{"id":411087,"date":"2026-01-16T15:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/411087\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:15:08","slug":"trump-health-care-flu-shot-food-pyramid-morning-rounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/411087\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump health care, flu shot, food pyramid: Morning Rounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get your daily dose of health and medicine every weekday with STAT\u2019s free newsletter Morning Rounds.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After getting demolished by the flu last week, I am thrilled to be back in the saddle. Stay healthy, everyone!<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s \u2018Great Healthcare Plan\u2019 puts affordability in the spotlight<\/p>\n

President Trump announced a suite of policies<\/a> yesterday that would let the federal government exert more control over pharmaceutical companies, as he faces mounting pressure over the rising costs of health care.<\/p>\n

The announcement was heavy on pomp and light on circumstance, so most of the details are rather fuzzy. What we do know is that the most consequential provisions could be proposals to extend lower international drug prices to all Americans, make more prescription drugs available over the counter, and send at least some health insurance subsidies directly to enrollees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many of these moves would require action from Congress, which failed to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of last year, allowing the premiums of millions of people to more than double. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, claimed\u00a0Trump\u2019s plan would result in savings. Will it? Read more<\/a> from my STAT colleagues.<\/p>\n

Controversial CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa cancelled?<\/p>\n

Remember in December, when those controversial Danish researchers<\/a> got money from the United States to run a study on hepatitis B vaccines in Guinea-Bissau in West Africa? At the time, some experts said such a study was likely \u201cunethical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, it has been cancelled \u2014 possibly. This all started on Thursday morning, when Inside Medicine<\/a> published the study\u2019s protocol and got quotes from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, who called it \u201canother Tuskegee.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When reporters asked Africa CDC about the study, an official said it had been cancelled<\/a>, but apparently officials in Guinea-Bissau and at HHS are suggesting the opposite, that the study will continue. If that weren\u2019t confusing enough, Guinea-Bissau is going through a coup and has replaced all of its top health officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you want more background on the study, check out our coverage<\/a> from December.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What do Americans think about science?<\/p>\n

Americans want the U.S. to be a global leader in the sciences. But a new survey shows stark partisan divides<\/a> about where the country\u2019s scientific stature is headed and its role globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trust in science increased slightly from 76% of those surveyed in 2024 to 77% in 2025 and scientists remained a trusted profession \u2014 findings that surprised one researcher, given President Trump\u2019s \u201cwholesale, massive attacks on science.\u201d But many more Republicans are distrustful of scientists compared with Democrats \u2014 a long-established division that grew precipitously during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

Those insights were gleaned from the Pew Research Center\u2019s annual survey of public opinion on science, which published its latest results on Thursday. Read more<\/a> from STAT\u2019s Anil Oza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A healthy dinner for $3?<\/p>\n

Welcome to America\u2019s hit new game show: Design That Diet<\/a>!\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new U.S. dietary guidelines have got some food economists doing just that: Designing different diets to figure out how affordable, as well as healthy, following the new pyramid would actually be.<\/p>\n

Trump administration officials have been promoting the new guidelines, which emphasize protein and urge Americans to limit or avoid ultra-processed foods, as healthier and more budget-friendly\u00a0than previous versions. They have also, as we mentioned above, been pushing to lower costs for Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is the new food pyramid more affordable and healthy? STAT\u2019s Sarah Todd polled a food economist and registered dietician. Read on<\/a> for their takes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The flu vaccine is working<\/p>\n

There is yet more evidence that this year\u2019s flu vaccine is offering some protection against the viruses responsible for most of the illness in the U.S. this winter, a family of H3N2 viruses known as subclade K. These viruses emerged too late to be included in the 2025-2026 flu vaccine, and experts worried the mutations they carry might render the shot\u2019s protection against H3N2 minimal at best.<\/p>\n

Early research from the United Kingdom<\/a> and the University of Pennsylvania<\/a> suggested the flu shot is offering at least some people some help fending off subclade K. And on Thursday, researchers from France<\/a> and China<\/a> reported similar findings in the journal Eurosurveillance<\/a>. Both looked at vaccine effectiveness in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza infection. The French paper showed that the vaccine was about 36% effective, while the Chinese study showed the vaccine\u2019s effectiveness in preventing laboratory-confirmed H3N2 influenza was roughly 40%. \u2014 Helen Branswell\u00a0<\/p>\n

What we\u2019re reading\u00a0<\/p>\n

Massachusetts issues its own vaccine schedule for kids, countering federal recommendations, Boston Globe<\/a><\/p>\n

Native Americans are dying from pregnancy. They want a voice to stop the trend. KFF Health News<\/a><\/p>\n

Abortion opponents threaten to withhold midterm support amid rift with Trump, Politico<\/a><\/p>\n

What happens in space during a medical emergency? BBC<\/a><\/p>\n

Bring back the black plastic spatula, Slate<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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