Kim Painter
@kimpainter.bsky.social
I'm a freelance health writer working for AARP, WebMD, and other outlets.
Reposted by Kim Painter
The Trump administration has announced that it is revoking guidance to the nation’s hospitals that directed them to provide emergency abortions to women when they are necessary to stabilize their medical condition.
Trump administration revokes guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions
The Trump administration has announced that it is revoking guidance to the nation’s hospitals that directed them to provide emergency abortions to women when they are necessary to stabilize their medical condition.
bit.ly
June 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The Trump administration has announced that it is revoking guidance to the nation’s hospitals that directed them to provide emergency abortions to women when they are necessary to stabilize their medical condition.
Reposted by Kim Painter
ACOG is deeply disappointed by HHS’s move to drop COVID-19 vaccine recommendations in pregnancy. The science is clear: COVID-19 remains dangerous in pregnancy and vaccination protects both patients and newborns. The vaccine is safe and protects families. Read our full statement: buff.ly/OGue7sO
May 27, 2025 at 6:34 PM
ACOG is deeply disappointed by HHS’s move to drop COVID-19 vaccine recommendations in pregnancy. The science is clear: COVID-19 remains dangerous in pregnancy and vaccination protects both patients and newborns. The vaccine is safe and protects families. Read our full statement: buff.ly/OGue7sO
Reposted by Kim Painter
Breaking news: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is ending his agency's recommendation that healthy pregnant women and healthy children receive the coronavirus vaccine.
RFK Jr. ends covid shot recommendation for healthy children, pregnant women
Currently the vaccine is recommended for all people over 6 months of age.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 27, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Breaking news: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is ending his agency's recommendation that healthy pregnant women and healthy children receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Reposted by Kim Painter
Narcan, opioid overdose reversal medication, saves hundreds of thousands of lives a year. But the Trump admin plans to terminate a $56M annual grant program that distributes doses and trains emergency responders in communities across the country to administer them. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...
Trump budget draft ends Narcan program and other addiction measures.
A $56 million grant to train emergency responders and supply them with the overdose reversal spray, plus other programs that address addiction, could be eliminated.
www.nytimes.com
April 30, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Narcan, opioid overdose reversal medication, saves hundreds of thousands of lives a year. But the Trump admin plans to terminate a $56M annual grant program that distributes doses and trains emergency responders in communities across the country to administer them. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...
Reposted by Kim Painter
Alarming new study in JAMA modeling measles in the US:
If we stay at CURRENT vaccination rates, measles will become endemic again over roughly 20 years.
If rates drop by even 10 percent (and they're sliding), there would be 11 MILLION cases over the next 25 years. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
If we stay at CURRENT vaccination rates, measles will become endemic again over roughly 20 years.
If rates drop by even 10 percent (and they're sliding), there would be 11 MILLION cases over the next 25 years. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Modeling Reemergence of Vaccine-Eliminated Infectious Diseases Under Declining Vaccination in the US
This study estimates the number of cases and complications in the US under scenarios of declining childhood vaccination for measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, and diphtheria.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2833361?guestAccess%5b…%5dferral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=042425#google_vignette
April 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Alarming new study in JAMA modeling measles in the US:
If we stay at CURRENT vaccination rates, measles will become endemic again over roughly 20 years.
If rates drop by even 10 percent (and they're sliding), there would be 11 MILLION cases over the next 25 years. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
If we stay at CURRENT vaccination rates, measles will become endemic again over roughly 20 years.
If rates drop by even 10 percent (and they're sliding), there would be 11 MILLION cases over the next 25 years. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Kim Painter
A 2nd child has died in Texas from #measles, the 3rd US death in 2025.
Context: There have been as many measles deaths this year in the US as there were in the previous 24 years.
It's only early April.
2025 is on track to be a very bad measles year.
Chart is confirmed cases as of 4/3/25.
Context: There have been as many measles deaths this year in the US as there were in the previous 24 years.
It's only early April.
2025 is on track to be a very bad measles year.
Chart is confirmed cases as of 4/3/25.
April 6, 2025 at 3:41 PM
A 2nd child has died in Texas from #measles, the 3rd US death in 2025.
Context: There have been as many measles deaths this year in the US as there were in the previous 24 years.
It's only early April.
2025 is on track to be a very bad measles year.
Chart is confirmed cases as of 4/3/25.
Context: There have been as many measles deaths this year in the US as there were in the previous 24 years.
It's only early April.
