Health Wanted RFK Jr.: One Year in Office
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Feb 20, 2026 Dr. Deb Howery, former CDC chief medical officer with 11 years overseeing infectious and chronic disease programs, explains why she resigned and what cuts at CDC mean. She walks through contested policy shifts on vaccines, fluoride, and maternal and gender-care guidance. Short segments also cover nutrition in medical training, environmental health priorities, and rebuilding trust in public health.
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Attention Without Funding Limits Impact
- HHS hosted Long COVID and Lyme roundtables but provided no new funding and closed key offices.
- Laurel flags budget cuts that interrupted research and perpetuated unproven claims about Lyme.
Nuanced Change In Menopause Guidance
- Removing the black box warning for some menopausal hormone therapies aligns with evolving evidence for local treatments.
- Laurel criticizes the advisory process used and surrounding misinformation in the announcement.
Autism Funding Coupled With Risky Claims
- HHS dedicated $50 million to autism research but coupled it with weaker moves like promoting unproven leucovorin coverage.
- Laurel emphasizes autism research must remain rooted in strong, reproducible science.