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Fall has only just begun, but it's already time to start thinking about the quintessential winter bug: the flu. The annual flu season usually starts in October or November. But this year, it looks like the flu started to pick up in early September. (Stein, 10/7)

Flu activity in California began rising in September, months earlier than usual, prompting state health officials to urge residents to get vaccinated now. (Ho, 10/6)

A single dose of a new nasal spray influenza vaccine can breathe new life into older lungs while providing broad protection against multiple influenza strains, researchers reported. (Hille, 10/6)

The Trump administration told a federal appeals panel Tuesday that a lower court erred in blocking Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked appointees from serving on a key vaccine advisory panel. Justice Department attorney Matthew Zorn told the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a district court judge did not have the authority to suspend Kennedy’s appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).  Zorn said the practical effect of the lower court’s ruling is that ACIP has been blocked from meeting in any capacity. (Weixel, 10/6)

Florida schools and daycares may soon end requirements for four childhood vaccines, after the state department of health holds a hearing on the matter Thursday. The idea to relax these rules came from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who has advocated for parental choice and medical freedom, and likened all vaccine mandates to “slavery.” (Sheridan, 10/7)

Plague had not been detected among close contacts of a worker in an anti-plague laboratory in Siberia who died last week, with 60% of the identified group tested so far, officials in Russia said Tuesday. News from Russia’s consumer and health watchdog Sunday that a female staffer at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East had died from a “pneumonia of undetermined” origin last week has raised public health fears worldwide. (Talmazan, 10/6)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday there were no further signs of infections at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia, following one researcher at the facility reportedly dying from the pneumonic plague. “No case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk, ​Russian Federation,” Russian authorities said in an official ​response to a WHO request, according to Reuters. (Bhakta, 10/6)

Beijing made its first official comments on the suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia, saying it’s cooperating with Russia as health concerns intensify around the world. “China and Russia maintain close communication and cooperation in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, including the plague,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Tuesday in response to a question about whether Moscow has informed Beijing of the incident. (10/7)

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the pneumonic plague, after the death of a female staffer at a Russian anti-plague lab that’s sparked public health fears worldwide. Asked whether he had spoken with Putin about the matter, Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn that he had a “call scheduled” and that it would take place “very soon.” (Coronell Uribe, 10/6)

The U.S. is refreshing its call for Americans not to travel to Russia in the wake of a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia. In a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, the State Department said, “The U.S. Embassy is aware of press reports from the Irkutsk region of suspected pneumonic plague resulting in the death of an individual and of associated quarantine measures in, and closures of, hospitals in Irkutsk.” (Suter, 10/6)

SARS, Ebola and covid highlighted role of plane travel in spreading — and tracking — outbreaks. (Frankel, 10/7)

The government agency charged with combating disease outbreaks abroad is shrinking as President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy takes hold. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offices in Angola and South Sudan closed Thursday, with the office in Zimbabwe set to shut its doors at the end of the year. Current and former CDC officials told POLITICO they expect more than a dozen other foreign offices will follow in the next few years. (Paun, 10/6)

Zambia will sign a revised health agreement with the United States that will not include contentious clauses committing the African nation to share patient health data and specimens with the U.S. government. The five-year deal is worth $3.6 billion in total, combined funding from both countries for the African nation’s health services, Zambian Minister of Health Roma Chilengi told reporters Tuesday. (Zimba and Imray, 10/7)

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offices in Angola and South Sudan were shuttered last week, and the Zimbabwe office is slated to close at the end of the year, with a dozen other foreign offices expected to follow suit in the coming years, Politico reported today. Decreased CDC funding, State Department–issued operational limitations, and security problems are leading to the office shutterings, a CDC official told Politico anonymously. (Van Beusekom, 10/6)

A Kenyan citizen who had been living in Congo before returning to Nairobi over the weekend became Kenya’s first confirmed case of Ebola and the country’s first death from the disease in the fast-moving outbreak, authorities said Tuesday, sparking urgent contact-tracing efforts to try to contain the spread of the virus. The man had been residing in Congo for the past seven years and fell ill about a month ago. He was treated at various hospitals before traveling by road to Kampala, Uganda, where he boarded a flight to the Kenyan capital, arriving on Saturday afternoon, Health Minister Aden Duale said. (Musambi, 10/7)

Soldiers and family members have told The Associated Press of a failure to recognize the seriousness of injuries, a poor plan to get the wounded to hospitals and red tape that has hindered follow-up care. The Pentagon has said that the medical care was appropriate. (Watson, Brook and Toropin, 10/5)

