Latest news with #C.D.C.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cucumbers Spreads to 18 States
An outbreak of Salmonella in cucumbers, reportedly originating in Florida, has spread to 18 states, according to The New York Times. Target is one of a handful of companies that have issued recalls on the product. Cases of Salmonella have affected people in the Midwest and the East Coast. At this time, 16 people have been hospitalized. The New York Times writes, "Health officials have linked the outbreak to Bedner Growers, a cucumber grower based in Boynton Beach, Fla., that sells to wholesale distributors and directly to consumers. Potentially contaminated cucumbers, distributed between April 29 and May 19, were sold widely to stores and restaurants, the C.D.C. said." A large portion of those hospitalized are believed to have been on cruise ships departing from Florida the week before falling ill. According to the Mayo Clinic, Salmonella is often accompanied by symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Infections can become fatal if they spread beyond the intestines. In a statement, the C.D.C. said, "The recalled cucumbers should no longer be for sale," adding that consumers should inquire whether the cucumbers used were from Bedner Growers or Fresh Start Produce sales. 'If you have cucumbers at home and can't tell where they are from, throw them away,' the agency said. In a separate statement, Bedner Growers clarified that the recall was voluntary and issued in an "abundance of caution and out of deep respect for the public health." 'Safety first,' the statement added. 'By taking these steps, we want to assure the public that we want to continue to earn your trust.'Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cucumbers Spreads to 18 States first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 2, 2025
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. orders CDC to end Covid vaccine recommendations for healthy kids, pregnant women
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend the Covid vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women, a move the health and human services secretary says will bring the country 'one step closer to realizing President Trump's promise to Make America Healthy Again.' 'I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today, the Covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,' Kennedy said in a video posted to social media on Tuesday. As The New York Times reported, Kennedy's decision "upends the standard process for such recommendations, which are made by advisers to the C.D.C. and accepted — or overruled — by the agency's director. The health secretary is typically not directly involved in these matters, but the C.D.C. does not currently have a permanent director." Kennedy was joined in his video announcement by Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, who just last week announced the FDA planned to restrict Covid shots for healthy Americans younger than 65. 'The F.D.A. will approve vaccines for high-risk persons and, at the same time, demand robust, gold-standard data on persons at low risk,' Makary wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine. Makary said any new Covid booster shots must undergo placebo-controlled clinical trials before they can be approved for wider use. The original Covid shots, produced by Pfizer and Moderna, already went through placebo-controlled trials in 2020. The CDC previously recommended Covid vaccines for everyone 6 months and older (the agency's website continued to reflect that guidance as of Tuesday afternoon). While children are less likely to become seriously ill from Covid, as NBC News reported, 'changes in a woman's immune system during pregnancy increase the risk of complications like pneumonia from many respiratory viruses, including Covid.' During the height of the pandemic, doctors reported that Covid infections caused an 'unprecedented surge' of hospitalizations in pregnant women. A new study from Brown University School of Public Health, released in April, found that maternal deaths spiked when the pandemic hit. Vaccinating pregnant women also helps protect their newborn babies from the virus, since they can't get vaccinated themselves but are at high risk for serious complications if infected. Before joining the administration, Kennedy advocated against the Covid vaccine, which he has called 'the deadliest vaccine ever made," citing rare cases of myocarditis in young men, NBC News reported. "Studies have found that the risk of myocarditis is higher in people with a Covid infection and usually more severe than after vaccination," according to NBC News. In 2021, Kennedy filed a petition requesting that the FDA revoke authorization for all Covid vaccines. Earlier this month, when he was questioned about his past vaccine skepticism, he told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that his 'opinions about vaccines are irrelevant' and said nobody should be 'taking medical advice' from him Many Americans could soon pay a price for Kennedy's decision. Insurance companies use CDC recommendations for guidance on which vaccines to cover at no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. While Medicare and Medicaid require that the vaccines be free, private insurers are only mandated to cover vaccines that are recommended by the CDC's vaccine committee and director. According to the CDC's vaccine price list, Pfizer and Moderna are currently charging $136.75 and $141.80, respectively, per dose for a Covid vaccine. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
CDC Rolls Back COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for Pregnant Women, Children
The CDC is no longer recommending that healthy pregnant women or children receive the COVID-19 vaccine Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the news in a video posted to X today, saying, "We're now one step closer to realizing President Trump's promise to make America healthy again" Experts have expressed particular concern for pregnant women, whose vaccinations also help protect newborn babies from the virus The CDC will no longer recommend that healthy children and pregnant women receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The change was announced in a video posted to X on Tuesday, May 27, by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule," Kennedy said in the video, which also featured Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. He added, "We're now one step closer to realizing President Trump's promise to make America healthy again." Kennedy also took a shot at former president Joe Biden in the video, saying, "Last year the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children." Bhattacharya called the decision to remove COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant women and children "common sense" and "good science," while Makary said, "There's no evidence healthy kids need it today and most countries have stopped recommending it for children." The New York Times reports that the advisers to the C.D.C. typically make recommendations for vaccines, which are either approved or overruled by the agency's director. Currently, the C.D.C. does not have a permanent director. Kennedy's announcement comes as independent advisers have been reconsidering COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, NPR reports, but the outlet notes that the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is not currently scheduled to meet until later this month. Dr. Denise Jamieson, an adviser to the C.D.C. on vaccines who serves on the immunization committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told the Times that pregnant women face greater risks if infected with COVID-19. 