NIH Vax Harms Study; Dems Seek CDC Measles Briefing; HHS Pushes AI Despite Risks

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is constructing a new research center alongside a substantial study examining vaccine harms. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made unsubstantiated assertions during a speech at the Republicans' midterm convention, alleging Democrats had shuttered every church in the country for a year and that his officials had reversed a 30-year trend of declining life expectancy. Kennedy is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Children's Health Defense conference on Thursday.

Three lawmakers from the House Energy & Commerce Committee have written to CDC Director Erica Schwartz, MD, requesting an urgent briefing on the CDC's approach to the measles outbreak. The CDC has consolidated its influenza division with its coronavirus and other respiratory diseases division, a move slated since the Biden administration took office.

The American Medical Association has endorsed the Patients First Act, aiming to institute enduring changes to Medicare physician payment policies. This includes incorporating inflation-based reimbursement updates and modernizing budget neutrality policies. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proceeding with medical artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, including establishing AI reimbursement pathways for Medicare and obtaining FDA approval for numerous medical devices incorporating AI. This stands despite the associated risks.

Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, disclosed the identification of five instances where scientists tried to utilize its Claude AI program for creating toxins or other bioweapons. However, the company refrains from asserting that the researchers aimed to cause harm. The National Science Foundation announced a 10-page memo outlining its revised research priorities.

This includes abandoning the practice of providing individual grants and concentrating more on technology projects. Scientists find this proposal disconcerting.

A healthcare aide, Carrie Hughes, who has served Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) for 18 years, is detailed by The Hill. Medical school officials express apprehension that President Donald Trump's anti-diversity initiatives in education could impede their efforts to attract more ethnic minorities.

The Trump administration's crackdown on Medicaid fraud has deprived children with autism of legitimate services. An analysis suggests that the administration's Most Favored Nation pricing policy could compel pharmaceutical firms to increase prices or postpone product launches.