Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Public Health Officials Scramble To Archive Data As Websites Are Scrubbed
Scientists, researchers and private health organizations scrambled to preserve as much federal public health data and guidelines as possible last week after news reached them that the Trump administration planned to pull down federal agency websites.聽Many have taken that data and moved it to personal websites or Substack accounts, while others are still figuring out what to do with what they have gathered.聽(O鈥機onnell-Domenech, 2/8)
As the Trump administration exercises its influence on the U.S. scientific landscape, revising language on government websites for ideological reasons and disappearing agency databases, at least temporarily, some scientists are expressing increasing concerns about the safety and integrity of resources scientists around the world use daily: genetic sequence information. (Branswell, 2/10)
The American Cancer Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the disease, called on the administration to "restore access to comprehensive data, refrain from changes that would lead to incomplete future data collection and commit to ensure evidence-based science can proceed without additional bureaucracy or red tape" in a statement published on its website on Thursday. (Alfonseca, 2/8)
A federal judge on Friday night rejected labor unions鈥 push to block Elon Musk鈥檚 government efficiency team from accessing sensitive data at the Labor Department. ... 鈥淭his data includes the medical and financial records of millions of Americans,鈥 Bates wrote in a nine-page order. 鈥淏ut on the current record, plaintiffs have failed to establish standing.鈥 (Niedzwiadek, 2/7)
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is an independent, 162-year-old nongovernmental agency tasked with investigating and reporting on a wide range of subjects. In recent years, diversity, equity and inclusion 鈥 collectively known as D.E.I. 鈥 have been central to its agenda. ... Now the website highlights the Academies鈥 interest in artificial intelligence and 鈥渙ur work to build a robust economy.鈥 The quick about-face reflects the widespread impact that President Trump鈥檚 executive order on D.E.I. is having on scientific institutions across the nation, both governmental and private. (Miller and Caryn Rabin, 2/9)
More news from the Trump administration 鈥
President Trump鈥檚 Justice Department on Friday abandoned the Biden administration鈥檚 Supreme Court challenge to gender-affirming care bans for minors, but the new administration urged the justices to still resolve the issue this term. The Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision after hearing arguments late last year in the challenge聽against聽Tennessee鈥檚 ban, SB1. The Biden administration claimed the legislation amounts to unconstitutional sex discrimination. (Schonfeld, 2/7)
President Trump鈥檚 tariffs in China are in place and hitting all products imported from the country 鈥 including a number of pharmaceutical drugs that Americans rely upon. Chinese imports account for a significant proportion of U.S. prescriptions and over the counter drugs. Many of the Chinese-produced drugs are generics, which account for 91 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S.聽(Choi, 2/8)