RFK Jr. Wanted Bigger Vax Crackdown; JAMA Letters Retracted; Measles Test Demand

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wanted to push even harder against vaccines than what he ultimately put forward as policy. He wanted to spend $5 billion to study the link between vaccines and autism, and completely do away with a federal immunization schedule for children. NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, convinced Kennedy the agency had already dedicated enough resources to studying autism, and former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, and his colleague Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD, developed a list of “core essential vaccines” to preserve a pediatric vaccine schedule. (Reuters)

A student identified himself as PhD at Cornell University in eight letters to the editor of medical journals, though he held only a bachelor’s degree at the time. The letters ranged in topics from intensive care to breast cancer. Two of them, one in JAMA Oncology and one in JAMA Pediatrics, were retracted last month. (Retraction Watch)

After $1 billion and several years, the U.S. is still struggling to make a medical glove, showing how difficult it can be to revive U.S. manufacturing. (Bloomberg via MSN)

More than 74,000 older adults have reportedly sought measles immunity tests amid ongoing outbreaks in the U.S. (Healthbeat)

Newly disclosed emails reveal confusion at the State Department as the Trump administration moved to destroy nearly $10 million in family planning supplies in a Belgian warehouse. The supplies were meant for distribution in some of the poorest nations. (Washington Post)

U.S. biotechnology companies are keeping more information under wraps in order to thwart potential copycats in China. (Wall Street Journal)

Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, a former leader at the U.S. Agency for International Development, details the human cost of the dismantling of his former agency. (The New Yorker)

A bipartisan effort calls on Medicare Advantage insurers to provide more information on their use of AI to deny care, after a government investigation revealed that care is still being blocked. (STAT)

Republican lawmakers are pushing to help ensure enrollment in clinical trials under the Trump administration’s FDA remains diverse. (STAT)

Even though kids are often thought to be uniquely vulnerable to heat, data on heat-related illness indicates they may be more resilient than previously thought. (The Atlantic)

With the expansion of genetic testing, clinicians and patients often face worrisome results with little clarity about the odds of actually encountering or preventing them. (The Atlantic)

AI chatbots may perpetuate stigma around certain health conditions, such as schizophrenia, depression, and AIDS. (Science)