Health Policy

Funds for SNAP, WIC, and Head Start run out on Saturday, affecting over 1 million people in Georgia.

Trump’s budget bill slashes nearly 20% from SNAP through 2034. Separate from any temporary SNAP stoppages due to the federal shutdown, the law cuts off access for refugees and other immigrant groups who are in the country lawfully.

Also in the Global Health Checkup: Bird flu in Europe, Fiji free of trachoma, Rift Valley Fever in Senegal, and what happens when malaria aid is cut.

History shows that mandates increase the use of vaccines. Lower vaccination rates will mean increased rates of diseases like measles, hepatitis, meningitis, and pneumonia — and even the return of diphtheria and polio.

Several New York neighborhoods are considered “food deserts” — where it’s difficult to buy healthy, nutritious food at an affordable price.

A core part of the job will be appointing a commissioner to lead one of the largest public health agencies in the world and to set priorities on issues like chronic disease, mental health, overdose prevention, vaccines, and climate and emergency preparedness.

For the leaders of CARE, The Carter Center, The Task Force on Global Health, the CDC, and the CDC Foundation, the abrupt cuts have brought layoffs and challenges to fulfilling their mission.

Efforts to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo may show that the WHO and Red Cross can rally new sources of emergency aid in absence of U.S. But is that a long-term solution?

More than 40% of adults are obese in some states. New report details U.S. obesity epidemic and makes policy recommendations amid federal cuts to public health.

Together Take Me Home, based at Emory University, delivers the tests through an easy-to-use website and integration with dating apps.

About 140,000 people across the state benefit from enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. Cutting them would be more expensive for everyone in the long run.

Alison Young has covered health, science and environmental issues for most of her career, including as a CDC beat reporter during an earlier time of controversial change at the agency.

'We are able to give the vaccine now without a prescription. We just have to have a convo with the patient and review the screening form,' said Dr. Johnathan Hamrick, an Atlanta pharmacist.

As HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s dismantling of federal vaccine policy continues to roil the CDC, some Democratic-led states have struck out on their own.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s proposal to add autism to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program could unleash a flood of claims, threatening the program's financial stability.

Also in the Global Health Checkup: Food poisoning in Indonesian school lunches, more on Ebola in Congo, a tiny sandfly parasite, and the odds of another pandemic.

Although hepatitis B is often associated with behaviors like injection drug use or having multiple sexual partners, health experts note that the virus can be transmitted in ordinary situations too, including among young children.

From shifting Covid-19 vaccine recommendations and a debate over Tylenol and autism, to declining Covid levels in New York and even a case of eastern equine encephalitis, there’s a lot to sort through.

After the FDA changed its regulations around the Covid vaccine to limit access, New York state crafted a workaround to preserve people’s ability to get a booster. Nonetheless, confusion has reigned in pharmacies across NYC.

Health leaders warn that competing systems risk causing more confusion, costing lives, and sharpening partisan divisions.