The Department of Veterans Affairs completed a record nearly 60 million appointments with private health care providers last year, part of a massive expansion of outside medical care for veterans. But VA Secretary Doug Collins says one of the government's most closely watched measures of whether veterans can access that care, how long they wait, doesn't tell the whole story. (Lindsay, 10/7)

A bipartisan group of 32 House lawmakers is pressing CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz to roll back proposed Medicare payment changes that would bar remote patient monitoring programs from using third-party clinical staff. The lawmakers argue that the proposal could significantly reduce access to remote monitoring for Medicare beneficiaries, particularly rural patients and those served by small, independent physician practices and hospitals. (Landi, 10/6)

51��Ƶ Health News: Food Aid Enrollment Tanks After SNAP Rule Changes

After President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act more than a year ago, enrollment in the federal food assistance program dropped rapidly across the nation as states enforced new restrictions and prepared to take on more of the costs. Nationally, an estimated 5 million, or 13%, fewer people were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps, this June than in July 2025, when the law was enacted. (Parker, 10/7)

A blue-ribbon panel will hold two more meetings before it adopts the final list of recommendations to the Legislature on how best to use state dollars to treat children with autism. (10/6)

GOP Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, sparred over President Donald Trump and abortion rights in their first debate Tuesday night in Maine’s all-important Senate race with control of the chamber at stake. (Svltek, 10/7)

Planned Parenthood is investing an additional $1 million in ad buys to boost Democratic Senate candidates in Maine and Michigan. The latest investment in the states by Planned Parenthood Votes — a super PAC affiliated with Planned Parenthood — will fund digital ad campaigns targeting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). (Rego, 10/6)

Voters in the upcoming general election -- depending on where they live -- are seeing nurses appearing on their ballots, even if they don't know it. At least 18 nurses are running for Congress -- 16 for the House and two for the Senate, according to figures compiled by the American Nurses Association (ANA). (Frieden, 10/6)

Democrats are building bridges to a major new constituency: the Make America Healthy Again voter. As the midterms near, leaders across the party have been meeting with MAHA activists, discussing potential openings with consultants, and rolling out food and environmental agendas meant to entice these voters. (Payne, 10/7)

Health care costs remain a top affordability concern for voters, who trust Democrats over Republicans on the issue by a nearly two-to-one margin, according to a new poll from health research group 51��Ƶ. Six in 10 voters said they are worried about being able to afford their health care, including the cost of health insurance and out-of-pocket prices for things like office visits and prescription drugs. About half of voters said it is “extremely important” for candidates in the midterm elections to talk about the cost of health care, the survey found. Health costs were tied with gas prices for the most important affordability issue, a finding that’s been consistent across polls for much of the year. (Weixel, 10/6)

51��Ƶ Health News: ‘Medicare For All’ Message Attracts Voters Buckling Under Medical Bills

Christina Starks-Clay doesn’t know how “Medicare for All” would work exactly, but she’s willing to bet it’d be better than what she has now. Standing in line for U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s town hall in the state’s capital in September, she whipped out her phone to pull up a screenshot. It was of the $1,000 cashier’s check she’d picked up at the bank that day to pay down a chunk of her son’s dental bills. An early childhood special education paraprofessional, she still owed $389, even with good dental insurance. Her own cleaning a few weeks before cost $600. (Wells, 10/7)

Christa Pike, who survived two doses of a lethal injection drug last week during a botched execution in Tennessee, is conscious and speaking, her lawyers said in a statement on Tuesday. Ms. Pike continues to receive critical medical care at a Nashville hospital, the lawyers said. The prognosis remains unclear, they said, but they expect a long recovery. ... Ms. Pike’s medical condition is likely to determine whether Tennessee officials try to execute her again. The U.S. Supreme Court has forbidden the execution of someone who does not have a “rational understanding” of why they’re being put to death. (Cochrane, 10/6)

For survivors of sexual assault, social media can be a traumatizing place — a smiling picture of a person who questioned your story in one swipe, a news article about a similar act of violence in the next. But over the past few weeks, content related to sexual assault has reached a fever pitch, as details about an alleged gang rape on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024 continue to emerge. (Hohman, 10/6)

Three transgender women who have been detained for months at a male-only central Louisiana immigration detention center allege that they have faced abuse and transphobia at the hands of staff and other detainees. In interviews with Verite News, they allege that they have been assaulted by officers, forcibly detransitioned, verbally harassed and kept in solitary confinement. “Everywhere they call us men, faggots, very offensive words,” Camila Toro de Paula, one of the detainees, told Verite News. (Seda Chabrier, 10/5)