2025 is on track to be a very bad measles year.
Chart is confirmed cases as of 4/3/25.
Reposted by Kim Painter
NEW: The Trump administration scrapped a Biden administration proposal to have Medicare cover anti-obesity drugs, including GLP-1s.
Trump admin won't let Medicare cover anti-obesity drugs
President Trump's Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services, at least at this point, is declining to embrace a politically popular idea that could also threaten the finances of the system.
www.axios.com
April 4, 2025 at 8:42 PM
NEW: The Trump administration scrapped a Biden administration proposal to have Medicare cover anti-obesity drugs, including GLP-1s.
Reposted by Kim Painter
Column by @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social: If you’re one of the 15 million people who shared your DNA with 23andMe, it’s time to delete your data.
The genetic information company declared bankruptcy on Sunday, and California’s attorney general has issued a privacy “consumer alert.”
The genetic information company declared bankruptcy on Sunday, and California’s attorney general has issued a privacy “consumer alert.”
Column | Delete your DNA from 23andMe right now
The genetic information company declared bankruptcy on Sunday, and California’s attorney general has issued a privacy “consumer alert.”
www.washingtonpost.com
March 24, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Column by @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social: If you’re one of the 15 million people who shared your DNA with 23andMe, it’s time to delete your data.
The genetic information company declared bankruptcy on Sunday, and California’s attorney general has issued a privacy “consumer alert.”
The genetic information company declared bankruptcy on Sunday, and California’s attorney general has issued a privacy “consumer alert.”
Reposted by Kim Painter
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration works on two of the most urgent U.S. health problems and has generally received bipartisan support. By the end of this week, the staff of the agency could be cut by 50%, according to senior staff members.
Federal Agency Dedicated to Mental Illness and Addiction Faces Huge Cuts
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has already closed offices and could see staff numbers reduced by 50 percent.
www.nytimes.com
March 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration works on two of the most urgent U.S. health problems and has generally received bipartisan support. By the end of this week, the staff of the agency could be cut by 50%, according to senior staff members.
Reposted by Kim Painter
Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
March 1, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
Reposted by Kim Painter
RFK’s quote suggests he doesn’t understand infection control OR health care costs.
The hospital is the last place to quarantine someone. First, bc there are vulnerable sick patients there, like kids with cancer. Second, because a hospital bed costs thousands of dollars a day. You quarantine at home
The hospital is the last place to quarantine someone. First, bc there are vulnerable sick patients there, like kids with cancer. Second, because a hospital bed costs thousands of dollars a day. You quarantine at home
Lubbock public hlth dir. & city spokesperson: just 1 measles death
RFK Jr.: 2 deaths
Chief med. officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock: all of the children hospitalized bc they were *having trouble breathing.*
RFK Jr.: the ppl hospitalized done so "mainly for quarantine."
🤦🛟 medsky
RFK Jr.: 2 deaths
Chief med. officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock: all of the children hospitalized bc they were *having trouble breathing.*
RFK Jr.: the ppl hospitalized done so "mainly for quarantine."
🤦🛟 medsky
First measles death reported in Texas as Kennedy downplays outbreak
At least 124 people have been infected in the fast-spreading outbreak. Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said "we have measles outbreaks every year."
www.nbcnews.com
February 27, 2025 at 12:23 AM
RFK’s quote suggests he doesn’t understand infection control OR health care costs.
The hospital is the last place to quarantine someone. First, bc there are vulnerable sick patients there, like kids with cancer. Second, because a hospital bed costs thousands of dollars a day. You quarantine at home
The hospital is the last place to quarantine someone. First, bc there are vulnerable sick patients there, like kids with cancer. Second, because a hospital bed costs thousands of dollars a day. You quarantine at home
Reposted by Kim Painter
The unvaccinated child who died of measles in Texas was otherwise healthy.
I interviewed a doctor who treated the child. Free link: wapo.st/3QBGSIr
I interviewed a doctor who treated the child. Free link: wapo.st/3QBGSIr
Texas child is first confirmed death in growing measles outbreak
The unvaccinated school-age child is the first confirmed fatality in Texas’s worst measles outbreak in three decades.
wapo.st
February 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM
The unvaccinated child who died of measles in Texas was otherwise healthy.
