NEW: We analyzed recent state actions on vaccine policy, given narrowing federal guidelines. Overall, 26 states have taken some action; of these, 23 have Democratic governors, signaling a growing red/blue divide in vaccine access. @kff.org Key findings in next post ⬇️ www.kff.org/covid-19/tra...

As some states form alliances on vaccine policy, others bar vaccine mandates, and ACIP pulls back on recommendations for certain vaccines, we provide a snapshot of what states are doing on vaccine policy. Dive in: https://on.kff.org/3IhxRnr

Only a small minority of parents oppose school vaccine requirements, nationally and in Florida specifically, according to new @kff.org @washingtonpost.com polling. The great majority of parents support these requirements. Even 73% of self-described MAGA parents support these requirements

NEW: "The USAID List of Terminated Global Health Awards – What Does it Tell Us?" www.kff.org/policy-watch...

⚡KFF’s @lindseydawson.bsky.social writes about the implications of a potential funding cut to the CDC’s HIV prevention budget. #QuickTake on.kff.org/4izGLZR

In two rulings in the last 8 days, judges have ruled against Trump Administration actions freezing USAID funding and shutting down the agency. These will continue to be fought in court. From our @kff.org timeline of events on USAID: www.kff.org/u-s-foreign-...

The Great Birdington Declaration www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/h...

Dr. Dave Weldon "didn't have the votes" to be confirmed as CDC Director, according to a source. His confirmation hearing this morning was cancelled. Interesting to note that the CDC Director position only became Senate confirmed as of this year. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Excellent timeline of events from @kff.org chronicling Trump/Musk actions to freeze all U.S. foreign aid and dissolve #USAID

Utah Governor Cox signs a fluoride ban into law. A remarkable new development in the saga of fluoride in the U.S., as Utah is the first state ever to impose such a ban. www.wsj.com/us-news/utah...

Reports of a second measles death now in the growing measles outbreak. Apparently Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was prescient when he initially mentioned two measles deaths last week. Another unvaccinated individual. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Utah is on the verge of being the first state to ban use of fluoride in drinking water. It's up to the governor to veto (or not) the legislation approved by Republican lawmakers www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Report of the first death due to the TX measles outbreak. 124 cases of measles have been reported in the outbreak so far, almost all among unvaccinated children apnews.com/article/meas...

Trump Administration Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says USDA will invest "up to $1 billion" to address the avian flu crisis and bring down the price of eggs. Part of that investment, she writes in an op-ed, will come from DOGE savings. www.wsj.com/opinion/agri...

It appears there is little to no resistance from Senate Republicans to the nomination of RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...

Excellent article which (ahem) lays out biosecurity issues facing U.S. egg production in a time of uncontrolled H5N1 spread in poultry, and the growing risk for human health kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Rubio claims that @USAID lifesaving assistance for health and humanitarian needs will continue. But his team just communicated that the entire agency will be imminently reduced from 14,000 to 294 people. Just 12 in Africa.

To my knowledge, USAID's President's #Malaria Initiative (PMI) is still subject to the #foreignaidfreeze. This means no bed nets, indoor residual spraying, seasonal preventive treatments, or medicines getting to people - mostly kids and pregnant women.

Musk and his team are collecting lists of CDC employees with less than a year of service or in two-year probationary periods. The concerted effort to hollow out the federal workforce continues, now coming for public health. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

The stop work order on foreign assistance and media blackout from CDC is already hampering the response to an ongoing Ebola outbreak in Uganda www.cbsnews.com/news/some-u-...

A new Executive Order withdraws the US from the UN Human Rights Council also requires the State Department to review ALL international organizations and ALL conventions and treaties the US is party to, and determine which are “contrary to the interests of the US” www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Now Argentina, following in the Trump Administration's footsteps, says it will withdraw from the World Health Organization www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/a...

One-third of all US global health assistance, just over $4 billion per year, has been directed through USAID in recent years. Shuttering its maternal, child health, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV and other programs will have predictable, terrible, results for those served. www.kff.org/interactive/...

About 50% of USAID global health staff - "roughly 450 technical experts" whose responsibilities cover areas such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases, have now been fired www.cbsnews.com/news/rubio-f...

Our latest KFF tracking poll on health information and trust highlights some trends about who the public trusts on health issues and how partisanship and trust play out in public health. www.kff.org/health-infor...

The "pause" in foreign assistance put in place by the recent Trump Executive Order is more sweeping than it first appeared, with "stop-work" orders being put in place for existing spending in addition to stopping new spending. www.politico.com/news/2025/01...

Trump just issued an EO on "Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid" that, among other things, calls for a 90-day pause in foreign assistance to assess alignment w/US policy and a review of each foreign assistance program. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Well, there it is. The Trump White House announces the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Pandemic Treaty negotiations. Funding to cease immediately and US personnel recalled from WHO www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Among the day one actions of the Trump White House is the removal of a number of Biden Administration Executive Orders, including many related to COVID-19 response www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Based on his first term record and campaign statements, there are a bunch of executive actions President Trump may take on health care. We compiled them. www.kff.org/potential-he...

In a step many public health experts have been calling for, the USDA announces a new federal order to start a nationwide "structured, uniform, and mandatory" system of testing samples of raw milk from dairy farms for H5N1 flu virus www.usda.gov/media/press-...

Most Americans believe pharma (75%) and insurers (67%) deserve “a lot” of blame for high health care costs. Fewer say hospitals (40%) and doctors (16%) deserve a lot of blame.

👋 We’re KFF, a nonpartisan health policy information organization that combines policy research, polling, and news with a focus on how policy affects people. Follow us for the latest health policy data, research, and stories, including from @kffhealthnews.bsky.social & @greaterthanhiv.bsky.social.

An HHS Secretary has influence over key US global health programs-starting with CDC & NIH and health diplomacy with international organizations like WHO. What could RFK, Trump's likely nominee for HHS, do in that position? Some thoughts from me and others: www.devex.com/news/will-rf...

New post on some preliminary – but troubling – signals about the direction H5N1 might be taking: kucharski.substack.com/p/h5n1-influ...

KFF is out with a complete analysis of the role health care played in voters' decision. Always a pleasure to partner with the @asssociatedpress.bsky.social and Votecast is such a treasure trove of data! www.kff.org/womens-healt...

How can HHS, FDA, and CDC influence U.S. vaccine policy? Given the stakes with a change in administration, it's a question @jenkatesdc.bsky.social and I try to answer in our new @kff.org brief. In short: there is significant authority, but some limits. Details: www.kff.org/policy-watch...

Hello! I'm an Associate Director, Global Health Policy @kff.org, focused on various aspects of health policy including U.S. public health, global health, and pandemic & infectious diseases. Looking forward to posting and engaging here on these issues and more. www.kff.org/person/josh-...