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Healthwatch With Dr. Leana Wen: U.S. drops vaccine guidance, as Measles cases jump. Plus, cuts at NIH

Dr. Leana Wen is a Washington Post columnist, professor at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health, author of the book Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health, and former Baltimore City Health Commissioner.
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Dr. Leana Wen is a Washington Post columnist, professor at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health, author of the book Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health, and former Baltimore City Health Commissioner.

Dr. Leana Wen joins Tom for Midday Healthwatch, where they discuss issues affecting the health and well-being of Charm City residents.

Today, we discuss vaccine boosters. U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped the recommendations for COVID boosters for healthy children and pregnant women. Plus, HHS has changed the way vaccines are tested.

Meanwhile, the CDC reported that the year-to-date total of pediatric deaths from the flu has risen to 235, the only worst flu season on record since 2009.

And Baltimore has a new health commissioner. Mayor Brandon Scott announced last week that Dr. Michelle Taylor, a pediatrician who directs the Shelby County, TN Health Department, will take the reins of the Baltimore Health Department on August 4.

We discuss these stories and more with Wen. Wen is a former health commissioner of Baltimore. She’s a columnist on health matters for the Washington Post, a medical expert at CNN, and a scholar at George Washington University and the Brookings Institution.

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Host, Midday (M-F 12:00-1:00)
Teria is a Supervising Producer on Midday.
Sam Bermas-Dawes is a producer for Midday.