kiley koscinski

The plan to vaccinate all Americans, despite RFK Jr. The extraordinary effort to create a parallel system of recommending and perhaps even providing vaccines faces major challenges.

Health groups are mobilizing behind the scenes to preserve access for vaccines as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. works to upend the nation’s decades-old vaccine system, according to public health experts.

Therapists, doctors urge UPMC to ‘fight back,’ reinstate gender-affirming care for trans youth In an open letter to UPMC administrators, physicians, therapists, nurses and specialists call on the health system to continue to provide gender-affirming care services for young patients. Providers t...

UPMC is winding down gender-affirming care for young trans patients this month, citing “federal directives.”

Now, more than 100 UPMC doctors, therapists and staff are demanding the health system reverse course and use its “immense resources” to “fight back.”
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...

ProPublica Sued the FDA for Withholding Records About the Safety of Generic Drugs The agency declined to quickly release documents that would identify drugs made at some of the most troubled foreign factories. The request was part of ProPublica’s ongoing investigation into the safe...

NEW: ProPublica has sued the FDA, accusing the agency of withholding information about the safety and availability of generic drugs critical to millions of Americans.

Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs A ProPublica investigation found that for more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.

NEW: A ProPublica investigation found that for more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.

CDC backtracks on layoffs, rehires more than 400 people Around half of those employees are in the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention.

The CDC is rehiring more than 400 people who had received layoff notices.

Around half of those employees are in the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention.

www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference on the Autism report by the CDC at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 16, 2025. The text reads, “RFK Jr. removes all members of key vaccine committee, will replace them with his own picks.” AP Photo by Jose Luis Magana.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was removing the entire membership of the influential vaccine advisory panel that makes immunization recommendations for the United States. wapo.st/43zDOE2

Trump asks Congress to wipe out funding for public broadcasting President Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back the $1.1 billion in federal subsidies for public broadcasting that Congress approved earlier this year. His request also includes cuts to foreign aid.

President Trump took yet another step Tuesday to place NPR and PBS at the center of his broader clash with major cultural institutions, formally asking Congress to take back the $1.1 billion it has set aside for all public broadcasters for the next two years.

Bishop Eckman takes over leadership of Pittsburgh diocese as Bishop Zubik retires Bishop David A. Zubik, who has led the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh since 2007, is stepping down. Pope Leo XIV appointed Auxiliary Bishop Mark A. Eckman to fill the role.

Bishop David A. Zubik, who has led the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh since 2007, is stepping down. Pope Leo XIV has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Mark A. Eckman to fill the role.

Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn't warning the public like it was months ago Some of the CDC's main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent.

Some of the CDC's main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent.

As Trump scales back federal drug programs, Pittsburgh’s recovery providers face hard choices Programs aimed at combating the opioid epidemic in Pittsburgh face an uncertain future under the Trump administration's budget proposal.

Federal funding to support harm reduction initiatives could disappear under President Trump’s budget proposal, which calls for major cuts to agencies tasked with fighting the opioid epidemic. At the same time, local groups say they have no clear indications about government support beyond 2025.

University of Pittsburgh leaders responded to demand for a more aggressive response to the Trump admin's funding cuts during a town hall meeting today.

They also hinted at cost-cutting measures like shrinking Pitt's laboratory footprint and pursuing corporate-sponsored research opportunities. ⬇️

Use of No-Cost Preventive Services Jeopardized by Kennedy v Braidwood This cross-sectional study analyzes the use of 10 no-cost preventive services by individuals with employer-sponsored health insurance, which may be threatened by the upcoming Kennedy v Braidwood Supre...

Today the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the ACA's mandate to cover preventative care services with no cost sharing. A new study led by @jsalomon.bsky.social shows that nearly 1 in 3 people with private health insurance use the top 10 of these services.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

DOGE begins to freeze health-care payments for extra review DOGE is putting new curbs on billions of dollars in federal grants, requiring officials to manually review and approve payments that were previously routine.

“All funding is on hold,” an NIH official told colleagues at a meeting on Thursday, according to audio. “The bottom line is no one is getting any money right now. But they don’t know they’re not getting any money because it just says that it’s ‘in transit.’”

A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data A whistleblower tells Congress and NPR that DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data and hid its tracks. "None of that ... information should ever leave the agency," said a former NLRB official.

EXCLUSIVE: A whistleblower tells Congress and NPR that DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data and hid its tracks. "None of that ... information should ever leave the agency," said a former NLRB official.

NIH scientists have a cancer breakthrough. Layoffs are delaying it. A big step forward in cancer therapy has been slowed by layoffs and new restrictions at the National Institutes of Health, where it was developed.

DOGE-induced delays in trials at the NIH Clinical Center

(Dr. Steve) Rosenberg said. “Right now, assuming things don’t get any worse, it would be a month [delay]. These are not patients that have very many months left.”

This seemed inevitable but is still a big deal...

wapo.st/4j8Hwd1 (Gift link)

Allegheny County’s new public health lab faces federal funding uncertainty The Allegheny County Health Department was joined by state and local officials Monday to mark the opening of a new public health lab. But federal funds to outfit the lab with new equipment are under q...

Allegheny County debuted its new public health lab in Warrendale Monday. The facility can run 8 times as many tests as the county’s previous lab in Lawrenceville.

But Trump admin funding threats loom over the last $20M needed for new equipment.
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...

