Lauran Neergaard

Stay informed with Lauran Neergaard’s coverage and analysis.

FILE – A sign marks an entrance to a Moderna building in Cambridge, Mass., May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes, File)

FILE – A sign marks an entrance to a Moderna building in Cambridge, Mass., May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes, File)

FDA backtracks and agrees to review Moderna mRNA flu vaccine after initial rejection

By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated Press

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rfk

America’s pediatricians reel as government slashes vaccine requirements for children

By Ali Swenson, Lauran Neergaard, and others

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Washington, as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz listen.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Washington, as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz listen.

Health experts appalled by Trump’s ‘irresponsible’ mantra urging pregnant women ‘Don’t take Tylenol’

By Ali Swenson, Lauran Neergaard, and others

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

FDA asks doctors to minimize Tylenol in pregnancy while admitting ‘causal relationship has not been established’ to autism

By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated Press

In this photo provided by Mass General Brigham, multiple surgeons in blue scrubs are handling tools to perform a pig kidney transplant. The patient is not shown in the photo.

In this photo provided by Mass General Brigham, multiple surgeons in blue scrubs are handling tools to perform a pig kidney transplant. The patient is not shown in the photo.

American man who volunteered for an experimental pig kidney transplant is off dialysis and wants to ‘give some people some hope’

By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated Press

RFK Jr. gesticulates in a hearing

RFK Jr. gesticulates in a hearing

RFK Jr. and his new vaccine committee are obsessing over thimerosal, a preservative antivaxxers have falsely tied to autism despite zero evidence of causation

By Mike Stobbe, Lauran Neergaard, and others

This photo provided by Gilead Sciences shows a vial of the company’s HIV prevention medication, Yeztugo, (lenacapvir) at a manufacturing facility in La Verne, Calif., in June 2025. (Gilead Sciences via AP)

This photo provided by Gilead Sciences shows a vial of the company’s HIV prevention medication, Yeztugo, (lenacapvir) at a manufacturing facility in La Verne, Calif., in June 2025. (Gilead Sciences via AP)

U.S. approves twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV but cuts to public health and foreign aid cloud its prospects

By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated Press

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon attend a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon attend a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Who can get a COVID-19 shot this year? Here’s what to know

By Lauran Neergaard, Tom Murphy, and others

Food and Drug Administration commissioner Martin Markary speaks during an event with President Donald Trump to sign executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Food and Drug Administration commissioner Martin Markary speaks during an event with President Donald Trump to sign executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

New FDA vaccine approval policy limits access to COVID shots to seniors and others at high risk

By Matthew Perrone, Lauran Neergaard, and others

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears at a budget hearing before a House Appropriations, Subcommittee hearing, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears at a budget hearing before a House Appropriations, Subcommittee hearing, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

RFK Jr. pledged not to upend vaccine system but FDA is about to ‘unleash a massive framework’ for how they’re tested and approved

By Matthew Perrone, Lauran Neergaard, and others

FILE – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration campus in Silver Spring, Md., is photographed, Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration campus in Silver Spring, Md., is photographed, Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FDA approves Novavax COVID-19 shot but with unusual restrictions

By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated Press

FILE – A vial of the Phase 3 Novavax coronavirus vaccine prepared for use in a trial at St. George’s University hospital in London, Oct. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE – A vial of the Phase 3 Novavax coronavirus vaccine prepared for use in a trial at St. George’s University hospital in London, Oct. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

Trump’s FDA wants a new trial for Novavax’s COVID-19 shot, sparking uncertainty about updates to other vaccines

By Lauran Neergaard, Matthew Perrone, and others

Jake Heinrichs watches television with his 3-year-old son, Sam, while his wife, Rachel Chavkin, works during his infusion treatment with an experimental anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drug in New York, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Jake Heinrichs watches television with his 3-year-old son, Sam, while his wife, Rachel Chavkin, works during his infusion treatment with an experimental anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drug in New York, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Researchers may have found a drug that could delay Alzheimer’s symptoms. It’s funding is caught up in Trump administration delays

By The Associated Press, Shelby Lum, and others

This image from video provided by UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences shows Doug McCullough, who has spinal muscular atrophy, during tests of experimental spinal cord stimulation to improve muscle function in Pittsburgh, on March 14, 2023. (UPMC, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences via AP)

This image from video provided by UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences shows Doug McCullough, who has spinal muscular atrophy, during tests of experimental spinal cord stimulation to improve muscle function in Pittsburgh, on March 14, 2023. (UPMC, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences via AP)

A spine-zapping implant helped 3 people with a muscle-wasting disease walk better

By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated Press

Young woman in park wearing winter clothing walking with old grandmother. Happy grandma wearing coat walking with lovely girl outdoor with copy space. Smiling lovely caregiver and senior lady walking in park during autumn and looking at each other.

Young woman in park wearing winter clothing walking with old grandmother. Happy grandma wearing coat walking with lovely girl outdoor with copy space. Smiling lovely caregiver and senior lady walking in park during autumn and looking at each other.

Dementia risk is soaring as Americans live longer. 4 steps can help reduce your risk

By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated Press