• California: The Trump administration has rescinded over $12 million in grants for California's pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections prevention program, claiming that the state was "promoting gender ideology" through the initiative. In a letter to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Andrew Gradison, acting assistant secretary of HHS' Administration for Children and Families, said the agency found "multiple examples of gender ideology content" in the Personal Responsibility Education Program, including "teaching students that gender identity is distinct from biological sex and that boys can identify as girls and vice versa." According to the Washington Post, HHS asked California to submit the program's curriculum "for a medical accuracy review" in March. Later, in June, HHS sent a letter to state officials instructing them to remove all gender-related content from the program or lose funding. In August, California declined to adjust the lessons in the program. In response to the decision to revoke funding, CDPH said that the program's curriculum is "medically accurate, comprehensive, and age-appropriate" and "previously determined to comply with federal statute and were reviewed and approved by the Administration for Children and Families." (Kaur, Washington Post, 8/21)
• Florida: On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced that Florida will begin phasing out all childhood vaccine mandates, making it the first state to do so. During the announcement, Ladapo said current vaccine requirements in schools and other organizations were "wrong" and "immoral" and that they limited parents' ability to make health decisions for their children. Although the state health department can rescind some rules for vaccine mandates, others require action from the Florida legislature. "This is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine state," said Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani. At the same time, DeSantis also announced the creation of a state-level "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) commission modeled after a similar federal initiative implemented by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. According to CBS News, the state MAHA commission will assess several topics, including informed consent in medical matters, parental rights regarding their children's medical decisions, and safe and nutritious food. "The Florida MAHA commission will prioritize reforms that empower Floridians, reduce regulatory burdens and hold actors accountable for their conduct, while fostering incentives for healthy living and innovation," DeSantis said. (CBS News, 9/3; Burke, NBC News, 9/3)
• Rhode Island: CVS' pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark will not include Gilead Sciences' new twice-yearly pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) HIV drug in its formularies for commercial or Affordable Care Act plans. According to Fierce Pharma, the drug, called Yeztugo, has been named a breakthrough in HIV prevention and gained FDA approval in June. Although CVS declined to cover Yeztugo, a person familiar with the matter said that Gilead may still be negotiating with the company. For its part, Gilead said it's "extremely pleased" with how payer talks for Yeztugo are progressing so far, with a spokesperson saying that the company is "well on our way to achieving 75% access for Yeztugo within six months of launch, and 90% within 12 months." (Kansteiner, Fierce Pharma, 8/21)

Writing for The Atlantic, Sarah Zhang analyzes how past and present vaccination campaigns in the United States have attempted to boost child vaccination rates — and why vaccine uptake among children has never been "immediately universal."