TheVoiceOfJoyce KFF Friday Morning Edition of the latest health news: Passengers are coming to the States with Hantavirus and we’re not prepared. Nor are we prepared for the FIFA games,if we encounter a new virus. We need a functioning Pandemic preparedness group of scientists, once again. Healthcare pricing remains high , GLP1 being used more frequently and in Medicare recipients. Abortion providers given a hard time and the Federal Government wants medical data on employees? That’s a violation of privacy.

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Friday, May 08, 2026
Visit KFF Health News for the latest headlines

Morning Briefing 

In This Edition:

From KFF Health News:

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES1. In California Governor Race, Single-Payer Is a Litmus Test. There’s Still No Way To Pay for It. Single-payer healthcare is a central talking point in the chaotic race for California governor. In a crowded field, top-polling Democrats are declaring their support for a government-run health system but providing few details about how they’d accomplish it in the nation’s most populous state. (Christine Mai-Duc, 5/8)

2. Listen: A Federal Agency Is After Workers’ Health Data, and Critics Are Alarmed The Trump administration is seeking unprecedented access to medical records of federal workers and retirees, and their families. The data could be used to implement cost-saving measures, but it would also give the administration access to reams of personal information. Legal experts and insurers say the pursuit is overbroad. (Amanda Seitz, 5/8)

3. Abortion Pill Politics A federal court’s decision to restrict availability of the abortion pill mifepristone has launched abortion back into the national spotlight. It’s also raised new questions about the job security of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Andrew Jones, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month.” (5/7)

Here’s today’s health policy haiku:

GLP-1 FOR THIS AND THAT

Opioids had their
time in a hyped-up spotlight.
Look where we are now.

– Anonymous

If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Usand let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.

Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.

Summaries Of The News:

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS4. More States, Countries On Alert For Hantavirus; WHO Tells People To Remain Calm: ‘This Is Not Covid’ 

The cruise ship MV Hondius is scheduled to arrive in the Canary Islands on Sunday, where it will anchor offshore and allow passengers wearing hazmat gear to transfer by boat to the port, ABC News reported. Back in the U.S., two more states — Virginia and Texas — are monitoring former passengers from the ship. Plus: The CDC official in charge of monitoring public health on cruise ships has stepped down.

CBS News: 5 U.S. States Monitoring Passengers Who Departed Cruise Ship Stricken By Hantavirus  At least 12 countries are currently monitoring people who had disembarked the MV Hondius before cases of hantavirus were confirmed, the World Health Organization said at a press conference Thursday. Those countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Five U.S. states have said they are monitoring passengers who debarked the Hondius prior to any cases being confirmed on board for signs of the rare and often deadly disease: two each from Georgia and Texas, one from Virginia, one from Arizona, and an unspecified number from California, according to their respective state health departments. Each state has said none of the individuals is exhibiting any signs of the illness. (Osborne, 5/7)

USA Today: Another Suspected Hantavirus Case Found On Remote Island A suspected new case of hantavirus was identified by authorities Friday as a British national on a remote island where the MV Hondius made a stop in April. The UK Health Security Agent said in an update on Friday that the person with the suspected case was on Tristan da Cunha, often considered “the most remote inhabited island in the world” in the South Atlantic Ocean halfway between the tips of South America and Africa. No further details about the case were made public. (Santucci and Moniuszko, 5/8)

Bloomberg: Hantavirus Cruise Outbreak Prompts Singapore To Test Two Travelers Singapore has isolated two residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus. Both men, aged 67 and 65, had been onboard the MV Hondius when it departed Argentina on April 1, the Communicable Diseases Agency said in a statement Thursday. … If they test negative for hantavirus, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure. If tested positive, they will remain hospitalized for monitoring and treatment given the potential severity of infection, CDA said. (Gemmell, 5/7)

The Hill: WHO Official Says Hantavirus Is ‘Not COVID’ A World Health Organization (WHO) official on Thursday said the threat level imposed by hantavirus, which has killed three people aboard a cruise ship, does not resemble the pandemic-level threat that COVID-19 had six years ago. Infectious disease epidemiologist Maria DeJoseph Van Kerkhove said during a press conference that the three hantavirus deaths of a Dutch couple and a German citizen, along with the evacuation of three people suspected of carrying the virus, are not a cause for panic. “This is not COVID, this is not influenza,” she said. “It spreads very, very differently. So, there are different precautions that people are taking.” (Mancini, 5/7)

