Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
💊 🏛️ NBC News Medical Reporter covering health policy, drugs & federal agencies
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www.nbcnews.com/author/berkeley-lovelace-jr-ncpn1284341
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- Reposted by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.NEW: 'Thicket of red tape' for Medicaid in GOP bill sparks fears of coverage losses Doctors and critics warn that the work req’ts and stricter screenings that Republicans are rallying around will adversely impact rightful beneficiaries. w/ @berkeleyjr.bsky.social: www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- As we reported last week, Trump tomorrow is expected to sign an executive order aimed at lowering U.S. prescription drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medications to prices paid abroad. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Reposted by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.Autism experts and advocates expressed alarm after the Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday it intends to create a database of enrolled Medicare and Medicaid patients to support a study aimed at identifying the “root causes” of autism.
- New: Moderna’s combined Covid and flu mRNA shot outperformed the existing standalone vaccines in a phase 3 trial, per JAMA. But will the FDA — under Kennedy and Makary — allow it to move forward? www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- RFK Jr. and other top health officials have floated an idea for bringing down prescription drug costs: getting Americans to take fewer medications. Experts say the approach places too much blame on patients and overlooks key issues with drug pricing. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- The FDA’s decision to request that Novavax conduct another clinical trial for its Covid vaccine approval appears to be part of a broader strategy to slow-walk vaccine approvals. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Reposted by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.15 years after the law was enacted, the lawsuits continue: Supreme Court to hear challenge to Obamacare rule on free preventive care www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Some non health policy news: A pill developed by GSK was found to be safe and effective in treating gonorrhea in a late-stage clinical trial. If approved, it would become the first new class of antibiotic for the infection in more than two decades. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- In a statement, HHS spokes Andrew Nixon said Kennedy “is telling the truth that many Americans already know.” “For too long, the FDA has been captured by the very industries it is supposed to regulate. Calling this out and encouraging radical transparency is not controversial — it’s leadership.”
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent a portion of his speech on Friday to FDA staff deriding their past decisions, at one point saying that the agency “became a sock puppet” for the industries it was meant to regulate. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- The FDA’s former top vaccine regulator Dr. Peter Marks says Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “tepid endorsement” of the measles vaccine puts the U.S. at risk of losing its elimination status of the disease. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- NEW - Following Dr. Peter Marks’ ouster, other top officials have left or have been pushed out of the FDA division that approves certain drugs, gene therapies and vaccines. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- NEW - A team that tracked how well IVF worked across the U.S. was abruptly cut Tuesday as part of the sweeping HHS layoffs — shocking experts who felt encouraged by Trump’s support of the treatment. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- One thing I heard repeatedly today: Workers said their performance scores — given annually by supervisors to rate overall performance — cited in their termination notices were incorrect or inaccurate. Some were given a rating of 3, when in fact they had a 4 or 5.
- NEW - Layoffs began widely Tuesday morning at HHS as the agency sets out to cut some 10,000 full-time jobs www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- NEW - Layoffs began widely Tuesday morning at HHS as the agency sets out to cut some 10,000 full-time jobs www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- BREAKING: Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator, has resigned! A person familiar with the matter told NBC News that Marks was forced out of his position. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- The HHS job cuts are starting to take shape: Employees were informed to expect significant cuts in divisions focused on HIV prevention and minority health. Others were told today to take their laptops home in case they're terminated over the weekend. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- NEW - Thousands of federal workers were bracing for pink slips Friday as HHS Secretary RFK Jr. began dismantling the sprawling federal agency responsible for protecting America's health. Reporting w/ @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social and @corkysiemaszko.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- NEW - The FDA has approved Blujepa, the first drug in a new class of antibiotics for treating UTIs — the first time that’s happened in nearly 30 years. The pill, from GSK, is for women and girls 12+ with uncomplicated UTIs. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- The Senate Finance Committee votes 14-13 to advance Dr. Oz’s nomination to head the CMS.
