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Robert Kennedy, Jr., nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, arrives for his meeting with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., in the Hart Senate Office Building on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024.

Kennedy faces questions about food, vaccines in GOP meetings

By Ariel Cohen, Lia DeGroot, Jessie Hellmann and Sandhya Raman
Posted December 17, 2024 at 6:53pm, Updated December 18, 2024 at 3:11pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian National Convention on May 24 in Washington.

Senate Democrats search for common ground with Kennedy

By Ariel Cohen and Lia DeGroot
Posted December 12, 2024 at 7:00am
President-elect Donald Trump shakes the hand of his choice to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during the 2024 presidential campaign.

How backlash to the pandemic helped shape Trump’s health picks

By Ariel Cohen
Posted December 5, 2024 at 7:00am
Jay Bhattacharya speaks during a roundtable discussion with members of the House Freedom Caucus on the COVID-19 pandemic at The Heritage Foundation on Nov. 10, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Trump names pick for NIH director

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 26, 2024 at 10:29pm
Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies at a hearing on Nov. 30, 2023.

CDC director looks to future of public health with worry

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 20, 2024 at 10:29am
Mehmet Oz speaks during a meeting with business leaders at Washington Crossing, Pa., on Nov. 6, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Oz to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Trump taps Dr. Oz to serve as Medicare, Medicaid administrator

By Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted November 19, 2024 at 5:39pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies during a hearing of the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on July 20, 2023.

Trump taps RFK Jr. to lead HHS

By Ariel Cohen, Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted November 14, 2024 at 5:44pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican President-elect Donald Trump shake hands during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.

A look at those who could be on Trump’s health team short list

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 7, 2024 at 5:40pm
Pro-abortion rights activists participate in the "Rally for Our Freedom" to protect abortion rights for Floridians, in Orlando, Florida, on April 13, 2024. The initiative failed to meet the 60 percent threshold for passage Tuesday.

Florida, South Dakota, Nebraska reject abortion ballot issues

By Sandhya Raman and Ariel Cohen
Posted November 6, 2024 at 10:26am
An American flag and a Pride flag hang in a window display at a clothing store celebrating Pride Month, in Queens, N.Y. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Election could move fight over trans care from states to DC

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 1, 2024 at 9:48am, Updated at 11:12am
A marijuana activist wears a marijuana-themed tie during a rally at the U.S. Capitol to call on Congress pass cannabis overhaul legislation.

Ballot initiatives include cannabis, insurance measures

By Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted October 31, 2024 at 5:33pm
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is pictured during a commercial break while recording ABC’s “The View” in New York on Tuesday.

Harris unveils plan to allow Medicare to cover in-home care

By Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted October 8, 2024 at 12:43pm
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City.

Fact-checking Vance’s health policy claims

By Ariel Cohen and Sandhya Raman
Posted October 2, 2024 at 4:29pm
Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican nominee for vice president, is seens at the Republican National Convention on July 17.

On campaign trail, Vance lays out ‘concept of a plan’ for health care

By Ariel Cohen and Sandhya Raman
Posted September 26, 2024 at 7:00am
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford is pictured in the Capitol during votes on July 31. Lankford on Tuesday blocked a resolution expressing a sense of the Senate that every patient should have the right to emergency health care, including abortion, regardless of where they live, saying that “there is no state in America where a woman faces prosecution for having an abortion.”

Filibuster’s future, emergency abortions fuel Senate debate

By Ariel Cohen and Sandhya Raman
Posted September 24, 2024 at 6:26pm
New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen led 41 senators in a letter urging Senate leadership to permanently expand health care subsidies on the health care exchanges.

House, Senate Democrats renew health care subsidies push

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 18, 2024 at 7:15am
An mpox blood test tube is seen among other blood test tubes. Though the newest strain of the disease has not yet been detected in the United States, public health departments are preparing for the possibility. (Hakan Nural/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Health agencies scramble to prepare for new mpox strain

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 5, 2024 at 10:36am
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for president, speaks during a rally to kick off their campaign at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 6.

In picking Walz, Harris upends notion of ‘women’s issues’

By Lia DeGroot, Sandhya Raman and Ariel Cohen
Posted August 21, 2024 at 7:00am
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., participates in a news conference n the Capitol on March 14.

