US President Donald Trump is demanding that some children’s vaccines be split into five separate shots with longer intervals between them.1 He cited reducing autism as the reason, although extensive research has found no causal link between measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination and autism. “We’re going to recommend that they do five doses . . . and that they be given in six month intervals so that a small amount of the vaccine gets pumped into the body,” Trump said. Trump made these c

Newly released city documents and earlier federal reviews indicate that New Yorkers were not fully informed about air quality risks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. They add to concerns first raised by federal investigators two years after the attack. In 2003 the inspector general of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that when it had declared the air outside the Ground Zero area “safe” to breathe on 18 September 2001, it did not have enough data and analysis to make s

Science journalist and Nature editor Helen Pearson tells The BMJ what she learnt from conversations with pioneers and critics of evidence based practice across medicine for her new book ### Biography Helen Pearson is senior editor at Nature , having worked at the journal for over 20 years, including five years as chief magazine editor. She was named European science journalist of the year in 2025. She is also an honorary professor of practice at University College London, where she teaches sci

Access to mifepristone for medical abortion in the US through telehealth, pharmacies, and mail order remains after the US Supreme Court extended a temporary order for a second time on 11 May. The extension gives the justices until at least 14 May to decide whether to allow sweeping new restrictions to take effect across the country. The full court is now weighing whether to uphold a 1 May ruling by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals that would require patients to obtain the drug in person at a

Vinay Prasad, the US Food and Drug Administration chief medical and scientific officer, will leave the agency for the second time, amid a series of disputes with pharmaceutical companies. FDA commissioner Marty Makary reportedly said Prasad will depart in April, in an email to staff on 6 March,1 adding that he would return to his previous role at the University of California, San Francisco, where he is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics. Prasad, who was also director of the FDA Cent

The “land of the free” is almost no longer free of measles, with the US all but certain to lose its elimination certification for the disease after a surge of new infections in January. Outbreaks of measles, one of the world’s most contagious infections, have now been occurring in the US for more than 12 months, and experts say the outbreaks seem to be linked, a key criterion for stripping a country of its measles-free status. Some experts have said the nation has “lost control” of the disease

US president Donald Trump says he has finalised rules to revoke the legal basis for emissions regulations related to climate change. Scientists and environmental lawyers have condemned the move, labelling it a rejection of scientific logic that will harm human health. US regulations on emissions that cause climate change hinge on a 2009 finding by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare. This “endangerment finding” means the EPA must

On 22 January 2025, in one of his first acts as the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order to pull the country out of the World Health Organization.1 That gave the official year notice required for the US to exit the organisation. But a year on, the finality of this divorce is less than clear. Argentina is also amid withdrawal from WHO, but the legality of that move is still being debated despite it being scheduled to come into effect in March. Operationa

The first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency has shaken health in the US and around the world. The BMJ maps the year’s key decisions and themes—and asks experts what 2026 may bring Donald Trump entered office on 20 January 2025 and set up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which cut government departments and personnel, sending shockwaves that were felt worldwide. Within weeks, cuts were made to contracts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees t

The concept of “patient choice” features heavily in the NHS 10 year plan. But what does it mean to patients—and is it still a meaningful concept? The BMJ ’s patient panel give their views Charlotte Augst, former director for policy, campaigns, and improvement at Diabetes UK, questions the consumerist model underpinning much of the NHS’s rhetoric. “One of the ideas put forward in the NHS 10 year plan1 is that consumer choice might drive up quality,” she says. “But that doesn’t really work becaus

In an interview with Kamran Abbasi, Kim Stanley Robinson, whose book is the inspiration behind The BMJ ’s special issue, talks about his admiration for the medical profession and why he still has hope in troubling times ### Biography Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for politically and scientifically grounded climate fiction, including The Ministry for the Future , a novel which explores pathways to ecological survival and social transformation. It’s holding up

The former CDC director tells The BMJ why he’s optimistic despite the chaos at his former agency and why primary care—and AI—matter for clinicians ### Biography Tom Frieden is an internist and infectious disease physician who served as director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2017. He was previously New York City’s health commissioner and is now president and chief executive of Resolve to Save Lives, a non-profit global health organisation. His new book, The F

England’s chief medical officer said in a recent lecture that misinformation has always accompanied medical progress—and that the battle is winnable if we can talk honestly about uncertainty “Through every single one of the past 160 years there was extensive misinformation about health—and yet the improvements continued,” said Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England. “It is extremely important that we take on this misinformation, but we also should accept that this is a battle that is w

The former head of the international vaccine access organisation Gavi tells The BMJ about the politicising of vaccination, chaos at the CDC, and the impact on global vaccine equity ### Biography Seth Berkley is a US physician and infectious disease epidemiologist trained at Brown and Harvard Universities. After completing residency in internal medicine in Boston he joined the Special Pathogens Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and worked on vaccine and HIV/AIDS

Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan have put a spotlight on attacks on healthcare facilities and staff in conflict zones. The BMJ looks at the data, which seem to show a new strategy of war: removing civilians’ access to care The number of military and other hostile attacks on healthcare infrastructure and staff in many of the world’s major conflict zones has risen markedly in the past five years. Data for 2020 to the end of 2024 from the Attacks on Health Care in Countries in Conflict dataset (box 1) sho

US President Donald Trump has said that the painkiller Tylenol (acetaminophen; paracetamol in the UK) could contribute to autism in children and has urged pregnant women to avoid it. In a White House announcement on 22 September1 he advised pregnant women to steer clear of the drug or to use it sparingly, “if you can’t tough it out.”2 Acetaminophen is considered the standard option for treating fever and pain in pregnancy in both the US3 and UK. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regula

Europe lacks the ability to track and deal with recurring severe shortages of medicines, which reached record levels in 2024, warns a report by the European Court of Auditors.1 It found that European Union countries ran critically short of 136 medicines from January 2022 to October 2024. Furthermore, when faced with these rising shortages many countries began to stockpile medicines, which worsened shortages in other countries, the report said. Although the European Medicines Agency (EMA) tries

In an era where pandemics and rapidly evolving technologies dominate public discourse, the role of evidence based action has never been more vital. Adam Kucharski , author of the new book Proof , tells The BMJ what doctors can do to tackle misinformation ### Biography Adam Kucharski is professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His new book Proof , published in March 2025, explores how truth emerges—and why it falters. There was a momen

The US secretary for health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, announced that the US had rejected recent amendments to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations, citing concerns over excessive WHO authority and global surveillance.1 Despite this stance Kennedy’s department acknowledged that the amendments remained binding.2 Experts told Stat News that the move was mostly symbolic,3 noting that the US had already indicated non-acceptance during its WHO withdrawa

Gillian Leng led NICE for 20 years and now serves as president of the Royal Society of Medicine. Her landmark review into physician and anaesthesia associates (PAs and AAs) proposes a new direction for their integration in the NHS.1 Here, she speaks to BMJ editor in chief Kamran Abbasi about what the evidence showed, how she approached the task, and what must happen next Gillian Leng: “I wanted it to be based on the best available evidence. I wanted us to be comprehensive in looking at that evi