Login
Top Aides to RFK Jr. Will Leave Posts
Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and General Counsel Mike Stuart will leave their current roles as part of a larger shakeup of health department leadership, according to two HHS officials and a person familiar with the personnel decision granted anonymity to discuss the moves. “They are being offered jobs within the administration but will not be remaining in their current positions,” the person familiar told POLITICO. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Chris Klomp, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would become chief counselor in charge of overseeing all Health and Human Services Department operations. Klomp’s work on President Donald Trump’s push to lower drug prices has elevated his profile both at HHS and at the White House. He was a health tech executive and venture capitalist before joining the administration last year.
Kennedy also elevated Kyle Diamantas and Grace Graham to senior counselors for the Food and Drug Administration. They also will retain their prior roles as deputy commissioner for human foods and deputy commissioner for policy, legislation and international affairs, respectively. John Brooks will also become a senior counselor at CMS in addition to his job as chief policy and regulatory officer.
Dozens of Democrats Call for Removal of Newly Appointed OB-GYNs From Vaccine Advisory Panel
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are calling for the removal of two OB-GYNs who were recently appointed to the nation’s top vaccine advisory committee, citing the doctors’ “well-documented history” of anti-vaccine ideology. The lawmakers said in a Thursday letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that they were concerned about the Jan. 13 appointments of Dr. Adam Urato and Dr. Kimberly Biss to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Urato is an OB-GYN specializing in maternal-fetal medicine, and Biss is an OB-GYN from St. Petersburg, Fla. The letter cited comments made by Biss, a self-described “anti-vaxxer,” during a congressional hearing in 2023 in which she claimed the COVID-19 vaccine increased the risk of miscarriages in pregnant women. Studies have found no scientific link between the two.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to recommend that pregnant women be vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive boosters, asserting it is safe and there is no evidence of adverse maternal or fetal effects from using it.
House Approves Bill to Make Hepatitis B Vaccine No Longer Required in New Hampshire
New Hampshire Bulletin reported:
The state House voted, 186-168, Thursday to remove hepatitis B from the list of required vaccines in New Hampshire. Rep. Kelley Potenza, a Rochester Republican and sponsor of House Bill 1719, framed it as an effort to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which under new Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has moved in a controversial direction on vaccines.
In December, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to change the federal government’s guidance to not recommend the hepatitis B vaccine at birth for infants unless the mother tested positive for the virus. The decision came months after Kennedy fired every member of the panel and replaced many of them with fellow vaccine skeptics and was condemned by dozens of major medical organizations.
Potenza has in the past argued that aluminum ingredients in the vaccines cause myriad health complications. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the CDC have all previously reported that aluminum is included in vaccines in doses too small to be toxic. Supporters say the bill targets government overreach.
Why MAHA Wants the US to Be More Like Denmark
Some experts theorize that Denmark’s position as a vaccine outlier — despite a distinct lack of other similarities with the U.S. — appealed to the Trump administration. “The focus on Denmark is starting with the answer and then setting up the questions in a way that you land on Denmark as the answer,” Giridhar Mallya, senior policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told The Hill.
On the surface, Denmark is an attractive country in terms of its public health outcomes. The country’s life expectancy is a few years higher than that of the U.S.’s, and past polling has indicated people in the country have a higher level of trust in their public health authorities, all while recommending fewer vaccines and enforcing a far laxer approach to immunization.
In response to questions for this story, HHS did not specifically respond to criticism about using Denmark as a model but said the U.S. previously recommended more than twice as many vaccines as some European nations.
Outrage After U.S. Congress Votes to Slash $125m in Funding to Replace Toxic Lead Pipes
There is outrage among some politicians and activists after the US Congress voted to slash $125m for replacing toxic lead drinking water pipes that are particularly a threat to children. The move will hit Michigan, Illinois, Texas, New York and other states with the highest levels of lead pipes the hardest. The cut was part of a broader government funding bill and particularly controversial in the context of the fight over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding.
Lead pipe replacement funding was approved with bipartisan support in 2021, but Republican leadership on the interior, environment and related agencies committee that controls appropriations redirected it for wildfire prevention, over the objection of many Democrats.
Many US states have called for more federal funding as millions of people in the US continue drinking dangerous lead-contaminated water. The financial resources were “urgently needed to finish the job”, the Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said in a statement to the Guardian.
Louisville Found PFAS in Drinking Water. The Trump Administration Wouldn’t Require Any Action.
Every day, the Ohio River sends billions of gallons of water flowing past Louisville’s pumping station, where the Kentucky city’s utility sucks it up to turn it into tap water.
To ensure it tastes good and is safe to drink, a small team of scientists and technicians is constantly testing the water for pH, odors, heavy metals, and microbes. But unlike many smaller municipal utilities in the U.S., Louisville Water regularly checks for PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
That’s a class of chemicals used by manufacturers for decades to make things like nonstick pans, cosmetics, raincoats, food wrappers, and firefighting foam. Research studies have linked PFAS to health risks like cancer, reduced immune system functioning, high cholesterol, and developmental delays in children.
They’re also known as “forever chemicals” because their strong chemical structures make them degrade incredibly slowly in the environment. Today, they litter soil and water sources around the world and can be found in the blood of almost everyone in the U.S.
