Business
RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel weakens Covid shot recommendations, calling it an individual decision
Members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices listen to a presentation about Covid-19 during an ACIP meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Sept. 19, 2025.
Alyssa Pointer | Reuters
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine panel on Friday weakened Covid shot recommendations in the U.S., advising that all Americans consult a health-care provider before deciding whether to receive the vaccine.
The 12-member panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, recommended that people 6 months and up receive vaccines based on so-called “shared clinical decision-making,” which refers to a decision process between a health-care provider and a patient or their guardian. The group also voted to emphasize that for those under 65, the Covid vaccine is most beneficial for those at high risk of severe illness from the disease.
The guidance breaks from previous years, where the committee recommended that all Americans ages 6 months and up receive an updated Covid shot.
While ACIP did not restrict the use of the Covid vaccine, the panel’s softer recommendation may further confuse Americans about whether to take a shot and make it more difficult for them to access one. ACIP sets recommendations on who should receive certain shots and which vaccines insurers must cover at no cost.
The panel’s chair, Martin Kulldorff, said it was his understanding that the new recommendation means that government-run insurance plans will still cover Covid vaccines. But it’s unclear if all private health plans will maintain coverage of the shots.
The CDC, whose latest director was ousted by the Trump administration earlier this month, still has to adopt the panel’s recommendations.
The vote is no surprise, as Kennedy appointed several vocal critics of mRNA Covid shots to the panel after ousting all previous members in June. During the meeting Friday, some members cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of Covid shots and mRNA technology, and questioned the reliability of data on hospitalization rates due to the virus.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Retsef Levi speaks during an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Sept. 19, 2025.
Alyssa Pointer | Reuters
It also follows Kennedy’s other recent moves to change U.S. Covid vaccine policy, which have created new hurdles for some people to access vaccines, including prescription requirements in certain states. The CDC dropped Covid shot recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, and the Food and Drug Administration approved new Covid jabs with limits on who can get them.
The ability to get vaccines may vary by state: In a break from federal guidelines, four Democratic states on Wednesday recommended that broad swaths of the population receive an updated Covid shot, including “all who choose protection.” Still, the new recommendations could weaken vaccination rates against the virus and heighten the threat of the disease spreading.
A study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open showed that sticking to a universal Covid vaccine recommendation in the U.S., the guidance that has been in place in recent years, has the potential to prevent thousands more hospitalizations and deaths than limiting the advisory to high-risk groups.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that shots using mRNA technology, including Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, are safe and effective, and serious side effects have happened in extremely rare cases. One paper in August estimates that Covid vaccines saved more than 2 million lives, mostly among older adults, worldwide between 2020 and October 2024.
In a statement Friday, Pfizer said the company and its partner BioNTech “remain steadfast in our dedication to vaccine safety, quality and effectiveness through constant safety monitoring and ongoing research.”
One major health insurance group on Wednesday said its member plans will cover all vaccines already recommended by ACIP, including updated Covid and flu shots, despite any changes the new slate of appointees makes this week. Member plans of the group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, collectively provide coverage and services to over 200 million Americans. That includes more than a dozen Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, Centene, CVS‘ Aetna, Elevance Health, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina, and Cigna.
Debating Covid vaccines
One ACIP member, Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led a work group that reviewed data and proposed recommendations around Covid vaccines. Levi’s presentation on the group’s findings questioned the safety and efficacy of Covid shots and cast doubt on mRNA technology.
“We have a range of things on the mRNA platforms that really suggest that it doesn’t work as intended,” said Levi, who has previously pushed to stop giving mRNA shots.
He said the majority of the work group felt that individual decisions on whether to receive a Covid vaccine are “appropriate” and specifically, that people should now have to obtain prescriptions for the shot. “You get to a level of nuance” where some patients may have recent prior infections or different comorbidities that should be discussed with a physician as part of a prescription, Levi said.
But one work group member, Dr. Henry Bernstein, said during another presentation that “shared clinical decision-making and a need for a prescription creates barriers” to Covid vaccine access.
“Simple, stable recommendations can increase vaccine coverage,” said Bernstein, a professor of pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. “Covid-19 vaccines are highly safe and effective.” He is not a member of Kennedy’s panel who votes on recommendations.
“Covid-19 vaccination matters for pregnant women, pediatric patients, especially those less than two years of age, people 65 years and older, those of any age with a weakened immune system, medical conditions, and anyone who feels they want protection for themselves or their families,” he said.
Business
Joni Lamb, Whose Christian TV Station Went Global, Dies at 65
Joni Lamb, the president of Daystar Television Network, a televangelism broadcaster she founded with her husband, Marcus Lamb, turning their family into stars of Christian entertainment, died on Thursday. She was 65.
In an announcement posted on Daystar’s website, the company described the cause as “serious health matters” exacerbated by a recent back injury. It did not say where she died.
On a trip to Jerusalem in 1983, shortly after the couple married, Mr. Lamb visited the Mount of Olives and felt God telling him to move to Montgomery, Ala., and start a Christian TV station. He and Ms. Lamb poured their energy and modest finances into the effort and began appearing on the air two years later.
By the time they founded Daystar — in Texas in 1997 — they were experienced entrepreneurs and performers. After just a few years, they owned 24 stations around the country. By 2010, they had become the second-largest Christian broadcaster, after Trinity Broadcasting Network, and were reaching more than 200 countries, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Compared with other televangelists, the Lambs “are younger and come across as more ordinary folks,” David Clark, the president of a rival Christian broadcaster, told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2001. “They come across as being sincere.”
Mr. Clark added: “Marc is sharp, and his wife, Joni, is a big asset.”
