Jen Kates

10 year old: "you can't understand my social dynamics because you are from the 20th century” 🤦👀

Ohio had already made changes awhile back (not related to the start of this administration, which is what we were tracking). In Ohio, you can get a flu or COVID-19 vaccine without a prescription:https://www.pharmacy.ohio.gov/documents/pubs/messages/2024-09-25%20e-news%20september%202024.pdf

26 states have moved to allow pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccines without an Rx (5 do so for other vaccines).

13 states require state-regulated insurers to cover COVID-19 vaccines at no cost (4 for other vaccines).

22 states rely on non-federal sources for vaccine guidelines.

Tracking State Actions on Vaccine Policy and Access | KFF With recent federal actions to curtail vaccine access, many states have announced actions intended to maintain broader access. This issue brief provides a snapshot of this rapidly changing landscape, ...

NEW: We analyzed recent state actions on vaccine policy, given narrowing federal guidelines. Overall, 26 states have taken some action; of these, 23 have Democratic governors, signaling a growing red/blue divide in vaccine access. @kff.org Key findings in next post ⬇️
www.kff.org/covid-19/tra...

States rally to offset fracturing of federal healthcare agencies: ‘Diseases don’t see state lines’ Changes to regulatory or information environments will help states decouple from federal health recommendations

The pressure is increasingly falling on states to navigate recommendations and new federal rules.

Before, "in general, it didn’t matter where you lived,” said @jenkatesdc.bsky.social. “Now it does.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

ACIP, CDC, and Insurance Coverage of Vaccines in the United States | KFF This brief provides an overview of vaccine coverage requirements by payer or program, as they relate to ACIP and the CDC.

Currently, private insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid require no-cost coverage of vaccines, which is connected to recommendations made by ACIP and CDC.

If these recommendations are removed, people could face out-of-pocket costs.

We explain:

ACIP, CDC, and Insurance Coverage of Vaccines in the United States | KFF This brief provides an overview of vaccine coverage requirements by payer or program, as they relate to ACIP and the CDC.

With federal changes to vaccine policy & recommendations underway, here's our overview of insurance coverage requirements for vaccines by payer, as linked to ACIP/CDC. As we show, federal changes mean consumers could lose access to free vaccines.
www.kff.org/other/issue-...

Based on our analysis of the current status of PEPFAR programming, it's hard to see how the 85% could be reached. www.kff.org/global-healt...

Department Press Briefing - June 10, 2025 - United States Department of State 2:21 p.m. EDT MS BRUCE: Good, there’s air conditioning in here. (Laughter.) Very good it’s air conditioned. Beautiful June day. Hi, everybody. QUESTION: Hello. QUESTION: Hi. MS BRUCE: Fox – those folk...

From 6/10 @StateDept press briefing on the PEPFAR 85%: it's an estimated 85% of beneficiaries who 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be receiving lifesaving treatment & PMTC services based on 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 of 𝘢𝘭𝘭 operational active awards.
www.state.gov/briefings/de...

Re the ACIP "purge" to "restore public trust". As many have noted, ACIP members are independent, vetted, & follow strict COI rules.
Those dismissed? Almost all are MDs & specialists in pediatrics, infectious diseases, epi, and others head primary care centers.

Administration Releases Additional Details of Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request | KFF On May 30, 2025, the administration released additional details of its Fiscal Year 2026 budget request, including more specific information on funding for global health activities at the State Departm...

The Trump administration released its FY 2026 budget request on May 30. Here's our read-out on how global health programs fare. From what is known thus far, there's a more than $6 billion proposed cut (plus more in the rescission package)
www.kff.org/global-healt...

Federal Vaccine Advisory Committees: Roles and Current Issues | KFF This brief describes four key federal vaccine advisory committees and discusses policy issues and questions they currently face. The four committees are the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Ad...

With changes in vaccine policy underway, @joshmich.bsky.social and I just published a brief on the key independent vaccine advisory bodies that, in the past, were typically consulted before most federal vaccine decisions: VRBPAC, ACIP, NVAC, and ACCV.
www.kff.org/other/issue-...

hopefully! Though w/o a specific rec, I think it is not necessarily guaranteed? Or at least could be challenged as such.

