NEW: RFKJr’s handpicked vaccine panel met this week. They were unprepared, misunderstood or ignored key data + highlighted flawed or inconclusive research often trumpeted by vaccine critics, per medical/scientific experts who watched meeting @davidovalle.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social + me.

Sen. Bill Cassidy's decision to support RFK Jr. came down to the morning of a crucial committee vote. Now, he's publicly pressing the nation's top health official to endorse common vaccines & set to quiz a CDC head ousted by RFK. w/ @ddiamond.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Exclusive at WaPo: RFK Jr's aides are prepping new bid to crack down on covid vaccine by linking it to 25 child deaths They appear to be citing submissions to vaccine-report database VAERS — despite caution that it's unreliable. @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social w little help from me

SCOOP: Trump health officials plan to link covid vaccines to the deaths of 25 children as they consider limiting which Americans should get the shots, per sources. W @rachelroubein.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Seven months after they voted to confirm longtime anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr, some Republican senators are having second thoughts after his moves — as public health experts and Democrats warned — to limit access to vaccines. w @theodoricmeyer.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social

NEW: RFK Jr.’s upending of vaccine policy is driving some states to break away from Trump admin guidelines while others are further loosening shot requirements. Me and @laurenweberhp.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

FDA is now taking aim at common practice of getting multiple respiratory vaccines together Vinay Prasad, a key RFK Jr ally, says he is unsure if the tactic is safe + effective More on a new way that Trump admin is seeking to change vaccine policy w @rachelroubein.bsky.social @lenasun.bsky.social

Important context on the limited approval of coronavirus vaccines and why people might not be able to get them off-label at pharmacies wapo.st/45RvyPx

SCOOP BREAKING: CDC director being ousted weeks into job. Me @ddiamond @LaurenWeberHP www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

NEW: The CDC shooting was much worse than initially reported. 181 rounds. 150 windows hit. Staff are furious at RFK Jr. and Trump becuz their long-running fears about anti-vax rhetoric turning deadly seem to be vindicated. @laurenweberhp.bluesky.social + Me. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Backstory here on how Vinay Prasad went from getting Loomered to getting his job back as the FDA’s vaccine chief @laurenweberhp.bsky.social & @rachelroubein.bsky.social report: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Federal immigration authorities detained a woman seeking medical care at the National Institutes of Health’s flagship research hospital after the patient presented a non-real ID while passing security.

Vinay Prasad’s clout as one of the most powerful medical regulators was unmistakable. What we know about how it all fell apart in a few weeks — and what it shows about Trump world divisions. w/ Daniel Gilbert and Natalie Allison bsky.app/profile/feni...

How did Vinay Prasad go from covid contrarian beloved by the right to ousted by the White House following a right-wing pressure campaign? Our reporters have the backstory, including how Laura Loomer said he landed on her radar wapo.st/3U8D03n

Vinay Prasad, a covid vaccine policy critic who became the top FDA vaccine and gene therapy regulator, was ousted following criticism from conservatives such as Laura Loomer. @rachelroubein.bsky.social & @lenasun.bsky.social report: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

💉Our rundown of the changes in access to different vaccines under RFK Jr’s HHS: From @lenasun.bsky.social @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social gift link: wapo.st/4mau4q4

Coke just confirmed its cane sugar soda is coming to the U.S. this fall. RFK Jr. described the alternative as a "MAHA win." But nutritionists told @rachelroubein.bsky.social replacing one sugar for another isn't making America healthier www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

On ACIP membership: RFK Jr. has said Sen. Cassidy will choose a member of ACIP. Cassidy said today he's submitted names; at least one is being interviewed. w/ @lenasun.bsky.social & @laurenweberhp.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/lena...

A look at how medical groups are mobilizing to preserve vaccine access: — Discussing potentially ordering shots from manufacturers — Giving greater weight to vax recs from medical societies — Asking plans to maintain coverage of shots with @lenasun.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/lena...

To bypass RFK Jr., medical societies, local health officials and others are creating a shadow system to preserve vaccine access for Americans. @lenasun.bsky.social & @rachelroubein.bsky.social take us inside the counteroffensive wapo.st/3TBmtVd

House Rs seek to eliminate a nutrition program for Americans on food stamps in Trump bill, alarming program leaders who say states would be forced to pare back efforts to improve Americans' health. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

HHS cancels funding for Moderna to develop vaccines to combat bird flu. The company was using mRNA — the same technology hailed as a major medical achievement during the first Trump administration. with @lenasun.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

RFK Jr. removed the coronavirus vaccine from the immunization schedule for otherwise healthy children and pregnant women. This is a rare move that bypasses the traditional system for vaccine recommendations with expert review www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

