Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RFK Jr. Pushes Parental Choice In Floridians' Vaccine Uptake, Adds 'People Should Get The Measles' Shot
With measles cases on the rise and a report of the nation's first two deaths linked to the disease this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reiterated his call for people to get vaccinated but also accused Pennsylvania authorities of failing to cooperate with federal agencies on the matter. (Sheridan, 8/26)
An infant was among the two "measles-associated deaths" in Pennsylvania, the state health department confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday. Both individuals from Lancaster County were unvaccinated. The health department said they classify a death as "measles associated" when there is evidence of measles, either through laboratory testing or epidemiological links. The specific cause of death will be determined by the county coroner, whose investigation into the infant’s death is ongoing. (Benadjaoud and Kekatos, 8/27)
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Arielle Zionts reads the week’s news: Pediatricians try to persuade more parents to vaccinate their kids amid measles outbreaks. Plus, how hospital monopolies drive up costs for patients and insurers. (8/20)
In other public health news —
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday added 3,285 infections to its 2026 Cyclospora total, which includes all outbreaks, raising the tally to 17,180 cases, compared with 1,180 cases through August last year. The CDC also said it is investigating an additional 11,844 cases that are not yet lab-confirmed. “Recent illnesses may not yet be reported due to the time it takes to identify and report Cyclospora cases. It can take about six weeks from the start of symptoms to when CDC receives the case information,” the CDC said. (Soucheray, 8/26)
The Illinois Department of Public Health has confirmed its first case of West Nile virus in 2026. The confirmed case was identified in a Piatt County resident. Additionally, IDPH said there are three other probable but unconfirmed cases in northern Illinois. (Reichardt and Schlueter, 8/26)
From 1999 to 2023, the US age-adjusted adult death rate from influenza and pneumonia plummeted 29.2%, with the only statistically significant rise in crude death rates in adults aged 55 to 64, per a study published in Medicine. Researchers in China examined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WONDER public death repository to identify those caused primarily by flu or pneumonia. (Van Beusekom, 8/26)
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), eight other professional societies, and a patient advocacy group yesterday released a position paper aimed at improving sepsis outcomes in US hospitals. (Dall, 8/26)
Efforts to develop a vaccine against the strain of Ebola driving the deadly outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo are expanding, with an experimental shot developed by an Egypt-based pharmaceutical company set to advance toward human testing. Minapharm Group will receive as much as $16.5 million to move its Bundibugyo Ebola virus vaccine through preclinical development and into an early-stage clinical trial expected to take place in Africa, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said Thursday. It becomes the fifth Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidate backed by CEPI since the outbreak began. (Gale, 8/27)
