Flags with the logos of the Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk, manufacturer of the blockbuster diabetes and weight loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy are pictures, while the company introduces the annual report at Novo Nordisk in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, on February 5, 2025.

Mads Claus Rasmussen | AFP | Getty pictures

Novo Nordisk On Wednesday, the results of the studies in the late stage showed a “significant” weight reduction and tolerability in accordance with its blockbuster-Wegovy injection for his daily obesity pill, since the drug manufacturers have an oral treatment on the market.

The results of the phase 3 OASIS 4 study showed that the oral semaglutid pill led to an average weight reduction of 16.6% after 64 weeks in patients with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity, according to the Danish pharmaceutical company.

The stocks rose at 10:23 a.m. London time (5:23 et).

Martin Holst Lange, Chief Science Officer from Novo Nordisk, said Martin Holst Lange, the “Wegven pill”, told CNBC that oral treatment offered patients an important alternative to their existing one-week injection.

“Our task was to show that with the tablet we could get the same effectiveness and the same security and tolerance as possible with the injectable. We have done that now,” said Lange by phone.

“Basically, this means that we can offer the patient the choice between the tablet and the injector, and that will make a difference for some patients,” he added.

The oral treatment of Novo Nordisk is based on the same Semaglutid GLP-1 medication, which supports the company’s existing obesity and diabetes treatments, Wegovy and Ozempic. It has been shown that Wegovy reduces 15% by 15% in patients with obesity or obesity and at least weight-related comorbidity in an earlier novo study.

The pill is currently being checked at the US Food and Drug Administration, which was submitted in February as part of a new drug application. A decision is due in the fourth quarter of this year.

When the company is approved, the pill will be completely created in the United States, since global pharmaceutical companies have increased their US investments in view of the Trump management to increase domestic production.

The pill race of obesity

At the moment, no oral versions of GLP-1S are approved for weight loss on the market, but the competition heats up quickly. Pill treatments are considered an important milestone for companies that want to make the medication more accessible, including those with an aversion to needles.

Analysts announced Reuters on Tuesday that the competitor Eli Lilly‘S Pill, Orforlipron, could quickly be pursued to approval within one to two months as part of the “National Priority Voucher of the Commissioner” of the FDA-a new initiative to promote the goals of the drug development of the Trump administration.

Lange said Novo welcomed “good competition”, but added that it focused on the drug results, including long -term adoption rates.

“We look at the data in this situation,” said Lange. “Semaglutid as a tablet has the potential to offer a weight loss of 17% and a good safety and tolerance profile.”

“What we saw from our competitor is just more than 12% weight loss. And here, too, we cannot make any direct comparisons, but at least we can see a demolition rate, which indicates that Semaglutide may also have one [more] Effective security and compatibility profile. “

In a Phase 3 achievement published on Tuesday, which was released on Tuesday, Eli Lilly said that after 72 weeks in adults with obesity or overweight with at least one comorbidity led to an average weight loss of 12.4% with the highest dose.

Nevertheless, the US drug manufacturer said on Wednesday that his Pill Novo surpassed in the first head-to-head study in which the effectiveness of the two medication was compared in the reduction of blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Both companies have experimented with new so-called next generation drugs, whereby Novo marks the promise of the form of weight loss treatment in its long-effective amylin analogue cagrilintide.

It comes when the Danish company announced plans last week to shorten around 9,000 roles as part of a broader change as part of the new CEO Mike Doustdar who swore to reset the company after weaker growth.

“What we are doing now focuses on our core that is diabetes and obesity. This includes continuous investments in both diabetes and in obesity and, as we have discussed, related comorbidities,” said Lange on Wednesday.

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that no oral versions of GLP-1S are currently approved for weight loss on the market.

The Roche holds the AG headquarters on April 11, 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.

Sedat Suna | Getty Images News | Getty pictures

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche aims at becoming a top thirty -fat -lane player worldwide and presenting a potential rival for heavyweights Novo Nordisk And Eli Lilly While it improves one of his experimental weight loss medication for a study in the late stage.

“I want you to know that I am serious about this goal,” said Teresa Graham, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals, on Monday at Roche’s Pharma Day in London in London.

“We know how to break into new markets,” she added.

The pharmaceutical manufacturer said at the beginning of this week that his CT-388 weight loss injection had entered a phase III study, the last phase before a company can obtain official approval-and the latest development in Roch’s emerging but quickly growing pipeline of treatments for obesity and related diseases.

Roche currently has no approved obese medications on the market, but Graham said that the company had set up its treatment suite by 2030.

This includes the closely observed petrelintide drug candidate, which Roche is currently together as part of a partnership with Danish biotech with 5.3 billion US Zealand Pharma.

“I think we are up to date,” said Manu Chakravarthy, Vice President and Global Head of Cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic product development, compared to CNBC about the schedule for petrelintide.

“We are very obliged to pull that [timeline] As much as possible, “he added.

