Election wins of Annie Andrews, Abdul El-Sayed and more who ran on healthcare issues are viewed as a sign of hope as Trump administration unravels US health policy

Public health leaders and politicians who made healthcare a central part of their platforms swept into office in the US midterm elections last week, setting the stage for national, state and local changes.

Voters, faced with an unprecedented rise in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, alongside devastating outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, chose national candidates who prioritized public health, healthcare affordability, reproductive health and the impeachment of Robert F Kennedy Jr, among other key issues.

Some experts express concern about ‘lack of transparency’ as agency removes warnings on three estrogen patches

Three more patches for treating menopause will no longer carry black-box warnings about cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and dementia, officials at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday.

The FDA did not convene an advisory committee and offered few details on the scientific basis for the decision in the press briefing. The news follows the removal of black-box warnings from six menopause treatments in February, as patients across the US struggle with shortages of the patches.

Parents are opting for a second shot of MMR vaccine sooner, which aligns with guidance in Germany, the UK and France

Measles cases are accelerating in the US, with twice as many confirmed cases as last year, and more parents are opting for earlier vaccination – especially with the second dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which can be given as soon as four weeks after the first.

Giving the second shot soon after the first aligns with what some other countries, such as Germany, the United Kingdom and France, recommend – and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also says it’s an option.