NIH reorganization unlikely to happen this Congress, analysts say

By Ariel Cohen
Posted August 15, 2024 at 7:00am
President Joe Biden speaks at a Biden Cancer Moonshot Event at Tulane University in New Orleans on August 13, 2024.

Biden announces $150 million ‘Cancer Moonshot’ investment

By Ariel Cohen
Posted August 13, 2024 at 5:53pm
Then-Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., speaks with guests during a campaign event at the University of Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 28, 2016.

Walz’s personal experiences shape his health policy outlook

By Ariel Cohen, Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted August 6, 2024 at 3:01pm
Former U.S. alpine skiing champion Lindsey Vonn speaks during the Salt Lake City bid for the 2034 Winter Games during the 142nd session of the International Olympic Committee on July 24.

Lawmakers outraged at quid pro quo to host 2034 Olympics

By Ariel Cohen
Posted July 30, 2024 at 1:13pm
Vice President Kamala Harris addresses an event with descendants of iconic civil rights leaders to celebrate Black History Month at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on February 13.

Harris’ Senate portfolio included maternal health, telehealth

By Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted July 25, 2024 at 7:00am
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, seen in the Capitol on March 13, has expressed concern that the CDC has strayed from its original public health mission and is doing too much.

Four years after COVID-19, CDC’s mission divides Capitol Hill 

By Ariel Cohen
Posted July 23, 2024 at 6:18pm
President Joe Biden speaks during a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony in the East Room of the White House on May 3.

Summer COVID surge isn’t cause for alarm, experts say

By Ariel Cohen
Posted July 18, 2024 at 4:35pm
Former President Donald Trump is pictured with his running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

Vance quietly tried to shape public health agenda in Congress

By Ariel Cohen
Posted July 17, 2024 at 6:13pm
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is pictured with his sons Don Jr., left, and Eric, in Fiserv Forum on the first day of Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.

With Roe overturned, Trump’s GOP turns to transgender health care

By Ariel Cohen and Sandhya Raman
Posted July 16, 2024 at 11:26am, Updated at 6:20pm
The words 'My body my choice' are projected onto the Eiffel Tower in Paris as demonstrators demanding the inclusion of the right to abortion in the constitution gathered for a women's rights rally in front of a giant screen nearby to follow the debate on the single-article draft law on March 4.

What GOP’s European abortion example looks like in France

By Ariel Cohen
Posted July 3, 2024 at 5:59am
Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps takes his seat to testify during the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on “Examining Anti-Doping Measures in Advance of the 2024 Olympics” in the Rayburn House Office Building on Tuesday.

Olympians implore Congress to act on doping as games approach

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 25, 2024 at 9:29pm
Demonstrators participate in the Women’s March to the White House to call on the Biden administration to protect abortion rights on July 9, 2022.

Democrats mark abortion ruling anniversary with targeted outreach

By Ariel Cohen and Daniela Altimari
Posted June 24, 2024 at 6:00am, Updated at 8:48am
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during Senate Democrats’ news conference in the Capitol on Feb. 27 to discuss the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on in vitro fertilization.

Senate falls short on IVF vote

By Ariel Cohen and Sandhya Raman
Posted June 13, 2024 at 3:27pm
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a convocation at Liberty University's Vines Center in Lynchburg, Va., on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Federal judge blocks Florida’s ban on transgender care

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 11, 2024 at 5:40pm
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., leaves the U.S. Capitol. Barr lost his wife Carol, then 39, on June 16, 2020, after a cardiac event.

Push for defibrillators in schools becomes personal

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 6, 2024 at 7:00am
Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Coronavirus Pandemic hearing titled “A Hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci,” in Rayburn building on Monday, June 3, 2024.

Fauci faces skeptical GOP to bat back COVID-19 accusations

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 3, 2024 at 4:42pm
Gynecologist Frantz Bousquet is pictured outside his hospital in Sete, France, on March 11. He is one of the only physicians in the area who performs abortions.

