
Where to go for accurate, up-to-date vaccine information
You're reading The Checkup With Dr. Wen, a newsletter on how to navigate medical and public health challenges. Click here to get the full newsletter in your inbox, including answers to reader questions and a summary of new scientific research.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision this week to fire 17 independent experts on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel — and replace them with people with limited expertise and questionable views — was not unexpected. In November, I warned that such a takeover and the subsequent replacement of experts with vaccine skeptics could be part of the now-Health and Human Services secretary's playbook to undermine vaccine confidence.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
24 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Suing Trump is key issue in Va.'s Democratic attorney general primary
President Donald Trump's massive cuts to the federal workforce have become the backdrop to the Democratic primary for attorney general in Virginia, with both candidates in the race criticizing Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) for not challenging the administration's moves in a state that hosts much of the federal government's infrastructure and nearly 200,000 of its employees.


The Hill
24 minutes ago
- The Hill
CDC: Average age of US moms giving birth rises to nearly 30
The average age of first-time mothers in the U.S. has risen to almost 30, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). New data published in a National Vitals and Statistics Report on Friday show that the mean age of mothers at first birth increased by 0.9 years between 2016 and 2023, rising from 26.6 years of age to 27.5. Asian women reported the largest increase in mean age at first birth between those years, rising by 1.4 years from 30.1 in 2016 to 31.5 by 2023. Meanwhile, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander mothers had the lowest, bumping up just 0.4 years from 23.2 to 24.2 years of age. The report shows a similar increase in the mean age at which women have their second and third child between 2016 and 2023. Those increases pushed the mean age of birth for all mothers by 0.9 years, from 28.7 in 2016 to 29.6 in 2023. 'This analysis demonstrates that the shift toward older motherhood occurred across birth orders, among nearly all racial and ethnic groups, and in both urban and rural areas,' the report reads. The report's findings follow a years-long trend as women, and men, wait longer to have children. The high cost of childcare is one of the many reasons why Americans are thinking twice before having children. Research shows that some women are delaying having children because they are prioritizing education, career or because of changing societal norms. Childcare costs have been on the rise for decades. In 2022, the median cost of childcare in the country ranged from $6,552 to $15,600 a year, according to data from the Department of Labor. That sum represents between 8.9 percent and 16 percent of a family's income.


E&E News
24 minutes ago
- E&E News
Trump's watered-down wildfire order skirts fight with Congress
President Donald Trump's plan to revamp the federal response to wildfire fell short of expectations about reorganizing agencies without help from Congress. But the executive order Trump signed Wednesday still faces political headwinds. Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley called the president's order 'hasty' and 'poorly planned' as wildfire season begins. Advertisement Forest Service retirees, among others, are organizing around opposition to the idea of lessening the service's role in wildfire suppression. But supporters of the effort say it could help the government better organize around fighting fires and appears to avoid confronting Congress about a wholesale reshuffling of agencies.