Halts

Trump ordered data collection after raising concern about race being used as factor in college admissionsA federal judge on Friday halted efforts by the Trump administration to collect data that proves higher education institutions aren’t considering race in admissions.The ruling from the US district court judge F Dennis Saylor IV in Boston granting the preliminary injunction follows a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. It will only apply to public universities in plaintiffs’ states. Continue reading...

• Pfizer and BioNTech stopped a large US trial of their updated COVID-19 vaccine targeting healthy adults aged 50-64 due to inability to recruit 25,000-30,000 participants without conditions like hypertension or diabetes. • The halt highlights recruitment challenges amid low interest in trials for healthy populations. • This occurs against a backdrop of shifting vaccine policies under the Trump administration, prioritizing chronic disease over broad COVID efforts.

Federal agency, which normally supports state and local public health labs, has been hobbled by staff departuresSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US federal agency responsible for monitoring diseases has temporarily halted certain diagnostic testing, including those for rabies, human herpesvirus and several other infectious illnesses.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a list on Monday showing that more than two dozen types of testing are now unavailable. Continue reading...