Vaccines

President-elect Donald Trump’s unorthodox pick for health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has drawn a range of pushback from Massachusetts’ top elected leaders. Kennedy is the latest in a string of eyebrow raising picks from Trump, including Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. They have drawn skepticism from...

President-elect Trump’s choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary sparked a wide range of reaction in Massachusetts. Some see it as a problematic step in the nation’s future, but others are looking forward to him shaking up norms around vaccines. ...

Plus, analysis from political commentator Sue O’Connell on why Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, opposes Kennedy’s nomination....

Follow NBC10...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promoted claims about vaccines that contradict the overwhelming consensus of scientists.

The state’s top public health official urged Bay Staters to take precautions against COVID-19 amid rising cases, as well as from heightened mosquito activity that can lead to serious illnesses. COVID and flu vaccines are now “widely available,” Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein stressed Wednesday, as officials prepare for respiratory illness season this fall and winter. “The...

Updated COVID-19 vaccines are on their way. The Food and Drug Administration approved new shots from Pfizer and Moderna on Thursday, and the companies are set to begin shipping millions of doses.

Moderna already has a bird flu vaccine in very early-stage testing that uses the same mRNA technology that allowed rapid development and rollout of vaccines to protect against COVID-19.

Merck’s shot protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease and a lung infection called pneumonia.

The new research underscores the importance of vaccination for both sexes, experts say.