Petrelintide, an emerging form of treatment, known as amylin analogue, adds the existing GLP 1 offer from Roche, including CT-388 and once daily oral CT-996, both of which as part of the first statement from Roche with the purchase of the purchase of 2023 from US-Biotech-Autocarmot-Carmot-Autocotic-Carotic-Automots market were purchased.

Obesity market

The company strengthened its offer last week with a contract for the purchase of USBIOTECH COMPANY 89BIO and with competitors with the development of new treatments for liver diseases to supplement medication for weight reduction.

Graham said investors that she was confident that Roch’s growing suite of drug candidates would help strengthen his chances of success on the increasingly competitive market for weight loss.

Yihan Li, Pharmaanalyst at Barclays, said Roche’s goal of becoming a top three player was “potentially accessible” due to her broad pipeline of obesity assets, but found that the next year would be a “big year” for her test reading.

“It is even more important that the obesity market is currently only a duopol. So it will be a question mark of how big the gap between Roche and Novo/Lly will be,” she wrote in E -Mail comments and added that other treatments of the competitor would probably come onto the market before Roche.

It happens that the rivals Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have driven to bring their obesity pills onto the market to expand their offer in the middle of the booming demand for their GLP-1 treatments. Both companies also examine Amylin analogues candidates and other experimental treatments.

The couple already dominates the obesity market, even if the competition from Copycat Compound pharmacies has increased.

Nevertheless, Graham suggested that newer market participants could learn important lessons from the first round of obese treatments. In particular, she said “Medicines of the next generation” should meet with non -covered needs with regard to compatibility, weight maintenance, treatment of comorbidities and lean loss of muscle.

“Our differentiation depends on having this width of options,” she said. “We can completely cover the width of this uncovered need.”

“If you don’t have a portfolio of solutions, it is restrictive,” added Chakravarthy.

A sign of the CDC is outside its facility in the centers for the control and prevention of diseases and prevention Roybal in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 30, 2025.

Megan Varner | Reuters

More than a dozen pages on the website of disease control and prevention in connection with sexual and gender -specific identity, health authorization and other topics have been learned.

The CDC received a guideline from the Department of Health and Human Services, which the agency monitors to remove certain websites by the end of the day on September 19, an internal CDC -E email that was sent to some employees on this day, their work related to the pages.

Pages include a sexually transmitted infections and gay men, another about healthy justice for people with disabilities and additional facts on asexuality and bisexuality. Some supporters of health permissions say that removal of such resources could create gaps in access to critical health information, especially for marginalized groups, and the efforts to promote fair care could undermine.

The removal of “critical materials from trustworthy state resources endangers the health of the patient and the public”, a spokesman for the LBGT Pa Caucus, a non-profit organization that promotes LGBTQ+ Health Care capital, in a statement.

“Removing resources for gender identity does not delete the need, only erodes trust, creates confusion and provides patients a higher risk,” said the spokesman. “Clinic and the communities that they serve rely on accessible, accurate and integrative instructions to ensure safe and effective care.”

The E -Mail did not contain any details about why HHS cited the CDC to remove the pages or why it aimed at certain topics. However, the topics of some of the resources recorded are long -term goals of the Trump administration, which have issued a number of executive measures that restrict the rights of transgender and non -binic people and to recover the efforts to increase diversity, justice and inclusion.

In an explanation, an HHS spokesman said that the “CDC continues to organize its website with administrative priorities and executive orders”. The CDC directed CNBC for a comment on HHS.

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The CDC website on health for people with disabilities became online on August 27th, according to Wayback machine, but is offline on September 26th.

CDC website, Wayback machine

It is not the first time that the administration is aiming for health resources on the Federal Agency’s websites.

Thousands of pages on websites for the CDC and Food and Drug Administration, including from the end of January, were abruptly depressed according to the executive order of President Donald Trump, which refers the references to gender identity to federal politics and documents. In February, a federal judge HHS, the CDC and the FDA ordered to temporarily restore public access to the pages, while the legal disputes are progressing.

The same judge decided in July that the government immediately ordered the mass removal of health resources from federal locations and asked the agencies to review and restore the affected pages. After this decision, the Trump government reported to the court on September 19 that most agencies have checked the restoration of the pages with 185 compliance and only 11 CDC sitesPresent According to court documents. It is unclear how many of the pages recorded this month were in question in the lawsuit.

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It is unclear which pages were still checked on September 19 and why the CDC decreased more pages on the same day after the judgment.

The internal CDC -E email was a table of more than a dozen pages that the agency had laid down on September 19. A separate table, which was compiled by the agency and viewed by CNBC, contained an additional website that apparently seems to be offline.

CNBC confirmed that the following pages are now offline. The Digital Archive Site Wayback machine also shows when you were recently active. According to Wayback Machine, several pages were online at the beginning of September, but it is unclear when the CDC all officially removed.

