2 West Nile virus deaths reported in North Carolina: Officials
A female Culex tarsalis mosquito is shown in a close right anterior-oblique view, Aug, 28, 2017. (CDC/Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images)
North Carolina health officials are warning that West Nile virus is spreading after two deaths were linked to the disease.
The two deaths were adults from central North Carolina, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Currently, 2026 is on pace to be the second-highest year on record for West Nile virus cases, after 2024, according to local ABC News affiliate WTVD.
Transmission levels are higher because of warm weather lasting longer, continuing into mid-October.
“As long as the weather stays warm and what I mean by warm is over 50s during the day, then the mosquito that carries it will continue to bite,” Michael Doyle, state public health entomologist with NCDHHS, told WTVD.
West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cases usually occur during mosquito season, which starts in the summer and continues through fall, according to the CDC.
Mosquitoes typically become infected with the virus after feeding on infected birds and then spread it to humans and other animals, the federal health agency said.
The majority of patients don’t have symptoms, but about one in five will experience symptoms two to six days after being bitten, including fever, headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting or a rash.
Most symptoms disappear, but weakness and fatigue may last for weeks or months. No medications are available to treat West Nile. Those with mild illness can often manage symptoms with rest, staying hydrated and taking over-the-counter medications — such as acetaminophen — for fever, pain and headaches, according to the CDC.
About one in 150 patients will develop severe disease leading to encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain, or meningitis, which is inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord — both of which can lead to death, the CDC says.
Each year, about 2,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with West Nile virus, but the CDC says this is likely an underestimate because most people either don’t develop symptoms or believe their mild symptoms were caused by another illness.
More than 1,300 people develop severe illness affecting the central nervous system, the CDC says.
There are no licensed vaccines or medications that protect against the virus. The CDC recommends using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, treating clothing and gear and taking steps to control mosquitoes. This last step includes putting screens on windows and doors, using air conditioning and emptying out containers with still water.
Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Dr. Heidi Overton speaks in the Oval Office on Aug. 10, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Dr. Heidi Overton is appearing before a Senate committee on Thursday for her confirmation hearing as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Overton was nominated in August by President Donald Trump, who described her in a post on social media as a “ROCKSTAR in my Administration.”
She is sitting before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, where she is likely to face questions about childhood vaccines and the abortion drug mifepristone.
If confirmed, Overton will be the second person to lead the FDA after the previous commissioner, Marty Makary, resigned following public clashes with lawmakers, major pharmaceutical companies and Trump over fruit-flavored vapes.
Kyle Diamantas has served as acting FDA commissioner since May 2026.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the HELP committee, began the hearing by asking Overton if the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine Is lethal. Overton replied it is not.
When asked if the vaccine is safe and effective, Overton reiterated that the vaccine is safe and effective against measles.
“Are there any vaccines on the U.S. market right now which are unsafe?” Cassidy asked.
“Senator, every vaccine on the U.S. market right now is safe and effective, according to the FDA,” Overton said.
Cassidy attempted to press Overton on whether she disagreed with the president on the safety and efficacy of the MMR vaccine, but Overton deflected from answering directly.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa., asked Overton if she believes mifepristone is safe and effective. Kennedy launched an FDA safety review of the drug last year.
“I know that it has met the safety and efficacy standard according to the FDA review,” Overton replied.
Murray expressed concern over an article she said Overton published three years ago, which she said described medication abortion as dangerous to women.
She also asked if Overton believed an IUD is an abortifacient, which is a substance used to induce an abortion or terminate a pregnancy. Overton did not answer directly.
“If I’m confirmed as FDA commissioner, I’ll be fully briefed on all their prior decisions and make determinations according to the standards of safety and efficacy,” Overton said.
She has espoused anti-abortion views and supported reductions to the childhood immunization schedule. At the executive order signing, she touted the use of what she called “gold-standard science” and restoring vaccination authority to parents.
Overton was nominated for the job, in part, because she is a loyalist of the president, two sources familiar with the nomination tell ABC News.
She’s been described as a loyal staffer, particularly in the presidents’ efforts to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule, according to a former senior administration official.
“Why would you not want your own loyalist in there?” the source said about Trump’s choice, adding “She [Overton] kind of goes along with things.” The former official supports Overton but has previously acknowledged that, “She’s been in the world of politics for a long time and understands everything’s about loyalty.”
Overton is a physician with a doctor of medicine degree from the University of New Mexico and also holds a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University.
Prior to her role as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy, she was vice chair of the America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Center for a Healthy America, where Overton was also the chief policy officer, a nonprofit that aims to advance policies that it says put the American people first. AFPI was run by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins before Rollins was tapped to join the president’s Cabinet.
Several Trump administration officials held positions there before he was reelected, including Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
Prior to the hearing, Cassidy expressed “strong concerns” about Overton’s nomination because of her participation in the White House executive order overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule.
“That alone is almost disqualifying,” Cassidy wrote in a post on X.
Cassidy, a physician and liver doctor, has long championed the efficacy of vaccines and has grilled Trump’s health officials on their willingness to stand up to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including recently installed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Erica Schwartz.
In a statement to ABC News, Democratic Women’s Caucus Chairwoman Teresa Leger Fernández slammed the nomination.
