• Georgia: Earlier this month, CDC encouraged summer camp operators to check for documentation of immunity from measles, either through vaccination or prior infection, for all children, staff, and volunteers. So far, there have been 1,197 confirmed measles cases in the United States in 2025, fewer than 100 cases away from the record of 1,274 cases set in 2019. Around two-thirds of measles cases have been in children or teenagers. "Measles can spread quickly in summer camps because campers and staff spend a lot of time together in close contact with each other. Measles is more than just a rash — it can cause serious complications or even death," CDC wrote in a "checklist" for summer camp operators. Aside from checking for measles immunity, CDC recommends stocking up on face masks and preparing a potential isolation space for sick campers to reduce risk of measles spreading. (Tin, CBS News, 6/13)
• Illinois: Kraft Heinz, which is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the United States, announced that it will stop using artificial dyes in its U.S. products by 2027 and will not launch any new products with these dyes. "As a food company with a 150+ year heritage, we are continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers," said Pedro Navio, president of Kraft Heinz North America, adding that "the vast majority of our products use natural or no colors." According to The Hill, around 10% of Kraft Heinz's products, including its Kool-Aid drink mixes and Jell-O dessert mixes, will be affected by the change. Recently, there has been a greater push to remove artificial food dyes, with several states already approving bans on specific dyes in foods. In addition, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April announced that he would direct food manufacturers to phase out eight petroleum-based food dyes found in hundreds of thousands of foods nationwide. Separately, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has said that studies on synthetically altered foods "have associated food colors directly with obesity and diabetes." (Crisp, The Hill, 6/17)
• Maryland: FDA has approved Gilead Sciences' new HIV prevention medication lenacapavir, which will be branded as Yeztugo. In clinical trials of gay and bisexual men and transgender individuals, those who received injections of lenacapavir every six months had an 89% lower HIV rate than those who took daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pill Truvada and a 96% lower rate than would have been expected without any PrEP. In a similar trial of cisgender women in sub-Saharan Africa, none of the patients who received lenacapavir contracted HIV. "This is the single best opportunity in 44 years of HIV prevention," said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the HIV advocacy nonprofit AVAC. Similarly, Gilead chair and CEO Daniel O'Day said that lenacapavir could "end the HIV epidemic once and for all." However, health experts say that recent policy changes from the Trump administration, including severe cuts to CDC staff, cancellations of research grants, and reduced support for President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, may impact patients' access to the drug, especially in low- and middle-income countries. "I think that there's a lot to be figured out on that," said Jared Baeten, Gilead's VP of HIV clinical development. "But our commitment… is unwavering." (Ryan, NBC News, 6/18; Mast/Silverman, STAT, 6/18)

Innovation in drug development is making extraordinary (but high-cost) therapies available. To build foundations for affordable patient access, purchasers are trying aggressive cost management strategies that upend drug business norms, from Medicare’s inaugural year of price negotiation to health plans’ restructuring of PBM contracts.