Federal Agency
Appears in 10 stories
Operating under acting director with significant leadership turnover
Jay Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, publicly opposing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's pandemic response policies. Five years later, he now controls both the CDC and the National Institutes of Health—the two largest federal public health agencies—making him the most powerful health official in America outside the cabinet.
Updated 1 hour ago
Enhanced entry screening now active at Dulles, Atlanta, and Houston; Title 42 restrictions in force for non-citizens from DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan; coordinating evacuations of exposed Americans
WHO Director-General Tedros warned on May 25 that the epidemic is 'outpacing' containment efforts, with more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths across three DRC provinces. The virus has reached parts of North and South Kivu governed by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, whose parallel administration in Goma has blocked use of the city's main airport.
Updated 4 days ago
Primary source for overdose mortality data; released full-year 2025 provisional figures May 2026
U.S. overdose deaths fell for the third straight year in 2025. CDC provisional data released May 2026 projects 69,973 deaths for the full year—down 14% from 2024 and about 38% below the 2022 peak of 112,000.
Updated 6 days ago
Tracking 910 cases across 24 states as of Feb 12
The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000, after decades of vaccination campaigns against the most contagious virus known to infect humans. On January 22, 2026, that status entered jeopardy when the country passed one year and two days of continuous transmission, starting in West Texas.
Updated 7 days ago
Lost 25% of staff in 2025; facing proposed 53% budget cut for FY2026
The U.S. joined the WHO on June 14, 1948, three years after helping design the agency, and became the first to withdraw on January 22, 2026, ending 77 years of involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited the WHO's 'failures during the COVID-19 pandemic' and its inability to demonstrate independence from 'inappropriate political influence.' The U.S. left without paying between $130 million and $278 million in disputed dues.
Monitoring outbreak, assessing pandemic risk as 'low' but rising
In March 2024, H5N1 avian influenza appeared in U.S. dairy cattle for the first time. It has since infected over 1,000 herds across 17 states and 70 humans; one person has died.
Updated May 19
Tracking cases, assessing elimination status, and supporting state outbreak responses
Measles, the virus the U.S. declared vanquished in 2000, is back with a vengeance. In 2025 it has infected nearly 2,000 Americans, with runaway outbreaks now in South Carolina's Upstate and the Arizona–Utah border towns, forcing hundreds of mostly unvaccinated students and families into quarantine.
Updated May 11
Holds final authority to adopt ACIP’s new recommendation into the national schedule
In December 2025, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 8–3 to end the universal recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth. The committee was reconstituted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On December 16, 2025, Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill formally adopted the recommendation.
Updated May 10
Under pressured leadership changes and tasked with implementing revised vaccine guidance
In his second term, President Donald Trump is overhauling U.S. childhood vaccination policy. He argues the country gives too many shots compared with its peers. On December 5, 2025, a federal vaccine advisory panel voted 8–3 to end the longstanding hepatitis B shot recommendation for newborns. Trump signed a memorandum ordering the HHS secretary and CDC director to review the childhood schedule and align it where possible with peer countries' practices.
Adopted ACIP’s revised hepatitis B birth-dose policy on December 16, 2025; reviewing serology testing recommendation
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8–3 on December 5, 2025 to end the recommendation that every U.S. newborn receive a hepatitis B shot within 24 hours of birth. The committee had been recently overhauled under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill ratified the change on December 16, 2025.
Updated May 9
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