�������ýҕ�l

The U.S. military will no longer require service members to get an annual flu shot according to a post Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the social media platform X. “The War Department is once again restoring freedom to our Joint Force,” the secretary wrote. The flu vaccine has been required annually for U.S. military personnel since the 1950s. (Kime, 4/21)

On Wednesday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. finishes up his blitz of hearings at two consequential Senate committees: Finance and HELP, which stands for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. (Simmons-Duffin, 4/22)

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress on Tuesday that he has not faced pressure from the White House to scale back his vaccine skepticism, even as a top Trump health adviser recognized “ongoing conversations about where to prioritize.” The denial contradicts a mounting body of reporting from sources inside the Trump administration who say the White House is keeping Kennedy on a tighter leash ahead of the midterm elections as a way of courting moderate voters. (Choi, 4/21)

Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) during a House hearing on Tuesday expressed her frustration with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noting that he "managed to give a 'Go Gators' from the witness table, but not a 'Go [vitamin] K shot.'" (Frieden, 4/21)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. snapped at Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) on Tuesday after the lawmaker said he wished Kennedy would spend “less time talking about whale heads, bear heads and raccoon parts.” The exchange came as Carter’s time for questioning wound down during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services’ fiscal year 2027 budget. (Brams, 4/21)

Bill Cassidy’s roles as a lawmaker, a doctor and a political candidate will collide on Wednesday as he questions Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in two high-stakes Senate hearings. The Louisiana Republican chairs one of the Senate committees that oversees Kennedy’s department and sits on another, giving him two chances to interrogate the secretary about his plans for an agency responsible for public health programs and research. As a doctor, Cassidy has clashed with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine ideas even though he provided crucial support for the health secretary’s nomination last year. (Swenson, 4/22)

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday refused to commit to supporting the vaccine recommendations of President Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nominee, Dr. Erica Schwartz, has publicly supported immunizations and drawn applause from mainstream public health leaders. “If Dr. Schwartz is confirmed, will you commit on the record today to implement whatever vaccine guidance she issues without interference?” Representative Raul Ruiz, Democrat of California, asked Mr. Kennedy during a tense hearing on Capitol Hill, the secretary’s fourth congressional hearing since last Thursday. (Jewett and Gay Stolberg, 4/21)

A new wave of attacks from conservatives is further imperiling President Donald Trump’s pick for surgeon general — and testing the power of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign to combat chronic disease. Casey Means’ nomination was already stalled in the Senate over concerns she’s insufficiently supportive of vaccines, and now Republican factions from anti-abortion activists to anti-drug warriors are starting to pile on. (Friedman and Ollstein, 4/21)

Vani Hari has 2.3 million followers on Instagram, and about as many ideas for healthy food swaps. An entrepreneur and influential food activist in the Make America Healthy Again movement, Hari gives regular shout-outs to substitutes for snacks that contain corn syrup, seed oils, and other ingredients on health-conscious Americans’ blacklist. (Todd, 4/22)

Steak 'n Shake has tapped its first-ever chief MAHA officer, marking a new step in the fast-food chain's push toward what it describes as healthier, more transparent ingredients. Michael Boes will take on the new executive role, which is "dedicated to advancing nutritional integrity, ingredient transparency and the healthiness of our products," the Indianapolis-based company announced Tuesday on social media. The move aligns with the brand's broader embrace of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. (Bardolf, 4/21)

Moderna is launching a large-scale clinical trial of a shot to combat bird flu in humans after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department had canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in funding previously committed to aid in vaccine development. The company is developing the vaccine using messenger RNA (mRNA), which is the technology used in the most commonly administered coronavirus vaccines and was hailed during President Donald Trump’s first term as a major medical achievement. It has since come under intense scrutiny from Kennedy and other conservatives, and the Department of Health and Human Services last year announced a winding down of investments in 22 mRNA vaccine development projects. (Roubein, 4/22)

The lack of updated federal vaccine recommendations early in the 2025-26 US respiratory virus season—and a statement in May 2025 by the Health and Human Services secretary advising against COVID vaccines for children and pregnant women—created uncertainty for states with vaccine regulations based on federal guidance, leading most to strengthen and/or weaken COVID-19 vaccine access, with long-term implications for future vaccine policy, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 4/21)