Latest News On Vaccines

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RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Panel Expected To Recommend Delaying Hepatitis B Shot for Children

A federal vaccine panel, recently reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to vote on delaying the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Pediatricians warn that could open the door to a comeback for a disease virtually eradicated among U.S. children.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Countdown to Government Shutdown

With less than three weeks before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans will agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited “Make America Healthy Again” report, with few specific action items. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC

Just days after his firing of the brand-new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a defiant Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. secretary of health and human services, defended that action and others before a sometimes skeptical Senate Finance Committee. Criticism of Kennedy’s increasingly anti-vaccine actions came not just from Democrats on […]

Do Pediatricians Recommend Vaccines To Make a Profit? There’s Not Much Money in It

Four pediatricians said evidence-based science and medicine and a desire to keep kids healthy drive doctors’ childhood vaccination recommendations. And while pediatric practices might make money immunizing privately insured children, most practices likely break even or lose money from providing the shots.

Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research

The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to politicos, NIH workers say.

At CDC, Worries Mount That Agency Has Taken Anti-Science Turn

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is more than an administrative shake-up. It marks a major offensive by Kennedy to seize control of the agency and impose an anti-science agenda, public health leaders say.

Listen: As Kids Head Back to School, Parents Sort Out Confusion Over Vaccine Access

Confusion over federal immunization policy could have major implications for how families with private insurance and Medicaid pay for routine vaccinations. Some doctors are encouraging parents not to wait and get their children shots as soon as they are eligible.