FDA cancels vaccine meeting, measles outbreak, UnitedHealth's new threats, and more.

Hi, updaters. Last week our copy editor asked a question that really made us think: Shouldn’t we, Alexander Bois-Spinelli and Alexa Lee , be the updaters? And the readers, the updated? We had to take a seat and collect ourselves after that.

Regardless of what we call ourselves, here’s what we’ve been keeping an eye on in the health and biopharma universe:

• FDA cancels vaccine advisory committee meeting. The meeting is a critical resource for vaccine makers trying to figure out which flu strains to include in their shots for the next flu season.
• On measles outbreak, the Trump administration’s messaging strikes some as off-key. Experts fear tepid statements reflect hesitancy to endorse the importance of vaccination.?
• Under siege after a tragedy, UnitedHealth grapples with fresh security threats and a customer backlash. Even as it counterattacks, the company finds itself perpetually mired in controversy and grievance.
• Some NIH study sections will resume grant reviews, but final funding decisions are still in limbo. A potential backlog of unapproved grants could force lab layoffs.
• Budget bill passes in House, but clashes over spending and Medicaid cuts still loom. The two hours of messiness that led to the bill's passage is an early sign of how difficult it will be to enact Trump’s agenda.
• Trump administration takes aim at bird flu. For now, the cattle will have to wait. The shift signals the new administration’s approach to the disease as primarily an issue of economic concern, but leaves questions about how the USDA intends to manage the threat H5N1-infected cows pose to people.?
• CDC will no longer process transgender data. The decision already has implications for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a singular source of behavioral health data that’s collected from high schoolers every other year.
• Medicare Advantage enrollment growth slows drastically. 2024 to 2025 was one of the slowest years of growth ever in the program, according to new federal data analyzed by STAT.?

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