The CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service will hold its 75th annual conference this week—but unlike prior years, it is closed to the public. The event, running through Friday, is taking place on the CDC’s main campus, accessible only to those with security clearance. Organizers previously held the conference in an Atlanta hotel, allowing former CDC employees and interested members of the public to attend.
An HHS official stated the decision to move the event onto CDC grounds was made to save taxpayer money. The conference agenda includes a study showing that flu shots during pregnancy protect newborns in their first 6 months of life, when they are too young for vaccination.
In related regulatory news, a U.S. district judge in Oregon has ruled against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s declaration that gender-affirming care does not meet medical standards. Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai concluded that Kennedy lacked the authority to issue such a sweeping assertion, calling it unlawful. The declaration, released in December alongside proposed rules leveraging federal funding to restrict gender-affirming care, does not necessarily invalidate those proposed rules, which followed more standard procedures. Kasubhai’s decision will likely be cited in challenges to the rules once finalized.
A separate study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that 2 percent of children in households above the 200 percent federal poverty line still experience food insecurity. About half of food-insecure children above that threshold live in families with incomes between 201 and 250 percent of the federal poverty line. The research analyzed self-reported data from over 33 million children in the 2024 National Survey of Children’s Health. Black, Hispanic or Latino, Spanish-speaking, and publicly insured families were more likely to struggle with food insecurity. These 658,704 children are ineligible for SNAP benefits, and researchers argue policymakers should expand SNAP income eligibility.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/health-news-cdc-conference-was-always-open-to-the-public-until-now/