The era of annual coronavirus vaccination may be ending. The FDA unveiled plans to limit approval to older adults and people with underlying conditions, @rachelroubein.bsky.social & @lenasun.bsky.social report www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Asked if he would vaccinate his own children against measles, the nation's top health official said "probably," then added, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me." www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/... via @rachelroubein.bsky.social and @laurenweberhp.bsky.social

RFK Jr. to Congress today: “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me” From me and @rachelroubein.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

As House Republicans prepare to cut Medicaid spending, I looked at a group often overlooked in this policy debate: Nursing home residents and others receiving long-term elder care. Gift link: wapo.st/42Rzv6G

Vinay Prasad called Peter Marks, who was ousted as the nation's top vaccine regulator, "a reckless, reckless vaccine promoter" Now the covid vaccine critic has Marks's job. @rachelroubein.bsky.social, @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social and I report www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

RFK Jr. leans into the bully pulpit as he seeks food agenda wins w/ @laurenweberhp.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

SCOOP: ICE, DOGE are asking to use sensitive Medicare claims data to find the addresses of immigrants the government says are here illegally, as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown intensifies, w/ @rachelroubein.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

SCOOP: Internal budget doc reveals extent of Trump’s proposed health cuts. About 1/3 of HHS discretionary budget. Our story w @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social @joelachenbach.bsky.social @laurenweberhp.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

RFK Jr. will be at FDA's campus today, where staff were invited to a "viewing party" to watch remarks, according to an email obtained by The Post. Comes after several thousand FDA staff were laid off last week.

Trump has faced measles before. The difference this time is RFK Jr. The CDC has been muzzled, messaging has been muddled, and public health funding has been slashed. Me, @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social @fenitn.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

The CDC sent a forecast for the measles outbreak to HHS for approval, but it has not been publicly released. And there are more ways this federal response to measles is unusual. Gift link: wapo.st/4i3sKmn

New: Thousands of FDA workers were laid off on Tuesday. Hours later, agency officials began trying to find staff who would keep working for the next two months. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Among those laid off yesterday: FDA's senior veterinarians working in a center that's played a key role in the response to the bird flu outbreak w/ @lenasun.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

New: Some fired FDA staff have begun receiving emails saying HHS was required to immediately rescind their termination. Staff will remain on admin leave "until further notice," per email obtained by the Post.

FDA announces Jim Traficant as agency's new chief of staff, per agency email obtained by The Post.

The Trump administration scrambled to bring back some federal health workers. Among those fired and then reinstated: a neonatologist leading the FDA's infant formula office. w/ @lenasun.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

SCOOP: Trump administration has been evaluating the costs of destroying or disposing of tens of millions of coronavirus tests that would otherwise be provided free to Americans. My story w/ Carolyn Y. Johnson. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

FDA’s top food official resigned as cuts swept across HHS — including 89 people in the food program. Jim Jones called those “indiscriminate firing[s]” in a resignation letter where he issued a blistering critique of the cuts and RFK Jr.’s rhetoric. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Some FDA notices for probationary workers going out as well. If you're impacted and open to chatting, reach me on Signal securely any time at RachelRoubein.28 bsky.app/profile/lena...

News: The Trump administration directed CDC & FDA to place a notice harshly condemning “gender ideology” on agency webpages that a federal judge ordered be restored online this week. w/ @lenasun.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

NEWS: Renee Wegrzyn told staff she’s been fired as head of ARPA-H, per me and @rachelroubein.bsky.social Wegrzyn, a Biden appointee, had led $1.5 billion agency since 2022 ARPA-H, modeled on military’s DARPA, focused on breakthroughs in biomedical research

This Idaho health district banned its public health clinics from giving out the covid vaccine. It's a preview of RFK Jr.’s vaccine-skeptical America My latest @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

RFK Jr.'s bid to serve as America’s top health official could come down to Sen. Bill Cassidy who’s openly wrestling with his career as a doctor and his political instincts. The two had conversations over the weekend. Committee vote is tomorrow. bsky.app/profile/ddia...

Sen. McConnell's bout with polio as a child has informed his ardent support for vaccines. He's already delivered a warning shot to RFK Jr., but there are other indications he has concerns. The two have not had a mtg. w/ Liz Goodwin and @lenasun.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

New: Trump officials have paused all external communications at health agencies like CDC, FDA, NIH. No health alerts and the famed MMWRs; no updates to key websites or social media posts. And no indication how long the pause will last. With @rachelroubein.bsky.social + Lena Sun.

USDA says Boar’s Head listeria outbreak in part caused by sanitation failures — and acknowledged the agency's need to "enhance" its own approach to prevent future outbreaks. w/ @joeheim.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

A dive into red dye No. 3, a controversial cherry-red dye used in candy, drinks and snacks — and which could potentially be banned. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/...