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Vaccination Rates Drop to 10-Year Low for Michigan’s School–Age Children
The share of school-aged children in Michigan skipping regularly scheduled shots is at its highest level in 10 years, raising fresh questions about state rules on vaccine exemption waivers in the post-pandemic era.
The rate of school immunization waivers climbed to 7.1% last year, up from 6.2% in 2024, the latest in a five-year streak of worsening vaccine participation. The period is marked by the onset of COVID-19 and a schism in federal recommendations and evidence-based guidance.
The latest state data represents the highest exemption rates since 2010, when 8.6% of all students in state schools got permission to miss at least some of the routine slate of shots long recommended by the medical community as a safe and effective means to protect against deadly infectious diseases like whooping cough and measles.
Secret Contracts Reveal Undisclosed Terms in Trump’s Drug-Pricing Deals
The Trump administration’s confidential deals with pharmaceutical companies to lower U.S. drug prices include inducements to raise drug prices overseas and promise protection from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to documents shared with The Washington Post.
The documents, obtained through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, detail negotiations between the administration and the pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Eli Lilly. Both companies agreed to voluntarily cut some U.S. prices last year after negotiating with Department of Health and Human Services officials, and Trump celebrated the deals at the White House.
The text of the agreements show that key terms remained unresolved when company executives promoted them with Trump. They also detail administration commitments that were not publicly disclosed, such as how it will resolve disputes with Pfizer.
The documents contain broad confidentiality provisions. In its agreement with Pfizer, HHS pledged to “treat all Confidential Information as exempt from release under FOIA” and to limit access to government personnel needed to carry out the agreement.
The First mRNA Flu Shot Is Now Available. Here’s Who Can Get It.
The first mRNA flu shot is now available, but not everyone is eligible.
Moderna’s mFlusiva is the first flu vaccine in the United States to use messenger RNA technology, the same platform used in Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid shots. Scientists have long been interested in using mRNA against the flu because the vaccines can be made faster, potentially making it easier to keep up with changing flu strains.
It’s too early to predict how severe the upcoming flu season will be and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t started tracking cases yet. The CDC recommends getting vaccinated by the end of October. In a late-stage clinical trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in May, mFlusiva was found to be about 27% more effective than a standard flu shot.
The Food and Drug Administration approved mFlusiva in August for people 50 and older, clearing the way for the shot to reach pharmacies in time for this year’s flu season. Pharmacies, however, say the new vaccine is already causing confusion among some patients about who can get it, how it compares with traditional flu shots and where people will be able to find it.
Immunity and Wellness Products Recalled Nationwide Over Risk of ‘Significant Medical Events’ or Death
A compounding pharmacy that distributes customized pharmaceuticals nationwide has issued a recall for three products that may have contained elevated levels of toxins.
Centric Compounding, based in Texas, issued a recall for certain lots of its Glutathione, Myer’s Cocktail and Tri-Immune Boost injectables on Sept. 11.
The affected products — which are intended to boost immunity, fight fatigue or promote “general wellness” — were found to contain a pharmaceutical ingredient that contains elevated levels of endotoxins, according to a company announcement.
Endotoxins, or lipopolysaccharides, are toxins produced by pathogenic bacteria. They can cause strong inflammatory reactions in those infected and result in septic shock or contribute to neurological disorders, studies published on the online platform for the National Institutes of Health indicate.
“There is reasonable probability that injectable products with elevated endotoxin levels could cause significant medical events including fevers, hypotension, inflammatory reactions, anaphylactic shock and death,” Centric Compounding wrote in its recall alert.
FDA Takes Applications for New Program to Shorten Drug Approval Times
The Food and Drug Administration is opening applications for a pilot program designed to shorten the amount of time it takes for drugmakers to begin testing their products in humans, the agency announced Sept. 15.
The pilot was first announced in June as part of Operation TrialBlazer, the Department of Health and Human Services initiative that pledged to shorten the FDA’s drug approval timelines and help the U.S. compete with the rapidly accelerating biotechnology industries in countries like China and Australia.
FDA’s drug approval timelines and help the U.S. compete with the rapidly accelerating biotechnology industries in countries like China and Australia. “Too often, the U.S. pathway can be measured in years, while other countries’ pathways are measured in months,” the department wrote in the TrialBlazer roadmap.
