In another vote, advisers recommended adding language on the shot’s risks to the vaccine’s information sheet, which is already required by law.

The committee’s focus on Covid-19 vaccines reflects Kennedy’s long-held suspicion of them. Since taking office in February, Kennedy has canceled a half-billion dollars in mRNA vaccine research and separately ended a major contract with Moderna, one of the Covid vaccine manufactures, for work on a pandemic bird flu vaccine.

During Friday’s meeting, CDC scientists presented extensive data on the safety and efficacy of the Covid vaccines. They also explained in detail how the agency tracks Covid hospitalizations and said the agency has a “rigorous and standardized process” to determine whether hospitalizations are classified as being due to Covid-19.

During the discussion portion of the meeting, committee members made several unfounded claims. Robert Malone, a former mRNA researcher who has spread vaccine misinformation, questioned whether there is actually evidence of disease protection from the Covid shots. “Are there any well-defined, characterized correlates of protection for Covid, yes or no?” he demanded.

Cody Meissner, a pediatrician at Dartmouth College, responded that there is “a reasonable measurement of neutralizing or binding antibodies that correlate with protection against symptomatic infection in the first few months” after vaccination.

At one point, Hilary Blackburn, a pharmacist on the committee, questioned whether the Covid vaccine could be connected to her mother’s lung cancer diagnosis, which occurred two years after receiving a Covid vaccine. She said she is aware of four other individuals in her small hometown diagnosed with the same kind of cancer. “Is it related to the vaccine?” she asked.

In a tense exchange about potential birth defects associated with the Covid vaccines, some ACIP members pressed manufacturer Pfizer about eight birth defects that occurred in a group of pregnant women who received the company’s vaccine and two birth defects that occurred in an unvaccinated group. Alejandra Gurtman, who heads vaccine clinical research and development at Pfizer, replied that those rates are comparable to rates of congenital abnormalities seen in the general population.

Carol Hayes, a liaison with the American College of Nurse-Midwives who was present during the meeting, clarified that most birth defects arise during the first trimester of pregnancy, and in the cited study, mothers received the vaccine at 12 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

At Friday’s meeting, the committee also reversed a decision it made just a day before. On Thursday, advisers voted to no longer recommend the combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine to children under age 4. Yet puzzlingly, it voted to maintain coverage of that vaccine through the federal Vaccines for Children program, which provides free vaccines to low-income children and those without insurance. On Friday, they voted that the program should not, in fact, cover it.

On Friday, advisers also voted 11 to one in favor of tabling a decision on whether to delay the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine until one month of age. The committee had discussed that vaccine extensively on Thursday, though it’s unclear why the committee was asked to look into the potential change at all, as the hepatitis B vaccine has been given to newborns in the US since 1991.

Infants get the vaccine before leaving the hospital because the virus can be passed from an infected mother to the baby during birth. Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection that can lead to cirrhosis and cancer. The vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection in newborns.

Chari Cohen, president of the Hepatitis B Foundation, tells WIRED there is no scientific rationale for delaying the hepatitis B vaccine until one month after birth and she worries about an increase in hepatitis B infections if the panel eventually recommends delaying the immunization.

“We will likely see more babies and young children who become infected,” Cohen says. “From a public health infrastructure perspective, we are concerned that this risk-based approach will miss preventing infection to babies born to infected moms.”

Up to 16 percent of HBV-positive pregnant women don’t get tested for hepatitis B, so screening doesn’t capture all infected mothers.

“We do not understand the motivation or rationale for this debate,” Cohen says.

The United States and China may have agreed on a deal to prevent the social platform TikTok from being banned in the US—if you take US president Donald Trump’s word for it. After a long-awaited call between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping on Friday, Trump announced victory on Truth Social: “The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!”

As for any details on the agreement, good luck. Specifics around the shape and scope of the deal remain largely unclear as of Friday afternoon. More importantly, there’s been no official word from the Chinese government on whether it has agreed to the terms.

“China’s position on the TikTok issue is clear: The Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question and would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations in keeping with market rules lead to a solution that complies with China’s laws and regulations and takes into account the interests of both sides,” says China’s official readout of the call, which was posted on the website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The deal being proposed by the Trump administration involves Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz leading a group of investors to take a roughly 80 percent stake in TikTok’s US operation, according to The Wall Street Journal. Oracle, which has worked closely with TikTok since 2020, would continue to store US user data on its domestic servers. The new, US-controlled entity would use licensed technology from ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to create a similar content recommendation algorithm to the one TikTok currently employs.

