Morning Briefing: Today's News Summaries Thursday, Dec 4 2025 +++ +++ +

Morning Briefing: Today's News Summaries Thursday, Dec 4 2025 Vaccine Committee Could Vote Today To End Newborn Hepatitis B Shots The birth-dose recommendation has been in place since 1991. The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices will meet again Friday to debate broader changes to the timing of vaccines given to children, as well as whether aluminum salts should be removed from vaccines, The New York Times reported. Plus, CIDRAP takes a deeper dive into the success of the newborn hep B shot. https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/vaccine-committee-could-vote-today-to-end-newborn-hepatitis-b-shots/ FDA Is Reshuffling Leadership Roles As Angst Deepens With Pazdur Exit Theresa Michele, the director of the Office of Nonprescription Drugs, has been reassigned. Tracy Beth Høeg will take the reins at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Also, Richard Pazdur's abrupt retirement from CDER has reignited fears that the agency is imploding, Axios reports. https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/fda-is-reshuffling-leadership-roles-as-angst-deepens-with-pazdur-exit/ At Wednesday Hearing, Senators Leave Door Open To Extending ACA Subsidies No major overhaul seems possible before the end of the year, but optimism remained for an extension. Other news from Capitol Hill is on fraudulent Obamacare signups, President Donald Trump's role in any potential health care deal, health insurance affordability, and more. https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/at-wednesday-hearing-senators-leave-door-open-to-extending-aca-subsidies/ Texas Bathroom Law Limits How Trans People Can Use Public Facilities Senate Bill 8 restricts the kind of bathrooms in public spaces that are available to transgender people and holds institutions liable for violations of the law. Meanwhile, the University of Texas San Antonio is forcing students to change dorms to comply with the new law. Also in the news: California, North Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/texas-bathroom-law-limits-how-trans-people-can-use-public-facilities/ Mangione Back In Court Exactly 1 Year After United Healthcare CEO's Death CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down Dec. 4, 2024, on a sidewalk outside a Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual investors' meeting. In the year since, the case against shooting suspect Luigi Mangione, 27, has played out in pop culture in a way unlike anything in the modern media age, Baltimore Magazine writes. https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/mangione-back-in-court-exactly-1-year-after-united-healthcare-ceos-death/ Court Ruling In India Shakes Up Global Market On Weight Loss Drugs Indian drugmaker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories will be allowed to make a generic version of Novo Nordisk's semaglutide and export it even before some of Novo's global patents expire in 2026. https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/court-ruling-in-india-shakes-up-global-market-on-weight-loss-drugs/ Viewpoints: Removing Designations Will Worsen Nursing Shortage; Overdiagnosis Debate Gets It Wrong https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/viewpoints-removing-designations-will-worsen-nursing-shortage-overdiagnosis-debate-gets-it-wrong/