Some pages that are listed in the table attached to the internal CDC -E -Mail are still online. This includes a page on which hospital stays in children and adults are monitored in connection with the syncytial virus of the respiratory tract.

A proposed vote by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Retsef Levi is displayed during an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Sept. 19, 2025.

Alyssa Pointer | Reuters

New recommendations last week from an influential vaccine panel handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke with long-standing U.S. precedent on Covid shots and childhood immunization.

The changes by the group, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, could complicate access in some states and add to public confusion around U.S. vaccine policy.

Still, several health experts say Americans can take steps to try to secure the vaccines they or their children want or need. For some patients in certain states, access and coverage may not change much at all.

During a meeting in Atlanta last week, ACIP weakened Covid shot recommendations; voted against a combination jab against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, or MMRV, for children under the age of 4; and indefinitely postponed a vote on whether to change its advisory around the hepatitis B vaccine administered at birth. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose director the Trump administration ousted in August, still needs to sign off on the recommendations. The agency typically adopts the guidance of ACIP, which issues recommendations on who should receive certain shots and which vaccines insurers must cover at no cost.

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff speaks with committee members and presenters before the start of an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Sept. 19, 2025.

Alyssa Pointer | Reuters

“They didn’t physically take the vaccines away, but they made it more confusing, they made it more bureaucratic, and by doing that, it disincentivizes people from getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “It makes it harder for some people to get vaccinated. It creates more friction.” 

Two regional health alliances spanning several states are issuing broader vaccine recommendations than the federal government, and many states have signed directives that aim to preserve Covid shot access. At the same time, several major insurance plans have pledged to continue covering vaccines based on the panel’s previous guidance issued by former members.

For patients uncertain about the changes, experts recommend turning to trusted health-care providers or vetted medical groups that have issued their own vaccine recommendations. 

Many of the ACIP members emphasized concerns about vaccine side effects, raising doubts about shots long-proven safe and effective. That’s no surprise: Kennedy purged the committee in June and named 12 new members, many of whom have long criticized vaccines. 

The chaotic two-day meeting followed previous steps by Kennedy to limit access to vaccines, including the CDC’s decision to drop Covid shot recommendations for healthy kids and pregnant women, and the Food and Drug Administration’s limits on who can get new Covid jabs.

If you’re concerned about access to shots against Covid, MMRV and hepatitis B, here’s the latest on those vaccines and what you can do to get them.

Should I get a Covid vaccine? 

The answer should be yes if you’re at high risk of severe illness from Covid, according to health experts and major medical organizations.

Meanwhile, some experts said those at low risk should at least consider getting a Covid shot, or can make their decision based on consultation with a provider.

ACIP advised that people 6 months and up receive vaccines based on “shared clinical decision-making,” a choice made between a health-care provider and a patient or their guardian. The group also voted to emphasize that for those under 65, the Covid vaccine is most beneficial for people at high risk of severe illness from the disease.

In other words, the panel is recommending that everyone consult a health-care provider when deciding whether to receive a shot.

But some health experts said the panel should have recommended that all people at high risk of severe illness from Covid get the shot. That includes adults ages 65 and above; those under that age with at least one condition that puts them at high risk, such as cancer, obesity or chronic kidney disease; pregnant women; and children under the age of 2. 

Vaccination is paramount for those groups, as it helps prevent severe Covid and the risk of hospitalization or death due to the virus. 

“Their recommendation is treating Covid as if it’s the same for everybody irrespective of risk, and that’s the wrong way to think about it,” said Johns Hopkins’ Adalja. “Any high-risk group should always stay up to date with the vaccine.”

That view largely aligns with guidance from professional medical organizations: 

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children ages 6 months through 23 months get an updated shot, along with older children ages 2 years through 18 years in certain risk groups or who are in close contact with people at high risk. 
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that patients receive an updated Covid vaccine at any point during pregnancy, when planning to become pregnant, in the postpartum period or when lactating. 
• The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that all adults 19 years and older receive an updated shot, with a particular emphasis on those at high risk or people who have never received a Covid vaccine. 

Two regional health alliances comprised of several states – The Northeast Public Health Collaborative and the West Coast Health Alliance – have based their Covid vaccine recommendations on the guidance from those three organizations. 

Adalja said it is reasonable for a person at low risk of severe illness to rely on a conversation with a provider when determining whether to get a Covid vaccine. 

Meanwhile, Richard Dang, an associate professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Southern California, said he recommends everyone consider getting a Covid shot regardless of their risk level. Dang is also a liaison member representing the American Pharmacists Association in the Covid vaccine work group of ACIP.

Apart from reducing the severity of illness from the virus, some data shows vaccines can help prevent some symptoms of long Covid and other complications that people develop after an infection, according to Dang. 

Healthy individuals should also think about family and others around them who may be at higher risk of severe illness, said Dr. Pamela Rockwell, a clinical professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan.

