— A weekly roundup of how public health policy is shaping practice
October 21, 2026 • 2 min read
The Guinea-Bissau offices of controversial researchers who were going to use CDC funds to run a trial of a hepatitis B birth dose in that country were raided by judicial policeopens in a new tab or window, who seized doses of the vaccine. (The Guardian)
Here's a look at exactly how that study was revivedopens in a new tab or window. (Rolling Stone)
The board overseeing the NIH Clinical Center wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying his increased focus on vaccine injuries will undermineopens in a new tab or window the center's vaccine research. (New York Times)
Meanwhile, Kennedy posted photos of his son's wedding in Brazilopens in a new tab or window on his X account.
The Department of Government Efficiency was one of the biggest disastersopens in a new tab or window in U.S. history, according to several former FDA officials. (STAT)
A senior adviser to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is married to someone with a more than $5 million stake in a company invested in drug and device packaging, but AHRQ's director says that does not qualifyopens in a new tab or window as "an insurmountable concern about the appearance of impropriety." (Washington Sun)
The CDC has updated its measles death tally to threeopens in a new tab or window, but it remains shy of the five reported by Pennsylvania (a sixth death remains under investigation in that state). (The Hill)
Minnesota state officials are concerned that the state will not get backopens in a new tab or window the $259 million in Medicaid funding that was frozen by the Trump administration. (Politico.com)
Staff across HHS are concerned about changesopens in a new tab or window in performance review procedures, fearing that the changes are a way to lower wages or push out workers. (STAT)
HHS is demandingopens in a new tab or window that healthcare organizations clearly state whether they plan to continue supporting gender-reassignment surgery in their materials and guidance.
And the Justice Department's research arm will fund studiesopens in a new tab or window of a possible link between gender dysphoria and violent crime, raising concerns of bias. (Science)
The NIH awarded 56,600 grants in fiscal year 2026 -- a 12% dropopens in a new tab or window from the 64,000 awarded in 2024 before President Donald Trump took office. (CIDRAP)
Using the Medicare Plan Finder has gotten a little easieropens in a new tab or window for enrollees, but it still has issues. (New York Times)
Adverse event summary reports in the FDA's Manufacturer And User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database are frequently incomplete, inaccurate, and delayedopens in a new tab or window, researchers found. (BMJ)
The Trump administration is not promoting the measles vaccine hard enoughopens in a new tab or window, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), the outgoing chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. (The Hill)
The Justice Department is simplifying the processopens in a new tab or window for healthcare companies to self-report potential fraud and the steps they took to mediate it. (STAT)
The FDA said it's forming a boardopens in a new tab or window to oversee patent exclusivity determinations for certain drugs. (Reuters via AOL)
Removing duplicate and decreased enrollees from Affordable Care Act insurance exchange health plans will save taxpayers an estimated $1.5 billionopens in a new tab or window over the next year, CMS said.
HHS launched a programopens in a new tab or window aimed at revitalizing treatment of kidney disease, and it's establishing seven new hubsopens in a new tab or window to help sickle cell patients access treatment closer to home.