“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said little publicly about vaccines in recent months, at the behest of a White House worried that his unpopular stance will hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections. But he has not abandoned his quest for evidence that they are unsafe,” New York Times reports.

“Working behind the scenes, Mr. Kennedy is spearheading an intense push, across health agencies under his purview, for government scientists and federal data contractors to examine his long-held theory that vaccines are helping to fuel an epidemic of chronic disease.”

A new Pew Research poll finds 73% of Americans now say the affordability of health care is a very big problem for the country, up 6 percentage points from February of last year.

“President Trump has signed off on a plan to fire Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, according to people familiar with the matter, following a tumultuous period for the regulator that included clashes over vaping, abortion and drug policy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

President Trump spoke to reporters:

REPORTER: Have you been briefed on the hantavirus?

TRUMP: Yes I have.

REPORTER: What have you learned?

TRUMP: Ahhh — it’s very much we hope under control.

REPORTER: Should Americans be concerned it’s going to spread? TRUMP: I hope not. We’ll do the best we can.

New York Times: “To some public health experts, the alarming thing about this situation is not the hantavirus, which they note spreads among people rarely, and only with close contact over a period of time rather than casual interactions.”

“It is that the administration’s sluggish response and lack of communication suggest the United States is ill prepared for a larger health crisis, such as another pandemic.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called for Anthony Fauci, former longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to be indicted for what the senator claimed was his lying under oath, NewsNation reports.

Rachel Bade: “FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is expected to get the ax in the coming weeks, according to two well-placed individuals familiar with the matter — the latest sign that Trump’s pre-midterm, house-cleaning isn’t over.”

New York Times: “Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles in recent months.”

“The studies, which cost millions of dollars in public funds, were conducted by scientists at the agency, who worked with data firms to analyze millions of patient records. They found serious side effects to be very rare.”

Paul Krugman: MAGA will kill many Americans.

“Just two months before she was selected as President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier suggested the administration was hiding that measles was spreading widely enough in the United States for the country to lose its ‘elimination’ status until after the midterm elections,” CNN reports.

“That post has since been deleted, along with numerous others from Saphier’s X account posted in 2025 and 2026 criticizing the administration’s health policies and attacking Trump personally.”

Wall Street Journal: “A frustrated President Trump over the weekend upbraided Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary for not moving quickly enough to approve flavored vapes and nicotine products.”

“In a series of weekend calls while in Florida and conversations at the White House on Monday, Trump sought advice from his advisers about Makary and the importance of flavored vaping to young MAGA voters.”

Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump is slated to sign a memorandum Tuesday that brings back the Presidential Fitness Test Award, part of a broader effort by the administration to revamp US public health policies.”

“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday announced several initiatives intended to rein in the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants, which he has described as exceptionally difficult to quit,” the New York Times reports.

New York Times: “Mindbending may be just the word to describe the Oval Office ceremony on April 18, when President Trump ordered federal agencies to speed up research into the potential therapeutic uses of illegal psychedelic compounds like LSD, peyote and MDMA.”

“Here was a law-and-order Republican and lifelong teetotaler championing the hallucinogenic substances that a previous Republican president, Richard Nixon, had condemned as ‘public enemy No. 1.’”

“In the decades since 1970, when Nixon consigned psychedelics to the most restrictive category of federal prohibition, his absolutist, just-say-no approach was embraced by waves of conservative politicians.”

Politico: “Their disdain adds to the list of grievances MAHA members have with the Trump administration and could dampen their enthusiasm for Republican candidates in the midterms. The White House is counting on the alliance to help GOP candidates.”

“Nebraska is launching work requirements in Medicaid on Friday, becoming the first state to implement a key pillar of the Republicans’ ‘big, beautiful bill,'” CNN reports.

“GOP Gov. Jim Pillen has said the mandate will promote long term independence. But community advocates and experts fear that tens of thousands of eligible low-income adults could lose their coverage due to paperwork burdens and other hurdles.”

“They also criticize the state for enacting the requirement eight months before the deadline set by the law, failing to provide enrollees enough notice or information and opting not to hire more staff to oversee the new mandate.”