“Vaccinating yourself may potentially save another life by not potentially infecting them with a vaccine-preventable disease,” Rockwell said. 

Several medical experts have emphasized the importance of vaccines as the U.S. heads into the fall and winter, when infectious diseases, particularly respiratory viruses like Covid, spread more easily. While hospitalizations and deaths from Covid have decreased significantly from previous years, the virus is still spreading.

How is Covid shot access changing? 

Access to Covid vaccines will largely hinge on the state a patient lives in, so health experts recommend Americans check with their providers, local health departments or nearby pharmacies about how they can get a shot and whether they need to meet any new requirements. 

Adalja said the easiest way to access a shot may be to go to a doctor’s office. But the vast majority of Americans get their vaccines from pharmacies. Pharmacy rules vary by state, and not all states currently allow pharmacists to give shots outside of the CDC recommended population without a prescription. 

Access will likely be unchanged in states within the two regional health alliances. The Northeast Public Health Collaborative is made up of New Jersey, New York state, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, Vermont and New York City. Meanwhile, the West Coast Health Alliance has California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

In many of those states, governors had previously issued executive orders to preserve Covid vaccine access – though directives have varied. For example, in California, a new law allows pharmacists to independently prescribe and administer the shot as long as the state health department recommends it. The law also requires insurance plans to cover the vaccines the state endorses.

But as of Sept. 24, pharmacists in Louisiana are not allowed to provide vaccinations without a prescription from a health-care provider like a physician. 

“There are some states where the pharmacist may be skittish to give out the Covid vaccine, and that may impact access for some people,” University of Michigan’s Rockwell said.  

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff speaks with committee members and presenters before the start of an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Sept. 19, 2025.

Alyssa Pointer | Reuters

In a statement Monday, CVS said it currently offers the updated Covid vaccine to patients with an authorized prescription in the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Utah and West Virginia. CVS said it will be able to offer the Covid shot without a prescription in those states after the CDC approves ACIP’s new recommendations around the vaccine.

The company said it already offers Covid vaccines without a prescription requirement in all other states. 

In a separate statement, Walgreens said it continues to administer the shot without prescriptions in the “vast majority” of states. But the company will offer the updated Covid vaccines at locations to people ages 3 and older, no prescription required, after the CDC adopts the panel’s recommendation. 

Meanwhile, insurance coverage for Covid vaccines should largely remain the same for many children and adults. 

ACIP’s recommendation allows for coverage “through all payment mechanisms,” according to an HHS release. That includes the Vaccines for Children Program, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, Medicare and plans through the federal health insurance marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act.

One major health insurance group last week said its member plans will cover all vaccines through 2026 based on ACIP recommendations in place as of Sept. 1 — before the changes made by the new slate of members.

Member plans of the group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, collectively provide coverage and services to more than 200 million Americans. That includes more than a dozen Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, Centene, CVS’ Aetna, Elevance Health, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina and Cigna.

But the group doesn’t cover everyone, so experts recommend that patients contact their plans about the Covid shot. For example, UnitedHealthcare, the country’s largest private health insurer, is not a member of the group.

Can my child take the MMRV vaccine? 

Sherry Andrews, right, holds 13-month-old Jaqi Herrera’s hand after administering the first MMR vaccine dose to Herrera at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Feb. 27, 2025. 

Annie Rice | Reuters

If you have a child under 4, it may be more difficult for them to access the combination MMRV vaccine as their first dose. Children older than 4 shouldn’t have an issue getting that vaccine.

On Thursday, ACIP voted to no longer recommend the combination MMRV shot for children under age 4. Instead, the committee said young children should receive one vaccine for chickenpox and a different shot known as MMR that inoculates against measles, mumps and rubella.

The CDC still recommends two doses of measles-containing vaccine for children, starting with the first dose at age 12 months to 15 months, and a second at age 4 years to 6 years. The agency previously recommended that children under 4 take the separate MMR shot and chickenpox vaccine or – if families and physicians have a preference – the MMRV vaccine for their first dose.

ACIP’s vote does not affect children older than 4, meaning that they can still take the MMRV shot as their second dose. 

Much of the panel’s discussion last week focused on the slightly increased risk of seizures accompanied by fever in young children who have received the first dose of the combined MMRV vaccine. 

But Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health, said that young children can get those so-called febrile seizures from anything that causes a fever, such as an ear infection or a cold. He called it “disappointing to restrict choices for parents” by recommending against the MMRV shot for younger kids.

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But Blumberg also noted that the vote may not make much of a difference for some parents.

About 85% of children currently get the MMR and chickenpox vaccines separately for their first dose, according to data collected by the CDC. About 15% of kids get a single dose of the combination MMRV vaccine.

“It made no sense that they would actually need to take a vote on this because there was nothing new to say about it. The majority of people were getting the shots separately anyway,” said Johns Hopkins’ Adalja. “But when ACIP can get everybody revved up about a combination vaccine and take some kind of vote like that, it scores points with the anti-vaccine movement – even though it’s really irrelevant to the practice of medicine.” 