CNN: This American Doctor Thought He Was Going On Vacation. He Ended Up Treating Hantavirus Patients On The Infected Ship  Dr. Stephen Kornfeld boarded the MV Hondius in the southern tip of Argentina last month anticipating a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, exploring vast icy expanses and remote islands, seeing wildlife like whales, dolphins and penguins up close. But a few weeks into his vacation across the Atlantic Ocean, the Oregon doctor jumped into action caring for passengers after a deadly hantavirus outbreak began spreading through the ship, sickening the vessel’s doctor. (Harvey, 5/8)

Where the ship is headed —

ABC News: MV Hondius Expected To Arrive At Granadilla Port On Sunday By Noon The MV Hondius is now expected to arrive at Granadilla Port on Sunday by 12 p.m. local time, but could be delayed depending on weather conditions, officials said. The ship will not dock upon arrival but will be anchored, and all passengers will be wearing hazmat gear as they are transferred by boat to the port, according to a statement from the Canarias Region government. (5/8)

AP: Spanish Authorities Prepare For Hantavirus Cruise Ship Arrival Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations. The vessel is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, on Saturday or Sunday. “They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” said Virginia Barcones, Spain’s head of emergency services, on Thursday. (5/8)

On the U.S. response to the outbreak —

Stat: Top Official Retires From CDC Cruise Ship Program  The top U.S. official responsible for public health on cruise ships is stepping down, according to an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement obtained by STAT. (Payne, 5/7)

The Hill: Rising Outbreaks And Low Preparedness: US Health Report Fewer than half of U.S. states are sufficiently prepared for a health emergency, according to research released Thursday. Only 20 states scored “high” on the annual report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) on national public health emergency preparedness. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., scored in the “middle tier,” and 13 states fell into the “low tier.” The report comes as the U.S. is set to host 78 World Cup matches in 10 different states from June 11 to July 19. Five of those 10 states performed “high” in TFAH’s assessment, four in the “middle” range and one state — Texas — scored “low” on health emergency preparedness in the report. (Davis, 5/7)

The New York Times: Hantavirus Response Shows How Trump Cuts Have Compromised U.S. Preparedness On April 24, nearly two weeks after the first person aboard a cruise ship died of hantavirus, 30 passengers, including six Americans, disembarked in St. Helena, a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. The Americans are now back on U.S. soil, and three states are monitoring them; none have shown symptoms so far. That information came on Wednesday — not from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or from the State Department, which is coordinating the nation’s response to the hantavirus outbreak, but from the medical news publication MedPage Today. (The New York Times confirmed the report with state officials.) (Mandavilli, 5/7)

An unrelated hantavirus case is reported in Israel —

The Jerusalem Post: First Hantavirus Case Diagnosed In Israel After Trip To Eastern Europe The first case of hantavirus has been diagnosed in Israel, Maariv reported Thursday. The patient is believed to have been infected during a stay in Eastern Europe several months ago and sought medical attention after developing symptoms associated with the disease. Unlike the outbreak of the South American Andes strain currently drawing international attention aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, however, the Israeli patient was infected with a European strain of the virus. (Gal, 5/7)

ADMINISTRATION NEWS5. US Starts To Revoke Passports For Some People Who Owe Child Support 

AP reported that the State Department program to revoke passports for about 2,700 Americans who owe $100,000 or more in child support will begin today. That figure will soon expand to include those who owe $2,500 or more.

