RFK Jr. Says Analyst Working to Find Lost Vaccine Safety Data
A researcher hired this year by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with other scientists to recover data missing from a vaccine safety system, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on June 7.
David Geier, the researcher, is working on recovering Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) data that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said are missing, Kennedy
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29 minutes ago
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Measles outbreaks in Michigan and Pennsylvania end, while Texas logs just 4 new cases
The U.S. logged 122 more cases of measles last week — but only four of them in Texas — while the outbreaks in Pennsylvania and Michigan officially ended. There were 1,168 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Health officials in Texas, where the nation's biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, said they'll now post case counts only once a week — yet another sign the outbreak is slowing. There are three other major outbreaks in North America. The longest, in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 2,009 cases from mid-October through June 3. The province logged its first death Thursday in a baby that got congenital measles but also had other preexisting conditions. Another outbreak in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 761 as of Thursday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,940 measles cases and four deaths as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry. Other U.S. states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma. In the U.S., two elementary school-aged children in the epicenter in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico have died of measles this year. All were unvaccinated. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. How many measles cases are there in Texas? There were a total of 742 cases across 35 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Friday. Throughout the outbreak, 94 people have been hospitalized. State health officials estimated less than 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-five percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 411 cases since late January — just under 2% of the county's residents. The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of 'what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.' A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6. How many measles cases are there in New Mexico? New Mexico added two cases in the last week for a total of 81. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Sandoval County near Albuquerque has six cases, Eddy County has three, Doña Ana County has two. Chaves, Curry and San Juan counties have one each. An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care. How many cases are there in Oklahoma? Oklahoma added one case last week for a total of 15 confirmed and three probable cases. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases. How many cases are there in Colorado? Colorado has seen a total of 12 measles cases in 2025, which includes one outbreak of seven related cases. The outbreak is linked to a Turkish Airlines flight that landed at Denver International Airport in mid-May, and includes three cases each in Arapahoe and El Paso counties and one in Denver, plus a person who doesn't live in Colorado. Other counties that have seen measles this year include Archuleta and Pueblo. How many cases are there in Illinois? Illinois health officials confirmed a four-case outbreak on May 5 in the far southern part of the state, and it's grown to eight cases as of June 6, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The state's other two cases so far this year were in Cook County, and are unrelated to the southern Illinois outbreak. How many cases are there in Kansas? Kansas has a total of 71 cases across 11 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with three hospitalizations. All but two of the cases are connected, and most are in Gray County. How many cases are there in Montana? Montana had 17 measles cases as of Thursday. Ten were in Gallatin County, which is where the first cases showed up — Montana's first in 35 years. Flathead and Yellowstone counties had two cases each, and Hill County had three case. There are outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. How many cases are there in North Dakota? North Dakota, which hadn't seen measles since 2011, was up to 34 cases as of Friday. Two of the people have been hospitalized, and all of the people with confirmed cases were not vaccinated. There were 16 cases in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. On the eastern side of the state on the Minnesota border, there were 10 cases in Grand Forks County and seven cases in Cass County. Burke County, in northwest North Dakota on the border of Saskatchewan, Canada, had one case. How many cases are there in Ohio? Ohio remained steady for a third week at 34 measles cases and one hospitalization, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That count includes only Ohio residents. The state has two outbreaks: Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases, and Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors. Allen, Cuyahoga, Holmes and Defiance counties have one case each. How many cases are there in Tennessee? Tennessee has had six measles cases since early May, but no change since. Tennessee's outbreak appears to be over, as health officials say there have not been any new cases in six weeks. Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.? Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Earlier outbreaks in Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania were declared over by health officials after six weeks of no new cases. Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC said in May that more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year, and most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine? The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from 'killed' virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have 'presumptive immunity." Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to 'herd immunity.' But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. What are the symptoms of measles? Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash. The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death. How can you treat measles? There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
No drug price pledges in talks with US government, Pfizer CEO says
STORY: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Monday that he and other drug companies met with the Trump administration to discuss lowering U.S. drug prices but no commitments have been made. He made the comments at a Goldman Sachs healthcare conference. Last month President Trump issued an executive order directing drugmakers to lower the prices of their medicines to align with what other countries pay. According to the order, the administration was to set "Most Favored Nation" price targets within 30 days. The Department of Health and Human Services has said it expects drugmakers in the U.S. to set prices for their products at the lowest price paid by other high-income countries. Bourla said he didn't know what the companies would hear in 30 days and added the meetings with the administration so far were cordial but (quote) "not digging into the substance." It is unclear what mechanism the U.S. government will use to lower drug prices - analysts and legal experts have said the policy will be difficult to implement. Bourla said he is hopeful that, given U.S. pressure on European countries to pay more, prices there could increase. He said that if the U.S. resorts to price controls, Pfizer could consider not making drugs available for government reimbursement in some countries if prices don't increase there. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
an hour ago
Over 1.7 million eggs sold in 9 states voluntarily recalled due to salmonella concern
More than 1.7 million eggs are being recalled due to potential contamination with salmonella, a type of bacteria that can cause foodborne illness and, in rare cases, even death. August Egg Company is voluntarily recalling brown cage-free and brown organic eggs that were distributed between Feb. 3 and May 15, 2025, in nine states. The Hilmar, California-based company announced the recall Friday, according to an announcement shared on the Food and Drug Administration website. A salmonella outbreak linked to the recalled eggs has already sickened 79 people, with 21 hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been no reports of deaths so far, the agency stated in a June 6 update. In a statement included in the August Egg Company's recall announcement, the company said, "This recall has been initiated due to possible Salmonella enteritidis contamination, which poses a health risk. With that in mind, we believe it is appropriate out of an abundance of caution to conduct this voluntary recall, as consumers may still have these eggs in their homes." "It is important to know that when our processing plant identified this concern, we immediately began diverting all eggs from the plant to an egg-breaking facility, which pasteurizes the eggs and kills any pathogens," the company continued. "August Egg Company's internal food safety team also is conducting its own stringent review to identify what measures can be established to prevent this situation from recurring. We are committed to addressing this matter fully and to implementing all necessary corrective actions to ensure this does not happen again." The company said it has since voluntarily halted egg distribution, stating in the recall announcement that it "is not selling fresh shell eggs at this time." The recalled eggs have a sell-by date between March 4 and June 4, 2025, and were sold at Food 4 Less, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Raleys, Ralphs, Safeway, Save Mart, and Smart & Final stores in California and Nevada. Additional recalled eggs with a sell-by date between March 4 and June 19, 2025, were sold at Walmart store locations in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wyoming. Recalled eggs bear the plant code number P-6562 or CA-5330 with Julian dates between 32 to 126 printed on one side their fiber or plastic cartons or packages. A full list of recalled eggs and photos of their packaging is available on the FDA website. The CDC advises anyone with recalled eggs not to eat them and to discard them or return them to the place of purchase. If recalled eggs came into contact with any surfaces or items, wash the areas with hot, soapy water or a dishwasher. Most people can recover from a salmonella infection after 4 to 7 days without treatment, but an infection can still be serious in certain populations, such as children under 5, pregnant women, older adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of a salmonella infection may include fever, gastrointestinal issues like abdominal pain, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting, and can appear between six hours and six days after exposure to the bacteria. In rare cases, salmonella travel into the bloodstream and cause more severe illness, such as an infected aneurysm, reactive arthritis or endocarditis, where the inner lining of the heart and valves becomes inflamed. Anyone with symptoms of salmonella should also reach out to a doctor or health care provider if they have diarrhea and a fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit, have had diarrhea for more than three days that is not improving, bloody diarrhea, excessive vomiting or signs of dehydration.
