Getting insurers to cover COVID-19 shots for healthy kids and healthy pregnant women may be much harder now that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dropped the CDC's recommendation for those groups.
Why it matters: While most Americans under 65 have stopped seeking out COVID boosters, health experts say the change will erect cost and access hurdles for two groups at greater risk of developing serious complications from the virus.
China is becoming a top donor country to WHO after promising this month that it'll make a $500 million gift over five years to the group.
Why it matters: President Trump announced in January that he's pulling the United States out of WHO, leaving a power vacuum within the global health consortium that Beijing is trying to fill.
China is now setting the pace in life sciences R&D, conducting more clinical trials than the U.S. and licensing new discoveries to American companies.
The big picture: China has become a linchpin in global drug development, the result of a decade-long national strategy to develop a biopharmaceutical industry.
The Trump administration canceled a nearly $600 million award to Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine for bird flu in humans, the company announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: It ends one of the remaining Biden-era efforts aimed at creating vaccines for pandemic preparedness. But the company said it would explore alternatives for further developing and manufacturing the shot.
A Missouri Supreme Court decision cut off access to abortions in the state this week, throwing a new twist into the legal battle over a post-Roe ban that voters overturned in November.
The big picture: The state's highest court ordered a judge to vacate a pair of orders that effectively froze enforcement of the near-total ban on the procedure.
Why it matters: Depending on who you ask, it's either another symptom of America's loneliness epidemic or it's healthy YOLO move for people who just need a break from the craziness of daily life.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and healthy pregnant women continued a pattern of breaking with scientific precedent and leaving big segments of the medical community angry and confused.
Why it matters: The announcement on Tuesday offered more indications that Kennedy could be going back on a pledge he made during his Senate confirmation hearings not to make vaccination more difficult or discourage people from taking vaccines.
President Trump's imminent plans to issue a White House report promoting in vitro fertilization has spurred anti-abortion conservatives to call for new guardrails that could greatly limit the use of the treatment.
Why it matters: Medical groups and fertility clinics warn that such steps could not only mislead couples hoping to conceive but also undercut administration efforts to boost the birth rate.
Some Native American programs are exempt from President Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to at least three federal agencies.
Why it matters: The U.S. federal government has several treaties with more than 500 tribal nations, and many involve promises based on race, culture, and equity with Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