During a briefing on Monday, President Donald Trump suggested that the MMR vaccine should be separated into three shots, alleging that “it seems to be that when you mix them, there could be a problem.” 

The MMR shot has long been safe and effective, and is credited with saving hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S. Vaccines that protect against just one of the three diseases are also not available in the U.S. due to widespread adoption of the combined shot. Separating the shot into three could hurt uptake, as it could require children to make multiple trips to the doctor’s office rather than one.

The U.S. has already logged the most measles cases this year since the disease was declared eliminated in the country more than two decades ago.

Can my baby take the hepatitis B shot?

The short answer is, yes.

ACIP postponed a vote on whether to delay the first dose of the hepatitis B shot from birth to at least one month for most babies born in the U.S.

The decision means that the committee’s current recommendation – that all infants receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth – will stay in place until the group meets again at a later date. It’s unclear when the panel will convene again to do so.

The postponed vote will only affect the timing of the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine series. The second would still be given one to two months after birth, with a third dose between six and 18 months of age.

Delaying the so-called birth dose would change a safe and highly effective recommendation that was introduced in 1991 and is credited with virtually eliminating the disease in young kids.

“What they’re considering is ignoring history,” said UC Davis’ Blumberg. He said infants face a high risk of getting chronically infected, which can lead to severe health problems, including liver cancer and failure, and death.

Blumberg said eliminating a universal birth dose recommendation will “return us to where we were, having about 1,000 kids every year getting infected with hepatitis B during that period” of their life.

Trump on Monday advocated delaying hepatitis B vaccines until age 12. He suggested that most cases of the disease are sexually transmitted, but infants are susceptible to getting the disease from their mother during childbirth.

“They don’t understand that the fact that you vaccinate at birth is to protect the child who’s coming through the birth canal of a person who could be infected. That’s what the hepatitis B dose is about,” said Johns Hopkins’ Adalja. “The vaccine is safe in that child.”

He said some women test positive after their initial test for the virus during pregnancy or can have a false negative, making the birth dose a crucial tool for protection.

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A rendering of Eli Lilly’s production facility in Houston, Texas.

Kind approval: Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly On Tuesday, there was $ 6.5 billion for the construction of a production facility in Houston, Texas, to increase the production of the company’s pipeline from so-called small molecules medicines, including the closely observed experimental obesity pill.

It is the second in a number of new planned US investments by the drug maker. In February, Eli Lilly announced that it would spend at least 27 billion US dollars for the construction of four new domestic production facilities, which has increased 23 billion US dollars in previous investments since 2020.

Eli Lilly said that there will be the two remaining US websites this year. The company expects to produce medication in all four institutions within five years.

This additional production capacity for the adipositas pill by Eli Lilly, Oforlipron, is crucial because the company is launching it and tries to maintain its dominance on the booming market for GLP-1. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have previously suspended offer restrictions with their existing weekly injections, since demand in the USA was raised

“Our new location in Houston will improve Lilly’s ability to produce Oreeforglipron on a scale and, if they are approved, to fulfill the potential of medicine as obesity and type -2 diabetes for ten million people worldwide who prefer the lightness of a pill that can be taken without food and water restrictions,” said Eli Lilly CEO, David Ricks.

The drug manufacturers have tried to increase their production in the USA because President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs imported in the USA, which have announced that these taxes will be encouraged to enforce production after the domestic drug production has been urgently shrunk in the past decade.

In a publication on Tuesday, Eli Lilly said that the new work in Houston would focus on the production of Orforlipron and the pipeline of the company of other small molecules medication in various disease areas, including cardiometabolic health, oncology, immunology and neurosciences. Small molecule medication, which are often available in a pill form, are too convenient for patients than injectable medication and are generally easier and cheaper to produce on a scale.

Eli Lilly said that the site would bring 615 jobs to the Greater Houston area, including highly qualified engineers, scientists, operating staff and laboratory technicians as well as 4,000 building jobs.

Tylenol is offered for sale on September 5, 2025 in a pharmacy in New York, New York, USA.

Kylie Cooper | Reuters

The Trump government plans to announce on Monday that the use of Tylenol by the pregnant women, according to the Washington Post, may be associated with autism.

Federal health officers are expected to warn women early in pregnancy about the use of Tylenol, unless they have fever, the office reported on Sunday, citing four people familiar with the matter. According to the report, the officials will also highlight a form of folic acid, which is known as a leukorin, as a potential autism treatment.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the White House did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comments.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his government would make an announcement in connection with autism on Monday.

“I think it will be a very important announcement,” said Trump during an event at the American Cornerstone Institute. “I think it will be one of the most important things we will do.”

The Wall Street Journal reported at the beginning of this month that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would soon publish a report in which the use of the common pain reliever paracetamol, the generic name for Tylenol, was summarized into autism during pregnancy. Shares of the Tylenol manufacturer Kenvue fell sharply after the report.

