President-elect Donald Trump has quickly begun assembling his administration ahead of his anticipated inauguration.

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert F.

Texas dropped its lawsuit after federal health officials said they wouldn’t enforce a confidentiality regulation for minors.

Attorneys for migrant children who arrived to the United States on their own say the Biden administration’s new rules are not enough to ensure their safety while they are in U.S. custody and should not replace a decades-old agreement that requires court oversight.

A recently released audit from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General calls for improvements in how the government obtains and validates addresses of migrants released into the United States.

The Biden administration is estimating that it could collect as much as $4.7 billion from insurance companies with newer and tougher penalties for submitting improper charges on the taxpayers’ tab for Medicare Advantage care.

Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is providing more than $344.1 million in emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits for the month of January. The allotments are expected to help about 1.6 million Texas households.

Rice economists uncover hospital prices and create an excel sheet to help consumers.

The World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus cases rose by 18% in the last week, with more than 4.1 million new cases reported globally.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing logistical support to import the equivalent of about 16 million 8-ounce baby formula bottles from Mexico.

Another member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet has tested positive for COVID-19.

Fort Bend County Judge KP George, along with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Emergency Management, will hold a media briefing Monday to give an update on lowering the county’s COVID-19 risk level.

With the nation yearning for a new normal after its long struggle with the coronavirus, U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra is warning that vaccines, tests and treatments will be “stuck on the ground” unless Congress provides additional funds the White House has demanded.

An influential scientific advisory panel says the U.S. transplant system needs an overhaul to stop wasting organs and give more patients a fair chance.

A federal watchdog says the government's main health agency is failing to meet its responsibilities for leading the national response to public health emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather disasters and even potential bioterrorist attacks.

The Biden administration is reversing a ban on abortion referrals by federally funded family planning clinics.

Some immigrant teens say they've waited weeks or months in massive facilities and don't know when they'll be released to relatives in the United States.

The Justice Department is announcing criminal charges against more than a dozen people from Florida to California in a series of Medicare scams that exploited coronavirus fears to bill tens of millions of dollars in bogus claims.

The Biden administration says the government will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, reversing a Trump-era policy.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced Saturday all the migrant children at the North Houston facility will be immediately unified with sponsors or transferred to an appropriate ORR facility.

The Biden administration is unveiling a coalition of community, religious and celebrity partners to promote COVID-19 shots as it seeks to overcome vaccine hesitancy.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized two changes to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine that can provide extra doses from each vial.

A lawyer, not a doctor, his main experience with the health care system came through helping to pass the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and defending it when Donald Trump was president. AdBecerra also will also be the point man on Biden's health care agenda, which includes insurance for all Americans, deputizing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and tackling persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the health care system. Prescription drugs and health insurance will lead to major legislative battles. “It’s a different time and it’s a time of tremendous opportunity in health care,” he said. But during committee hearings several indicated a willingness to work with on prescription drugs, rural health care and other matters.

BALTIMORE – The Biden administration hopes to relieve the strain of thousands of unaccompanied children coming to the southern border by ending a Trump-era order that discouraged potential family sponsors from coming forward to care for them. It comes as U.S. authorities saw a 60% increase in children crossing the southwest border alone between January and February to more than 9,400. Officials say children are staying an average of 37 days at Health and Human Services-sponsored facilities. AdEarlier this week, the administration announced it was resuming a program that Trump ended that makes it easier for Central American children to join their parents in the United States. Under the Central American minors policy, children can apply for legal status in the United States in their own countries instead of making the dangerous journey to the U.S. border with Mexico.

(Michigan Office of the Governor via AP, File)ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The entire University of Michigan athletic department is pausing after several positive tests for the new COVID-19 variant that transmits at a higher rate. The state Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday it issued recommendations for the school, although not an order. The school said Saturday night its move followed the positive COVID-19 tests for several individuals linked to the athletic department. The women's team currently has its highest AP ranking ever. The Wolverines were supposed to play six games between Sunday and Feb. 7, including two against Michigan State.

