This week, Miles and Dr. Rob dive into a whirlwind of troubling healthcare news — and what it means for patients, providers, and public health. First, they unpack RFK Jr.’s decision to slash over $500 million in mRNA research funding — a move critics call reckless and potentially devastating for vaccine development, cancer treatments, and cutting-edge medical breakthroughs.
Then, they discuss the shocking shooting at the CDC in Atlanta, exploring how years of anti-vaccine rhetoric have fueled hostility toward public health agencies, before turning to the Veterans Administration’s sweeping cancellation of union contracts covering 80% of its workforce (and why this could spell disaster for veterans’ care and VA staffing).
Finally, they break down Trump’s latest move to impose massive tariffs on pharmaceuticals — a policy that could skyrocket drug prices for patients while gutting medical research.
Background reading:
MedPage Today: Pulling the Plug on mRNA Vaccine Development Is 'Reckless,' Experts Say
STAT: As mRNA falls out of favor for HHS, are cancer vaccines next?
PBS News: Shooter attacked CDC headquarters to protest COVID-19 vaccines, authorities say
CNN: RFK Jr. contradicts law enforcement on CDC shooter's motive
STAT: Former surgeon general: The CDC shooting must be a wakeup call
Miltary.com: VA to End Bargaining Agreement Contracts with Most Unions
Pew Research Center: What we know about veterans who work for the federal government
The Washington Post: FEMA joins other federal agencies in canceling union contracts
ProPublica: Veterans’ Care at Risk Under Trump as Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals
The Guardian: US veterans agency lost thousands of ‘core’ medical staff under Trump, records show
The Hill: Trump threatens pharma tariffs of up to 250 percent
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: What Pharmaceutical Tariffs Would Mean for Americans
Marketplace: What Trump's pharmaceuticals tariff threats mean for patients
CNN: Trump is promising to slash drug prices by 1,500%. Here’s what’s really happening
NPR: Trump's Washington, D.C., takeover targets a host of groups, many of them vulnerable
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