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breaking health news & updates

May 7, 2025

20 Attorneys General Ask Federal Judge to Reverse Deep Cuts to U.S. Health and Human Services

Attorneys general in 19 states, including California and Washington, D.C., are challenging cuts to the U.S. Health and Human Services agency, saying the Trump administration's massive restructuring has destroyed life-saving programs and left states to pick up the bill for mounting health crises.


The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Rhode Island on Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James said. The attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia signed onto the complaint.


Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. restructured the agency in March, eliminating more than 10,000 employees and collapsing 28 agencies under the sprawling HHS umbrella into 15, the attorneys general said. An additional 10,000 employees had already been let go by President Donald Trump's administration, according to the lawsuit, and combined the cuts stripped 25% of the HHS workforce.


“In its first three months, Secretary Kennedy and this administration deprived HHS of the resources necessary to do its job,” the attorneys general wrote.


James, who is leading the lawsuit, called the restructuring a “sweeping and unlawful assault” that would endanger lives. “This is not government reform. This is not efficiency,” James said during a press conference Monday. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Email Mistake Reveals Secret Plans to End Research on Head Start and Other Child Safety Net Programs


The Trump administration could gut research on the effectiveness of child welfare programs, with plans to terminate dozens of university grants studying improvements to Head Start and child care policy, according to a spreadsheet mistakenly made public this week.


The document listed more than 150 research projects under consideration for termination by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It covered grants funded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, which says it “builds evidence to improve lives” by helping policymakers evaluate programs that help low-income children and families.


“These grants are aimed at learning how to make programs more effective at pursuing goals like healthy child development, reducing abuse and neglect and promoting economic self-sufficiency,” said Naomi Goldstein, who led the office for nearly two decades before she retired in 2022. “It's hard to see why they would want to cancel these efforts.”


The grant cancellations would add to deep cuts already enacted at HHS' Administration for Children and Families. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Local News

What to Know about Measles in our District


The number of measles cases is increasing in the country but the good news is the virus hasn’t spread to our district yet. The California Department of Public Health has confirmed only 11 reported measles cases. The affected jurisdictions are mostly in Southern California, with the exception of San Mateo County.


Measles spreads when someone infected speaks, coughs, sneezes, or breathes. It can linger in the air up to two hours after the infected person has left. Using an N95 or higher mask can prevent the spread of the virus to others. In terms of vaccination, two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine provide 97% protection against measles. The best place to receive an MMR vaccine is at a doctor’s office, but there are also other options such as local clinics and pharmacies. 


Alameda County is preparing for a potential measles outbreak by urging vaccination, educating the public about the disease, and providing travel advice. It is also offering resources like digital vaccine records and travel clinic information. 

Supporting Local Events


ETHD Chair Ed Hernandez attended a few events recently -- the Rosales Sisters Scholarship Fund Gala and the Davis Street Gala. Both events raise thousands of dollars to support education and vital community resources, helping improve the quality of life for local residents.


At the Eden Health District table supporting the Rosales Sisters Scholarship Fund Gala.

UC Health Workers to Strike This Week at UCSF, Other Campuses Statewide


Up to 20,000 unionized health care workers went on strike at all UC campuses and medical centers Thursday, the third such strike this year over what the unions say are unfair labor practices by UC. Locally, the one-day strike, led by UPTE-CWA Local 9119 and AFSCME Local 3299, took place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UCSF Mission Bay campus, and included workers from Parnassus, St. Francis and St. Mary’s hospitals.


Picketing was also planned at the UC Berkeley entrance at Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way. UCSF Health continued regular operations, including emergency care, and kept most scheduled appointments and surgeries. SF Chronicle Read more

How Two Cupertino Teens Helped to Change Dementia Care in The Bay Area


Nearly 7 million Americans live with dementia-related illnesses, a figure that’s expected to double by 2050. Those numbers tell a sobering story. Yet in the tech-focused corridors of Santa Clara County, conversations about caregiving and support were once surprisingly muted. Arhan Chakravarthy and Samik Thakur, students at Homestead High School in Cupertino, decided to do something about that.


They turned what could have been a simple school project, as part of their local Future Business Leaders of America club, into something that’s actually changing lives — a movement that began in 2024 that they call “Project Preserve,” which is reshaping how Silicon Valley approaches memory care. SF Chronicle Read more

COVID News

HHS, NIH Unveil Vaccine Initiative to Protect Against Future Pandemics


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health announced a new initiative called "Generation Gold Standard" to develop next-generation, universal vaccines using a beta-propiolactone (BPL)-inactivated, whole-virus platform. According to a press release issued by the NIH, the initiative will fund the institute's in-house development of universal influenza and coronavirus vaccines, including candidates BPL-1357 and BPL-24910. The goal of these vaccines is to provide broad-spectrum protection against multiple strains of pandemic-prone viruses such as bird flu and various coronaviruses. U.S. News & World Report Read more

CDC Reports 216 Child Deaths This Flu Season, the Most in 15 Years


More U.S. children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday. The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eclipse the 207 reported last year. It's the most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic. It's a startlingly high number, given that the flu season is still going on. The final pediatric death tally for the 2023-2024 flu season wasn't counted until autumn.


