Inside RFK Jr.'s HHS: Trump on the phone, staff on the floor

STAT interviewed dozens of people to turn up never-before-reported details of his management style and relationship with the president.

November 18, 2025 Check out STAT+

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Maksym Filipenko for STAT STAT+ | How RFK Jr., America's celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science Health secretary steamrolls establishment science with sweeping changes that have thrilled supporters, purged opponents, and horrified critics. By Chelsea Cirruzzo, Casey Ross, and Sarah Todd STAT+ | Trump and RFK Jr. are mulling their most disruptive vaccine policies yet — alarming manufacturers Trump and Kennedy push to reformulate vaccines into single shot doses, remove aluminum leaves drugmakers warning of shortages and risks for kids. By Daniel Payne STAT+ | FDA's stronger warning on Sarepta gene therapy raises new questions about heart risk Risk of "acute, serious, and life-threatening" heart inflammation is now on the label of Sarepta's gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. By Adam Feuerstein and Jason Mast Caitlin O'Hara for STAT STAT+ | Many truck drivers don't live past 61. Could digital health help? Sleep deprivation, lack of exercise, and poor diet trims the average trucker's lifespan to 61 years. The Offshift app offers alternatives to long-haulers. By Katie Palmer Judge approves opioid settlement for Purdue Pharma and Sackler family members who own the company The plan requires members of the Sackler family who own the company to contribute up to $7 billion over 15 years. By Associated Press STAT+ | Trump administration touts moves to provide HIV prevention drug, but refuses to include South Africa An official would not explain why lenacapavir would not be provided to South Africa under the effort, which started in Eswatini and Zambia. By Ed Silverman Adobe STAT+ | Novo Nordisk's $199 Ozempic deal shows what telehealth platforms can do for pharma Novo Nordisk and telehealth companies are teaming up to route patients to cash-pay GLP-1 drugs, reshaping marketing and access in weight loss care. By Katie Palmer Opinion: Could an HIV miracle drug actually reach people like my parents? A medical student who grew up in Zimbabwe, Tatenda Makoni writes that bringing lencapavir to those who need it most is harder than it may sound. By Tatenda Makoni

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