In France, abortion restrictions offset by medical autonomy

By Ariel Cohen
Posted May 16, 2024 at 7:00am
Women’s March holds a die-in outside the U.S. Supreme Court before oral arguments in Moyle v. United States on Wednesday. The case challenges a federal law that requires hospitals to perform an emergency abortion when needed to resolve a patient’s medical emergency.

Case highlights debate over ‘life of the mother’ exception

By Ariel Cohen
Posted April 24, 2024 at 2:31pm
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE — Volunteers and staffers at a family planning clinic, are pictured on March 13, 2024.

In France and US, two wildly different takes on IVF

By Ariel Cohen
Posted April 18, 2024 at 7:00am
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule implements a 2022 law that requires certain employers to offer reasonable accommodations to pregnant and postpartum employees.

White House issues worker protections for pregnancy termination

By Ariel Cohen
Posted April 15, 2024 at 8:41pm
Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unveiled a new data-sharing framework Thursday that does not require congressional help.

CDC moves forward on data-sharing — without Congress

By Ariel Cohen
Posted April 11, 2024 at 2:48pm
Arizona Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani speaks with CQ Roll Call in his Longworth Building office on May 16, 2023.

Arizona abortion ruling highlights policy struggle within GOP

By Ariel Cohen and Daniela Altimari
Posted April 9, 2024 at 4:48pm
Former President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform Monday that he does not support a national ban on abortion. He also expressed support for in vitro fertilization.

Trump supports IVF, backtracks on national abortion ban

By Ariel Cohen
Posted April 8, 2024 at 10:19am, Updated at 11:18am
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday upheld the state’s existing 15-week abortion law, which will in turn allow a six-week ban signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 to go into effect.

Florida Supreme Court upends abortion landscape in the South

By Ariel Cohen and Mary Ellen McIntire
Posted April 1, 2024 at 7:10pm, Updated April 2, 2024 at 1:05pm
Former Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., sits outside his cottage in rural France. McDermott moved to France after retiring from Congress in 2017.

Living abroad, Jim McDermott finds his liberal utopia

By Ariel Cohen
Posted March 27, 2024 at 7:00am
A message reading “My body my choice” is projected onto the Eiffel Tower, after the French parliament voted to anchor the right to abortion in the country’s constitution, in Paris on Monday.

Responding to US, France enshrines abortion access in constitution

By Ariel Cohen
Posted March 4, 2024 at 3:23pm
Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has called for the Florida surgeon general to resign over recommendations he made regarding a measles outbreak in the state.

Post-pandemic vaccine hesitancy fueling latest measles outbreak

By Ariel Cohen
Posted February 29, 2024 at 3:45pm
A report that former President Donald Trump privately endorsed a 16-week national abortion ban spurred excitement from anti-abortion groups and could be a boon for Democrats.

Trump’s interest in national abortion ban fires up both sides

By Ariel Cohen
Posted February 16, 2024 at 3:37pm
“Politics should never have a place in science," Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said of the World Health Organization.

GOP lawmakers argue pandemic treaty threatens US sovereignty

By Ariel Cohen
Posted February 5, 2024 at 6:40pm
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., speaks during a news conference. Baldwin and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced a bill to reauthorize the cervical cancer detection program for fiscal years 2024 to 2028.

Vaccine skepticism, equity issues hinder cervical cancer fight

By Ariel Cohen
Posted February 1, 2024 at 7:00am
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Grappone Conference Center on Jan. 19 in Concord, N.H.

GOP pivots on abortion stance as 2024 nears

By Ariel Cohen and Sandhya Raman
Posted January 25, 2024 at 7:00am
Texas Republican Rep. Daniel Crenshaw talks with reporters outside the Capitol. Crenshaw led a legislative push to tie pediatric physician training to gender-affirming care bans but now acknowledges the House needs “to get a bill to the floor.”

Democrats eye appropriations to protect pediatrician training

By Ariel Cohen
Posted December 21, 2023 at 1:46pm
With Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee ranking member Anna G. Eshoo retiring, Rep. Diana DeGette, above, is considered a likely replacement for the slot on the powerful subcommittee.

DeGette in line for key Democratic spot on health panel

By Ariel Cohen and Lauren Clason
Posted December 14, 2023 at 7:00am
Rep. Anna G. Eshoo arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building on Sept. 15, 2022. Eshoo on Tuesday became the latest veteran lawmaker to announce plans to retire at the end of this term.