“This number that we have now is almost certainly an undercount, and one that — when the season is declared over, and they compile all the data — it's almost certain to go up,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, of the American Academy of Pediatrics. U.S News & World Report Read more

Could this Molecule be ‘Checkmate’ for Coronaviruses?


A team at UC San Francisco and Gladstone Institutes has developed new drug candidates that show great promise against the virus that causes COVID-19 and potentially other coronaviruses that could cause future pandemics. In preclinical testing, the compounds performed better than Paxlovid against SARS-CoV-2 and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, which periodically causes deadly outbreaks around the world.


“In three years, we’ve moved as fast as a pharmaceutical company would have, from start to finish, developing drug candidates against a totally new pathogen,” said Charles Craik, PhD, UCSF professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and co-corresponding author of the paper, which appears April 23 in Science Advances. “These compounds could inhibit coronaviruses in general, giving us a head start against the next pandemic,” Craik said. “We need to get them across the finish line and into clinical trials.” UCSF Read more

COVID Boosters Might Not Be Updated for Next Season, FDA Commissioner Says


The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reiterated Tuesday that the agency is applying a more skeptical approach to this year’s round of COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Companies applying for approval of COVID boosters are being encouraged to use “gold standard science,” including full-fledged clinical trials involving healthy people, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said at the American Hospital Association's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. That approach could mean no COVID boosters will be approved in time for next winter’s respiratory disease season, Makary has warned in earlier interviews. U.S News & World Report Read more



State/National/International News

California’s Big Cities Are Slowly Bouncing Back, New Population Data Show


California’s population increased for the second consecutive year, with much of the growth coming to the state’s biggest cities, according to new data from the California Department of Finance released Thursday. The latest numbers for calendar year 2024 confirm the end of the so-called California exodus that saw the Golden State’s population shrink for the first time in decades. Seven of the state’s 10 largest cities recorded population growth as they bounced back from the pandemic-era shrinking, which hit hardest in most of the state’s urban centers. LA Times Read more

Adult Acne Increases Risk of Eating Disorders


People with acne are at increased risk of developing an eating disorder, a new study says. Adult acne patients are 2.4 times more likely to have an eating disorder, researchers reported recently in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. Even after accounting for a history of mood disorders or body image disorder, acne was tied to a 65% increased risk of an eating disorder, researchers found.


“We found that acne was associated with a higher likelihood of having an eating disorder in adults from across the United States,” study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, director of the Psoriasis Treatment Program at Yale School of Medicine, said in prepared remarks. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Here's How the Trump Administration Has Changed Health Policy in its First 100 Days


In its first 100 days, the Trump administration — and specifically, the Department of Government Efficiency — shuttered agencies and slashed budgets pertaining to foreign aid, scientific research, food safety, and more. How will this impact people's health and well-being both in the U.S., and around the world? To answer that question, we're calling in our colleagues: global health correspondent Gabrielle Emmanuel and health policy reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin. They break down what cuts to science and health departments have been made, why they matter and what those changes might mean for the future. NPR Read more

California Sent Investigators to ICE Facilities. They Found More Detainees, Health Care Gaps


A new report from the California Department of Justice finds that immigration detention facilities across the state continue to fall short in providing basic mental health care, with gaps in suicide prevention and treatment, recordkeeping, and use of force incidents against mentally ill detainees. The report’s release comes alongside an aggressive expansion of immigration enforcement and broader changes to immigration policy under President Donald Trump’s second administration. The timing of the report’s release signals California officials plan to continue oversight as federal officials move to expand immigration detention capacity in the state. CalMatters Read more

At-Home Tests Dramatically Reduced Death Rates for this Kind of Cancer, Study Finds


An innovative colorectal cancer screening program at Kaiser Permanente Northern California has significantly reduced cancer rates and deaths, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Northern California. The program mails at-home fecal tests to patients yearly — a convenient, noninvasive part of a screening protocol that also includes other less frequent routine tests like colonoscopies. SF Chronicle Read more

