CDC vaccine advisory committee recommends against flu vaccines containing thimerosal
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(WASHINGTON) — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), made up of members recently hand-selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 5-1 on Thursday to recommend against flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal.
One committee member, Vicky Pebsworth, abstained on each vote.
A few moments before, the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee voted 6-0 to recommend all Americans aged 6 months and older receive an annual influenza vaccine.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Measles cases in the United States have reached their highest number in more than 30 years, according to new federal data published Wednesday.
There have been 1,288 confirmed measles cases across 38 states nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By comparison, the U.S. recorded 285 cases all of last year, CDC data showed.
This marks the highest number of cases since 1992. The previous high occurred in 2019 when the U.S. reported 1,274 cases.
The states with confirmed cases include: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
Among the nationally confirmed cases, the CDC said 92% are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Meanwhile, 4% of cases are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 4% of cases are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.
According to the CDC, there have been at least 27 outbreaks this year, accounting for 88% of confirmed cases. By comparison, 16 outbreaks were recorded in 2024.
Texas experienced a large outbreak this year, with 753 cases reported since January. The rate of spread has slowed in recent weeks, with few cases reported.
At least two school-aged children have died. Both were unvaccinated and had no known underlying conditions, according to Texas health officials.
A third measles death was recorded in New Mexico among an unvaccinated adult who tested positive after dying, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Medicaid is a joint federal and state health insurance program for disabled and low-income Americans. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services works with state programs to administer Medicaid, which enrolls more than 71.2 million people.
The original measure passed by the House made around $600 billion in cuts to Medicaid, which then faced deeper cuts in the Senate.
New estimates from the Congressional Budget Office project federal spending on Medicaid will be reduced by $1 trillion and that the current version of the bill in the Senate would increase the number of uninsured by 11.8 million by 2034.
Health policy experts and health care workers say sharp Medicaid cuts could result in vulnerable Americans no longer being able to receive care, either by losing coverage or by closing the centers that provide such care.
Work requirements could result in lost coverage
The bill imposes new 80-hour per month work requirements on able-bodied Medicaid recipients aged 19 to 64 who don’t have dependents. These requirements include working or other approved activities, such as volunteering.
There are exemptions for parents or guardians of children under age 14 and those with disabilities. Under the bill’s current text, these work requirements won’t kick in until 2026.
An analysis published last week from the UC Berkley Labor Center found that work requirements could have a devastating impact on older Americans, between ages 50 and 64.
Nari Rhee, director of the Retirement Security Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center and author of the analysis, told ABC News that after age 50, employment becomes increasingly difficult.
For instance, many older workers become physically unable to continue employment until they reach retirement age.
“Most people hope and plan to retire at something like age 65, but life happens and quite often what happens is people start having health issues,” Rhee said. “If you’ve had blue collar work or manual work, often you started working probably in your late teens. And so, by the time you get into your 50s, your late 50s, your body is just really worn out, and you’re not no longer able to work the kinds of jobs that you used to do.”
She added that some older workers who are physically unable to do the jobs they used to do or who were laid off have a hard time finding employment again due to age discrimination.
Additionally, many older adults are responsible for caring for family members including spouses and parents, which may mean leaving the workplace entirely.
“In practical terms, there are all kinds of legitimate reasons why, especially older adults, might not be able to meet the work requirements in terms of actually putting in the number of hours, and that’s before we even get to all the administrative issues,” Rhee said. “Even if you do work, you might not be able to navigate the red tape.”
AARP, an interest group that focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older in the U.S., sent a letter over the weekend to Sen. Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer expressing opposition to a provision that would disqualify people who fail to meet Medicaid work requirements from receiving Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
“This creates a steep coverage cliff for those in their 50s and early 60s — particularly for those nearing retirement or working part-time — who may be left with no affordable coverage option at all.”
Risk of rural hospitals, health centers closing
Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurse Association, said cuts to Medicaid could force rural hospitals and community health centers to close.
Although Senate Republicans have proposed a $25 billion rural health stabilization fund due to cuts to the Medicaid provider tax, it is unclear if that will be enough to prevent hospitals from closing.
“These hospitals have been on the verge of tight finances for years, and this could be enough to shut them down,” Mensik Kennedy told ABC News. “If we have cuts to Medicaid, we’re going to see these hospitals start to shutter their doors, and people are going to have to drive three, four, hours to deliver a baby, to go have emergency care to get seen, and that’s got to be unacceptable to everyone.”
Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of SEIU 2015, the nation’s largest long-term care union and California’s largest labor union, concurred, saying cuts to Medicaid would impact states’ ability to provide health coverage and long-term care, particularly for rural and low-income Americans.
“Any cuts to Medicaid, the impact in California would be devastating … Medicaid is really the core of how the long-term care system is structured and funded,” he told ABC News. “Medicaid helps to fund clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, home care — it’s all connected as part of our health delivery system. If you were to dismantle or cut to the extent that they’re talking about, I think you see clinics close, you see hospitals close, you see nursing homes close.”
He went on, “I think it would have a devastating impact on the ability for rural Californians and low-income Californians to be able to access their health care, thereby becoming sicker and having to look to much more high-cost alternatives.”
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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded its approval of Moderna’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine on Thursday to include adults under the age of 60 at increased risk of the disease.
Previously, the vaccine, known as mRESVIA, had been licensed for use for those aged 60 and older.
Approval for mRESVIA came after Moderna conducted a late-stage clinical trial showing the vaccine helped boost immune responses in younger adults.
More than one-third of adults between ages 18 and 59 have at least one underlying condition that puts them at increased risk of RSV, according to Moderna.
“RSV poses a serious health risk to adults with certain chronic conditions, and today’s approval marks an important step forward in our ability to protect additional populations from severe illness from RSV,” Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said in a press release. “We appreciate the FDA’s review and thank all the participants in our clinical trial as well as the Moderna team for their dedication to protecting people against RSV.”
Although the FDA approves vaccines and may expand approvals for certain age groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets recommendations regarding who should get vaccines and when.
Currently, the CDC recommends RSV vaccination only for those aged 75 and older and for those aged 60 and over at increased risk.
The CDC’s independent vaccine advisory committee will need to vote to recommend that the new age group be eligible for the shot, followed by a final recommendation from the director of the CDC.
Earlier this week, Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the committee and replaced them with eight new members. It remains unclear how the new members of the panel will decide to approach recommendations for the RSV vaccine.
As of Friday, the CDC director role remains vacant and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been making final recommendations. In an April meeting, the prior advisory committee voted to recommend RSV vaccination for those aged 50 to 59 with increased risk of disease, but Kennedy did not adopt the recommendations.
Instead, it appears Kennedy plans to have the new committee re-discuss the recommendations for RSV vaccination as well as discuss HPV and COVID vaccinations in their meeting scheduled to be held between June 25 and June 27
Moderna’s RSV vaccine is based on mRNA technology, which some of the new members have expressed skepticism about, especially in relation to COVID-19 vaccines.
Despite availability, RSV vaccination has been lagging. As of April 26, the latest date for which CDC data is available, an estimated 47.5% of adults aged 75 and older and 38.1% of adults aged 60 to 74 with a high-risk condition reported ever having received an RSV vaccine.
