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◼︎ CHILDREN’S HEALTH
North Dakota Childhood Vaccination Rates Continue Slide
Infant vaccination rates for measles in North Dakota continue to drop amid conflicting information and muddled guidance from federal health authorities. Measles cases currently stand at over 4,500 nationally, double the number recorded last year.
The infant MMR vaccination rate for measles, mumps and rubella is currently at 76.09% in North Dakota. That’s a drop from the high levels of 94.75% seen in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and the ensuing rise in vaccine skepticism.
“It’s a trend we’re seeing nationally with decreases in vaccination rates and increases in nonmedical exemptions, particularly for school age children, which is obviously a concern,” said Mary Woinarowicz, North Dakota Health and Human Services Immunization Director.
Hearing Set on Challenge to Florida’s School Vaccine Changes
Central Florida Public Media reported:
A date has been set to hear a challenge to a Florida Department of Health proposal that would eliminate some vaccination requirements for children in daycare and K-12 schools.
Administrative Law Judge David Watkins has scheduled a hearing from Dec. 14 to 18 to hear the challenge from the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, a doctor and other individuals who argue DOH failed to follow proper procedures when moving to roll back the requirements for children to receive vaccines for Hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate to attend Florida schools.
Joining the FAFP in filing the petition are Dr. Danielle Carter of Jacksonville; an anonymous 70-year-old with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia who is vulnerable to viruses, referred to as T.K. in the court documents; and an anonymous school nurse, known as K.O. in the court records. The vaccine requirements are an agency rule, not in state law, and can be repealed by the agency itself without legislative approval.
Babies More Likely to Have Heart Defects From Louisiana’s Areas With Industrial Pollution, Study Finds
A study looking at babies hospitalized in New Orleans found that babies born to mothers from neighborhoods in south-east Louisiana with high levels of industrial pollution were four times more likely to suffer from severe congenital heart defects.
Published last week, the study in the Environmental Health journal looked at medical records for 454 infants hospitalized at the two major Louisiana hospitals that can provide surgery for heart defects in babies. Researchers traced back where the mothers of these infants lived, examining the levels of industrial toxic pollution in their communities using the US Environmental Protection Agency’s risk-screening database.
Compared to infants from low-pollution areas in the region, the odds of congenital heart defects were 4.3 times higher for infants from toxic hotspots, and 3.1 times higher for infants from places with intermediate levels of pollution.
CDC Survey Explores Prevalence of Binge Eating Among Youths
New research reveals a prevalence of binge eating among high school students.
A new youth risk behavior survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included questions about binge eating for the first time.
The survey found 40% of the student population reported binge eating at least once in the last month and 20% reported binge eating at least three times in the last month.
Experts explain why the findings are important for parents.
“This doesn’t mean that they all have binge eating disorder, but it is an indication that there is some experience of loss of control around eating that I think, as parents, as clinicians in schools, we should probably pay attention to,” said Kate Clemmer, clinical director at the Eating Recovery Center in Hunt Valley. Researchers have found significant links among binge eating, social media use, poor mental health and suicidal thoughts.
◼︎ BIG CHEMICAL
Iowans Are Demanding Clean Water as Industrial Agriculture’s Impacts Grow
For most of his farming career, Seth Watkins produced as much as he possibly could.
He farmed 4,000 acres with 600 beef cows and used pesticides to grow corn, oat, and alfalfa to feed his herd. Though he saw immense success, the fourth-generation beef farmer in Clarendon, Iowa, eventually realized the “get big or get out” mindset ingrained in the state’s agriculture was harmful not only to his land but also to his family’s drinking water.
Both of Watkins’s children were born with birth defects linked to endocrine disruption from exposure to drinking water polluted with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. In the years since, Watkins has taken steps to downsize his farm and, though he’s not an organic farmer, has significantly reduced his pesticide usage, as well implemented practices to keep pesticides from contaminating water.
“When I started farming in the late ’80s, we were told we had to make our farms big and we had to specialize,” Watkins said. “I’m seeing that might have been a really bad idea because a lot of that specialization came at the cost of both our natural and finite resources, and more obviously, at the cost of our health.”
EPA Pulls the Plug on Regulating Air Pollution From Giant Livestock and Poultry Operations
The Environmental Protection Agency late last week announced it would end a 20-plus-year effort to develop methods to monitor air pollution from factory farms, effectively shuttering the agency’s stop-and-start attempts to regulate the potentially pollutant-spewing facilities under the Clean Air Act.