A three-year-old network for collaboration between rural hospitals in North Dakota is winning accolades and giving other states a template to follow that cuts costs, improves patient outcomes and protects the hospitals’ independence. “I think if you talk about rural health transformation, this is the most transformative thing that's going on in rural health in North Dakota,” said Chris Albertson, CEO of SMP Health - St. Kateri in Rolla. “It’s what other states are starting to follow, the same model.” (Standaert, 10/6)

Atrium Health announced a program Tuesday that aims to lower out-of-pocket costs for members of the health insurance plan for state employees who want to keep their Atrium doctors. But the announcement drew a blistering response from state officials who called it “trickery” that would ultimately cost plan members and taxpayers more. (Crouch, 10/7)

For about a year, Austin Davis’ phone has been flooded with hundreds of pleas for help from across the Phoenix metropolitan area. ... Nearly every person who’s reached out to Davis, a 26-year-old poet and advocate for homeless people, says they’d first called 211, seeking help through the official channel, only to learn it could be months before they’d get shelter or a housing placement. His phone has become the unofficial hotline for emergency shelter. (Santa Cruz, 10/7)

Four deaths in Utah have been linked to potent semi-synthetic kratom compounds, state officials said Monday. The kratom-derived compounds, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI) and dihydro-7-hydroxymitragynine (MGM-15), are illegal in the state and were recently classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as Schedule 1 drugs. Both are semi-synthetic derivatives of kratom. (Bellamy, 10/6)

An extremely wealthy Chinese immigrant and his wife amassed a brood of 21 children through a surrogacy scheme and raised them in a “house of horrors,” prosecutors alleged Tuesday. Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested at their sprawling mansion in Arcadia, a city about 13 miles (20 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles. (Ding and Marcelo, 10/7)

Rhode Island authorities had a breakthrough in a case from 1985 after they tailed a suspect to a rock concert and collected his DNA from a discarded water bottle. (Desai, 10/7)

Kaiser must pay up to tens of millions of dollars to more than 1,000 of its nurses to settle a grievance filed by their union that alleged an error in Kaiser’s payroll system caused them to be underpaid for several years. (Ho, 10/5)

A plastic surgeon whose Illinois license was suspended following a Tribune investigation that found eight patient deaths connected to his Chicago clinic is now temporarily barred from practicing medicine in his home state of Michigan. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs recently suspended Dr. Ayoub Sayeg’s medical license, meaning he cannot practice in the state until the matter is resolved through an administrative hearing process. (Gutowski and Pratt, 10/6)

Diversified healthcare company McKesson Corp. and private equity firm CD&R have agreed to take infusion company Option Care Health private in a $5.8 billion deal. The two companies will pay $32.05 per share for Option Care, a 37% premium over its Monday closing price, Option Care said Tuesday in a news release. CD&R will hold a majority ownership interest in the infusion company, and McKesson will invest $1.4 billion for a minority stake, the release said. Under terms of the agreement, McKesson will have an option to purchase CD&R’s stake in Option Care at a future date. (Eastabrook, 10/6)

The largest pharmacy benefit managers have tightened their grip on the market as upstart rivals see a dip in customer satisfaction. UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum Rx, Cigna Group division Express Scripts, CVS Health unit CVS Caremark and Blue Cross and Blue Shield-owned Prime Therapeutics collectively own 75% of the market, according to a September report by the American Medical Association based on data from 2022 to 2024. That’s up from 70% in 2022, the physician group said. (Tong, 10/6)

At the start of this month, the caretakers of approximately 120,000 medically complex children in Florida were forced to navigate a change in their health coverage. Molina Healthcare took on an estimated $6 billion benefits management program after incumbent Centene declined to rebid, arguing that state pay failed to keep up with rising medical costs. (Tepper, 10/6)

Karen Hanlon will succeed David Holmberg as CEO of Highmark Health, the company announced Tuesday. Last year, Highmark Health promoted Hanlon from chief operating officer to president, a title she took over from Holmberg and will retain when she assumes the top job Jan. 1, according to a news release. Holmberg has led the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee and Allegheny Health Network parent company since 2014 and will become executive chairman next year. (DeSilva, 10/6)

These are the best industry events for digital health, provider and payer leaders to attend next year. (10/6)

