Health
Trump Will Withhold Money From Schools That Require Covid Vaccines
President Trump ordered on Friday that federal funding be withheld from schools and universities that require students to be vaccinated against Covid, White House officials said, another step in the administration’s campaign against coronavirus vaccine requirements.
It was not clear how widely impactful the order would be. No states require K-12 students to be vaccinated against Covid. Only 15 colleges still required Covid vaccines for students as of late last year, according to No College Mandates, an advocacy group.
Riding the same wave of anti-vaccine sentiment, 21 states had already moved to outlaw student Covid vaccine mandates, the National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonpartisan research group, has said. And Republican elected officials across the country have pursued a tide of anti-vaccine measures, including a proposed ban in Montana on administering mRNA vaccines, which include some Covid shots, and a ban on a local health department in Idaho offering any Covid vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that monitoring has shown that Covid vaccines are safe for children.
Younger people are much less likely to be severely sickened by the coronavirus, but doctors have said that the virus has still harmed many children.
For Mr. Trump, whose first administration accelerated the development and rollout of Covid shots, saving some 140,000 lives in their early months of availability, the latest executive order was a turn toward reining in efforts to promote the vaccines.
Shortly after returning to office last month, Mr. Trump also said he would reinstate more than 8,000 troops who had been dismissed for refusing the Covid vaccine.
The executive order on Friday largely took aim at mandates implemented in 2021, shortly after Covid vaccines became available. Some local school districts, especially in more liberal regions, required the shots for students participating in sports or other extracurricular activities, or for adult visitors to school buildings, including parents.
School-based mandates tend to raise vaccination rates among children, researchers have found. Those vaccinations, in turn, can protect students who might be vulnerable to more serious illness and dampen circulation of the virus, potentially sparing parents or grandparents from being exposed.
But even in more liberal areas, school mandates won only modest support. Some researchers argued they were counterproductive, polarizing communities and damaging trust in scientific institutions. As the pandemic progressed, resistance to mandates mounted. Most of the policies were short-lived.
Covid vaccine mandates at colleges also improved vaccination rates, researchers have found, with health benefits that extended to surrounding communities. In counties whose colleges all mandated vaccines, one study found, fewer residents died from Covid.
Few teachers and school staff members are working under Covid vaccine mandates, either. No state requires them, and the nation’s two largest school districts, New York City and Los Angeles, both lifted teacher Covid vaccine requirements in 2023.
The order applies only to Covid vaccines, leaving untouched state requirements that school children be vaccinated against measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, whooping cough and chickenpox. States excuse children who, for medical reasons, cannot receive vaccines, and many also allow exemptions for religious or other reasons.
At least some medical schools require Covid shots for students. It was not immediately clear if those rules would be affected by the new order.
Dana Goldstein and Tyler Pager contributed reporting.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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Yoga is known to boost relaxation, strength and flexibility – and now a new study has found the practice could improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.
A randomized trial led by the University of Rochester Medical Center found that a four-week yoga program significantly reduced insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and mood disturbances after cancer treatment.
The findings were presented last week at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.
CANCER SURVIVORS MAY SEE SURPRISING BENEFITS FROM ONE SPECIFIC EXERCISE, STUDY SAYS
The study was conducted across multiple U.S. community cancer care sites, including 410 adult cancer survivors averaging 54 years of age. Around 75% were breast cancer survivors, and none of them had practiced yoga regularly within the prior three months.
A randomized trial led by the University of Rochester Medical Center found that a four-week yoga program significantly reduced insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and mood disturbances in cancer survivors. (iStock)
The participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Half of them received only standard survivorship care without the yoga, while the other half received standard care and were also enrolled in the Yoga for Cancer Survivors (YOCAS) program.
As part of the YOCAS program, the survivors completed two instructor-led 75-minute yoga sessions each week, including 18 Gentle Hatha yoga and Restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises and mindfulness training.
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Based on questionnaires completed by the patients, the survivors in the yoga group experienced “moderate-to-large” reductions in overall mood disturbance, “small-to-medium” reductions in anxiety and “medium-to-large” reductions in fatigue, the study found.
The improvements in mood and fatigue appeared to be linked to yoga’s beneficial effect on sleep quality, according to the researchers.
As part of the YOCAS program, the survivors completed two instructor-led 75-minute yoga sessions each week, including 18 Gentle Hatha yoga and Restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises and mindfulness training. (iStock)
“This indicates that cancer survivors have an option to alleviate these cancer-related side effects at the same time, without adding another drug,” lead investigator Yuri Choi, PhD, of the Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, in Rochester, New York, told Fox News Digital.
The study did not reveal any major safety concerns or serious adverse events related to the yoga practice.
“This indicates that cancer survivors have an option to alleviate these cancer-related side effects at the same time, without adding another drug.”
The study did have some limitations, chiefly that the findings are preliminary and have not yet been peer-reviewed for a medical publication.
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“The sample in our clinical trial was relatively homogeneous, with most participants being women (96%), breast cancer patients (75%), Caucasian (93%), and having some college or higher education (82%),” noted Choi.
“We are adapting our intervention to reach all cancer patients and survivors, including the creation of a mobile app to reach people in rural communities.”
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The research also excluded patients with metastatic cancer (whose disease had spread to other parts of the body).
The total study was only four weeks, so more research is needed to determine long-term benefits.
If the findings are confirmed by peer-reviewed publications, this could lead to recommendations for structured yoga programs as a non-drug supportive therapy for cancer survivors, the researchers noted. (iStock)
If the findings are confirmed by peer-reviewed publications, this could lead to recommendations for structured yoga programs as a non-drug supportive therapy for cancer survivors, the researchers noted.
Some yoga studios may use different names for Gentle Hatha and Restorative yoga, such as Foundations Yoga or Healing Yoga, Choi noted.
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“Survivors should also look for certified yoga instructors who have experience working with cancer patients/survivors or individuals with other challenging health conditions,” the researcher advised. “They should not be afraid to ask their oncology team for referrals to qualified instructors in their community.”
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Choi also noted that the research did not reveal whether other types of yoga, such as heated-room or rigorous-flow yoga, are safe or beneficial for cancer survivors.
The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.
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