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- NEW - 🍬 A nationwide push to ban artificial food dyes is gaining steam. States like WV cite RFK Jr.‘s “Make America Healthy Again” movement and concerns that dyes may affect kids’ behavior — a link the FDA is monitoring but hasn’t confirmed. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- NEW - The Trump administration is considering a plan to eliminate the CDC's division focused on HIV prevention and potentially move its responsibilities over to another department within HHS, according to a source familiar with the plan. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Meant to post yesterday: FDA staff returning to White Oak Monday dealt with overcrowded buses, long lines and packed parking lots —some even resorting to parking in the grass. “People are parking in the grass like we’re here for a Beyoncé concert.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
- Dr. Oz, Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, dodged questions from senators on Friday about whether he supports a House budget plan that could slash Medicaid. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- 🚨 DC Health has confirmed a measles case in a Maryland resident who visited multiple locations in the region while contagious. This case isn’t linked to the ongoing outbreak in Texas & New Mexico. dchealth.dc.gov/release/heal...
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- NEW - Dr. Marty Makary, Trump's FDA pick, said at his Senate confirmation hearing that he would review a Biden-era rule that allowed patients to get mifepristone without seeing a health care provider in person. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Dr. Marty Makary, Trump’s pick for FDA commissioner, begins confirmation hearing before the Senate HELP committee.
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- During his Senate confirmation hearing, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Trump’s NIH pick, appeared to be open to funding new studies investigating the long-debunked link between vaccines and autism. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- TODAY: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya — known for opposing Covid lockdowns — faces a Senate confirmation hearing to lead the NIH. He’d take over a $50B agency as the Trump admin eyes job cuts and RFK Jr. pushes to shift its focus from infectious diseases to chronic illness. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- A budget resolution adopted by House Republicans could jeopardize the health insurance coverage of millions of low-income and disabled people who rely on Medicaid if lawmakers follow through with their proposed spending cuts, experts warn. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- After the FDA canceled its vaccine committee meeting, should we be worried about next season’s flu shot supply? If strain selection happens later, it’ll be tight, but manufacturers will scramble to make it work, said Litjen Tan — though not any later than March. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Reposted by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.NEWS: The FDA abruptly canceled its upcoming advisory committee meeting to select the strains for next year's flu shot. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
- An FDA vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for March to select the strains to be included in next season's flu shot has been canceled, according to a panel member. Officials did not offer an explanation for the scrapped meeting. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- The Trump administration is reinstating some employees in the FDA's medical devices division after dozens were laid off as part of a government-wide cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk and his DOGE, according to two people familiar with the matter. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- BREAKING: A CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for next week — the first since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in — has been postponed, according to a senior HHS official. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- The U.S. has largely avoided vaccination as a strategy to eradicating bird flu in poultry, instead relying on culling infected flocks. With the escalating outbreak driving up egg prices to record highs, could that approach soon change? www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- Following mass firings from the Trump administration last week, Jim Jones, head of the FDA food division, has resigned www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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- Trump will attend a swearing-in ceremony at 2 p.m. ET for RFK Jr.’s appointment as HHS secretary, per the White House.
- Now that he’s got the job, RFK Jr. may struggle to navigate his new position as secretary of Health and Human Services as the agency contends with potential job cuts and the administration works to pursue Trump’s agendas. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Senate votes 52-48 to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who survived polio, was the only "no" vote from Republicans.
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- A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore webpages from the CDC and FDA that were suddenly taken down to comply with Trump’s executive order decrying “gender ideology.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
- Two CDC HIV sites are back online as of today: www.cdc.gov/hiv-data/ind... www.cdc.gov/hivnexus/hcp... The remaining HIV sites are still unavailable and will likely remain down permanently unless changes are made to adhere to the Trump administration's "gender ideology" policies, I’m told.
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- Reposted by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos, names and public information of a number of workers across health agencies, describing them as “targets.”
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- Scoop: Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos, names and public information of a number of workers across health agencies, describing them as “targets.” Reporting w/ Erika Edwards. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Senate Finance Committee votes 14-13 to advance RFK Jr's nomination to full Senate
- At the start of the Senate Finance hearing to consider RFK Jr.'s nomination for HHS, Sen. Wyden addresses the NYT report that Elon Musk’s aides have requested access to CMS systems that control contracts and payments. "Think about what they could do with abuse of the payment system," Wyden said.
- Trump’s executive order imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese imports is likely to drive up the cost of generic drugs in the U.S. and exacerbate drug shortages, experts say. China is playing an increasing role in manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo announced the committee will mark up the nomination of RFK Jr. to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday. www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-memb...
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- Scoop: The CDC on Friday is scrubbing a swath of HIV-related content from the agency’s website as a part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to wipe out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