“Any details of the TikTok framework are pure speculation unless they are announced by this administration,” a White House spokesperson tells WIRED.

Key questions remain, for example, on how much control Oracle and ByteDance would each have on TikTok’s US data and algorithm. Trump’s Truth Social post suggests that he will meet with Xi again at the APEC Summit in South Korea in late October, meaning details could emerge after that.

On Thursday, during a joint press conference with UK prime minister Keir Starmer, Trump boasted that the US should receive a “tremendous fee plus” for brokering the TikTok deal. It’s not clear what fee he’s referring to—WIRED asked multiple White House officials, but none replied.

The White House also credited Vice President JD Vance—the top conduit between Silicon Valley billionaires and the West Wing—for playing a key role in the deal. A White House official told WIRED that Sean Cooksey, an adviser to Vance, was “at the forefront” of negotiations on behalf of the vice president.

US efforts to ban TikTok started during Trump’s first term in 2020. Months before he left office, Trump threatened to ban TikTok and another Chinese app WeChat. The Biden administration rescinded Trump’s executive orders on the topic but continued to scrutinize TikTok. The US congress eventually passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications (PAFACA) Act in April 2024. This gave TikTok two options: divest from its Chinese ownership before January 19, 2025, or risk a federal ban.

Other Smartwatches to Consider

The number of smartwatches on the market is staggering. I’ve tested models from Tag Heuer, Citizen, Montblanc, and many other fashion brands, but most of them are simply too expensive for what you get. Here are a few options I like.

Apple Watch Series 10 for $364: Thanks to watchOS 26, the 2024 Series 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has many of the same features as the new Series 11, like hypertension notifications and Sleep Score. It has a thinner and lighter design with a larger screen than prior models, and it even got blood oxygen sensing back via a software update in August 2025. It’s too bad this one still has the 18-hour battery life. Avoid paying anywhere close to MSRP for this watch. If you can find it for under $300, snag it.

Google Pixel Watch 3.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Google Pixel Watch 3 for $299: The Pixel Watch 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is seeing some steep discounts now that the Pixel Watch 4 has been announced. It’s a great smartwatch, with the caveat that it’s not repairable. (The newer model addresses that.) It features loss of pulse detection—cleared by the FDA for use in the US—which can be critical in saving someone’s life. Google also focused its fitness updates on running, enabling users to create custom runs and follow AI-powered run recommendations while getting feedback on cardio load—how hard your heart is working and whether it’s appropriate for your body. I strongly recommend you go with the 45-mm model, which doesn’t even feel that big. It simply delivers better battery life—just about 24 hours with the always-on display or a little more if you have it turned off.

Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Apple Watch Ultra 2 for $700: The Watch Ultra 2 is still worth considering, just don’t pay anywhere near MSRP; otherwise, you may as well buy the new Watch Ultra 3. It can last several days of use, and has many of the same great features as the latest model, including better mics to pick up your voice, an 86-decibel siren to alert your position to anyone nearby, and precise GPS to better track your hikes (plus help you find your way back with the Backtrack feature). The screen can display topographic maps, but you cannot view offline maps without an iPhone.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra 2025.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra 2025 for $650: The 47-mm Galaxy Watch Ultra (7/10, WIRED Review) is the company’s Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin competitor, and it’s a solid first entry into the world of pricey, feature-rich, and powerful smartwatches designed for professional athletes. This is technically the 2025 model, which is identical to the 2024 version but comes with 64 GB of storage and in a new blue color. It lasts a little over two days on a charge because it’s a big 47-mm watch and can pack a beefy battery. There’s a titanium case and sapphire glass face, plus it’s rated to 10 ATM and IP68, so you can submerge it up to 100 meters underwater. The heart rate tracker is remarkably consistent with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the dual-band GPS delivers accurate mapping. The software isn’t as intuitive, and a few features are lacking when compared to other performance smartwatches, but this is a good start if you’re in the world of Android. If you don’t care for the blue or the extra storage, you can buy the 2024 model for hundreds less.

