Latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention News

Meet the medical contrarians picked to lead health agencies under Trump and Kennedy

Nov. 27, 2024 15:20 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has assembled a team of medical contrarians and health care critics to fulfill an agenda aimed at remaking how the federal government oversees medicines, health programs and nutrition. On Tuesday night, Trump nominated Dr. Jay...

CDC chief urges focus on health threats as agency confronts political changes

Nov. 25, 2024 18:23 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — The outgoing head of the nation’s top public health agency urged the next administration to maintain its focus and funding to keep Americans safe from emerging health threats. “We need to continue to do our global work at CDC to make sure we are stopping...

A look at how some of Trump's picks to lead health agencies could help carry out Kennedy's overhaul

Nov. 23, 2024 14:54 PM EST

The team that President-elect Donald Trump has selected to lead federal health agencies in his second administration includes a retired congressman, a surgeon and a former talk-show host. All could play pivotal roles in fulfilling a political agenda that could change how the...

What to know about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for health secretary

Nov. 14, 2024 18:27 PM EST

President-elect Donald Trump 's plan to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to lead the Health and Human Services Department will put a prominent vaccine skeptic at the helm of the nation's sprawling public health apparatus. A scion of a famous Democratic dynasty, Kennedy made a name in...

Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They're flooding crisis hotlines

Nov. 13, 2024 00:46 AM EST

Transgender youth in the United States have been flooding crisis hotlines since the election of Donald Trump, who made anti-transgender themes central to his campaign. Many teens worry about how their lives could change once he takes office. During his presidential bid, Trump pledged...

RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. 'It's possible,' Trump says

Nov. 03, 2024 12:44 PM EST

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president. ...

Teen smoking and other tobacco use drop to lowest level in 25 years, CDC reports

Oct. 17, 2024 17:03 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Teen smoking hit an all-time low in the U.S. this year, part of a big drop in the youth use of tobacco overall, the government reported Thursday. There was a 20% drop in the estimated number of middle and high school students who recently used at least one tobacco...

US suicides held steady in 2023 — at a very high level

Sep. 26, 2024 17:06 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. suicides last year remained at about the highest level in the nation's history, preliminary data suggests. A little over 49,300 suicide deaths were reported in 2023, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number...

US health authorities need to play a larger role in cannabis policy, a new report says

Sep. 26, 2024 11:14 AM EDT

With more Americans using ever-stronger marijuana, a federal advisory panel is calling for a public health approach that’s a big departure from “Just Say No.” Thursday's report proposes a health-focused strategy with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention taking a...

WHO and Africa CDC launch a response plan to the mpox outbreak

Sep. 06, 2024 12:54 PM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization launched on Friday a continent-wide response plan to the outbreak of mpox, three weeks after WHO declared outbreaks in 12 African countries a global emergency. The estimated...