A Kenvue spokesman said CNBC in a statement that “over a decade of strict research that has been approved by leading medical specialists and global health regulators” shows no credible evidence that combines paracetamol with autism.

“We believe that independent, solid science clearly shows that taking paracetamol does not cause autism,” said the spokesman. “We have not agreed with another proposal and are deeply concerned with the health risk that this provides for the expectation of mothers.”

Tylenol added a section to his website in which the “latest media reporting” dealt and found that there is “no proven connection between the intake of acetamol and autism”.

Kirk Perry, CEO von Kenvue, met at the beginning of this month with Kennedy to emphasize this message and prevent him from involving Tylenol as a potential cause of autism in an upcoming report on the disorder.

The Kenvue executives also said that there are few safe alternatives to paracetamol to reduce fever in pregnant women, the magazine reported.

The Food and Drug Administration and the leading medical organizations have also claimed that paracetamol is safe during pregnancy if they have been instructed as instructions, but advise individuals to consult their health service provider before using over -the -counter drugs.

Kennedy has made autism an important focus of the HH and committed to get the cause of the neurological development condition. In the past, he has shared not supported claims about autism in the past about his prevalence and causes.

– Annika Kim Constantino from CNBC has contributed to the reporting.

Members of the Advisory Board Committee on Immunization Practices listen to a presentation on COVID-19 during an Acip meeting in the centers for the control and prevention of diseases in Atlanta on September 19, 2025.

Alyssa Zeiger | Reuters

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine panel Robert F. Kennedy Jr. weakened the recommendations of Covid in the USA on Friday and reported that all Americans consult a health service provider before deciding whether the vaccine was given.

The 12-member body, which was referred to as the advisory committee for immunization practices or ACIP, recommended that people receive 6 months and up vaccines that are based on so-called “common clinical decisions”, which relates to a decision-making process between a health service provider and a patient or their legal guardian. The group also voted to emphasize that the Covid vaccine for those under the age of 65 for those who are at high risk of a serious illness due to the disease with a high disease disease are most advantageous.

The guidelines break out of previous years in which the committee recommended the 6 months at the age of 6 months to receive an updated covid shot.

While ACIP did not restrict the use of the Covid vaccine, the softer recommendation of the panel can continue to confuse the Americans whether they make a shot and make it more difficult for them to access you. Acip determines recommendations who receive certain recordings and which vaccines have to cover the insurers free of charge.

The chairman of the committee, Martin Kulldorff, said it was his understanding that the new recommendation means that state-run insurance plans will still cover covid vaccines. However, it is unclear whether all private health plans maintain the coverage of the recordings.

The CDC, whose youngest director was replaced by the Trump administration at the beginning of this month, still has to take over the commands of the committee.

The vote is no surprise when Kennedy appointed several vocal critics of mrna Covid recordings as a committee after replacing all the previous members in June. During the meeting on Friday, some members have occupied doubts about the security and effectiveness of Covid shots and MRNA technology and questioned the reliability of data on hospital rescue rates based on the virus.

The professor of Massachusett’s Institute of Technology, Professor Retsef Levi, speaks on September 19, 2025 during an advisory committee for immunization practices in the centers for the control and prevention of diseases in Atlanta.

Alyssa Zeiger | Reuters

Kennedy’s other recent steps to change the US COVID vaccine policy also follows, which has created new hurdles for some people in order to gain access to vaccines, including the prescription requirements in certain countries. The CDC solved Covid shot recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, and the Food and Drug Administration has approved new Covid bumps, whereby there are limits to who can get them.

The ability to maintain vaccines can vary according to the state: During a break from the federal guidelines, four democratic states on Wednesday recommended that broad population will receive an updated covid shot, including “all those who choose protection”. Nevertheless, the new recommendations could weaken the vaccination rates against the virus and increase the risk of spreading the disease.

A study published in Jama Network Open on Thursday showed that compliance with a universal Covid vaccine recommendation in the United States, which in recent years has had existing instructions that have had potential to prevent thousands of further hospital stays and deaths than to restrict advice on groups with high risk.

Numerous studies have shown that recordings are safe and effective using MRNA technology, including covid vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna, and in extremely rare cases, serious side effects have occurred. In a work in August, Covid vaccines between 2020 and October 2024 saved more than 2 million lives worldwide, mainly in older adults.

In a statement on Friday, Pfizer said that the company and its partner Biontech “remain steadfast in our commitment to security, quality and effectiveness through constant security monitoring and ongoing research.” “

A large health insurance group on Wednesday said that its membership plans will cover all vaccines that have already been recommended by ACIP, including updated covid and flu photos, despite all the changes that make the new table of appointments this week. Members’ plans of the group, America’s health insurance plans, offer over 200 million Americans cover and services. This includes more than a dozen Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans, Centene, CVS ‘Aetna, Elevance Health, Humana, Emperor Permanent, Molina and Cigna.