A court-appointed committee has yet to find the parents of 628 children separated at the border early in the Trump administration. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, along with other top leaders in the Trump administration, were bent on curbing immigration. The “zero tolerance” policy was one of several increasingly restrictive policies aimed at discouraging migrants from coming to the Southern border. This new report shows just how far the Trump administration was willing to go to destroy these families. Just when you think the Trump administration can’t sink any lower, it does.”The “zero tolerance” policy meant that any adult caught crossing the border illegally would be prosecuted for illegal entry.

(AP Photo/Mark Baker)CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is advancing the start of its coronavirus vaccination program to mid-February, with plans to inoculate 15% of the population by late March. Mexico’s vaccination effort continues at a glacial rate, with about 7,500 shots administered Wednesday, a rate similar to previous days. John Bel Edwards and public health officials said Wednesday that efforts are being made to speed up vaccinations for the coronavirus. So far, state officials have administered 126,602 of the 522,550 doses the state has received. More than 329,000 people have been vaccinated in Florida — or about 1.5% of the population — almost all of them either health care workers, residents in care homes, or people over the age of 65.

(Youngrae Kim/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – Pfizer said Wednesday it will supply the U.S. government with an additional 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine under a new agreement between the pharmaceutical giant and the Trump administration. The government also has an option to purchase an additional 400 million doses. The cost to taxpayers: $1.95 billion for the additional 100 million doses. To aid vaccine production, the government said it is using its authority under a Cold War-era law that allows it to direct private manufacturing. The government began shipping the Pfizer vaccine to states last week, and the one from Moderna this week.

This photo combination shows from left: musician Christina Aguilera in Los Angeles, March 29, 2012, comedian George Lopez in Los Angeles, Dec. 25, 2012, and actor Jack Black in Las Vegas, April 25, 2012. Public relations firms hired by the Department of Health and Human Services vetted the political views of hundreds of celebrities, including Aguilera, Lopez, and Black, for a health education advertising campaign on the coronavirus outbreak. That's according to documents released Thursday by a House committee.

(AP Photo/Lewis Joly)MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, has loosened lockdown restrictions as new and active COVID-19 continue to decline. Victoria state reported only two new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and no deaths. The total number of cases on the reservation is now 10,913. Nine new deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths associated with the virus to 8,466. There are 106,503 total cases reported since the pandemic began in March and 1,168 deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

We can’t take another hit.”___MIAMI - Florida has reported a slight uptick in daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, adding 3,449 to its total caseload on Friday. There were 3,861 new coronavirus cases reported in Wisconsin on Friday, breaking the previous record set just a day earlier of 3,747. The report, released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looks at coronavirus-associated deaths reported between May 1 and August 31. The deaths reported Friday include 10 women and eight men, all in their 60s or older. With 222 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, Spain’s total has reached 33,775.

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration health official embroiled in a furor over political meddling with the coronavirus response is taking a leave of absence, the government announced Wednesday. The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that Michael Caputo was taking the time “to focus on his health and the well-being of his family.”Caputo, the department's top spokesman, apologized on Tuesday to his staff for a Facebook video in which he reportedly said scientists battling the coronavirus are conspiring against President Donald Trump and warned of shooting in America if Trump were to lose the November election. The Trump appointee also was accused of trying to muzzle a scientific weekly put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public health officials and experts say the heavy reliance on statewide hospital data is a misleading and sometimes irresponsible metric to justify keeping a state open or holding back on imposing new limits. The issue of hospital capacity has gained urgency across the nation this week as Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and other states reported skyrocketing case numbers. Governors have repeatedly invoked hospital capacity in arguing against new business restrictions, though the dynamic began to shift Friday when Texas and Florida clamped down on bars amid an increasingly dire situation with COVID-19. Hospital beds in Houston are filling so fast that Texas Childrens Hospital is starting to treat adult patients, and 97% of ICU beds at Texas Medical Center were in use. Ducey has condemned as misinformation the notion that hospital space is running short, even as state data shows that 85% of Arizonas hospital beds are occupied.

By Mayo Clinic News NetworkFor most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity. Moderate aerobic exercise includes such activities as brisk walking, swimming and mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes such activities as running and aerobic dancing. You can achieve more health benefits, including increased weight loss, if you ramp up your exercise to 300 minutes a week.