The Lambs frequently appeared on their own network in a talk show format, discussing the pleasures and challenges of domestic life in a Christian idiom. Ms. Lamb, who liked to break into song, was Daystar’s leading talk show host, over the decades moderating shows like “Taking a Break With Joni” and “Joni Table Talk.” She would often be surrounded by other female regulars, putting questions to a male guest who had wisdom to impart.
The prominent pastor Jentezen Franklin visited earlier this year, for example, to discuss his new book, “The Power of Short Prayers.” The conversation slipped easily into evangelism.
“For someone watching right now: You’ve been listening; God’s opened your heart,” Ms. Lamb said. “In fact, your heart’s already been opened for some time, as you’ve been looking, searching, and you tried everything else. Always say, ‘Why don’t you try Jesus?’ A simple prayer: That will change your life for eternity.”
During the episode she was flanked, as she often was, by her two daughters, Rachel Lamb Brown and Rebecca Lamb Weiss, and referred to her husband by his first name, as if the viewers at home were family friends.
In 2021, Mr. Lamb died, at 64, of Covid-19, after having frequently suggested that people should pray instead of getting vaccinated. Ms. Lamb announced his death on air.
The travails of the Lamb family were often incorporated into the station’s programming. In 2010, Mr. Lamb admitted on live TV to an extramarital affair and described an attempt to extort millions of dollars in blackmail.
“Christian TV took a soap opera turn,” The Dallas Morning News wrote of the episode.
In 2020, Daystar returned a $3.9 million Paycheck Protection Program loan after the CBS program “Inside Edition” investigated the company’s purchase of a Gulfstream jet used by the Lamb family for beach and golf trips.
Four years later, a panel of Ms. Lamb’s talk show regulars questioned her on air about an accusation by her son, Jonathan, that there had been a coverup of a family member’s sexual molestation of his infant daughter. Ms. Lamb denied that any abuse had occurred, and after an investigation, no charges were filed.
Joni Lynn Trammell was born on July 19, 1960, in Greenville, S.C., where she grew up. Her father, Billy Frank Trammell, worked for a local refrigeration and heating company and would evangelize with friends he made playing basketball. Her mother, Sandra (Hudson) Trammell, competed in the Miss Greenville beauty pageant.
The Lambs met at a Greenville church in 1980, when Mr. Lamb, a traveling Pentecostal preacher, was visiting. They married in 1982.
Their early investments in TV stations came fortuitously, at a time of deregulation that The Star-Telegram would describe as “market bottom.” They later made money buying and selling small broadcast towers, and selling airtime to ministries and churches.
In 2023, Ms. Lamb married Doug Weiss, a sex therapist who became a co-host on Daystar. He survives her; other survivors include her three children and several grandchildren.
On air earlier this year, Ms. Lamb told viewers that the Christian faith guaranteed a posthumous reward.
“When you pray that prayer, and you receive Jesus, he forgives your sins,” she said. “When you die, you’re going to heaven.”
Business
US consumer price inflation hits 3.8% in April, highest in nearly 3 years as Iran war fuels energy costs – The Times of India
US inflation rose in April to 3.8 per cent as surging fuel costs amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict drove up consumer prices, hitting a three-year high complicating the Federal Reserve’s path on interest rates.Data released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.6 per cent in April after a 0.9 per cent jump in March, the biggest monthly rise since June 2022. On an annual basis, inflation accelerated to 3.8 per cent, marking the highest year-on-year increase, since May 2023.Petrol prices in the US are now more than 28 per cent higher than a year ago, according to official data. AAA estimates show average gasoline prices have crossed $4.50 per gallon, roughly 44 per cent above year-ago levels, squeezing household budgets and raising concerns about broader economic fallout.The spike in energy prices follows the escalation of hostilities between the US, Israel and Iran earlier this year. Markets were rattled after Tehran blocked access through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global energy route that handles nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, remained relatively contained. Core CPI rose 0.4 per cent month-on-month and 2.8 per cent annually, suggesting that higher fuel costs have not yet fully spread across the wider economy.Food prices also edged higher in April. Grocery costs rose 0.7 per cent from March, led by increases in meat prices after a slight decline in the previous month.The latest inflation reading adds to uncertainty for the Federal Reserve, which had earlier been expected to begin cutting interest rates in 2026. Policymakers are now signalling caution amid fears that prolonged geopolitical tensions and elevated oil prices could trigger another wave of inflation.US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the Fed for not lowering borrowing costs faster to support economic growth. Attention is now turning to Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to succeed outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose Senate confirmation is expected this week.Higher fuel costs are also beginning to weigh on corporate America. Appliance maker Whirlpool Corporation said last week that quarterly revenue fell nearly 10 per cent, warning that the war-driven economic slowdown had severely dented consumer confidence.
Business
EBay rejects £41.4 billion GameStop takeover offer
EBay has turned down a 56 billion US dollar (£41.4 billion) takeover move from GameStop, labelling the proposal as “neither credible or attractive”.
GameStop boss Ryan Cohen launched an unsolicited offer of 125 dollars (£92.40) per share – half in cash and half in GameStop stock – to eBay shareholders last week.
However, the online marketplace’s board confirmed on Tuesday that it had now rejected the move.
In a letter, eBay chairman Paul Pressler said it reviewed the offer but believes that eBay is a “strong, resilient business”.
He added: “We have sharpened our strategic focus, strengthened execution, enhanced our marketplace and seller experience, and consistently returned capital to shareholders.
“With its differentiated global marketplace and a clear strategy, eBay’s board is confident that the company, under its current management team, is well-positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth, execute with discipline, and deliver long-term value for our shareholders.”
GameStop, which runs around 1,600 shops around the US, said it started accumulating eBay shares earlier this year and currently has a 5% stake.
Mr Cohen had previously indicated he would take his proposal directly to eBay shareholders if the company’s board rejected the deal.
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