Debattung of Covid vaccines

An ACIP member, Retsef Levi, Professor of Operations Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, directed a working group that checked data and proposed recommendations for Covid vaccines. Levis presentation on the results of the group questioned the security and effectiveness of Covid shots and threw doubts about the MRNA technology.

“We have a number of things on the MRNA platforms that really indicate that it doesn’t work as intended” Levi, who previously pushed to stop the mRNA shots.

He said the majority of the working group believed that individual decisions were “appropriate” whether people should now receive recipes for the shot. “You reach a shade” in which some patients may have earlier infections or different comorbidities that should be discussed with a doctor as part of a recipe, said Levi.

A member of the working group, Dr. Henry Bernstein, however, said during another presentation that “common clinical decision-making and the need for a recipe can barriers” for access to covid vaccines.

“Simple, stable recommendations can increase vaccine coverage,” said Bernstein, professor of pediatrics at the Sugar School of Medicine in Hofstra/Northwell. “Covid-19 vaccines are very safe and effective.” He is not a member of Kennedy’s panel that coordinates recommendations.

“Covid-19 vaccination is important for pregnant women, pediatric patients, especially for those who are less than two years old, people aged 65 and over, those of all ages with a weakened immune system, diseases and everyone who has the feeling that they want protection for themselves or their families,” he said.

Ruth Jones, immunization Nurse, will hold a Pfizer-Biontech Covid 19 vaccine (brand name: Comirnaty) in the Borinquen Health Care in Miami, Florida on May 29, 2025.

Joe Raedle | Getty pictures

Covid Shot Access and Covering in the USA are in balance as an influential state vaccine panel, which was submitted by Health and Human Services secretary by hand in Atlanta this week.

The committee, which is referred to as the advisory committee for immunization practices or acip, is intended to vote on recommendations for covid -jabs and childhood vaccinations for hepatitis B and measles, mumps, rubella and varicella or MMRV. Kennedy has disappointed and restored the committee with new members, some of which are vaccination critics who have concerns that they can soften, delay or completely eliminate recommendations for routine recordings that have proven to be safe and effective.

The committee is expected to be right on Thursday via hepatitis B- and MMRV shot and Covid vaccines on Friday. The centers for the control and prevention of diseases, the youngest director of which was displaced by the Trump administration at the beginning of this month, usually takes over the recommendations of the committee.

Some experts in public health warn that the weakening of the recommendations for covid vaccines and other shots could make it difficult for some people – especially healthy adults and children as well as in rural areas – to access the bumps and to cover them through insurance.

A large health insurance group on Wednesday said that its membership plans will cover all vaccines that have already been recommended by ACIP, including updated covid and flu photos, despite all the changes that make the new table of appointments this week.

Nevertheless, further restrictions on the shots due to ACIP effects could have, which further depresses the already declining immunization rates in vaccine diseases and increases the risk of outbreaks.

“There is a pretty good probability that the decisions that come from this meeting, further restrict the vaccinations or at the minimum confusion of the scope of vaccination at a time or confuse, at a time when we really have to do everything possible to make them available as far as possible,” said Neil Maniar, a public health professor at Northastern University, said CNBC. “There is great concern that we could see unnecessary outbreaks of diseases.”

Maniar said the voices were particularly critical of the autumn and winter season when diseases, especially respiratory viruses such as covid, spread more easily.

The committee of the committee determines which insurance plans and some state -run programs for patients have to cover free of charge. In some states, pharmacists may also legally exclude the administration of vaccines that ACIP does not recommend.

If Acip is right to further restrict access to the shot, this can normalize the political decisions based on science and to further confuse the Americans after Kennedy’s recent steps to change the US vaccine policy. This includes the decision of the CDC to hand over Covid shot recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, as well as the approval of new Covid bumps through the Food and Drug Administration with limits.

The FDA approval has already confused before the committee meeting this week, since some states oblige that patients have regulations to receive a COVID vaccine.

Numerous studies have shown that recordings are safe and effective using MRNA technology, including covid vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna, and in extremely rare cases, serious side effects have occurred. In a work in August, Covid vaccines between 2020 and October 2024 saved more than 2 million lives worldwide, mainly in older adults.

“In order to turn around and claim, the shots are no longer safe and effective after we can get the vaccines for five years and save millions of lives all over the world – this leads to confusion and uncertainty,” said Dr.

“People don’t know who they should trust and who should listen to, and that’s why people feel less comfortable if they get the vaccines they could keep healthy.”

Covid vaccines in focus

Kennedy insisted that “everyone” who wants a Covid vaccine, despite several reports and statements by legislators who describe obstacles, can get one. These hurdles occurred after the FDA had approved Covid shots for these 65 and younger adults with at least one underlying disease that is exposed to a serious risk of a serious illness by the virus.

It was a break from the US vaccine policy in previous years that recommended an annual Covid shot for all Americans from 6 months and above.

