A new KFF Health Tracking Poll found broad bipartisan concern about food safety and corporate influence in health policy, extending beyond supporters of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. Three-quarters of U.S. adults said there is insufficient regulation of chemical additives in food, while 64% said the same about agricultural pesticides. Even after hearing that stricter regulat…

Developed by the Public Health Communication Collaborative (PHCC) in partnership with Healthy Eating Research, this new resource, “A Snapshot of Dietary Guidelines for Americans” provides a concise overview of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), including differences between the 2025 and 2020 editions.   It summarizes recommended foods to support health and reduce chron…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is urging hospitals and nursing homes to align patient meals with the 2025–30 USDA dietary guidelines, warning that serving items such as sugar-sweetened beverages could jeopardize Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement eligibility. CMS issued updated “Conditions of Participation” guidance emphasizing compliance, though legal experts and die…

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 s…

Federal health officials are undertaking the first review of infant formula standards in decades, with HHS Secretary Kennedy's Operation Stork Speed initiative examining potential heavy metal contaminants and the currency of existing nutrient guidelines. The review carries significant public health implications given that most infants rely on formula, breast milk, or both as their sole nutrit…

Recent data highlighted in an Elevance Health report underscore mounting cost-driven barriers to care access: 36% of U.S. adults report skipping physician visits due to cost, while family insurance premiums have increased 52% over the past decade, contributing to national health care expenditures exceeding $5 trillion annually. Hospital spending rose 10% in 2023–2024—the fastest rate in over…

A suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius, a cruise vessel traveling between Argentina and Cape Verde, has resulted in three deaths and at least three additional cases as of early May 2026. The WHO has confirmed at least one case, with epidemiological and genomic sequencing investigations ongoing. Hantavirus — typically transmitted through contact with infected rodent excreta — ca…

The FDA has appointed Katherine Szarama as acting director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the unit responsible for evaluating the safety, effectiveness, and availability of vaccines and other biological products for human use. Szarama, who previously served as CBER's deputy director under Vinay Prasad, brings prior experience from the Centers for Medicare and Medi…

Public health communicators who regularly engage media contacts can strengthen those relationships by avoiding three common pitching missteps. According to Cision's State of the Media Report, 78% of journalists will block sources who repeatedly send irrelevant pitches, while Muck Rack's State of Journalism Report finds only 3% of journalists report that pitches consistently match their coverage…