'With COVID still circulating, pregnant women and their babies who are born too young to be vaccinated are going to be at risk for Covid and for the severe complications,' she told the Times, adding, 'I'm disappointed that this won't remain an option for pregnant women who would like to protect themselves." The CDC website currently states that pregnant women "are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19," and notes that "if you have COVID-19 during pregnancy, you are at increased risk of complications that can affect your pregnancy and your baby from serious illness from COVID-19." Newborn babies are better protected against the virus if their mother receives the vaccine, Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement, per NPR. Dr. Fleischman said newborns "depend on maternal antibodies from the vaccine for protection." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "The science has not changed," he said. "It is very clear that COVID infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability." With the removal of vaccine recommendations for pregnant women and children, both the Times and NPR report that insurance coverage for the shots is no longer guaranteed. As noted by the Times, insurers "rely on the advice of C.D.C. advisers for coverage decisions" — which can be overruled by Kennedy, the health secretary. Read the original article on People
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Drug Overdose Deaths Plummeted in 2024, C.D.C. Reports
Overdose deaths in the United States fell by nearly 30,000 last year, the government reported on Wednesday, the strongest sign yet that the country is making progress against one of its deadliest, most intractable public health crises. The data, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the latest in a series of reports over the past year offering hints that the drug-related death toll that has gutted families and communities could be starting to ease. Public health experts had been carefully watching the monthly updates, with skepticism at first, and then with growing hope. Wednesday's report was the most encouraging yet. Deaths declined in all major categories of drug use, stimulants as well as opioids, dropping in every state but two. Nationwide, drug fatalities plunged nearly 27 percent. 'This is a decline that we've been waiting more than a decade for,' said Dr. Matthew Christiansen, a physician and former director of West Virginia's drug control policy. 'We've invested hundreds of billions of dollars into addiction.' Addiction specialists said that changes in the illicit drug supply as well as greater access to drug treatment and the use of naloxone to reverse overdoses seemed to be paying off, but whether the country could sustain that progress was an open question. In announcing the new numbers, the C.D.C. praised President Trump, saying in a statement that since he 'declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in 2017' the government had added more resources to battle the drug problem. But the new data was released as Mr. Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was testifying on Capitol Hill about the administration's proposed cuts to many federal health programs, including those addressing the drug crisis. 'I don't see how it can be sustained, with the kinds of deep cuts that they're taking to many of the programs that have been driving these reductions,' said Traci C. Green, an epidemiologist at Brandeis University who researches drug use. 'It seems ridiculous to cut that momentum so dramatically,' she said. And despite the progress, drug fatalities remain high. According to the data, 80,391 people died from drug-related causes in 2024. That was the lowest tally since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic isolated drug users and shut down treatment facilities, sending overdose fatalities skyrocketing. But Dr. Green called the latest figures 'extremely high and unacceptable.' The C.D.C.'s statement said the improved numbers showed that public health interventions were 'making a difference and having a meaningful impact.' Still, it noted that overdose remained the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 44. While a constellation of factors could be accelerating the drop, experts do not know which have had the most impact. Dr. Christiansen said that addiction was a particularly elusive crisis to combat because it had tentacles in a patient's economic, familial, cultural, social and medical background. An array of interventions includes not only emergency responses and treatment, he said, but a continuum of care that wraps in housing and job training. 'Now funding is being rescinded, and we still don't know what the appropriate level of intervention is for each particular community, town, region and state,' he said. 'People and programs are going to fall through the cracks.' According to the preliminary budget circulated among federal agencies, the C.D.C.'s opioid surveillance programs may be cut by $30 million and folded into a new subdivision, the Administration for Healthy America. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the federal agency that coordinates and monitors grants for support programs, and provides training and data analysis, is facing a cut of over a billion dollars, and will also be folded into the new subdivision. According to the agency's most recent survey about substance use, in 2023, 27.2 million Americans ages 12 or older had a drug use disorder, 28.9 million had alcohol use disorder and 7.5 million had both. At Wednesday's hearing, before the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Madeleine Dean, Democrat of Pennsylvania, whose son is in recovery from opioid addiction, took Mr. Kennedy to task, noting his own history of heroin addiction. She said that in light of the improving fatality rates, she could not understand the rationale for the administration's cuts. Addressing Mr. Kennedy, she said: 'You know these families. You are these families. Help us save more lives.'
