Wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means' nomination to become U.S. surgeon general is stalled a month after senators grilled her on vaccines during a tense confirmation hearing. The delay deepens doubts about Means' ability to secure the votes she needs amid concerns over the Trump administration's approach to health policy. Means likely needs support from every Republican on the Senate health committee for her nomination to move forward. But after last month’s hearing, Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine told reporters they still had questions for Means. The White House has reinforced its support for Means, a Stanford-educated physician who left her Oregon surgical residency program.
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Lawmakers in states where abortion is already banned are focusing on measures intended to crack down on abortion pills. The governor of South Dakota signed such a bill into law this month and lawmakers in Mississippi appear close to finalizing one. The emphasis comes as a new survey suggests getting pills through telehealth has passed traveling to other states as the most common way for women in states with bans to obtain abortion. So far this year, only Wyoming has imposed a new abortion ban. And while the idea has been proposed, no bill to penalize women who have abortions has advanced.
Use of blockbuster anti-obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound is growing, with about 1 in 8 adults in the U.S. saying they currently take the medications. But experts say the drugs alone aren't the answer. It takes lifestyle changes, too, including a healthy diet, physical exercise, adequate sleep and stress management to reap the biggest benefits from GLP-1s. The clinical trials of the drugs included structured lifestyle changes, which are advised along with every prescription. Experts say users should eat protein, drink water and exercise for about an hour each day.
AP Wire
Allergy season is upon us, bringing with it runny noses, itchy eyes and sneezing. Climate change is leading to longer and more intense allergy seasons. The good news is that treatments for seasonal allergies have become more effective in recent years. Pollen trackers, like the one maintained by the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, can help people limit exposure. Experts also recommend masks, over-the-counter medications and talking to a doctor if symptoms start impacting sleep, school or work.
Doctors across the nation are alarmed that skepticism fueled by rising anti-science sentiment and medical mistrust is increasingly reaching beyond vaccines to other safe and routine care for babies. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that refusals of vitamin K shots rose steeply between 2017 and 2024. Those shots can prevent potentially deadly bleeding. A subsequent research review found that U.S. parents who declined vitamin K shots were 90 times more likely to also refuse the hepatitis B vaccine and an eye ointment that can prevent potentially blinding infections. Pediatricians say these refusals put their youngest patients at grave risk.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting food as medicine, but experts say he's overstating what diet can do for serious illness. He's said diet can cure schizophrenia and diabetes, and let people rid themselves of bipolar disorder diagnoses. Researchers say Kennedy is exaggerating current evidence about the real and promising role that food can play in managing illness. Some public health advocates say they're concerned his imprecise language could drive people to self-medicate with food while avoiding proven treatments. But at least one expert in diet-related conditions says he welcomes more attention on how diet can improve chronic disease.
A meningitis outbreak in southeast England has led to the deaths of a university student and a pupil from a nearby school. The outbreak has prompted public health officials to quickly roll out medical interventions. The outbreak in the county of Kent was described Wednesday as unprecedented by U.K. Health Secretary Wes Streeting because of the high number of cases appearing in such a short space of time. The first case was only confirmed on Friday. The number of meningitis cases rose by a further five to 20. Thousands of students at the University of Kent in the city of Canterbury are being offered antibiotics as well as a vaccination.
AP Wire
A federal judge in Boston has blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and says U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee. The decision Monday halts an order by Kennedy to end broad recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV. It also stopped a meeting of a Kennedy-appointed vaccine advisory committee, which was set to convene this week in Atlanta. Federal health officials indicated they planned to appeal.
The Food and Drug Administation is approving a generic drug for a very rare genetic disorder, but not for autism. On Tuesday, the U.S. agency said the drug helps children and adults who cannot get enough folate into the brain. That’s a major turnaround from announcements made at a White House news conference in September. At that event, President Donald Trump and the FDA commissioner said the drug was under review for approval in patients with autism. FDA officials say they narrowed the review to the strongest evidence. They say that evidence supports use only in patients with a specific genetic mutation.
The Food and Drug Administration’s controversial vaccine chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad, is once again leaving the agency. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced the departure to staff in an email late Friday. It's the second time he has abruptly departed the agency following controversial decisions involving the review of vaccinations and specialty drugs for rare diseases. Makary said Prasad would return to his academic job at the University of California, San Francisco. Prasad's time on the job has been marked by a string of reversals in the FDA's review of vaccines and specialty drugs.