California, Other States Sue Trump Administration to Block Cuts to Americorps


California joined a coalition of states Tuesday in suing the Trump administration over massive cuts to AmeriCorps, the federal program that each year deploys hundreds of thousands of volunteers to natural disaster sites and needy communities nationwide, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said. He added that the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency were acting unlawfully by unilaterally axing a program established and funded by Congress to support devastated parts of the country at their greatest time of need, such as Los Angeles after its recent wildfires. LA Times Read more

Small Bursts, Big Gains: Exercise Shields the Aging Brain


New research shows that even small amounts of high-intensity physical activity can significantly benefit brain health and reduce dementia risk. The study highlights how endurance training and fitness influence inflammation, blood flow, and brain plasticity—key factors in cognitive decline. Notably, short bouts of brisk activity, like walking too fast to sing, can lower dementia risk by up to 40%. Researchers stress it’s never too late to start, urging health guidelines to reflect the brain-boosting power of microtraining. Neuroscience News Read more

Man Bitten by Snakes 200 Times May Help Create New Antivenom


Tim Friede has survived hundreds of snakebites — on purpose. For nearly two decades, he let some of the world’s most dangerous snakes sink their fangs into his arms, all for science. Now, his bold experiment could potentially help save thousands of lives. Friede, 57, from Wisconsin, has spent nearly 20 years injecting himself with snake venom to build immunity. His work may now help solve a major global health problem: Each year, venomous snakes bite up to 2.7 million people, causing an estimated 120,000 deaths and 400,000 injuries. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Homelessness

They Found Their Homeless Loved Ones After Years Apart. But That Was Just the Beginning


It’s estimated more than 187,000 Californians are homeless. But no one counts the number of people who stay up late worrying, compulsively Googling their sister, father or child’s name for a clue to their whereabouts. The people who scan every face each time they pass a homeless encampment. Their numbers are likely far greater. Some nonprofits that work in the homeless services sector say reconnecting with family is a crucial, and often overlooked, step in getting clients off the street.


Even if a family member can’t offer up their guest room or couch, they might help their loved one find housing, access addiction treatment, sign up for benefits, or simply provide emotional support — reminding them that they are important and worthy of love. But the process of finding and reconnecting with someone living outside can be difficult, both logistically and emotionally, for everyone involved. CalMatters Read more

Overlooked No More: Joyce Brown, Whose Struggle Redefined the Rights of the Homeless


Joyce Brown’s New York minute lasted longer than most. A onetime secretary, Brown became homeless in 1986 and began camping on a heating grate on Second Avenue and 65th Street in Manhattan. A year or so passed before she was picked up by city officials, involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital — where she was declared mentally ill — and forcibly given medication.


Brown, who was better known as Billie Boggs, was the first homeless person to become the focus of Mayor Edward I. Koch’s newly expanded initiative to address the increasing visibility of homelessness and untreated mental illness on the streets. But, as she would later say in interviews, the city chose “the wrong one.” Unlike the dozen or so other people who would face similar fates, she said she knew her rights, and she would begin exercising them the very next day. NY Times Read more

Mark Zuckerberg’s Philanthropy Quietly Cuts Funding For Affordable Housing, Homelessness Groups


In April 2024, Priscilla Chan sat on a stage during the five-year anniversary celebration for a housing initiative that she and husband Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy had seeded with a $50 million commitment. She explained their mission: “To improve housing affordability for folks across the socioeconomic spectrum, but especially for those who can least afford it, and to promote racial equity and economic inclusion.”


A year later, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has made a sharp reversal on its commitment to housing. CZI is quietly ending funding for a number of California housing organizations, telling many of the advocacy groups for housing and homelessness, some that it has supported for years, that it will not renew their grants going forward. East Bay Times Read more

‘Millions Out on the Street Virtually Overnight’: How Trump’s Budget Proposal Could Affect California


President Trump released a budget blueprint for the next fiscal year that would take a chainsaw to social, environmental, and education programs. Some of the sharpest cuts are directed at housing programs that are meant to serve the poor, housing insecure and unhoused. In California, millions are served by these funds and state and local governments depend on them to operate affordable housing, rental assistance, homeless service, planning and legal programs. CalMatters Read more



Mental Health

Teladoc Health Acquires Uplift For $30M, Doubling Down On Virtual Mental Health Despite Betterhelp's Struggles


Despite the poor financial performance of BetterHelp, whose revenue fell by 11% in Q1, Teladoc has grown its investment in virtual mental healthcare by acquiring UpLift in a $30 million all-cash transaction. The deal closed on April 30, the same day as Teladoc’s first quarter 2025 earnings call. The company fared worse than Wall Street expected in Q1, posting a net loss of $93 million, or $0.53 lost per share. Wall Street Analysts expected the company share price to decrease by $0.33.