Eshoo, longtime Silicon Valley lawmaker, announces plans to retire

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 21, 2023 at 1:13pm
President Joe Biden pardons the turkey, Liberty, from Willmar, Minn., during the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday Nov. 20, 2023. Steve Lykken, center, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and Jose Rojas, vice president of Jennie-O Turkey Store, also appear.

Freedom granted to Liberty and Bell in annual turkey pardoning

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 20, 2023 at 1:17pm, Updated at 1:44pm
Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, right, Rich McCormick, R-Ga., left, and Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., leave the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Crenshaw introduced a bill that would bar federal funds aimed at training pediatricians from going to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care. "This is the issue of our time. This is the hill we're going to die on," he said of the issue.

House GOP eyes trans care as newest battleground issue

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 9, 2023 at 7:00am
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., conducts a news conference on the House steps after winning the speakership on Wednesday.

Johnson’s health policy record focused on abortion, gender care

By Ariel Cohen
Posted October 26, 2023 at 10:36am
A Senate panel advanced the nomination of Monica Bertagnolli to lead the National Institutes of Health on Tuesday.

Senate panel advances NIH nominee Bertagnolli

By Ariel Cohen
Posted October 25, 2023 at 5:06pm
Monica Bertagnolli, nominee to be director of the National Institutes of Health, prepares to testify during her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Senators grill Bertagnolli on NIH priorities, drug costs

By Ariel Cohen
Posted October 18, 2023 at 3:37pm
Republican Rep. Michael C. Burgess led a coalition of 18 Texas lawmakers in a letter urging ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn to select Dallas for the agency’s customer experience hub.

ARPA-H announces first two regional hubs

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 26, 2023 at 6:14pm
Rep. Christopher H. Smith is pushing for a one-year reauthorization of PEPFAR that would reinstate some anti-abortion restrictions.

PEPFAR reauthorization debate highlights splits in GOP

By Ariel Cohen and Sandhya Raman
Posted September 21, 2023 at 7:00am
Last year's formula shortage has spurred lawmakers to call for making donor breast milk more mainstream.

After infant formula crisis, lawmakers look to donor milk

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 14, 2023 at 7:00am
The Food and Drug Administration approved the boosters one day before a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel is expected to discuss recommendations for who should receive the vaccines and when, with CDC Director Mandy Cohen expected to sign off shortly thereafter.

New CDC director urges COVID-19 booster as cases increase

By Ariel Cohen
Posted August 31, 2023 at 6:58pm
A health worker administers a COVID-19 vaccine shot to a local resident in Los Angeles on Dec. 17, 2022. Critics worry that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new program to get the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured and underinsured Americans will likely not be ready in pharmacies by the time the new vaccines hit the market as early as this September.

COVID vaccine program for uninsured could be late to pharmacies

By Ariel Cohen
Posted August 17, 2023 at 6:00am
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he aims to have bipartisan reauthorization community health center legislation ready by the first week of September. That measure is one of a handful of health programs Congress must pass before the end of this fiscal year.

Health deadlines pile up as Congress adjourns for August

By Lauren Clason, Ariel Cohen, Jessie Hellmann and Sandhya Raman
Posted July 27, 2023 at 6:00am
President Joe Biden addresses the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on May 29.

Biden sets up health costs as campaign talking point

By Ariel Cohen and Jessie Hellmann
Posted July 7, 2023 at 6:33pm
President Joe Biden addresses the media in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Feb. 16.

Biden administration targets unexpected health costs

By Ariel Cohen
Posted July 7, 2023 at 5:00am
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee joined Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,in sending a letter to CMS on June 8 urging the agency to take a greater role in overseeing state reassessments of Medicaid beneficiary eligibility.

HHS has limited options as millions lose Medicaid

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 28, 2023 at 5:00am
Staff members hold an informal meeting before opening a free STD clinic in Portland, Maine. The CDC has told states it’s reducing funding for workers who fight sexually transmitted infections by $400 million.