AP: US Will Revoke Passports For Parents Who Owe Child Support, AP Learns The U.S. State Department will begin revoking the U.S. passports of thousands of parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support. The department told The Associated Press on Thursday that the revocations would begin Friday and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. That would apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, according to figures supplied to the State Department by the Department of Health and Human Services. (Lee, 5/7)

In other news about passports —

AP: Hold On US Immigration Applications Lifted For Doctors. Others Are Still Waiting Libyan Dr. Faysal Alghoula must renew his green card to continue caring for roughly 1,000 patients in southwestern Indiana, but hasn’t been able to since the Trump administration stopped reviewing applications for people from several dozen countries it deemed high-risk. Alghoula’s current visa will expire in September if his application is denied. But last week, the administration quietly made an exemption for medical doctors with pending visa or green card applications, possibly allowing Alghoula’s case to move forward. (Riddle and Taxin, 5/8)

On PFAS in drinking water and air pollution —

AP: EPA To Propose Rolling Back Some Biden-Era PFAS Limits In Drinking Water Under Trump Plan The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types and rescinding limits on some rarer forms of the substance, according to an EPA official. The proposal will start the formal process of rolling back parts of the first-ever limits on PFAS in drinking water finalized during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Officials at the time found they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. (Phillis, 5/7)

ProPublica: Trump Let Polluters Sidestep Clean Air Act Rules With Just An Email In March 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration made a tantalizing offer to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturing facilities and other factories: Their operations could be exempted from key provisions under the Clean Air Act, the bedrock environmental law estimated to have prevented thousands of premature deaths. All they had to do was ask. No rigorous application was needed. An email, which they had until the end of the month to send, would suffice. (Olalde, 5/8)

On the federal workforce —

The New York Times: Employees With Medical Conditions Challenge C.D.C. In-Office Requirement One employee is a survivor of a gastrointestinal cancer who sometimes loses control of her bowels. Another is undergoing breast cancer treatment that leaves her vulnerable to infections. A third has severely limited mobility and excruciating pain. They all work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has told them they must commute to the office each day regardless of their medical conditions. (Mandavilli, 5/7)

The Washington Post: Trump-Appointed Panel Calls For Overhauling Parts Of FEMA  A panel tasked with shaping the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency voted Thursday to approve a report recommending significant overhauls meant to streamline what it called an inefficient and “bloated” agency — changes that received pushback from disaster survivors and environmental advocacy groups. (Wang, Sacks and Dennis, 5/7)

KFF Health News: Listen: A Federal Agency Is After Workers’ Health Data, And Critics Are Alarmed Ten years ago, the Office of Personnel Management suffered one of the biggest government data breaches in history. Now, the agency wants millions of federal workers’ medical records. KFF Health News reporter Amanda Seitz explained why health policy experts aren’t sure OPM can safeguard the data on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on April 29. (Seitz, 5/8)

On gun violence and public health —

AP: People Could Soon Ship Handguns Through US Postal Service Handguns could be mailed through the United States Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect. Democratic attorneys general in two dozen states sent a letter this week in opposition. In 1927, Congress passed a law barring the USPS from mailing concealable firearms unless they were from licensed dealers in an effort to curb crime. In January, the Department of Justice revisited the 1927 law, calling it unconstitutional and arguing that it violated the Second Amendment, and urged the postal service to change its regulations. (Hill, 5/7)

The New York Times: F.B.I. Says Austin Bar Shooter Was Driven By Personal Grievances Related To Iran War  The F.B.I. said on Thursday that a gunman acted alone when he shot and killed three people and injured 15 others in an Austin bar, though the attack in March may have been prompted by “specific personal triggers and grievances” related to the Iran War. The gunman, Ndiaga Diagne, 53, of Senegal, died after exchanging gunfire with police officers who responded to the shooting near a busy stretch of downtown Austin. (Jimenez, McGaughy and Ramirez, 5/7)

PHARMACEUTICALS6. Medicare To Launch Pilot GLP-1 Drug Program For $50 A Month 

FDA-approved GLP-1 medications, in both injectable and pill form, will be available with a $50 monthly co-pay to beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D or a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage. The pilot program will start in July and run through 2027.