Pittsburgh state rep. pushes new protections for Pennsylvania’s abortion clinics Pittsburgh-area state Rep. Lindsay Powell is urging Harrisburg lawmakers to enshrine into Pennsylvania law a federal act that protects abortion clinics from threats and damages.

Pittsburgh-area state Rep. Lindsay Powell is rallying in Harrisburg today, urging lawmakers to enshrine into Pennsylvania law a federal act that protects abortion clinics from threats and damages.

Asian grocery stores, a lifeline for immigrants, brace for steep new tariffs Asian grocery stores are a lifeline to the communities they serve. But store owners say the prospect of sweeping tariffs are threatening their ability to stock up on goods and keep prices affordable.

Asian grocery stores are a lifeline to the communities they serve. But store owners say the prospect of sweeping tariffs are threatening their ability to stock up on goods and keep prices affordable.

Why a small journal’s ‘blueprint for NIH’ may offer clues to the agency's future A paper proposing NIH reforms is circulating in academic circles and within the agency as scientists search for hints of its direction

People who are trying to figure out where the NIH goes in the future are turning to a small, 2 month old journal bc of its connection to the new director, Jay Bhattacharya

As one expert put it: "Is this what Jay thinks? If that’s the case, then we worry" 🧪

www.statnews.com/2025/04/03/a...

As hospitals grapple with Trump’s gender-affirming care ban, young people are caught in the middle President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January demanding medical institutions that receive federal funding cease gender-affirming care for patients under 19. Despite a court order blockin...

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January demanding medical institutions that receive federal funding cease gender-affirming care for patients under 19. Despite a court order blocking enforcement of the policy, hospitals such as UPMC have yielded to the new restrictions.

Pennsylvania joins lawsuit against HHS federal cuts to health departments and programs A lawsuit led by Democratic state attorneys general and governors seeks to stop the Trump administration from cutting grant money to local health programs.

A coalition of states including Pennsylvania is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop the termination of $11 billion in grant funding to public health departments and programs.

Hearing from all corners of HHS this morning about a total bloodletting — firings of scientists, analysts and many more as delayed RIFs take effect.

Many folks didn’t see early AM email and showed up, only to be turned away when badges didn’t work. Was sent this photo of long lines at one HHS site.

After canceled book event, protesters demand town halls from McCormick and Fetterman After a ticketed book event featuring Pennsylvania's senators was canceled in Pittsburgh, hundreds of protesters gathered at Schenley Plaza in Oakland to demand an audience with Democrat John Fetterma...

After a ticketed book event featuring Pennsylvania's senators was canceled in Pittsburgh, hundreds of protesters gathered at Schenley Plaza in Oakland to demand an audience with Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dave McCormick.

Allegheny County expands jail's opioid use disorder treatment program The in-house unit will enable jail staff to treat incarcerated individuals suffering with opioid use disorder even if they don’t have an existing prescription for treatment. The jail has also expanded...

The Allegheny County Jail has opened an in-house licensed opioid treatment medication unit. The unit, which began operations last week, expands the jail’s ability to treat incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder.

PPS postpones next phase in school closure process after parents call for more data Administrators’ decision followed concerns from parents, teachers, and even Pittsburgh City Council, about a lack of data on the repercussions of the school closures.

Administrators’ decision followed concerns from parents, teachers, and even Pittsburgh City Council, about a lack of data on the repercussions of the school closures, including future feeder patterns in the Hill District and East End.

Live updates: HHS will cut 10,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs are a “direct attack” on his country and that the trade war is hurting Americans, noting that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low.

BREAKING: The United States' top health agency announces it will cut 10,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan.

For Some Measles Patients, Vitamin A Remedy Supported by RFK Jr. Leaves Them More Ill After the health secretary promoted vitamin A as a cure, parents in West Texas began giving their children high doses, sometimes to prevent infection.

“Physicians at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, say they’ve now treated a handful of children who were given so much vitamin A that they had signs of liver damage.
Some of them had received unsafe doses of supplements for several weeks in an attempt to prevent a measles infection”

DOGE says it needs to know the government's most sensitive data, but can't say why DOGE staffers have skirted privacy laws, training and security protocols to gain virtually unfettered access to financial and personal information stored in siloed government databases.

NEW: An @npr.org review of thousands of pages of records across more than a dozen federal lawsuits finds an alarming pattern across agencies, where DOGE has given conflicting information about what data it has accessed, who has that access, and most importantly — why. w/@jennamclaughlin.bsky.social

Pittsburgh-area Republicans look to compete up and downballot as 2025 ballots take shape Local Republicans appear to have made good on a pledge to contest every municipal race in the city of Pittsburgh this year, and they have also fielded a candidate in the race for Allegheny County sher...

Get your candidates for the top 2025 local races in Allegheny County right here folks. Includes the names of the 22 candidates seeking one of the 8 Common Pleas Court slots.

www.wesa.fm/politics-gov...

Stressed by current events? Instead of unplugging, a Pittsburgh psychology researcher says lean in With economic uncertainty, nonstop action in Washington D.C., plus natural disasters like wildfires and historic floods, the news can feel overwhelming. A psychology researcher argues one way to cope ...

Keeping up with the news can be stressful. Psychology experts often advise unplugging, but David Creswell, a social psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University, is championing another approach: He wants people to lean into the discomfort.