Every time a customer pays for food at a Panda Express, they’re asked if they’d like to round up their bill for charity. At Carilion Children’s, those small donations have helped fund a mini rock-climbing wall, swinging monkey bars and other equipment used by children receiving physical and occupational therapy. (Schabacker, 10/7)

Ian Howard was shocked to get a $1,000 bill for a brief visit to the emergency room that determined he sprained his ankle in a fall last year. Instead of fighting the bill, he just didn’t pay it. “I went in for a sprained ankle. All’s they did was look at it and say, the bitch is sprained” the 28-year-old yells in a rant on TikTok. “Y’all ain’t never seeing that money!” (Loftus, 10/6)

The World Health Organization issued a strong recommendation against obesity medications for children under the age of 10, saying it’s not clear how the powerful drugs would affect them in the long term. Healthy food and exercise should be the focus for these young patients, WHO said. For older ones between the ages of 10 and 19, medicine is an option only if supervised lifestyle-change programs haven’t been successful, according to the United Nations agency. Bariatric surgery could also be considered “under strict conditions” for adolescents with severe obesity, WHO said. (Kresge, 10/7)

Chinese producers of the ingredients that go into fentanyl have found a profitable new market in the U.S.: peptides. A growing number of Chinese chemical manufacturers that have supplied fentanyl precursors to drug cartels are now capitalizing on the peptide craze in the U.S. and elsewhere, selling unregulated substances that promise to tan skin, repair tissue and help with weight loss, according to advertisements from the vendors and companies that track cryptocurrency payments for such products. (Kowsmann and O’Brien, 10/6)

There’s a boy like you in Minnesota, Yannick’s mom told him a few years ago. He has the same disease. He has the same kind of smile. Maybe you could talk? They clicked. After school and on weekends, the two boys boot up their computers, Yannick in San Diego and Brecken in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn. (Mast, 10/7)

Stryker Corp. CEO Kevin Lobo will step into the role of executive chairman on Jan. 1, handing the reins to President and Chief Operating Officer Spencer Stiles. The Portage-based medical device giant announced the executive changes before the start of trading on Oct. 6. Stiles has been with Stryker since 1999 and has held leadership roles in several of Stryker’s business units, including Orthopaedics, MedSurg and Neurotechnology. Before being tapped in January to be president and COO, he was group president of orthopaedics and spearheaded the company’s joint replacement and trauma and extremities business line, as well as digital, robotics and enabling technologies. (Boomgaard, 10/6)

A new study by the Medical University of Vienna found that a specialized form of imaging could identify 91% of prostate cancer cases without the need for a biopsy. (Hille, 10/6)

When Tracey Kassman was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022 at age 64, she thought her life was over. But Kassman decided to take a chance, joining a clinical trial studying a vaccine designed to prevent the return of glioblastoma. NBC News first spoke with Kassman, of Buffalo, New York, in 2023. At the time, she said she didn’t know if she would be alive to see that original story published. (Lovelace Jr., Kopf and Thompson, 10/7)

Caribou Biosciences is shutting down after failing to raise the money necessary to fund a late-stage clinical trial of its off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy for lymphoma, the company said Tuesday. (Feuerstein, 10/7)

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, as Mary Poppins sang. But for blood cancer patients on antibiotics, it could make things worse. That’s according to a five-year study that closely tracked the role that diet plays in antibiotic-induced disruption of the gut microbiome. The findings were published last week in Nature. (Dall, 10/6)

A three-drug combination may be effective for patients with EGFR-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who progressed on a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), according to a single-arm phase II trial. (Bassett, 10/6)

Despite mounting evidence that exercise programs can improve cancer outcomes, access to them remains limited. (Agrawal, 10/6)

After an apparent lab accident in Siberia, Moscow is reverting to its old Soviet ways. (Tom Nichols, 10/6)

For a state whose government officially doesn’t believe climate change is real, Florida remains our nation’s busiest climate-change laboratory. (Mark Gongloff, 10/7)

When my term life insurance policy expired in 2013 and I had to get a new one, I thought my widow-maker heart attack in 2005 might be a sticking point. Instead, eight insurers turned me down because they said I had “untreated cancer.” They were referring to the tiny amount of prostate cancer found three years earlier. (Howard Wolinsky, 10/7)

There must be some mistake. A company studies its cancer blood test in a randomized trial of 140,000 people using a suboptimal surrogate endpoint, fails to meet that endpoint, yet is recommended for approval by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel. And because of the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act passed earlier this year, the company appears to be on track to have taxpayers foot the bill. (H. Gilbert Welch, 10/6)