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Four members of the 19-person expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccination policy have been informed that their status as special government employees has been terminated — a development that throws into question their ability to continue to work on the body, STAT has learned. (Branswell, 6/8)

Infectious disease physicians expressed alarm over how the Trump administration bypassed open and established processes for changing vaccine recommendations, and voiced particular concern over restrictions to COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy. During a briefing hosted by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) on Friday, experts urged clinicians seeking information on COVID vaccination to look to specialty societies for evidence-based guidance in lieu of government websites. (Firth, 6/6)

Prior to becoming Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had espoused the idea of "medical freedom," the ability of people to make personal health decisions for themselves and their families without corporate or government coercion. It's an idea supported under Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement to reduce the prevalence of chronic disease in the U.S. by making healthier lifestyle choices. ... Some public health experts told ABC News, however, that the HHS has been limiting choices on some products for many Americans despite Kennedy's talk about "freedom of choice." (Kekatos, 6/6)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: In Axing MRNA Contract, Trump Delivers Another Blow To US Biosecurity, Former Officials Say

The Trump administration’s cancellation of $766 million in contracts to develop mRNA vaccines against potential pandemic flu viruses is the latest blow to national defense, former health security officials said. They warned that the U.S. could be at the mercy of other countries in the next pandemic. “The administration’s actions are gutting our deterrence from biological threats,” said Beth Cameron, a senior adviser to the Brown University Pandemic Center and a former director at the White House National Security Council. (Maxmen, 6/6)

FBI Director Kash Patel said in an interview this week that his agency made a “breakthrough” as it continues to investigate former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key player in the U.S.’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Patel cautioned Fauci’s critics from expecting too much. (Crisp, 6/6)