The world's top 1% accumulated trillions in wealth over the past decade, while life-saving aid faces cuts, according to a Thursday Oxfam International report.
Why it matters: The amount of wealth that the rich amasses around the world could eliminate annual global poverty more than 22 times over.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine advisers voted on Thursday to no longer recommend that Americans get flu shots containing a preservative that anti-vaccine activists have suggested is linked to autism.
Why it matters: The decision endorsed the widely discredited belief that the mercury-containing compound, thimerosal, is harmful at the level at which it's included in vaccines.
Heat records were broken in more than 280 locations across the U.S. this week, with more extreme temperatures expected.
The big picture: The scorching heat wave sweeping through the Midwest and the East Coast has brought dangerous conditions to nearly 130 million people under extreme heat warnings or heat advisories on Thursday, according to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center.
As unusually hot temperatures sweep much of the U.S. this week, millions of Americans remain under heat advisories or warnings.
The big picture: While extreme heat can have burdensome impacts on our bodies, it can also have tremendous impacts on vital — and aging — infrastructure.
Medicaid patients don't have a right to freely choose their medicalprovider, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Thursday, in a case that carries major implications for Planned Parenthood.
Why it matters: The first abortion-relatedcase of President Trump's second term could resultin the defunding of Planned Parenthood, which derives a significant chunk of its funding from the safety net program and is the nation's biggest provider of abortion services.
Federal vaccine advisors on Thursday recommended Merck's new RSV antibody shot for infants younger than eight months old in their first respiratory virus season, if their mother didn't receive a vaccine during pregnancy.
Why it matters: The 5-2 vote marked the first decision from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked committee, which advises the CDC on immunization policy.
CDC director nominee Susan Monarez tried not to contradict Trump administration policies, while still touting her credentials as a scientist, during her confirmation hearing before the Senate health committee yesterday, Peter Sullivan wrote first on Pro.
Why it matters: Monarez is a career government researcher who's regarded as a more mainstream nominee than President Trump's first pick, Dave Weldon, whose nomination was pulled amid concern from senators about his experience and vaccine views.
She's the first CDC director-designate to face Senate confirmation under a law Congress passed in 2023.
Federal officials and health workers are practicing a deadly disease response this week at Washington Dulles International Airport, using a new portable biocontainment unit and a Boeing 747 to simulate the transfer of four patients with an unknown condition between Toronto and D.C.-area hospitals.
The big picture: The Ebola outbreak underscored the importance of isolating and repatriating Americans with lethal viruses from hot zones, and transporting them between specially equipped hospitals, John Knox, principal deputy assistant secretary at HHS, told Axios.
The unit is essentially a movable hospital room that can transport up to 10 patients at a time and be converted into ER use with features such as negative pressure, Knox said.
🧬 A "superbabies" startup is seeking funding for a controversial push to genetically edit human embryos and eliminate inherited diseases. (Bloomberg News)
🏥 Senate Republicans are eyeing a $15 billion fund for rural hospitals to be added to the sweeping budget bill, according to a draft plan. (Axios)
🪖 The Pentagon is reinstating servicemembers discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. (Breitbart)
Kids and teens consumed fewer calories from fast foods over the decade that ended in mid-2023, according to newly published CDC data.
Why it matters: It showed the country may have been heading toward healthier options well before Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took office and made cleaning up America's diet a priority.
The first meeting of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked vaccine advisory board on Wednesday featured plenty of anti-vaccine talking points — and its proceedings didn't stick to the script.
State of play: It was revealed that one of Kennedy's eight appointees withdrew during the required financial review, leaving the board with only seven members.
