Tag Archives: HHS

Politico reports: The Health and Human Services department has scrapped a planned ad campaign featuring celebrities discussing Covid-19, a senior HHS official told a congressional oversight panel in a letter shared with POLITICO. The abandoned $15 million contract with Atlas Research, part of a larger $300 million taxpayer-funded campaign aimed at “defeating despair” over the pandemic, was conceived by a …

The Washington Post reports: The documents show that Trump political appointees and the contractors they hired also vetted celebrities for the public health campaign based on whether they had ever criticized the president, or supported former president Barack Obama, gay rights or same-sex marriage. Of at least 274 celebrities under consideration, only 10 appear to have been approved, according to …

Politico reports: The Trump appointee who steered a $300 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign to “defeat despair” about the coronavirus privately pitched a different theme last month: “Helping the President will Help the Country.” That proposal, which came in a meeting between Trump administration officials and campaign contractors, is among documents obtained by the House Oversight Committee that further illustrate how …

Politico reports: At least 27 political appointees have exited the embattled Health and Human Services department since the start of the Covid-19 crisis in February, according to a POLITICO review, and senior leaders are bracing for dozens more officials to depart swiftly if President Donald Trump loses re-election. Such a wave of departures would leave only a shell staff shepherding …

Slate reports: In order to encourage Americans to get vaccinated, a federal health agency had an idea: Get Santa Claus involved. The Department of Health and Human Services had planned to devote $250 million for an advertising campaign, part of which involved Santa Claus performers promoting COVID-19 vaccination, reports the Wall Street Journal. In exchange, they would get access to …

ABC News reports: CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar are giving a COVID-19 briefing in Atlanta this afternoon. The two officials will be speaking at the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters. Their press conference begins at 3:45 p.m. According to a release, they will “the ongoing COVID-19 response and Operation Warp Speed,” which is …

CNBC reports: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Thursday the U.S. could have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every American as early as March, a more optimistic estimate than President Donald Trump has publicly said. The Trump administration’s coronavirus vaccine program Operation Warp Speed expects to have up to 100 million doses by the end of the year, …

Politico reports: In early September, as many school districts were still deciding whether to hold in-person classes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altered the title of a scientific report on the coronavirus and removed words like “pediatric” from its text, days after a Trump administration appointee requested similar changes, according to emails obtained by POLITICO. That request — …

Politico reports: They made a list of more than 30 celebrities including Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift and Billy Joel to appear in their ad campaign to “inspire hope” about coronavirus, but they ended up with only Dennis Quaid, CeCe Winans and Hasidic singer Shulem Lemmer. The health department’s $300 million-plus, taxpayer-funded vehicle to boost confidence in President Donald Trump’s response …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Dennis Quaid and gospel singer CeCe Winans have each taken to social media to clarify the non-political intent of participating in interviews related to COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic. According to a report from Politico on Friday, an ad was ordered by President Trump and conceived partly by former Department of Health and Human Services official …

Politico reports: The health department is moving quickly on a highly unusual advertising campaign to “defeat despair” about the coronavirus, a $300 million-plus effort that was shaped by a political appointee close to President Donald Trump and executed in part by close allies of the official, using taxpayer funds. The ad blitz, described in some budget documents as the “Covid-19 …

The Buffalo News reports: Michael R. Caputo, the East Aurora political consultant at the center of controversy over the Trump administration’s Covid-19 messaging, has been diagnosed with cancer. Assemblyman David J. DiPietro, R-East Aurora, acting as Caputo’s spokesman, said Thursday that the HHS spokesman on leave from his assistant secretary post has “squamous cell carcinoma, a metastatic head and neck …

“I’m not going to resign. The fact of the matter is, there are people out there, especially people who hate the president, who are trying to paint a picture that I am mentally ill because I did this Facebook Live. “I do those Facebook Live’s very often and take questions about COVID. I had just gotten a health scare, to …

The New York Times reports: A heavily criticized recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month about who should be tested for the coronavirus was not written by C.D.C. scientists and was posted to the agency’s website despite their serious objections, according to several people familiar with the matter as well as internal documents obtained by The …

Because nothing matters anymore: As the coronavirus began spreading across the country in March, a white-and-blue postcard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived in every mailbox in the United States. It communicated basic public health do’s and don’ts — wash your hands, avoid crowds, stay home if you feel sick—which were billed as “President Trump’s Coronavirus Guidelines …

NBC News reports: The top spokesman for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services is taking a leave of absence, the agency announced Wednesday, days after he promoted dangerous conspiracy theories during a Facebook Live video. In the video, Caputo, who is HHS’ assistant secretary for public affairs, charged that scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Politico reports: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar led an escalating pressure campaign against his own FDA this spring and summer, urging the agency to abandon its responsibility for ensuring the safety and accuracy of a range of coronavirus tests as the pandemic raged.  Then in late August, Azar took matters into his own hands. Overriding objections from FDA …

Politico reports: Top HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo called an emergency staff meeting on Tuesday to apologize for leveling a series of false accusations on Facebook Live over the weekend, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting. Caputo told staffers that his remarks — which included unfounded allegations the Centers for Disease Control was harboring a “resistance unit” — …

CBS News reports: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday called on Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to resign, arguing he has failed to stand up to President Trump in the response to coronavirus. The call from Schumer comes amid a series of controversies at HHS. On Monday, the New York Times reported that a top …

Fox News reports: The top spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services deleted his Twitter in the aftermath of a late-night rant in which he suggested tear gassing journalists and battled with other users on the social media platform. Michael Caputo, who was using his verified Twitter account, commented “gas all of them” in response to a post …