U.S. death rate drops to lowest level since 2020 with COVID no longer a leading cause

U.S. death rate drops to lowest level since 2020 with COVID no longer a leading cause

The mortality rate in the United States declined by 3.8% in 2024, and COVID-19 was no longer among the 10 leading causes of death, according to a federal report released Wednesday. Using provisional death certificate data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics estimates there were 3,072,039 deaths last year,…

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Commentary: Health expert pleads with GOP senator to address RFK Jr. actions "before it is too late"

Commentary: Health expert pleads with GOP senator to address RFK Jr. actions “before it is too late”

In the wake of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s firing of top CDC officials and cuts in mRNA vaccine research, Dr. Timothy Johnson (longtime network TV medical editor and founding editor of the Harvard Medical School Health Letter) has a message for a fellow doctor, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who’d promised…

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Senior CDC officials resign after Monarez ouster, cite concerns over scientific independence

Senior CDC officials resign after Monarez ouster, cite concerns over scientific independence

Four senior officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced their resignations in recent days, citing what they described as growing political interference in the agency’s scientific work, particularly regarding vaccines. Two of those — Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s Chief Science and Medical Officer, and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who led the…

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As measles surged in Texas, Trump administration's actions hampered CDC's response

As measles surged in Texas, Trump administration’s actions hampered CDC’s response

As measles surged in Texas early this year, the Trump administration’s actions sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists that kept them from performing the agency’s most critical function — emergency response — when it mattered most, an investigation from KFF Health News shows. The outbreak soon became the worst the United States has endured…

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