it could be used by Health Secretary RFK Jr. to advance an anti-vaccine agenda. VAERS is a voluntary, unverified database managed by the CDC and FDA, intended to generate hypotheses rather than prove causality, and experts caution that large language models can hallucinate, underscoring the need for careful human review and corroboration with other data sources, especially given staffing constraints at the CDC.)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services accusing Dr. Mehmet Oz of discrimination after Oz linked Armenian-run hospice facilities to alleged nationwide fraud; Oz and CMS did not immediately comment, and Newsom noted California has revoked more than 280 hospice licenses since 2022, highlighting a broader clash with the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the appointment of 21 new members to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, led by Secretary Kennedy, to advance autism research, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention and to align federal policy with the latest science; the diverse group includes physicians, researchers, advocates, and family members.
The article reports that a U.S. HHS-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau—budgeted at $1.6 million and enrolling 14,000 infants, with only half receiving the vaccine—has sparked ethics concerns and comparisons to the Tuskegee study; Africa CDC says the trial is not affiliated with the US CDC and claims it has been halted, while HHS asserts the study will proceed; the affair unfolds amid a broader WHO-Africa CDC collaboration and an anticipated press conference, keeping the situation in flux.
The Department of Health and Human Services reinstated $2 billion in funding for SAMHSA’s mental health and substance-use programs after canceling it the day before, following pushback from physicians, advocates, and lawmakers who urged a more cautious, stable approach to health policy.
The Department of Health and Human Services has revoked all layoff notices at the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, reinstating every employee who received a reduction-in-force notice. This completes a reversal that began with a partial reinstatement last year (about 328 of 1,000) after union and bipartisan pressure, and comes amid staffing concerns, ongoing lawsuits, and calls from lawmakers for broader restoration of NIOSH programs.