HHS abruptly calls off meeting of expert panel on preventive care, raising questions about its future (CNN)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — a long-standing, nonpartisan panel that issues evidence-based recommendations on preventive health services like cancer screenings and STI testing. This cancellation, coming on the heels of Kennedy’s dismissal of CDC vaccine advisers, has raised alarm among health experts and lawmakers who fear the task force may be the next target in a political reshaping of public health policy. Critics argue this move threatens the task force’s integrity and could disrupt access to free preventive care mandated under the Affordable Care Act.