Samsung Galaxy Watch7.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Samsung Galaxy Watch7 44 mm for $230: Samsung’s Galaxy Watch7 from 2024 is a little plain. This model debuted Samsung’s Energy Score and added updated sleep tracking capabilities. You also get FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection, though this isn’t a feature you’ll turn on all the time—it takes two nights to track, and afterward, you’ll get a note saying whether or not you show symptoms. This feature, along with the electrocardiogram and irregular heart rhythm notifications, is only available when paired with a Samsung phone. Otherwise, this watch functions well with any other Android. You can choose from two sizes, plus Bluetooth-only or LTE. I tested both sizes and found battery life frustrating compared to its predecessors. With the always-on display, I struggled to hit 24 hours with two tracked activities and sleep tracking overnight. With it turned off, things fared a little better, but I was still barely hitting a full day. You’ll have to baby the battery and utilize the power-saving modes. If you don’t care for the latest and greatest, you can save a lot of dough with the Watch7.

GPR-H1000.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Casio G-Shock Master of G Rangeman GPR-H1000 for $500: It’s not for every event, but the Master of G-Land Rangeman (GPRH1000RY1A) looks great on my wrist, and I love that I only need to charge it about once a week. This is a G-Shock first and foremost. It has a durable, thick case and a comfortable strap. It’s a big watch. It also has six sensors and a built-in GPS. Connect the watch to your smartphone via Casio’s app, and you can get simple notification alerts, heart-rate tracking, activity tracking, and sleep tracking. That’s without mentioning other features like blood oxygen monitoring, compass, world time, altimeter, and barometer. I’ve compared the results to an Apple Watch Series 10, and for the most part, core metrics like heart rate, step tracking, and sleep are similar. I have had some data not show up in the Casio app for a few days, and many of these functions are slow to load on the watch. This would not be my first choice if I wanted a fitness-focused wearable—get a Garmin instead—but I like the ability to look at and track some of these metrics whenever I want. More importantly, I like having a G-Shock around my wrist.

Samsung Galaxy Watch FE for $250: The Galaxy Watch FE is a fine budget Wear OS smartwatch. The 40-mm Galaxy Watch FE has a smaller screen that doesn’t get as bright and sports a slower processor and a smaller battery compared to the Watch7 series. The health sensors are almost the same, and I got accurate results with heart rate and sleep tracking. The battery lasts just about a day, if not a little less.

OnePlus Watch 2.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

OnePlus Watch 2 for $245: This is last year’s OnePlus smartwatch, but it’s still available. It seems like a better value now that the OnePlus 3’s price has been jacked up. The 46-mm OnePlus Watch 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) runs Wear OS and lasts roughly three days on a single charge, a little more if you enable some power-saving settings. The health capabilities are lacking—there’s no fall detection or electrocardiogram—but there’s sleep tracking, and it’s pretty accurate. Some features, like heart-rate tracking, distance traveled, and steps, have mixed accuracy in my testing, which means you shouldn’t buy this smartwatch if you’re primarily using it for those functions. Also, consider the OnePlus Watch 2R, which you can snag for less cash. The differences are mostly around build quality. The screen doesn’t get as bright, it has an aluminum case instead of stainless steel, and there’s no sapphire crystal protecting the screen, so it’s less durable. However, this makes it lighter and more comfortable to wear.

Withings ScanWatch 2.

Courtesy of Withings

Withings ScanWatch 2 for $370: The ScanWatch 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) can pass for an analog watch. Its health-tracking feature set is comprehensive—you get heart rate monitoring, an electrocardiogram, blood oxygen measurements, and sleep tracking. Battery life is stellar too, as it can last up to 30 days with light use. (Heavier usage will see roughly 22 days before needing a charge.) The main problem is the tiny display on this watch, which is too small to read some notifications. The GPS is also connected, meaning it requires your phone to be tethered and nearby. There’s an optional Health+ subscription, but we’d advise against it, as it doesn’t offer much utility. The ScanWatch 2 comes in a 42-mm or 38-mm case size and doesn’t have the rich features and apps you’ll find on the likes of an Apple Watch, but if you want to monitor your health data—and you don’t want your watch to look too techy—this will do the job.

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