ABC News: Many Medicare Enrollees Can Get GLP-1 Drugs For $50 Starting In July More access to affordable weight-loss medications is coming this summer for adults on Medicare. Starting in July, certain Medicare enrollees can pay $50 a month for specific prescription GLP–1 medications, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare announced the pilot program for the popular weight loss medications on Wednesday. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program will run between July 1, 2026, and Dec. 31, 2027. (Yu, 5/7)

The Washington Post: GLP-1s May Not Shrink Muscle Mass As Much As We Thought, Study Suggests Are GLP-1 weight-loss drugs hard on your muscles? That question has sparked controversy and concern among some scientists, doctors and the general public. Several large studies in recent years had suggested that people taking GLP-1 drugs such as Zepbound or Wegovy were losing outsize proportions of their muscle mass while also shedding body fat. In some of those studies, nearly 40 percent of people’s weight loss with GLP-1 drugs seemed to come from muscle, a much higher percentage than would be considered normal among people losing weight by dieting or other lifestyle changes. (Reynolds, 5/7)

MedPage Today: Teens With T1D, Obesity Reaped Benefits Of GLP-1s, Case Studies Suggest Two insulin-dependent adolescents with type 1 diabetes and obesity had metabolic improvements after starting a low-dose GLP-1 agent, a case series showed. (Monaco, 5/8)

Fierce Healthcare: Amazon Pharmacy To Offer Home Delivery For Novo’s Ozempic Pill Amazon Pharmacy will make Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic pill available for home delivery, the company announced Thursday. Per the announcement, Amazon customers will be able to secure the oral GLP-1 medication via same-day delivery or pickup within minutes at its kiosks in short order. The drug, which is approved to manage blood sugar in individuals with type 2 diabetes, was originally sold as Rybelsus but was recently rebranded to Ozempic by Novo. (Minemyer, 5/7)

In other pharma and tech news —

Bloomberg: Joss Sackler Pleads Guilty To Obstruction In Opioid Addiction Case As the Sackler family worked through a plan to pay $6.5 billion to resolve their liability over Purdue Pharma LP’s production of addictive opioids, the epidemic hit even closer to home. Joss Sackler, the wife of former Purdue board member David Sackler, admitted deleting WhatsApp messages showing she was the intended recipient of a shipment of prescription drugs seized by US border agents in 2024. Sackler, who said she was addicted to opioids at the time, pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal grand jury investigation into the transaction. (Van Voris and Kaiser, 5/7)

Stat: FDA To Reconsider Rare Cancer Drug Ebvallo After Surprise Rejection  Two companies developing a therapy for a rare blood cancer have reached an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration that walked back the agency’s main reason for rejecting the drug in January. (Feuerstein, 5/7)

Stat: Next-Gen Duchenne Drug From Entrada Disappoints In Study Entrada Therapeutics’ next-generation drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy disappointed in an early trial, raising questions about the company’s competitiveness in an increasingly crowded field. (Mast, 5/7)

St. Pete Catalyst: Genetics Testing Lab Expansion Celebrated At Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital  Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital leaders and staff came together Tuesday to celebrate expansion of the organization’s Clinical Biochemical Genetics Laboratory with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The facility can help diagnose and monitor rare metabolic conditions. These can be life-threatening if they are not caught early. (Connor, 5/7)

Minnesota Public Radio: At The University Of Minnesota’s Wearable Technology Lab, Clothing Becomes Medical Care  Lucy Dunne’s firstborn child was diagnosed with jaundice through a blood test just one day after birth. Medical staff placed her daughter in a bassinet under an electric lamp and treated her with blue light therapy. But when Dunne’s baby cried, she was not allowed to pick her up. “Doing what I do for a living, it was pretty obvious that we could do better,” Dunne said. (Zurek, 5/8)

On aging scientists and the use of AI in research —

Stat: New Study Suggests Scientists Grow Less Innovative With Age  Physicist Albert Einstein, widely regarded as one of the most prolific scientists of the past century, conducted much of his transformative work at the beginning of his career, before spending years defending his theories against the burgeoning field of quantum mechanics. A new study shows that Einstein is not alone, and that most researchers begin their careers conducting their more disruptive work — overturning conventional wisdom and forging paths of their own — but as they age, they tend to abandon that groundbreaking energy. (Oza, 5/7)

Stat: Study Finds Explosion Of ‘Fraudulent’ AI Citations In Academic Papers  Citations in academic papers are intended to ground research in the work that preceded it, over time creating something of a family tree explaining the roots of ideas, protocols, and studies. But a growing number of these citations lead to dead ends. (Oza, 5/7)

VACCINES7. RFK Jr. Defends Decision To Roll Back Hepatitis B Vaccine For Infants 

Health and Human Services

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