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July 11, 2026
 

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VACCINATIONS

A recent fast-moving measles outbreak in South Carolina highlights how declining vaccination rates, permissive state laws and weakened federal vaccine oversight under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are creating larger, harder-to-control outbreaks across the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2026
South Carolina’s measles milestone is everyone’s problem
It’s the latest public health record to be broken as vaccine hesitancy and increasingly permissive state laws create more and larger pockets of disease vulnerability in the U.S.
In June last year, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cut $300 million in annual funding for Gavi, which helps the world's poorest and lower-income countries buy vaccines to prevent diseases such as measles and diphtheria.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 29, 2026
U.S. to fund vaccine group if they drop mercury-based preservative from shots
The request is the latest effort by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to influence health policy globally.
Upheaval under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is weakening the nation's public health by fueling disease outbreaks, undermining vaccinations and threatening insurance coverage and drug approvals.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2026
America’s year of health care chaos will have consequences
The consequences of Kennedy’s first year in office will unfold over years or even decades.
New research suggests the shingles vaccine may not only reduce the risk of developing dementia but could also slow its progression, though more rigorous trials are needed.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2025
Fighting dementia could be as easy as the shingles vaccine
Over the past several years, a growing body of research has suggested that immunization against shingles may reduce the risk of dementia by up to 20%.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets at the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta on Dec. 5 where it voted to revoke the longstanding recommendation that all babies receive hepatitis B shots. 
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2025
CDC panel’s hepatitis B vaccine vote undid decades of progress
The plan is simple: demand proof of the unprovable, set impossible safety and data standards and distort risk by focusing on the individual instead of the collective.
Demonstrators outside the Center for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta on Thursday
WORLD / Science & Health / ANALYSIS
Dec 8, 2025
Disease prevention has taken a hit from U.S. vaccine advisers, experts say
Since 1991, U.S. health officials have recommended universal vaccination for infants against hepatitis B. The move has cut infections dramatically and saved lives.
Members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's committee on immunization practices in Atlanta on Friday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 6, 2025
U.S. vaccine panel upends hepatitis B advice in latest Trump-era shift
The move to end the decades-old recommendation is the panel’s latest contentious about-face on vaccine policy.
To prevent the spread of the flu, measures such as wearing a mask are recommended.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 2, 2025
Japan’s flu season comes early as new variant spreads
The risk of developing severe symptoms from “Subclade K” is no higher than other strains, but its continued spread is expected.
Once riding high on the COVID-19 boom, China’s vaccine industry now faces a reckoning.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2025
China’s 78-cent flu shots show price squeeze for country’s vaccine makers
Intensifying competition pushes prices lower and erodes profits for an industry that was once riding high on the COVID-19 boom.
New research shows tattoo ink moves rapidly into the lymphatic system, where it can persist for months, kill immune cells, and even disrupt how the body responds to vaccines.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 29, 2025
Tattoo ink moves through body, killing immune cells and weakening vaccine response
New research shows tattoo ink moves rapidly into the lymphatic system, where it can persist for months, kill immune cells, and even disrupt how the body responds to vaccines.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addresses the inaugural Make America Healthy Again summit in Washington on Nov. 12.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2025
Is America next after Canada to lose its measles elimination status?
In normal times, Canada’s misfortune might serve as a wake-up call for public health leaders in the U.S., which is precariously close to losing its own measles-free status.
A Congolese Red Cross worker receives an mpox vaccination at a hospital in Goma in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in October 2024.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2025
Third of donated Japanese mpox vaccines wasted in Congo amid storage issues
Japan has donated 3 million doses of its LC16 vaccine to Congo to help fight a new form of mpox known as clade Ib, which sparked a global health emergency last year.
Early evidence suggests that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, when given shortly before cancer immunotherapy, may significantly boost survival rates by activating the immune system.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2025
What if the COVID-19 vaccine could save cancer patients too?
That something as simple as a COVID-19 vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.
Palestinians carry aid supplies in Gaza. UNICEF said it faces serious challenges getting 1.6 million syringes and solar-powered fridges to store vaccine vials into Gaza.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 12, 2025
UNICEF says Israel blocking 1 million syringes needed to vaccinate Gaza children
The blockage comes amid Israeli concerns that items such as syringes and refrigerators could be repurposed for military use.
Influenza outbreaks began in Japan in late September, earlier than usual, amid increased cross-border travel.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 4, 2025
Japan’s flu season began in September, earlier than usual amid tourism surge
Basic measures — such as washing hands, wearing masks in crowds and frequent ventilation — are effective in preventing infection.
Takeda's dengue vaccine shows seven years of strong protection against infection and hospitalization, marking the longest efficacy reported to date.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 4, 2025
Takeda’s dengue vaccine shows long-lasting protection
The results bolster confidence in Takeda’s two-dose regimen, especially as countries grapple with record dengue outbreaks fueled by climate change.
A health worker administers HPV vaccine to a student in Islamabad on Sept. 24.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 14, 2025
Spread of drug-resistant superbugs surging, WHO warns
The United Nations’ health agency warned that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide in 2023 showed resistance to antibiotic treatments.
Bill Gates, chairman of the Gates Foundation, visits Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Aug. 19.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 21, 2025
The world needs Japan’s leadership in life sciences
For decades now, Japan has understood the value of global health investment better than almost any other country on the planet.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent decades promoting vaccine misinformation, including the widely debunked claim that the MMR shot causes autism.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 19, 2025
RFK Jr. panelists make initial changes to childhood vaccine schedule
The vote against the MMRV shot comes as public health experts fear more changes that flout prevailing medical advice are in the pipeline.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies at a Senate hearing in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 7, 2025
Trump backs Kennedy on vaccines despite health and political risks
Some public health officials suggest the political alliance Trump has formed with Kennedy — and the leeway the president is giving him — is leading to dire consequences.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Japan’s southwestern islands on high alert as Typhoon Bavi approaches
A woman walks out of a shop with duct-taped windows to prevent damage from Typhoon Bavi as it approaches, in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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