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Trump Budget Cuts Funding for Chronic Disease Prevention
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation's health secretary, has said that tackling a chronic disease 'epidemic' would be a cornerstone of his Make America Healthy Again agenda, often invoking alarming statistics as an urgent reason for reforming public health in this country. On Friday, President Trump released a proposed budget that called for cutting the funding of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by almost half. Its chronic disease center was slated for elimination entirely, a proposal that came as a shock to many state and city health officials. 'Most Americans have some sort of ailment that could be considered chronic,' said Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, health director for the city of St. Louis. Of the proposed cuts, she said, 'How do you reconcile that with trying to make America healthy again?' The federal health department last month cut 2,400 jobs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion runs on the largest budget within the agency. Programs on lead poisoning, smoking cessation and reproductive health were jettisoned in a reorganization last month. Overall, the proposed budget would cut the C.D.C.'s budget to about $4 billion, compared with $9.2 billion in 2024. The budget blueprint makes no mention of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, a $1.2 billion program. If that figure is taken into account, the cut may be even larger than Mr. Trump's proposal indicates. The agency would also lose a center focused on preventing injuries, including those caused by firearms, as well as programs for H.I.V. surveillance and prevention, and grants to help states prepare for public health emergencies. According to the proposed budget, the cuts are needed to eliminate 'duplicative, D.E.I., or simply unnecessary programs.' Congress draws up the U.S. budget, but given the Republican majority and its fealty to Mr. Trump, it is unclear how much the proposal will change. C.D.C. officials had been told that the functions of the chronic disease center would be moved to a new agency within the health department called the Administration for a Healthy America. And the proposal released on Friday appears to allocate $500 million to the health secretary in part 'to tackle nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, overreliance on medication and treatments.' But at the C.D.C., the chronic disease center's budget was nearly three times as large. And even if part of the chronic disease center is resuscitated in the A.H.A., it's unlikely that its new iteration would involve C.D.C. scientists relocated from Atlanta. 'The actual subject-matter experts, who administer the programs, might not be there at C.D.C. anymore,' said Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer at the Alabama Department of Public Health. 'We certainly don't have the same level of expertise in my state.' The department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment. The C.D.C.'s chronic disease center ran programs aimed at preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. But the center has also seeded initiatives farther afield, ranging from creating rural and urban hiking trails to ensuring that healthy options like salads are offered in airports. It also promoted wellness programs in marginalized communities. Dr. Davis, the health director in St. Louis, said her department was already reeling from cuts to programs to curb smoking and reduce lead poisoning and health disparities, as well as the rescinding of more than $11 billion that the C.D.C. had been providing to state health departments. 'I would take back Covid-19 in a heartbeat over what's happening right now,' Dr. Davis said. In the proposed budget, the administration suggested that the eliminated programs would be better managed by states. But state health departments already manage most chronic disease programs, and three-quarters of the C.D.C. center's funding goes to support them. Loss of those funds 'would be devastating for us,' said Dr. Harris, the health officer in Alabama. The state has one of the highest rates of chronic diseases in the country, and about 84 percent of the public health department's budget comes from the C.D.C., Dr. Harris said. About $6 million goes to chronic disease programs, including blood pressure screening, nutrition education for diabetes and promotion of physical activity. If those funds are cut, 'I am at a loss right now to tell you where that would come from,' he added. 'It just seems that no one really knows what to expect, and we're not really being asked for any input on that.' Minnesota's vaunted health department has already laid off 140 employees, and hundreds more may be affected if more C.D.C. funding is lost. Cuts to chronic disease prevention will affect nursing homes, vaccine clinics and public health initiatives for Native Americans in the state. 