Bill Treats mRNA Vaccines as ‘Weapons’; Brain Drain Begins? New Ice Bucket Challenge
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Health news and commentary gathered by MedPage Today staff
by
MedPage Today Staff
April 23, 2025 • 3 min read
Note that some links may require registration or subscription. MedPage Today is collecting stories of HHS staffers across all agencies affected by Trump administration cuts. If you want to share your story, please email MPT_Editorial@everydayhealth.com or contact Kristina Fiore, director of enterprise and investigative reporting, on Signal at KristinaMedPage.64.
A bill introduced by Republicans in the Minnesota state legislature calls mRNA vaccines “weapons of mass destruction” and if passed would carry punishment of up to 20 years in prison for possessing or administering them. (News From The States)
In his effort to search for causes of autism, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will gain access to Americans’ private medical records and create a registry to track people with autism. (CBS News)
Autism’s causes will be found “within the next year,” NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, said, in contrast to Kennedy’s prediction of answers by September. (CBS News)
Meanwhile, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) asked Kennedy to restore the jobs of laid-off CDC employees who worked to protect the health of coal miners. (Reuters)
In Iowa, use of psilocybin — “magic mushrooms” — to treat psychiatric problems would be legal under a bill passed by the state’s House of Representatives. (The Hill)
The measles outbreak in Texas has now topped 600 cases. (AP)
Medicaid cuts under consideration by Republicans in Congress could lead to 30,000 additional deaths, a liberal think tank estimated. (The Hill)
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has gained access to 19 sensitive systems at HHS. (Wired)
A U.S. science “brain drain” in the wake of cuts to research? It might be starting. (Nature)
On a related note, the National Science Foundation canceled research grants for studies that involved misinformation and disinformation. (Nieman Lab)
And Splinter explores the effects on medical research from the loss of government contracts.
Birth rates in the U.S. remain at historic lows, a provisional CDC report of 2024 births indicated.
Nearly half of Americans are exposed to unhealthy air pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s 2025 State of the Air report.
The Defense Department needs to do a better job of monitoring prenatal and postnatal mental health screenings for beneficiaries in its TRICARE insurance program, the Government Accountability Office found.
Clinics providing reproductive health services to low-income women are depleting their cash while they wait to find out the fate of the federal grants that have been frozen by the Trump administration. (Politico)
Meanwhile, a district court judge temporarily blocked two anti-abortion laws in Wyoming, making abortion accessible again in the state. (Wyoming Public Media)
In Florida, doctors are turning away unvaccinated kids in need of treatment, according to the state’s controversial surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD. (Newsweek)
Lack of staff at Timberline Knolls, a mental health facility outside of Chicago, has led to dangerous conditions and allegations of sexual assault. (New York Times)
In other federal government layoff developments, HHS is planning to shutter the 988 hotline service specifically aimed at LGBTQ+ youth; in February, the service got 2,100 calls per day. (Mother Jones)
It took 37 procedures and 26 doctors before Nika Beamon found out what was wrong with her. (USA Today)
The “ice bucket challenge” is back — but this time it’s for mental health awareness. (New York Times)
More than 30 people fell ill with a gastrointestinal virus while on a Viking cruise in Canada. (USA Today)
