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RFK Jr. Announces $700m Investment in Addiction Services, Emphasizing Faith-Based Organizations
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced a $700 million investment into behavioral health programs, indicating an emphasis on faith-based recovery organizations.
Kennedy, a recovered heroin addict, announced a $96 million funding opportunity for the Trump administration’s Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program, along with $612 million in funding opportunities for additional behavioral health programs.
Speaking at the Easterseals MORC treatment center in Clinton Township, Mich., Kennedy said, “One of the features of our STREETS is opening up funding once again for faith-based organizations. The Biden administration actively discouraged funding to faith-based organizations for recovery. We think they’re critical.”
US CDC Activates $107 Million in Emergency Funding for Ebola Response
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday it would make available $107 million in emergency funding to strengthen its domestic and international response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The agency currently has 23 field staff supporting epidemiological investigations and the DRC health ministry, Dr. Satish Pillai, the incident manager for the CDC’s Ebola response, said in a briefing. There are over 125 CDC staff across the DRC and Uganda working on the response, he said. A month after the World Health Organization declared an international emergency, the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain has grown to 875 confirmed cases, including 202 deaths, with warnings mounting that it could become the worst Ebola outbreak on record — surpassing the 2014 to 2016 West Africa epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people.
Less than 10% of pledges made to support the response in Congo and Uganda have been received from donors, Africa’s top health body said earlier on Thursday. Donors have pledged $910 million, including $80 million from African Union member states, but so far less than $90 million has actually been released for the affected countries, an Africa CDC official said. The United States says it is the biggest donor to the response and has asked others to contribute.
New Plan Scales Back C.D.C.’s Work on Diseases Abroad
Even as the world is racing to contain the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan that could decimate support for programs that detect and snuff out exactly such outbreaks.
The new plan, proposed by the State Department, aims to overhaul the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work on a landmark global H.I.V. program that also helps countries manage surveillance for emerging diseases, strengthen laboratory networks and support childhood immunizations.
If the plan goes into effect on Oct. 1 as scheduled, it would effectively shut the agency out of overseeing many global health programs and shift control over the bulk of funds and decisions to the State Department. The changes may sideline the country’s premier experts on global health and could lead to the closure of about a third of its 60 country offices within the next three years, according to some officials with knowledge of the programs.
The Industry’s Interest in Vaccine Platforms
Pharmaceutical Executive reported:
In January of this year, Novavax announced a partnership that would provide its Matrix-M adjuvant technology to Pfizer for use in vaccine development. Pfizer reportedly paid an upfront total of $30 million, with an additional $500 million agreed upon based on development and commercial milestones. At the 2026 JP Morgan Healthcare conference, Novavax CEO John Jacobs said, ““This company is no longer about one product or one season. It’s about building a sustainable engine for value creation built on technology, discipline, and long-term partnerships.”
This news came during a period of regulatory uncertainty surrounding vaccines. Due to abrupt leadership changes at HHS, ACIP was forced to cancel its February meeting this year. In 2025, incoming HHS Secretary Kennedy fired the previous council and replaced the members with his own picks.
However, this hasn’t stopped vaccines from being developed and approved. In May of this year, FDA’s advisory panel voted to update COVID-19 vaccine shots to target the XFG variant. This update includes the vaccine developed in partnership with Novavax and Sanofi.
FDA Targets Telehealth GLP-1 Marketing Claims in Sweeping Enforcement Action
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched one of its largest coordinated enforcement actions against the telehealth weight-loss sector, issuing 25 warning letters to companies marketing compounded GLP-1 products such as semaglutide and tirzepatide. A review of multiple warning letters reveals a remarkably consistent pattern.
The FDA is not primarily challenging the existence of compounded GLP-1 medications. Instead, regulators are targeting what they characterize as false or misleading marketing claims that could lead consumers to believe compounded products are equivalent to FDA-approved drugs.
Among the recurring violations cited:
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- Marketing language implying compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide are the “same” as FDA-approved products such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound.
- Claims suggesting compounded products have FDA approval, or have been reviewed for safety and effectiveness, when they have not.
- References to “FDA-approved” or “FDA-licensed” compounding pharmacies, designations that do not exist under federal law.
- Product labels displaying telehealth company names in ways that could imply the company itself manufactured or compounded the medication when it did not.