The announcement came just days before the midterm elections and was characterized by the agency as a long-awaited reprieve for farmers, a historically important constituency for Trump and the Republican party. When tens of thousands of animals are packed into one place, pollution from their waste is blown from ventilation fans or emanates from giant lagoons of liquid effluent.
Livestock facilities emit fine particulate matter, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds, all contributing to a toxic mix. Research has shown that emissions from these operations are a major cause of air pollution, causing nearly 12,700 deaths in the United States a year.
The Top 3 Protein-Based Foods With the Most Microplastics — Regardless of Brand or Store: Study
It’s not just takeout containers and teabags. Microplastics have infiltrated nearly every corner of our lives, including our diets, with Americans estimated to consume thousands of these pesky particles each year. But some everyday staples are worse offenders than others.
Scientists have identified the three top protein sources with the highest levels of microplastic contamination — and found that switching brands or grocery stores may not do much to lower the number that ends up on your plate. In the study, researchers at the University of Toronto and Ocean Conservatory examined 16 types of commonly consumed protein products, including seafood, poultry, beef, pork and plant-based alternatives.
The samples were purchased from two conventional supermarkets and one grocery store specializing primarily in natural and organic products in the Portland, Oregon, area. Researchers also bought fresh-caught seafood directly from fishing boats.
In a lab, they used chemical solutions to break down the food itself, leaving only plastic particles behind. They then filtered the remaining material and examined it under microscopes.
Why Some Airlines Spray Pesticide In The Cabin Before Takeoff, And Is It Safe?
Anytime the word “pesticide” comes up in public discourse, it tends to spark concern. These chemicals are designed to kill pests like mosquitoes, weeds, molds, mildews, and anything else that threatens crops or public health. In larger quantities, pesticides can harm people and ecosystems too. Yes, pesticides are sometimes used on airplanes, but there’s a reason — and it’s pretty straightforward.
Certain countries require flights to be sprayed with them to kill harmful insect-borne pathogens, like Zika, malaria, and dengue. Some planes are sprayed and wiped down before passengers board — which reportedly kills insects for up to 8 weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — while others are disinfected during the flight.
◼︎ BIG PHARMA
Washington Reports First US Bird Flu Death of 2026; Health Officials Say Risk to the Public Is Low
A person in Yakima County, Washington, who caught bird flu after being exposed to infected dairy cows has died following a severe illness, county health officials said Sunday.
This is the first known person in the US to die from complications from avian influenza in 2026 and the third in the US to die from bird flu since February 2024, when the virus jumped into dairy cattle for the first time.
On October 31, the Yakima County Health District reported that a person who had come into contact with infected cattle was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu. The person had underlying health conditions, but the county did not specify what they were.
On November 1, the county reported that the person had died. Yakima County health officials said they are closely monitoring the contacts of the person who died to ensure that they didn’t pass the infection to anyone else.
Why People Trust Weight‑loss Drug Advice on Social Media, Even When It May Be Misleading
Imagine scrolling through social media and seeing dramatic weight-loss results from people taking Mounjaro, Wegovy or Ozempic. They share photographs, discuss side effects and recommend ways to get the best results.
These personal stories can feel convincing, especially when they come from people with similar experiences. For someone struggling with their weight, advice from a supportive online community may seem more relatable than information from a medical professional.
A 2026 U.K. study involving 684 adults, including 544 current or former users of weight-loss medications, found that 48% of participants used social media as a source of information about the drugs. Health care professionals were consulted less frequently.
◼︎ BIG BROTHER (BIG TECH)
Google Will Turn Off Search for Schools That Reject A.I.
Google announced Tuesday that early next year it would turn off artificial intelligence tools in its popular software for K-12 students, unless school administrators explicitly choose to make such tools available.
Executives at the tech giant said they wanted to be responsive to educators and parents who have asked for more control in how children interact with A.I. But there is a catch: Schools that choose to restrict A.I. entirely will also lose access to Google search.
A.I. features are now a standard part of Google’s commercially available search engine. “Search and A.I. are deeply integrated,” said Chris Phillips, vice president for education at Google. If a school has banned A.I., he added, students “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available.”
Snap Settles With Two Teens During Trial Testing Claims Social Media Caused Depression, Eating Disorders
Snapchat parent Snap Inc. has reached a settlement during a trial over claims brought by two teenagers who say the company designed the platform to be addictive, causing their depression, anxiety and eating disorders, attorneys for the plaintiffs said on Monday.
Jury selection began last week for the trial, the second in Los Angeles state court over claims brought by young people who say they became addicted to social media after Snap, Meta Platforms, TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use. The plaintiffs had previously settled with Meta, TikTok and YouTube.
