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Received yesterday — 13 February 2026

RFK Jr. Allies Target States to Overturn Vaccine Mandates for Schools

13 February 2026 at 05:02
Proponents of vaccines warn that the efforts will further dismantle the immunization infrastructure and lead to more outbreaks of disease.

© Erin Schaff/The New York Times

An empty classroom at the high school in Williston, N.D., during an outbreak of measles there last year.
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U.S. Health Officials Defend Rejection of Moderna’s Flu Vaccine

11 February 2026 at 16:53
The F.D.A.’s refusal to examine the company’s mRNA shot drew widespread criticism from doctors and was divisive within the agency.

© Eric Lee for The New York Times

Dr. Marty Makary, the F.D.A. commissioner, suggested that the agency might eventually approve Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine.

F.D.A. Refuses to Review Moderna Flu Vaccine

The vaccine maker’s shots involve the successful Covid vaccines’ RNA technology. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has broadly rejected it, canceling millions of dollars in research projects.

© Brian Snyder/Reuters

Moderna is a pioneer in using mRNA technology, first with the Covid vaccine. Its flu shot was being developed for people 50 and older.

Federal Vaccine Advisers Take Aim at Covid Shots

6 February 2026 at 10:00
One panelist accused the F.D.A. of withholding data on potential harms. The advisers also are reviewing research on vaccines given to pregnant women.

© Alyssa Pointer/Reuters

Dr. Robert Malone, during a December meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in Atlanta.

F.D.A. Relaxes Rules on ‘Naturally Derived’ Dyes

5 February 2026 at 12:23
Food makers will now be able to claim that their products have “no artificial colors,” so long as they use dyes that are not petroleum-based.

© George Walker IV/Associated Press

“We’re asking people now, ‘Eat real food,’” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at the Tennessee State Capitol on Wednesday.

Newborn dies after mother drinks raw milk during pregnancy

3 February 2026 at 16:15

A newborn baby has died in New Mexico from a Listeria infection that state health officials say was likely contracted from raw (unpasteurized) milk that the baby's mother drank during pregnancy.

In a news release Tuesday, officials warned people not to consume any raw dairy, highlighting that it can be teeming with a variety of pathogens. Those germs are especially dangerous to pregnant women, as well as young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

"Raw milk can contain numerous disease-causing germs, including Listeria, which is bacteria that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or fatal infection in newborns, even if the mother is only mildly ill," the New Mexico Department of Health said in the press release.

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H.H.S. to Expand Faith-Based Addiction Programs for Homeless

2 February 2026 at 20:33
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said addiction is a “spiritual disease” that calls out for the involvement of religious organizations.

© Rachel Bujalski for The New York Times

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, said the federal government would open funding opportunities to faith-based organizations that hold to evidence-based standards.

N.I.H. Worker Who Criticized Trump Seeks Whistle-Blower Protection

2 February 2026 at 20:21
Jenna Norton, a National Institutes of Health employee, has been an outspoken critic of the administration’s research cuts and has been on paid leave.

© Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Jenna Norton last spring organized The Bethesda Declaration, a public letter that denounced what its authors viewed as the administration’s dismantling of the federal biomedical research apparatus.

Kennedy Overhauls Federal Autism Panel in His Own Image

29 January 2026 at 19:32
The new panel, which advises the government on research and service priorities for people with autism, includes many members who have argued that vaccines cause the disorder.

© Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

Although the panel only serves an advisory function, many longtime autism advocates and researchers were alarmed by some of the new panel members.

Vaccine Panel Chair Says Polio and Other Shots Should Be Optional, Rejecting Decades of Science

23 January 2026 at 20:15
Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who leads the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said a person’s right to refuse a vaccine outweighed concerns about illness or death from infectious diseases.

© Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who leads the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, speaking at a meeting of the committee in Chamblee, Ga., in September.

RFK Jr. Plan to Test a Vaccine in West African Babies Is Blocked

A planned U.S.-funded study of a hepatitis B vaccine drew widespread condemnation from researchers. Now the host country says it cannot proceed.

© Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press

Each year thousands of babies born in Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s least developed countries, are exposed to hepatitis B, a virus that can cause severe liver damage and cancer.

Medical Groups Sue to Block Childhood Vaccine Recommendations

19 January 2026 at 19:33
The groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, say the C.D.C.’s revised vaccine schedule is not based on scientific evidence and will harm the public.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Bypassing longstanding protocol for vaccine decisions, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Health Department cut the number of vaccines recommended for children to 11 from 17.

New Children’s Vaccine Schedule May Not Be the Last of RFK Jr.’s Big Changes

12 January 2026 at 12:08
Comments by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies suggest the revised schedule may presage an approach to immunization that prizes individual autonomy and downplays scientific expertise.

© Desiree Rios for The New York Times

A family nurse practitioner in a white coat administers a vaccine to a three-year-old child in Seminole, Texas.
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