Daily Edition for Friday, September 19, 2025
Remote California Hospital At Risk Of Closing: In a matter of weeks, Inyo County might be down to one hospital. Local officials have asked Gov. Gavin Newsom for an emergency $3 million to stabilize Southern Inyo Healthcare District’s finances through the end of the year. Absent state intervention, the hospital might have to severely cut services and staff — or close altogether. Read more from CalMatters.
Exactech Will Pay $8M To Settle Lawsuits Over Defective Knee Implant Parts
By Fred Schulte
Whistleblower lawsuits alleged that Exactech covered up defects in knee implants while patient injuries mounted.
Kennedy’s Take on Vaccine Science Fractures Cohesive National Public Health Strategies
By Stephanie Armour and Christine Mai-Duc and Amy Maxmen and Arthur Allen
A lack of faith in the soundness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new direction has led states to explore enacting their own vaccine policies. A patchwork of divergent recommendations and requirements could result.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Ousted CDC Officials Clap Back at RFK Jr.
Fired less than a month after being confirmed as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez appeared at a dramatic Senate hearing this week alongside another ousted CDC official and directly contradicted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s earlier testimony about why she was fired. Monarez told the Health, […]
Daily Edition for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Newsom Signs Law On Vaccine Scheduling: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Wednesday giving California the power to set its own immunization schedules based on state health experts and independent medical groups — a sharp break from decades of reliance on guidance from the federal government. The move came the same day that California and its West Coast allies issued joint recommendations for covid, flu, and RSV vaccines. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, KQED, and CalMatters. Keep scrolling for more vaccine news.
Health Care Cuts Threaten Homegrown Solutions to Rural Doctor Shortages
By Bernard J. Wolfson
In a rural, largely Republican region of California, homegrown efforts to bolster the medical workforce face an uphill battle, in part because of federal health care cuts approved by the GOP Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in July, as well as a state budget deficit.
Ticks Are Migrating, Raising Disease Risks if They Can’t Be Tracked Quickly Enough
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR
Doctors need to know when to screen for tick-borne diseases in their communities. But it’s getting harder for local health departments to get funding for tick surveys as federal public health grants from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dry up.
Las garrapatas migran y aumentan los riesgos de enfermedades si no se las rastrea con rapidez
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR
El cambio climático provocado por los humanos ha acortado los inviernos, lo que hace que las garrapatas pasen menos tiempo en hibernación y tengan más meses de actividad para engancharse a animales y personas.
Watch: Fired CDC Chief Says RFK Jr. Insisted She Roll Back Vaccine Policies Without Evidence
By Arthur Allen and Hannah Norman
Susan Monarez and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief medical officer Debra Houry described turmoil in an agency dominated by anti-vaccine political officials nominated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Summer Surge Of Covid Cases Might Be Easing: Covid levels in California’s wastewater remain “very high,” according to the CDC. But while some covid indicators are rising in the Golden State, others are starting to fall — a hint that the summer wave may soon start to decline. Read more from the Los Angeles Times. Plus: The 2025-26 covid shots are starting to arrive.