'The actions of the federal government have left us out on a flimsy limb with no safety net below us,' said Dr. Brooke Cunningham, the state's health commissioner. Until recently, 'there seemed to be a shared understanding at the local, state and federal level that health was important to invest in,' Dr. Cunningham said. The chronic disease center's work touches American lives in many unexpected ways. In Prairie Village, Kan., Stephanie Barr learned about the center 15 years ago when, working as a waitress with no health insurance, she discovered a lump in her breast the size of a lemon. Through the C.D.C.'s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, she was able to get a mammogram and an ultrasound, and staff members helped her enroll in Medicaid for treatment after a biopsy determined the lump was malignant, Ms. Barr said. 'It was caught in the nick of time,' said Ms. Barr, now 45 and cancer free. Since that program began in 1991, it has provided more than 16.3 million screening exams to more than 6.3 million people with no other affordable access, said Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. The organization is one of 530 health associations that have signed a petition asking lawmakers to reject the proposed H.H.S. budget, which cuts the department's discretionary spending by about one-third. The signatories said the cuts would 'effectively devastate' the nation's research and public health infrastructure. The budget also proposes dismantling disease registries and surveillance systems. 'If you don't collect the information or keep these surveillance systems going, you don't know what's happening, you don't know what the trends are,' said Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services. 'You're losing all of that history,' he said. In a previous position as director of chronic diseases for Texas, Dr. Huang said he worked closely with C.D.C. experts who successfully reduced tobacco use among Americans. 'Eliminating the Office on Smoking and Health is just craziness if you're still wanting to address chronic diseases,' he said. Smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, causing more than 480,000 deaths each year, according to the C.D.C. More than one in 10 American adults still smoke cigarettes regularly, but rates vary drastically by region, and C.D.C. surveillance helps target cessation programs to areas where they are needed most. 'Smoking rates have come down, but if the federal government takes its foot off the gas, the tobacco companies are ready to pop back up again,' said Erika Sward, assistant vice president for advocacy for the American Lung Association. She warned that tobacco companies are constantly developing new products like nicotine pouches, whose use by teenagers doubled last year. 'It will take a lot more money to put the genie back in the bottle,' she said. The C.D.C.'s chronic disease center works with communities and academic centers to promote effective programs, from creating quitting hotlines to reach young Iowans in rural areas to training members of Black churches in Columbia, S.C., to lead exercise and nutrition classes for their congregations. In rural Missouri, dozens of walking trails have been developed in the 'boot heel' in the southeastern part of the state, an area with high rates of obesity and diabetes, said Ross Brownson, a public health researcher at Washington University in St. Louis who directs the Prevention Research Center in collaboration with the C.D.C. 'There's strong evidence now that if you change the walkability of a community, people will get more physical activity,' Dr. Brownson said. 'There aren't going to be health clubs in rural communities, but there is nature and the ability to have walking trails, and land is relatively cheap.' With C.D.C. support, in Rochester, N.Y., people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing are being trained to lead exercise and wellness programs for other hearing-impaired people who can't easily participate in other gym classes. In San Diego, researchers are testing ways to protect farm workers from exposure to ultraviolet rays and heat-related illnesses. 'Once they are up and started, they are community-driven and don't depend on the government,' said Allison Bay, who recently lost her job managing such projects at the C.D.C. The C.D.C.'s reorganization also eliminated lead poisoning programs. Lead poisoning is also 'one of our greatest public health threats in the city of Cleveland,' said Dr. David Margolius, director of public health for the city. The C.D.C. does not directly fund Cleveland's lead programs — the funding comes from the state. 'But just having the federal expertise to call on to help lead us toward a lead-free future, I mean, yeah, that has a big impact on us,' he said.