The CDC committee could adapt its recommendations to the FDA approval or further restrict its use, since many members are hostile to the MRNA recordings and vaccines in the broader sense. A member, Retseef Levi, has urged to stop the mRNA vaccines, and incorrectly claimed in a post on X that they cause “serious damage, especially in young people”.

It is unclear which exact data will be presented at the meeting on Friday, but some health experts are concerned about whether the presentations will be based on specific science. A presentation that was presented to the panel in June contained an invented quote for a study that, according to several reports, does not exist.

“I think it is really important to see who speaks at the meeting and what her agenda is,” said Talaat. “There were invented studies and only lie presented at the last ACIP meeting. I would not be surprised to see similar things to this.”

The Washington Post reported on Friday that Health Officers of Trump Administration are planning to combine Covid vaccines with the death of 25 children in a presentation before ACIP. The claim is expected to be based on reports that have been presented to the night system of the FDA vaccine event report or Vaers, which collects the side effects not to be processed from shots.

In young men in particular, researchers have previously found an increased but rare risk of myocarditis or inflamed heart muscles. However, there is no evidence that the vaccines used cause other important security risks, including pediatric deaths.

Kennedy argued in September that “there is no clinical data” that support Covid vaccine recommendations for healthy people.

Talaat said that healthy people are less likely in the Covid hospital. However, she noticed that they still develop covid for a long time or to put people with high risk around them, whether older family members or immunocompromised employees with the risk of developing the virus and developing serious illnesses.

Access can vary depending on the state

If Acip moves to weaken Covid shot recommendations, access could vary according to the talaat depending on the state.

On Wednesday, Oregon, Washington, California and Hawaii governors recommended that all adults and children who are concerned about the season of respiratory diseases can receive the Covid vaccine and other frequent vaccinations. The updated guidelines in these countries agree with the medical mainstream groups and want to ensure access to shots, even if the federal government’s guidelines change.

Governors of several democratic states, including Arizona, Illinois, Maine and North Carolina, have also signed orders to ensure that most residents can receive vaccines without individual prescriptions in pharmacies beforehand.

Some states, especially the states led by Republicans, still need instructions from a doctor.

Talaat said that people who “suffer the most” are those who live in rural areas because they may not have an easy access to a doctor who provides a recipe or a pharmacy to get a shot.

Recommendations that further limit Covid shots could also force some children and adults to pay for them out of their own pocket. Talaat and some estimates are more than half of the children in the United States covered by the state -run vaccines for children, which offers free recommended recordings.

Medicare and Medicaid require that the recommended vaccines for patients are free of charge, while the law on affordable care of private insurers must cover all recordings recommended by the panel and the CDC director.

The pledging of America’s health insurance plans on Wednesday, which is currently recommended by ACIP, was significant due to the size of its member plans, which together offer over 200 million Americans cover and services. This includes more than a dozen Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans, Centene, CVAetna, SurchargePresent HumanaEmperor permanent, MolinaAnd Cigna.

But the group does not all cover. For example, UnitedhealthcareThe country’s largest private health insurer is not a member of the group.

Hepatitis B, MMRV shots

On Thursday, Acip could reconsider a long-term recommendation to give all newborns a dose of the hepatitis-B vaccine within the first 24 hours of life, which the body recommended for the first time in 1991. Kennedy and Anti-Vaccine activists have repeatedly questioned this guide.

However, the shot was a life -saving public health intervention against the disease, which can lead to serious health problems, including liver cancer and failure and death. In children and teenagers, acute hepatitis B infections decreased by 99% between 1990 and 2019, according to some studies.

According to the CDC, vaccines are prevented from 38 million deaths in people between 2000 and 2030 in 98 countries with low and medium -sized incomes. The agency said that vaccination within the first birthday, followed by two to three additional cans, protects children for life.

The committee is expected to hire up to the age of four for the delay of hepatitis -B vaccines, said two former high -ranking CDC officers KFF Health News.

Talaat said that the global hepatitis -B rates in children fell thanks to the initial “birth dose” of the shot. While the United States now has a low virus level, skipping these dose is risks: a mother can still pass on the infection to your baby at birth, and newborns develop a lifelong, incurable infection much more often.

In the meantime, at the panel’s June meeting, the Acip chairman Martin Kulldorff said that it could take a suggestion to give a product that combines the measles, mumps and rubella with the shot against Varicella or chickenpox with children under 4 years.

The CDC is currently recommending these vaccines for those aged 1 to 2 years, but parents can choose to bring them together for children from 4 years.

Fever-induced seizures that are bound with the combination are common in small children, the CDC estimates, the risk is around 5%, but do not cause permanent damage.

Significant changes to the schedule or the availability of MMRV shots could lead to an increased hesitation among parents in order to have their children vaccinated. The United States has already exceeded a milestone in reported measles cases in 2025, since it has been registered in the United States since the elimination of the disease