Meg Tirrell

CDC deputy director abruptly departs agency | CNN Dr. Ralph Abraham has stepped down as principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency said Monday.

Abraham, who was sworn in as principal deputy director of CDC Dec. 15, has stepped down effective immediately. CDC says he "chose to step down to address unforeseen family obligations" www.cnn.com/2026/02/23/h...

FDA refuses to review Moderna’s application for mRNA flu vaccine, company says | CNN The US Food and Drug Administration has refused to accept an application from Moderna to review its first mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, the company said Tuesday, in another setback for the technology tha...

FDA refuses to review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine application, company says www.cnn.com/2026/02/10/h...

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary tells @cnn.com's Brianna Keilar that Hims & Hers compounded semaglutide pill "appears to be crossing that line" of being a mass-marketed copycat drug

"We're looking at it very carefully, and if we do see the violations that we're suspecting, we will take swift action"

South Carolina measles outbreak is largest in US since measles was declared eliminated | CNN The fast-growing measles outbreak in South Carolina is now the largest in the United States since the disease was declared eliminated in this country more than two decades ago.

With 89 new measles cases reported Tuesday, South Carolina’s outbreak has now surpassed the size of last year’s record-breaking one in West Texas: www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/h...

South Carolina measles outbreak is growing incredibly fast. Another 124 cases reported Friday to a total of 558. 531 people in quarantine dph.sc.gov/news/friday-...

South Carolina adds 124 new measles cases since Friday - cases in the state have doubled in the last week, now to 434. 409 people are in quarantine: dph.sc.gov/news/tuesday...

South Carolina's 99 measles cases Friday come on top of 26 Tuesday - the last time the US recorded 100+ cases in a week was at the height of the West Texas outbreak in March/April 2025: www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/h...

South Carolina adds 99 new measles cases since Tuesday, bringing total in its outbreak to 310. State epidemiologist tells us holiday gatherings, low vaccination rates are contributing: dph.sc.gov/news/friday-...

Really enjoyed this conversation with @stephenvliu.bsky.social & @nealaugenstein.bsky.social - thank you!

CNBC Cures: Understanding rare disease CNBC's Becky Quick discuss the launch of CNBC Cures, a new initiative focused on raising awareness for rare diseases and improving outcomes for people who have them.

Nobody knows more about rare diseases than parents of kids who have them. My friend and former CNBC colleague Becky Quick this morning launched a new project focused on them, starting by sharing her family’s story: www.cnbc.com/video/2026/0...

New US dietary guidelines urge less sugar, more protein – and make a nod to beef tallow | CNN New US dietary guidelines released Wednesday echo past advice, but also include some nods to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement — urgi...

RFK Jr et al's new, inverted food pyramid: www.cnn.com/2026/01/07/h...

HHS will overhaul childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots | CNN The US Department of Health and Human Services will recommend fewer vaccines for most American children, health officials said Monday.

Other recommended vaccines move to shared clinical decisionmaking (ie flu, rotavirus) or for high-risk groups (RSV - if mother didn't receive vaccine, hepatitis A, meningococcal disease)

HHS says all insurers will still cover them all

Story from @owermohle.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2026/01/05/h...

HHS & CDC are editing the US childhood vaccine schedule to resemble other countries', ie Denmark's -

Routine recommendations remain for:

diphtheria
tetanus
pertussis
Hib
pneumococcal conjugate
polio
measles, mumps, rubella
HPV (1 dose vs 2)
chickenpox

(1/2)

The FDA is finalizing plans to put a "black box" warning on Covid-19 vaccines, sources tell CNN, its most serious alert meant to warn about drug risks.
https://cnn.it/4rRBxy5

You know you’re of a certain age when you find yourself traveling and really excited to get home to your really awesome humidifier

Live updates: CDC advisers to vote on hepatitis B vaccine practice | CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting today on what could be a major change to the childhood vaccination schedule. Follow here for live updates.

CNN is live again from day 2 of the CDC's meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is scheduled to vote this AM on the hepatitis B vaccine universal birth dose recommendation. Follow along here, on the CNN app and on TV: www.cnn.com/health/live-...

Live updates: CDC vaccine advisors meeting to discuss childhood vaccine schedule | CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting today, and they could vote on possible changes to the childhood vaccination schedule. Follow here for live updates fro...