A significant upside to the acquisition is the new-found ability for BetterHelp customers to use insurance coverage for mental health services, a barrier that has kept some customers from signing up with the cash-pay mental health provider. UpLift will be included in the company’s BetterHelp reporting segment going forward, executives said. Fierce Healthcare Read more

Epilepsy, Anxiety Meds Don't Increase Suicide Risk


A class of drugs used to treat epilepsy, nerve pain, and anxiety do not appear to increase a person’s risk of self-harm, a major new study says. Gabapentinoids – which include gabapentin and pregabalin – have been associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, researchers said in background notes. But researchers found that patients had an increased risk of self-harm prior to being prescribed gabapentinoids, and that the risk rises again shortly after they stop taking the drugs.


“Our results cannot rule out a potential risk of self-harm associated with gabapentinoid prescriptions, but the association does not seem to support a direct effect of gabapentinoid treatment on self-harm because of the elevated risks observed before treatment initiation,” concluded the research team led by senior investigator Kenneth Man, a lecturer in pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety at University College London in the U.K. U.S. News & World Report Read more

‘Reckless’: U.S. Stiffs Bay Area Schools On $14.5 Million In Mental Health Grants


Hundreds of Marin public school students stand to lose mental health support services with the cancellation of $14.5 million in federal grants. The Marin County Office of Education received notice Tuesday that two five-year mental health grants of $9.95 million and $4.5 million would be canceled, effective in December, said John Carroll, the Marin County superintendent of schools.


“The reckless and chaotic nature of this surprise decision shows clearly that the U.S. Department of Education either does not understand how school funding cycles work, or is intentionally acting to harm the efficient operation of our schools,” Carroll said. “Either way, this is very bad news. Worse than that, the federal government is trying to kill a program that supports learning and social emotional growth for kids who need it most — at a time when communities are asking for more help.” Mercury News Read more

Talk Therapy is Up, Use of Psych Meds Without Therapy Is Down, Study Finds


More American adults with mental health needs have been getting talk therapy in recent years, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The study also found that the number of people using only psychiatric medications for treatment declined for the first time in years. "We're seeing that during this time, this increase represents a period where psychotherapy is assuming a more important role in outpatient mental health care," says Dr. Mark Olfson, a psychiatrist and epidemiologist at Columbia University.


"The number of American adults who receive psychotherapy went up from about 6.5% in 2018, up to 8.5% in 2021," he says. "So that's increased from about 16.5 million to nearly 22 million people." NPR Read more



Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends

Ozempic Can Treat Fatty Liver Disease


The cutting-edge weight-loss drug Ozempic/Wegovy can stop and even reverse fatty liver disease, a new clinical trial has found. Nearly twice as many people taking semaglutide stopped their fatty liver disease without further scarring of the organ — 63%, compared with 34% of those taking a placebo, researchers reported April 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine. An estimated 15 million Americans — 1 in 20 adults — suffer from fatty liver disease, also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), researchers said in background notes. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Santa Clara County Records its First Carfentanil Overdose Death


Santa Clara County recorded its first carfentanil overdose death last week, according to county officials. The synthetic opioid is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and not approved for human consumption. A 39-year-old man was found dead with M30 pills made to look like prescription oxycodone, the county’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs said in a news release. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office confirmed he died from a carfentanil overdose. East Bay Times Read more

Mindfulness Meditation Counters Opioid Cravings


Mindfulness meditation can help rewire the brain to reduce opioid cravings in people addicted to narcotics, a new study says. People assigned to mindfulness training had 50% less opioid cravings than others who received supportive group therapy, researchers reported April 30 in JAMA Psychiatry. “Opioid addiction decreases the brain’s ability to experience natural healthy pleasure, driving increased cravings for the drug,” said lead researcher Eric Garland, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine. “Our research shows that (mindfulness training) helps restore this capacity, reducing cravings and potentially preventing opioid misuse,” he said in a news release. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Fast Facts

Your Brain is Biased to Negativity. Here’s How to Be More Positive


Negative events feel more psychologically intense than positive ones, thanks to a cognitive tendency called the negativity bias. That’s true even when events are of equal weight. Here are some research-based ways to manage negativity bias: Try to switch your attention to the positive. For example, if you’re stewing over the belief that your husband can’t do anything right because he forgot to wheel out the trash bins, correct your bias by remembering that he just did the laundry. Start noticing it because there is good everywhere around us. Read more tips. Washington Post Read more

About Eden Health District

The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Chair Ed Hernandez, Roxann Lewis, Mariellen Faria, Sabrina Aranda, and Ronna Jojola Gonsalves. The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.
The Eden Health District is committed to ensuring that policymakers and community members receive accurate and timely information to help make the best policy and personal choices. 
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor Rebekah Moan.
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