“I call on my colleagues in the Senate to reject her nomination,” Fernández wrote, adding “Overton has publicly denied scientific fact and repeatedly launched conspiratorial attacks against our right to abortion access, the safety of mifepristone, and Planned Parenthood.”
Fernández added: “She is not qualified to serve as FDA Commissioner, and her extremist beliefs and loyalty to the Trump administration will put the lives of millions of women at risk.”
In a statement, Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, also criticized her nomination.
“The fact that Dr. Overton played a central role in an executive order that shrinks the childhood vaccine schedule and calls for splitting MMR into shots that don’t exist, all without new evidence, calls into question her scientific judgement,” Adalja said. “The fact that she has garnered the praise of the nation’s chief anti-vaccine propagandist, Secretary Kennedy, is also concerning.”
Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein-Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is ending a key health insurance subsidy program that aimed to keep premiums for seniors’ prescription drug plans in check, claiming that it benefits corporate insurance companies, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz.
Medicare Part D — the government health insurance program’s prescription drug benefit — is used by tens of millions of older or disabled beneficiaries.
The program’s subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, the administration announced Tuesday.
That move will likely result in higher prescription costs and increase premiums for about half of recipients, according to an administration official.
The changes are anticipated to happen in 2027 and enrollees will find out the new monthly cost later this fall, administration officials said.
Currently the government pays billions of dollars to insurance companies as a subsidy to keep prescription drug insurance at an average of $36 per person per month, according to KFF, a health policy nonprofit.
Ending the subsidies may increase premiums for some by as much as $20 a month, according to KFF.
The move comes as Affordable Care Act subsidies have expired and health care costs remain a top issue for voters ahead of the midterm elections. The ACA subsidies helped lower the out-of-pocket costs for monthly premiums for people who purchased health care through the health insurance marketplace.
Trump administration officials decried the Biden administration for signing the Inflation Reduction Act, which they allege bailed out major insurance companies and resulted in increased premiums for Americans. Trump officials also claim that billions of dollars were funneled to the companies through Biden’s signature legislation
At the time, Biden officials touted the Inflation Reduction Act for allowing the government to negotiate with drug companies about the pricing for some of their most expensive medicines.
“We are stabilizing the market so this bailout is no longer needed,” Oz wrote in a post on X. “Premiums will go up by less than $10 for most Medicare recipients, with many even seeing LOWER premiums.”
“Every Medicare beneficiary still has access to low-cost plans, and we will continue to lower prescription drug prices for every American patient, from more MFN deals to our policy giving seniors access to GLP-1s for $50 a month,” he added, referring to “most favored nation” deals under which pharmaceutical companies charge U.S. patients the same rate as they charge in other countries.
The news about the Medicare Part D subsidies ending was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
About half of enrollees will either see a premium increase of less than $10 or a premium decrease and most will have plans available at $10 or less, according to a Trump administration official.
President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz, to be the Director of the CDC, April 16, 2026. (Department of Health and Human Services)
(WASHINGTON) — A confirmation hearing began on Wednesday for Dr. Erica Schwartz to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Schwartz, a formal deputy surgeon general, was nominated by President Donald Trump in April. Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, describing Schwartz as “incredibly talented.”
Schwartz is the fourth person named or nominated as head of the CDC since last summer. If confirmed by the Senate, Schwartz will replace Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, who took over as acting CDC director in February.
Schwartz earned a medical degree from Brown University and served in the U.S. Navy until 2005.
She served in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, as the Coast Guard Chief Medical Officer and as Deputy Surgeon General from 2019 to early 2021, during the first Trump administration.
“I was very pleased to see Dr. Schwartz nominated to be the next director of the CDC,” Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC during the Obama administration, told ABC News. “What struck me is how refreshing it felt to see someone nominated for this job who actually has deep experience in public health and has the credentials necessary to lead a complex public health organization.”
Besser expressed concern about whether Schwartz, if confirmed, will have the independence from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to make public health recommendations, referencing a previous CDC director: Susan Monarez.
Monarez was confirmed as CDC director in July 2025, but she held the post for less than a month. Monarez was fired by Kennedy for reportedly not rubber-stamping the health secretary’s vaccine agenda or firing high-ranking CDC leaders whom he opposed.
The turmoil led to both Kennedy and Monarez appearing in front of Senate committees to address the ousting.
At a Senate hearing, Kennedy denied telling Monarez to accept vaccine recommendations without scientific evidence and claimed she was fired in part because she told him she was untrustworthy.
Besser said he expects that Schwartz will be asked by members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) about her perspectives on vaccinations, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the rise of measles in the U.S.
“Those are some of the critical areas I think she’ll be asked about. There are so many other areas that are of concern to those who have relied on the CDC to prevent illness and promote health,” he said.
Sean Kaufman is also appearing before the Senate HELP Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Kaufman was nominated to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which was recently absorbed under CDC as part of an HHS reorganization in 2025.
Kaufman has claimed without evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine caused “excessive death and injury … in the United States and globally.” Health officials have said COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective following clinical trials that involved tens of thousands of people and have since helped save millions of lives.
“What concerns me about Mr. Kaufman is that he has expressed very strong anti-vaccine views, and the ASPR is responsible for the strategic national stockpile,” Besser said. “So, I hope that the committee asks him questions to fully understand the approach that he would take in that role.”
