NIH Vax Harms Study; Dems Seek CDC Measles Briefing; HHS Pushes AI Despite Risks

The NIH’s new research center and a large study on vaccine harms is taking shape. (Science)

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made false claims during a speech at the Republicans’ midterm convention last week, including that Democrats closed “every church in our country for a year” and that his health officials “reversed a 30-year decline” in life expectancy. (CNN)

Kennedy will give the keynote address at the Children’s Health Defense conference on Thursday. (STAT)

Three members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee wrote to CDC Director Erica Schwartz, MD, requesting an “immediate briefing” on the CDC’s response to the measles outbreak.

The CDC merged its influenza division with its coronavirus and other respiratory diseases division, a change planned since the Biden administration. (CIDRAP)

The American Medical Association announced that it’s supporting the Patients First Act to create a permanent fix for Medicare physician payment policies, including inflation-based reimbursement updates and modernization of budget neutrality policies.

HHS is moving ahead with medical artificial intelligence (AI) projects — including creating AI reimbursement pathways for Medicare and FDA approval of scores of medical devices that include AI — despite the risks. (New York Times)

Anthropic reported that it has identified five cases in which scientists attempted to use its Claude AI program to develop toxins or other bioweapons, although they are not asserting that the researchers necessarily meant any harm. (Science)

The National Science Foundation’s 10-page memo discussing its new research priorities — which include a withdrawal from giving individual grants and a bigger emphasis on technology projects — is unsettling to many scientists. (Science)

The Hill profiles healthcare aide Carrie Hughes, who has worked for Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) for 18 years.

Medical school officials worry that President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity efforts in education will hurt their initiatives to try to recruit more ethnic minorities. (Washington Post)

The Trump administration’s crackdown on Medicaid fraud is cutting off access to legitimate services for children with autism. (Politico)

And the administration’s “Most Favored Nation” pricing policy may push pharmaceutical companies to raise prices or delay product launches, a modeling study suggests. (The Lancet)