I interviewed a doctor who treated the child. Free link: wapo.st/3QBGSIr
I interviewed a doctor who treated the child. Free link: wapo.st/3QBGSIr
Reposted by Kim Painter
Texas health dept says the first measles death from the ongoing outbreak was in a school-aged child who was not vaccinated, was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles
First measles death reported in Texas outbreak, per AP. Age of person currently unknown. This is the first U.S. measles death since 2015, per IDSA: www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/h...
February 26, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Texas health dept says the first measles death from the ongoing outbreak was in a school-aged child who was not vaccinated, was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles
Reposted by Kim Painter
The large clinical trial of a new Covid vaccine pill (not shot) was halted by RFK Jr www.aol.com/multimillion...
The Covid nasal vaccines may be next up to be axed.
The Covid nasal vaccines may be next up to be axed.
Multimillion-dollar Biden-era COVID-19 vax project halted by Trump’s HHS
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. paused a $240 million contract to create a new coronavirus vaccine.
www.aol.com
February 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The large clinical trial of a new Covid vaccine pill (not shot) was halted by RFK Jr www.aol.com/multimillion...
The Covid nasal vaccines may be next up to be axed.
The Covid nasal vaccines may be next up to be axed.
Reposted by Kim Painter
#ACIP, the expert panel that advises #CDC on vaccine policy, will not meet next week.
#HHS, which never gave final approval for the meeting, per sources, suggests it will be rescheduled, but gives no date. www.statnews.com/2025/02/20/a...
#HHS, which never gave final approval for the meeting, per sources, suggests it will be rescheduled, but gives no date. www.statnews.com/2025/02/20/a...
Meeting of key CDC vaccine advisory panel, under scrutiny by RFK Jr., is postponed
An upcoming meeting of the ACIP, a key CDC vaccine advisory panel that is under scrutiny by RFK Jr., has been postponed. A U.S. official said it would be rescheduled.
www.statnews.com
February 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
#ACIP, the expert panel that advises #CDC on vaccine policy, will not meet next week.
#HHS, which never gave final approval for the meeting, per sources, suggests it will be rescheduled, but gives no date. www.statnews.com/2025/02/20/a...
#HHS, which never gave final approval for the meeting, per sources, suggests it will be rescheduled, but gives no date. www.statnews.com/2025/02/20/a...
Reposted by Kim Painter
NEW: Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion, according to ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis, which found the sepsis rate for women hospitalized as they miscarried in the 2nd trimester shot up by more than 50%.
https://propub.li/43487Tj
https://propub.li/43487Tj
Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.
ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.
propub.li
February 20, 2025 at 12:00 PM
NEW: Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion, according to ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis, which found the sepsis rate for women hospitalized as they miscarried in the 2nd trimester shot up by more than 50%.
https://propub.li/43487Tj
https://propub.li/43487Tj
Reposted by Kim Painter
The Trump administration planned to shut down a government website that ships free coronavirus tests to households but reversed course after @lenasun.bsky.social and Carolyn Y. Johnson reported it was considering destroying or disposing tens of millions of kits
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
U.S. reverses plan to shut down free covid test program
The government had been preparing to shut down the program that ships free coronavirus tests to American households and was considering destroying 160 million tests.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 19, 2025 at 3:46 AM
The Trump administration planned to shut down a government website that ships free coronavirus tests to households but reversed course after @lenasun.bsky.social and Carolyn Y. Johnson reported it was considering destroying or disposing tens of millions of kits
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Kim Painter
BREAKING — USDA says it accidentally fired officials working to combat bird flu and says it’s trying to rehire them
www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog... by @allansmith.bsky.social
www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog... by @allansmith.bsky.social
USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them
In a statement, an Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."
www.nbcnews.com
February 18, 2025 at 11:08 PM
BREAKING — USDA says it accidentally fired officials working to combat bird flu and says it’s trying to rehire them
www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog... by @allansmith.bsky.social
www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog... by @allansmith.bsky.social
Reposted by Kim Painter
And now this:
“Jim Jones, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s food division, resigned on Monday, citing what he called “indiscriminate” layoffs that would make it “fruitless for him to continue.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...
“Jim Jones, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s food division, resigned on Monday, citing what he called “indiscriminate” layoffs that would make it “fruitless for him to continue.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...
FDA’s Food Safety Chief Resigns
The chief said the loss of critical employees overseeing the nation’s food supply made his work impossible. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s new health secretary, has pledged to gut the division.
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2025 at 8:53 PM
And now this:
“Jim Jones, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s food division, resigned on Monday, citing what he called “indiscriminate” layoffs that would make it “fruitless for him to continue.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...