CNN is live from the CDC for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting, where today a vote is scheduled on whether to abandon the universal recommendation for a hepatitis B vaccine newborn dose. Follow live updates here, on the CNN app and on TV: www.cnn.com/health/live-...

MMR Vaccines President Trump and his health officials have called for the MMR vaccine to be split into three separate shots. Public health experts warn this is a bad idea - and they know because we've been here before. Here's what happened.

President Trump & his health officials have been calling to split the MMR vaccine into 3 shots. In a new CNN Explains episode, we look at what this might mean - using history as a guide: www.cnn.com/videos/title...

Confirmation hearing delayed for Trump’s surgeon general nominee as she goes into labor with her first child | CNN The Senate hearing for President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, is postponed as the nominee goes into labor with her first child, according to a Senate Health, Education ...

Confirmation hearing for Trump’s surgeon general nominee, Casey Means, is postponed… as she goes into labor

From @owermohle.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/10/30/h...

Trump’s $150 Ozempic? Oz cautions it’s not a done deal, but patients and doctors say it could be a gamechanger | CNN Doctors called it “huge for patients,” if true. Patients who’ve struggled to afford the pricey medicines shared hope the price could be reached. Stocks of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly fell significantly...

Trump suggested he might get GLP-1 prices down to $150

Oz warned it’s not a done deal

But what if it was? www.cnn.com/2025/10/17/h...

Trump received Covid vaccine and flu shot during second physical of the year | CNN Politics President Donald Trump received a Covid vaccine and flu shot during his visit to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday, his physician said in a memo released by the White House.

President Trump got an updated Covid vaccine & flu shot at Walter Reed today www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/p...

TrumpRx The lowest prescription prices in America. Coming January 2026.

Meanwhile, a landing page for TrumpRx is up: trumprx.gov

"We pressed the White House to specifically address Trump’s promised “1,000%” decrease. His team responded only on condition of anonymity. This time, they said they had an example: in 2023, a certain drug was listed for $521 in the US versus just $45 in Australia, so the US price was roughly 1,000% higher. But reducing the US price of this drug from $521 to $45 would be a 91% decrease, not a 1,000% cut. If the president wanted to say that some drugs cost 1,000% more in the US than in other countries, he could simply say that; instead, he has stuck with the phony claim of a looming 1,000% cut."

In AstraZeneca drug pricing announcement just now, Trump said some of its meds would get discounts of as much as 654% through TrumpRx

Which is mathematically impossible

But @ddale8.bsky.social looked into this before - and got the White House to explain its math: www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/p...

Pillow being sold by West Elm that features a tennis court with at least three players on each side, plus more around the edges

Love the thought, West Elm, but what kind of tennis game has this many players on the court?

RFK Jr.’s HHS killed a research grant to investigate vaccine safety, then asked the researcher to publicly present results | CNN About 90 seconds into his presentation on Covid-19 vaccine safety at a closely watched meeting of advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month, Dr. Bruce Carleton made a st...

If you tuned in to last month’s ACIP mtg, there was a weird moment when a presenter invited by RFK Jr’s ACIP said that his research grant had been canceled abruptly, so he could only present preliminary results

It then got weirder; HHS denied it

Here’s the whole story www.cnn.com/2025/10/04/h...

Stock chart of Pfizer, showing shares rose 6.83% to end the day at $25.48, with a market cap of $144.87 billion

Pfizer's stock rose 6.83% today after its drug pricing deal with the White House

That added about $9.3B in market value

TrumpRx prescription drug discounts Eucrisa- dermatitis - 80% discount Duavee- osteoporosis- 85% discount Zavzpret- migraine - 50% discount Xeljanz- rheumatoid arthritis - 40% discount

TrumpRx program promises discounts of 40-85% for Americans buying drugs directly from manufacturers

White House fact sheet says discounts are off list prices

Pfizer’s Xeljanz list price = $6,073/month

40% discount = $3,643/month

@dusetzinas.bsky.social: “How is this a reasonable cash price?”

CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten today on RFK Jr’s approval ratings

Trump goes beyond his own FDA with Tylenol warning | CNN President Donald Trump warned against Tylenol use during pregnancy, overstating its link to autism and contradicting some of the FDA’s guidance. CNN’s Meg Tirrell examines the FDA’s letter to doctors ...

Trump’s directives on Tylenol on Monday, compared with communications from the FDA: www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/h...

(I was looking for how to prepare acorn squash… CSA help needed!)