The United States is experiencing its worst year for measles since 1991, with four unvaccinated people dying from the disease in Pennsylvania, according to state officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added a single measles death to its online counter, with an asterisk noting the number may change.
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly questioned whether the deaths were actually caused by measles, sparking a political firestorm. International health officials will determine in the coming weeks whether the country will lose its measles elimination status.
A highly contagious disease
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases on the planet. In 1961, before the measles vaccine was available, Jewel Mullen recalls her personal experience with the disease as a child, when she and her siblings contracted it, leading to her hospitalization and a month-long stay, including time in a coma.
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Heidi Overton’s Confirmation Hearing
Heidi Overton, a physician and key health policy adviser during President Trump’s second term, will face the Senate committee today in her bid to become the next FDA commissioner. Overton is likely to be asked about her views on abortion, vaccines, and how to rebuild an agency that DOGE decimated. Politicians, industry leaders, and public health groups are split on Overton, as she is relatively unknown to the pharmaceutical industry and lacks managerial experience.
Overton’s meteoric rise, from her small hometown of Gallup, New Mexico, to a key role in the Trump administration, will be under scrutiny during the hearing, focusing on her ability to lead the FDA amid its challenges.