CDC alerts states of cuts to STI workforce, blames debt deal

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 14, 2023 at 11:43am
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky testifies during a House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing in the Rayburn Building on Tuesday.

Republicans grill outgoing CDC director as she prepares to exit

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 13, 2023 at 6:31pm
A pedestrian is seen near the U.S. Supreme Court on June 5. The court on Thursday ruled 7-2 to protect the right of Medicaid nursing home residents to seek relief in federal court when state officials do not meet a certain quality of care.

Supreme Court preserves Medicaid recipients’ right to sue

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 8, 2023 at 2:48pm
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, criticized the CDC at a hearing Wednesday for not providing Congress with enough information on how it plans to overhaul itself in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

House Republicans quash CDC request for more authorities

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 7, 2023 at 3:14pm
Mandy Cohen, seen here in a North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services video in 2020, is expected to be named by President Joe Biden to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biden’s pick to lead the CDC faces tough summer on Capitol Hill

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 5, 2023 at 6:47am
Mandy Cohen attends a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Nov. 3, 2015.

Biden to pick Mandy Cohen to lead the CDC

By Ariel Cohen
Posted June 1, 2023 at 6:45pm
Monica Bertagnolli became director of the National Cancer Institute in 2022. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Biden taps National Cancer Institute director to lead NIH

By Ariel Cohen
Posted May 15, 2023 at 1:21pm
Rochelle Walensky, who announced she is leaving her job as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is shown testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in June 2022.

CDC director to depart in June

By Ariel Cohen and Lauren Clason
Posted May 5, 2023 at 3:12pm
Mifepristone and misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen in June at a New Mexico women's clinic that provides legal medication abortion services. The DOJ has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on a case that would ban the drug.

Supreme Court halts abortion drug case through Wednesday

By Michael Macagnone and Ariel Cohen
Posted April 14, 2023 at 10:57am, Updated at 5:19pm
ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn said the agency is part of the health research ecosystem and is there to "add a little bit of rocket fuel to it."

Health research focus could give NIH competition for funding

By Ariel Cohen
Posted March 30, 2023 at 7:00am
Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., right, and ranking member Rand Paul, R-Ky., attend a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee markup on March 15.

Lawmakers say reliance on China exacerbates drug shortages

By Ariel Cohen
Posted March 22, 2023 at 4:23pm
President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., at the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol on Friday.

Biden, McCarthy unite on Ireland at St. Patrick’s Day lunch

By Ariel Cohen
Posted March 17, 2023 at 3:29pm
Experts worry that a looming OB-GYN shortage will be exacerbated by confusion over disparate state laws on abortion in the aftermath of the reversal of Roe v. Wade as well as pandemic-related burnout and low reimbursement rates.

OB-GYN workforce shortages could worsen maternal health crisis

By Sandhya Raman and Ariel Cohen
Posted March 16, 2023 at 7:00am
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., says he will push for oversight hearings on the implementation of the law.

Surprise-billing lawsuits slow payments processes

By Ariel Cohen
Posted February 27, 2023 at 3:08pm
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday.

Biden mixes doable, aspirational health messages in speech

By Lauren Clason, Sandhya Raman, Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted February 9, 2023 at 7:01am
President Joe Biden, pictured here at a Cancer Moonshot event in Boston last September, will call on Congress to renew funding for the initiative during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.

Biden to push Congress for more funding for ‘cancer moonshot’

By Ariel Cohen
Posted February 7, 2023 at 4:44pm
Incoming Senate HELP Chairman Bernie Sanders has expressed worry about drug company plans to increase COVID-19 vaccine costs after the public health emergency ends.

End of public health emergency causes cascade of changes

By Sandhya Raman, Lauren Clason, Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted February 2, 2023 at 6:30am
The FDA’s Closer to Zero initiative, launched in 2021, aims to lower the amount of lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic in the food supply to the lowest levels possible.

FDA falls behind in review of heavy metals in baby food

By Ariel Cohen
Posted January 27, 2023 at 2:17pm
Diverse CBD products, including oils, gummies and hemp smokes, are displayed at Empire Standard, a hemp extract processing and distribution plant, in Binghamton, N.Y., on April 13, 2021.

