Tools used to contain previous bird flu outbreaks aren’t working this time, experts say. Since March, the virus has sickened at least 67 people in the U.S. and killed one, with egg producers begging for a new approach. “I call this virus a terrorist,” said one egg farmer, who lost 6.5 million birds to H5N1 in two weeks.
The Senate has yet to confirm a Health and Human Services secretary, but things around the department continue to change at a breakneck pace to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Payment systems have been shut down, webpages and entire datasets have been taken offline, and workers — including those with civil service protections — have been urged to quit or threatened with layoffs. Meanwhile, foreign and trade policy changes are also affecting health policy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about a young woman, a grandfathered health plan, and a $14,000 IUD.
Two rare bird flu strains have emerged since late January, prompting public health concerns during a freeze on federal health communications.
A new rule requires insurers to improve coverage of PrEP, which can prevent HIV, but Georgians face challenges getting the drug.
A quarter of Americans rank healthcare access and affordability as the top public health priority they want government leaders to focus on, according to poll findings from Gallup and Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.
State officials say homes should be able to be cooled to a safe indoor air temperature of 82 degrees. The legislature will now take up the report.
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump said the power to make abortion policies “has been returned to the states.” In his first two weeks in office, he’s already gone further to restrict abortion than any president who’s held office since the 1973 “Roe v. Wade” decision, writes Julie Rovner.
The CDC has begun restoring some of the files it had recently purged from its website, following some criticism from the medical community and the public, The New York Times reported Feb. 3.
The FDA has approved two biotechnology companies to begin clinical trials of xenotransplantation, a procedure whereby genetically modified pig organs are transplanted into humans. The breakthrough offers new hope for thousands of Americans suffering ki…
Several states require schools to assemble teams of law enforcement and education officials to identify students who could become mass shooters and intervene before it’s too late. But some experts say the efforts often face a lack of guidance and significant pressure, putting them at risk of maligning innocent students.
