Overview

• White House officials, not the president directly, told the health secretary and his team to tone down rhetoric on COVID‑19 vaccines, according to people briefed on the talks.
• Kennedy removed CDC Director Susan Monarez roughly a month after her Senate confirmation, followed by three senior resignations that intensified concerns about agency disruption.
• At a tense Senate hearing, Republican senators challenged Kennedy’s vaccine views, signaling potential erosion of support on Capitol Hill.
• President Trump delivered mixed signals by praising vaccines as effective while sharing a video promoting a debunked autism link, and he signed a memo directing action on drug‑ad transparency.
• States moved in divergent directions on access and mandates as Western governors formed a vaccine guidance alliance, Florida advanced a plan to end school shots, and several states expanded pharmacy access to COVID‑19 vaccines.