FDA seeks end of regulatory wild west for CBD products

By Ariel Cohen
Posted January 26, 2023 at 1:35pm
The departure of Dr. Francis Collins, right, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has led to worries about key vacancies at NIH during a crucial period for the agency.

NIH missing top leadership at start of a divided Congress

By Ariel Cohen
Posted January 18, 2023 at 7:00am
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Sept. 14.

Post-pandemic, CDC faces ‘uphill battle’ for backing in new Congress

By Ariel Cohen
Posted December 15, 2022 at 5:00am
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, earlier this year on Capitol Hill. During an interview with CQ/Roll Call Wednesday, Walensky called for funding and authority to allow the agency to more nimbly respond to public health crises such as COVID-19 and mpox.

CDC head asks for COVID-19 funding, data as Hill interest fades

By Ariel Cohen and Lauren Clason
Posted December 7, 2022 at 4:54pm, Updated at 9:36pm
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the coronavirus during the White House press briefing on Tuesday.

New booster shots cut risk of symptomatic COVID-19

By Ariel Cohen and Lauren Clason
Posted November 22, 2022 at 2:38pm
A surge in respiratory illnesses has pediatric groups begging President Joe Biden and Congress to provide the resources to help them better respond.

Pediatricians beg for more federal help to fight wave of RSV

By Ariel Cohen
Posted November 16, 2022 at 10:41am
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., saw his victory margin increase threefold this year compared to a race against the same opponent in 2020.

New election, same result: Most incumbents win 2022 rematches

By Laura Weiss and Ariel Cohen
Posted November 15, 2022 at 6:00am
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, right, and Sen. Mark Warner, both D-Va., meet with reporters following a Prince William County early voting rally for Spanberger in Woodbridge, Va., on Sept. 24. Spanberger won a competitive reelection race Tuesday.

How vulnerable House incumbents fared in the 2022 midterms

By Laura Weiss, Jessica Wehrman, Jim Saksa, Aidan Quigley, Mary Ellen McIntire, Paul V. Fontelo, Ariel Cohen, Daniela Altimari and Kate Ackley
Posted November 8, 2022 at 11:18pm, Updated November 23, 2022 at 8:20pm
Cavapoo mix Teddy, held by owner and staffer Clarissa Rojas, celebrates his birthday in the Rayburn House Office Building on on Sept. 30. He gets a little help from Rep. Tony Cárdenas, left, and rapper Mase.

Who can lift up Congress? Maybe dogs

By Sandhya Raman and Ariel Cohen
Posted October 27, 2022 at 6:45am
A physician assistant talks with a man after he received the monkeypox vaccine at Families Together of Orange County in Tustin, Calif., in August. The Jynneos vaccine consists of two doses administered 28 days apart.

Monkeypox response looks to long term

By Ariel Cohen
Posted October 11, 2022 at 3:14pm
The north front of the White House is seen through the security fence in Washington on Thursday.

Biden announces sweeping pardon of federal marijuana possession convictions

By Niels Lesniewski and Ariel Cohen
Posted October 6, 2022 at 3:28pm
A physician assistant talks with a man after he received the monkeypox vaccine at Families Together of Orange County in Tustin, Calif., in August. The Jynneos vaccine consists of two doses administered 28 days apart.

Monkeypox response relies on trade-offs without federal aid

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 28, 2022 at 5:11pm
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha is worried about congressional reluctance to approve additional COVID -19 dollars.

Pandemic fatigue threatens COVID-19, monkeypox funding requests

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 14, 2022 at 3:11pm
A man holds the drug PrEP in November 2017 in South Africa.

Federal judge rules HIV drug mandate violates religious freedom

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 7, 2022 at 2:48pm
A Moderna COVID-19 vaccine awaits administration at a vaccination clinic in Los Angeles. A CDC advisory panel on Thursday recommended boosters designed to better respond to newer variants of the coronavirus.

CDC advisers back use of updated COVID-19 vaccine boosters

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 1, 2022 at 6:46pm
Residents line up at one of three walk-up D.C. Health Department monkeypox vaccination clinics in Washington earlier this month.

For CDC, monkeypox prevention focus remains on vaccines

By Ariel Cohen
Posted August 22, 2022 at 11:06am