President Trump on Tuesday cited inaccurate figures of autism diagnoses as a reason why the Senate should confirm Robert F Kennedy Jr., his controversial pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Why it matters: Kennedy, a long-time anti-vaccine advocate who survived a closely watched committee confirmation vote Tuesday, has been a leading proponent of a debunked theory linking autism and vaccines.
A national physicians group sued the Trump administration Tuesday for removing thousands of pages of health data and information from federal websites.
The big picture: Doctors for America claims that in taking public health data offline without advance notice, agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration abused their discretion and arbitrarily deprived clinicians and researchers of tools necessary to treat patients.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to lead the Department of Health and Human Services narrowly cleared a critical hurdle Tuesday when the Senate Finance Committee voted along party lines to recommend his confirmation.
Why it matters: The success of Kennedy's nomination has been far from assured, especially after Kennedy flubbed basics on Medicare and Medicaid, backtracked on past vaccine and abortion stances and was vague about how closely he'd hew to President Trump's policies during his confirmation hearings.
As more schools eye bans on smartphones, a new study finds the average teen with a smartphone is spending nearly a quarter of the school day texting, streaming or scrolling through sites like Instagram.
Why it matters: To understand the risks of too much screen time, researchers say, it's important not just to tally the hours kids spend on devices but to consider what activities are being displaced — in this case, learning.
Hospitals that halted gender-affirming care for anyone under 19 in response to President Trump's executive order are caught between the threat of a federal funding cutoff and possible lawsuits and backlash from patients' families.
Why it matters: The fallout shows how the incendiary fight over transgender rights is factoring into providers' decisions beyond the 26 states that have already enacted restrictions on gender-affirming care.
Oura is planning to deliver health insights to its customers using AI that runs locally on the smartphones of owners of its smart rings.
Why it matters: By running its models on the phone rather than relying on a cloud-based service, Oura CEO Tom Hale tells Axios it can better protect customers' privacy.
President Trump and many Republicans are steadfastly defending Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Trump's pick to lead Health and Human Services. But some MAGA loyalists aren't convinced — they're wary of the influence of Kennedy's closest adviser, a longtime Democratic activist.
Driving the news: For weeks, conservative-leaning groups, activists and policy groups have been privately sharing links to Kennedy aide Stefanie Spear's past social media and blog posts that show her support for Democratic causes, three people familiar with the messages tell Axios.
The list of food recalls has been growing over the last few months.
Why it matters: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates nearly 48 million people a year are sickened by foodborne diseases, an average of 91 people every minute. `
The FDA's approval of the non-addictive painkiller Journavx last week marked a milestone in the field of pain management.
Why it matters: Millions of Americans with acute and chronic pain are prescribed opioids, which are effective but carry the risk of abuse and addiction.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave a series of vague or elusive answers to written questions from senators probing his vaccine views, refusing to walk back several previous controversialpositions.
Why it matters: Decision time is quickly approaching for senators who must vote on whether to confirm Kennedy as Health and Human Services secretary, and he's certainly not making the vote easy for the handful who are on the fence.
Thousands of webpages containing federal health guidelines and data went dark last week, only for some to reappear over the weekend without clarity on what had been changed or removed — and with disclaimers noting that the pages could be further modified.
Why it matters: The removed sites, primarily maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, covered issues like contraception, transgender health and climate change that President Trump and Republicans have repeatedly targeted.
Dozens of newly confirmed cases of avian influenza in wild birds and the first verified U.S. case of a new strain of the virus are raising concern the bird flu crisis may be entering a troubling new phase.
Why it matters: While the developments don't necessarily raise the risk of a pandemic, they could create more havoc for farmers, exacerbate egg shortages and expose more gaps in government disease surveillance.
