vaccines

There are no new confirmed measles cases to report in Texas this week, according to the state, but Austin's health department has detected the measles virus in wastewater.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has reported no new measles cases linked to the West Texas outbreak this week.

If you're a parent, decisions about vaccines have gotten a lot more confusing recently. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s health department is walking back longstanding recommendations. NPR's Pien Huang speaks with a pediatrician and a vaccine researcher to discuss how the changes may affect public health - and how frontline conversations are going between pediatricians and families. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.nprth.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Federal health officials have changed the game for COVID vaccine access. Pregnant moms and others who rely on them to protect a high-risk family member are scared.

The public’s faith in the safety and efficacy of prescription drugs and vaccines has been shaken as never before. There’s skepticism about the role the big pharma plays in rolling out new medications, yet there are amazing breakthroughs in treating once fatal diseases. And then there’s the price for critical treatments that can be beyond the reach for many. How did we get here and how can we fix it? We are joined by Dr Jerry Avorn, professor of medicine at Harvard University Medical School and author of the new book, “Rethinking Medications: Truth, Power and the Drugs you Take.”

With cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas and other states will have to spend more on public health. The biggest expense of a measles outbreak is the public health response in shutting down the outbreak.

Anti-Vaccine and medical misinformation spreader Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the health secretary. Vaccine researcher, Dr. Peter Hotez, joins us to explain why this is a concerning choice.

Two of the updated COVID-19 vaccines have arrived at pharmacies all over the country. On Friday, the FDA authorized the Novavax shot, which is also expected to be available in the coming days.

A virus doesn’t care if you are a Republican or a Democrat. But unfortunately, in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, vaccinations and the validity of medical science have become a partisan issue. Polling shows a significant number of Republicans question the safety of vaccines and say Americans shouldn’t be encouraged to get them. How is this hurting public health?

Politics, religion, distrust and disinformation all play a role. "I've realized that there's no convincing somebody once they have their mind made up," says a social worker in Beaumont, Texas.