Health Policy

A document circulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to justify Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s abrupt policy change on COVID-19 vaccines has drawn fierce criticism from leading medical experts. Titled “COVID Recommendation FAQ,” the memo was sent to members of Congress who questioned Kennedy’s decision to remove routine recommendations for pregnant women and healthy children—an action that bypassed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) established review process. According to multiple specialists, the HHS briefing misrepresents legitimate peer-reviewed research, cites unpublished or disputed studies, and omits key evidence demonstrating vaccine safety, amounting to what one prominent OB-GYN professor labeled “willful medical disinformation.”

OAK BROOK, Ill. (June 3, 2025) – A new study published today in Radiology, the journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), reveals that carotid artery plaques—which may exist quietly in patients with no symptoms—can evolve into dangerous lesions over time. Researchers from the Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, and collaborators analyzed data from the long-running Rotterdam Study in the Netherlands and found that even calcified plaques once considered stable can develop internal bleeding, dramatically increasing the risk of plaque rupture and subsequent stroke.

A newly designated sublineage of Omicron, named NB.1.8.1, has rapidly established itself as the dominant COVID-19 variant in parts of Asia and is now “pretty much everywhere” in Australia, according to leading virologists. First detected in January 2025, NB.1.8.1 carries mutations in the spike protein that appear to enhance its transmissibility and ability to evade immune defenses. In early May, the World Health Organization classified NB.1.8.1 as a Variant Under Monitoring, underscoring the need for heightened surveillance and vaccination efforts as the southern hemisphere heads into winter.

Over the past 30 years, Australia has seen a troubling surge in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis. Despite the availability of testing and treatment, these bacterial infections continue to climb — often silently and without immediate symptoms.

Microplastics have been detected for the first time in human ovarian follicular fluid—a discovery that may have serious implications for women’s fertility and reproductive health. The peer-reviewed study, published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, found microplastic particles in the ovarian fluid of 14 out of 18 women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment at a fertility clinic in Salerno, Italy.

Fifty years of economic change have taken a heavy toll on some Americans—especially those with less education—who not only have been left behind but are also experiencing poorer health and shorter lives, according to new research from the University of Michigan.

As the world breathes easier after weathering the 2022–23 global mpox outbreak, another more lethal strain of the virus is surging in central Africa — largely ignored, underfunded, and under-monitored.

A radical shake-up in Western Australia’s government has left even the state’s new health minister, Meredith Hammat, uncertain about where the buck stops. In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Premier Roger Cook revealed that first-time minister Hammat would assume the complex and challenging health portfolio—a decision that has sparked immediate questions regarding how the responsibilities will be shared within the new departmental structure. The move forms part of Cook’s broader strategy to adopt a more team-like approach to health governance, introducing new portfolios for health infrastructure, preventative health, and aged care.