“Jim Jones, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s food division, resigned on Monday, citing what he called “indiscriminate” layoffs that would make it “fruitless for him to continue.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...
Reposted by Kim Painter
SCOOP: Trump administration has been evaluating the costs of destroying or disposing of tens of millions of coronavirus tests that would otherwise be provided free to Americans. My story w/ Carolyn Y. Johnson.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
U.S. weighs destroying $500 million in stockpiled covid tests
The government is reviewing proposals to shut down the program that ships free covid tests to American households and has been considering destroying 160 million tests.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 18, 2025 at 9:08 PM
SCOOP: Trump administration has been evaluating the costs of destroying or disposing of tens of millions of coronavirus tests that would otherwise be provided free to Americans. My story w/ Carolyn Y. Johnson.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Kim Painter
On Friday night, HHS ordered CDC to take down all flu vaccine campaign materials from its website. Materials are starting to come down.
For example, a campaign explaining that flu shot can reduce flu severity from "wild to mild" is now offline. Left image is from Friday, right is now
Meanwhile...
For example, a campaign explaining that flu shot can reduce flu severity from "wild to mild" is now offline. Left image is from Friday, right is now
Meanwhile...
February 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
On Friday night, HHS ordered CDC to take down all flu vaccine campaign materials from its website. Materials are starting to come down.
For example, a campaign explaining that flu shot can reduce flu severity from "wild to mild" is now offline. Left image is from Friday, right is now
Meanwhile...
For example, a campaign explaining that flu shot can reduce flu severity from "wild to mild" is now offline. Left image is from Friday, right is now
Meanwhile...
Reposted by Kim Painter
Trump admin moved to terminate the CDC’s epidemic intelligence service officers — then revised the termination list and left them off, @lenasun.bsky.social + me report
But clear takeaway from Trump’s overall approach: U.S. is pulling back on infectious-disease efforts even as new threats loom
But clear takeaway from Trump’s overall approach: U.S. is pulling back on infectious-disease efforts even as new threats loom
As Trump vents about covid, experts worry his moves could worsen next threat
The president, still angry about the pandemic response, may be cutting into the country’s fundamental ability to identify emerging diseases and head them off.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 16, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Trump admin moved to terminate the CDC’s epidemic intelligence service officers — then revised the termination list and left them off, @lenasun.bsky.social + me report
But clear takeaway from Trump’s overall approach: U.S. is pulling back on infectious-disease efforts even as new threats loom
But clear takeaway from Trump’s overall approach: U.S. is pulling back on infectious-disease efforts even as new threats loom
Reposted by Kim Painter
Doing the unthinkable: The deep cuts to the #CDC's workforce today are expected to decimate the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a program that has trained public health rapid responders for decades.
Envy of the world. Poof!
www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t...
Envy of the world. Poof!
www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t...
CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health
Members of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service were warned Friday that many of them were about to be fired
www.statnews.com
February 14, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Doing the unthinkable: The deep cuts to the #CDC's workforce today are expected to decimate the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a program that has trained public health rapid responders for decades.
Envy of the world. Poof!
www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t...
Envy of the world. Poof!
www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t...
Reposted by Kim Painter
On hold at the CDC: An analysis suggesting that flu cases *may* be at a record high. That could mean a surge of deaths comes next.
The CDC is delaying analyses to inform the situation & has cut off usual communication w/hospital networks & WHO.
My latest: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
The CDC is delaying analyses to inform the situation & has cut off usual communication w/hospital networks & WHO.
My latest: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Urgent CDC Data and Analyses on Influenza and Bird Flu Go Missing as Outbreaks Escalate - KFF Health News
Delays in urgent CDC analyses of seasonal flu and bird flu, and the agency’s silence, will harm Americans as outbreaks escalate, doctors and public health experts warn.
kffhealthnews.org
February 14, 2025 at 9:50 PM
On hold at the CDC: An analysis suggesting that flu cases *may* be at a record high. That could mean a surge of deaths comes next.
The CDC is delaying analyses to inform the situation & has cut off usual communication w/hospital networks & WHO.
My latest: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
The CDC is delaying analyses to inform the situation & has cut off usual communication w/hospital networks & WHO.
My latest: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
“Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female,” the notice reads. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Trump officials ask CDC, FDA to use gender notice on restored websites
The Trump administration had directed health agencies to place a notice condemning “gender ideology” on health webpages that had been earlier taken down.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 14, 2025 at 5:49 PM
“Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female,” the notice reads. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...