The CDC vaccine schedule is now updated; COVID-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for healthy pregnant woman. This means there will no longer be mandated insurance coverage, even if a decision were to be made by a pregnant woman and her doctor that getting vaccinated was important.

If you're interested in the status of U.S. global health programs, given the foreign aid review and funding cuts, here are our resources.
www.kff.org/tag/global-h...

MCC compacts with countries follow international treaty law, so ending these compacts is akin to breaking treaties.
www.gao.gov/assets/b-327...

DOGE is shutting down foreign aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation The agency is offering voluntary early retirement or deferred resignations to its 320 employees and planning to terminate grants to developing countries around the world.

Have to admit, shuttering MCC wasn't (yet) on my bingo card. MCC has been the one U.S. development agency many pointed to as having the approach and accountability mechanisms the rest of the U.S. development enterprise should emulate.

www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

“Treatment is being interrupted in Africa because of this, and…it could also create the spread of a drug-resistant virus.”

@jenkatesdc.bsky.social on our latest episode of One Thing Trump Did, about halting some AIDS relief funding around the world.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The Trump Administration's Foreign Aid Review: Status of PEPFAR | KFF Fact sheet examining actions taken by the Trump administration and their impact on PEPFAR.

Interested in knowing how the Trump administration's #foreignaid review is affecting PEPFAR and other U.S. global health programs? We have a series of new program impact fact sheets (more to come).
www.kff.org/global-healt...

KFF graphic featuring a quote from Jennifer Kates, KFF Senior Vice President and Director of Global Health & HIV Policy. It says, “Taken together, if approved, these proposed budget cuts and other changes would fundamentally alter the nation’s HIV response which, along with the many other changes being proposed at HHS, does not bode well for making further gains in the fight against HIV.”

⚡ KFF’s @jenkatesdc.bsky.social writes about how the fate of the nation’s HIV prevention response is unclear given the Trump administration’s proposed budget changes and planned restructuring. #QuickTake on.kff.org/4jDAddk

ICYMI: Due to the Trump administration's cuts to PEPFAR, leading to ARV shortages and stock-outs, the @who.int had to issue guidance on how to handle HIV treatment interruptions.
www.who.int/news-room/qu...

Global health funding would be cut by 55%. This cut is twice as steep as the first budget request from Trump in 2017. Back then, Congress rejected his proposed cuts....

Children Seeking Cholera Care Die After U.S. Cuts Aid, Charity Says The victims died on a grueling three-hour walk in scorching heat as they tried to reach the nearest remaining health facility, officials of Save the Children said.

"Children Seeking Cholera Care Die After U.S. Cuts Aid, Charity Says"
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/w...

What Do Federal Staffing Cuts and HHS Restructuring Mean for the Nation’s HIV Response? | KFF This policy watch examines the impact of federal staff cuts and HHS restructuring on the nation's HIV response.

Today we released a new piece that consolidates information on recent HIV related HHS staff reductions, office closures, & other restructuring initiatives. These actions come on top of NIH grant cuts & threats to CDC's prevention funding. w/
@jenkatesdc.bsky.social www.kff.org/policy-watch...

The USAID List of Terminated Global Health Awards – What Does it Tell Us? | KFF This policy watch examines the USAID list of terminated awards, recently sent Congress, to examine the implications for global health programs and outstanding questions.

NEW: "The USAID List of Terminated Global Health Awards – What Does it Tell Us?"

www.kff.org/policy-watch...

Rollout of ‘miracle’ HIV prevention drug is threatened by Trump cuts to global AIDS relief program PEPFAR had been set to lead the rollout of Gilead Science's lenacapavir, which has been hailed as a "miracle" of HIV prevention.

"Rollout of ‘miracle’ HIV prevention drug is threatened by Trump cuts to global AIDS relief program"
www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...

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U.S. measles cases in all of 2024: 285
U.S. measles cases in Q1 of 2025: 483

PEPFAR's short-term, one-year reauthorization expires today. Here's why this isn't the biggest threat it's facing (and why the program continues).