LATEST NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
New de Beaumont-Harvard poll: Trust in CDC Falls Sharply While Support for Vaccine Requirements Remains Strong
Findings from the de Beaumont Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll, One Year In: Public Views of a Changing Public Health, show shifting trust and support for public health policies.
Trust in CDC recommendations declined from 77% in 2025 to 50% in 2026, while trust remains higher for state and local public health agencies. Support for school vaccine requirements remains strong at 77%, though 42% favor reducing required vaccines.
Sixty percent support updated Dietary Guidelines, including strong majorities for limiting sugar and ultra-processed foods (90%) and increasing protein intake (85%), highlighting opportunities for trusted local communication. Find the study here.
Flesh-Eating Screwworm Has Reached the US
The resurgence of the New World screwworm—a flesh-eating parasite that infests wounds of livestock, pets and occasionally humans—has reached Texas and New Mexico after spreading north through Central America and Mexico.
Researchers say illegal cattle trafficking may be accelerating transmission by bypassing animal health screenings, with movement patterns closely matching known smuggling routes. Experts also note that dogs are increasingly implicated in the parasite’s spread.
In response, U.S. and Mexican officials are expanding sterile-fly release programs, a strategy that previously eradicated screwworm from North America. The article highlights how cross-border animal health surveillance and coordinated disease-control efforts remain critical to preventing further spread. Read more from CNN here.
Top Ultra-Processed Food Researchers Call for Sweeping Policy Change
A special issue of the American Journal of Public Health is urging policymakers to take a more active role in addressing ultra-processed foods, citing growing evidence linking them to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and potentially dementia.
Researchers highlighted survey findings showing strong bipartisan support for measures such as pre-market safety testing of additives, warning labels, limits on artificial dyes, and reductions in sugar and salt.
The issue also explores the food industry’s role in shaping consumption patterns and argues that education alone is unlikely to significantly reduce intake. Researchers emphasized policy and regulatory approaches as key strategies for addressing diet-related chronic disease. Read more from STAT News here.
FEATURED TOPICS
Fake References in Medical Papers are Skyrocketing
A reference-integrity audit of 2.5 million biomedical papers and 125.6 million references in PubMed Central identified 4,046 fabricated references across 2,810 papers after multi-database verification and filtering.
Fabrication rates rose markedly, from 1 in 2,828 papers in 2023 to 1 in 458 in 2025, a more than 12-fold increase overall. Most affected papers contained one or two fabricated references, and review articles showed higher fabrication rates than other article types.
Notably, 98.4% of affected papers had received no publisher action at the time of the audit, highlighting gaps in oversight. Read the study in Lancet here.
The Condition PCOS is Now Called PMOS
Researchers and clinicians have renamed polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) to better reflect the condition’s broader hormonal and metabolic impacts and improve patient care.
Affecting an estimated 1 in 8 women worldwide, the condition is associated with irregular menstrual cycles, elevated androgen levels, infertility, and increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Experts say the previous name contributed to confusion, missed diagnoses, and limited understanding of the disorder beyond ovarian symptoms.
The updated terminology follows 14 years of collaboration among researchers, clinicians, and patients and is intended to support more comprehensive diagnosis and treatment approaches. Learn more from AP here.
Fruit-Flavored E-cigarettes for Adults OK'd By FDA
The FDA authorized its first fruit-flavored e-cigarettes for adult smokers, marking a significant shift in federal vaping policy amid declining youth vaping rates, which are now at a 10-year low. The newly authorized products include mango and blueberry flavors and incorporate smartphone-based age verification and Bluetooth access controls intended to reduce youth access.
FDA officials emphasized that authorization is not an endorsement and stated the agency will monitor youth uptake and marketing practices closely.
The decision follows years of FDA denials for flavored products and ongoing concerns that fruit and candy flavors remain widely used in unauthorized products popular among U.S. teens. Read more from CBS News here.
Americans Aren't Sleeping Enough
A May 2026 CDC data brief reports that 30.5% of U.S. adults surveyed in 2024 are sleeping fewer than the recommended seven hours per night, a figure largely unchanged since 2020. Sleep insufficiency is clinically associated with cardiometabolic conditions including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
Approximately 15% of adults report difficulty falling asleep and 18% struggle to stay asleep. A concurrent publication indicates that roughly 13% of U.S. adults use sleep aids nightly — including prescription medications, OTC supplements, and cannabis-derived products — prompting clinical guidance that habitual self-medication warrants physician evaluation to identify potential underlying sleep disorders. Read more from NPR here.
