health take | Feds Seize 4.7 Million Vapes, POLL: Is Trump Too Old to be President?
9.11.25
IMMUNIZATIONS: From UCare via Instagram, VERBATIM: “The most life-saving vaccines of 2025-26 will probably be the flu and COVID shots. Don't forget to get vaccinated this fall! National Immunization Awareness Month.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/3HVEmvO (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
TRUMP: Via YouGov, VERBATIM: “Americans are more likely to say that Trump is too old to be president than to say he is not too old (49% vs. 39%).”
“Beliefs about Trump's age are highly polarized. The overwhelming majority (80%) of Democrats say that Trump is too old to be president. A majority (53%) of Independents say the same, compared to only 30% who say he is not too old. But Republicans overwhelmingly say he is not too old (78%), while only 13% say he is too old.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HTCF2b
SURVEY: Via NCHE, VERBATIM: “The National Collaborative for Health Equity (NCHE), in partnership with Burson, is proud to present the 3rd Annual Heart of America Survey. This year’s findings offer a compelling counter-narrative to prevailing cynicism, revealing a strong and growing desire for unity, empathy, and racial healing across the nation.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3Kiz8uP
VACCINES: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “Only one in four Americans believe that recent recommendations for fewer vaccines from President Donald Trump's administration were based on scientific evidence and facts, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll . . . The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted in the five days through Tuesday, showed 24% of respondents - including 5% of Democrats and 48% of Republicans - thought new federal vaccine recommendations were based on science and facts. Overall, 48% of respondents thought the policy was not based on science and facts, with the rest unsure or opting not to answer the question.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gl9EZY
STATE POLICIES: From YouGov:
SEE: https://fluence-media.co/46brJVC
POT: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “An analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that cannabis use during pregnancy has risen in recent years and is highest in the first trimester. According to data from NSDUH, 5.4% of pregnant women were using marijuana in 2019 versus 3.5% in 2002 . . . The rise is a growing concern for public-health officials. Though research is limited, recent science indicates that it could disrupt the earliest stages of fetal brain development—especially if the cannabis is of higher potency. Other research has found that cannabis can increase the odds of premature birth, which could bring on more complications.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mcKnlY
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
9/11: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Ahead of the 24th anniversary of 9/11, Democrats are demanding answers from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the future of the federal World Trade Center Health Program, which covers treatment for 9/11-related illnesses such as cancer and chronic coughs. In a letter to Kennedy on Wednesday, obtained exclusively by NBC News, six Democratic senators expressed concern that the program was not abiding by a mandate to evaluate whether additional health conditions should be eligible for the program’s medical coverage.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47EIoDq
VICTIM IDS: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “Last month, New York City officials announced they had identified the remains of another three victims who died in the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. It was the latest update to come out of the missing persons unit of the New York City medical examiner's office, which since 2001 has been running the forensic investigation into the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. But the news may have surprised those who didn't know that many 9/11 victims still haven't had any of their remains identified — and that city officials are still trying, 24 years later.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42hR7b2
RECALL: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “A DermaRite Industries hand soap recall has been expanded to more than 30 products, including deodorant, lotions, shampoo, hand sanitizer and more. The recall was initiated in July and was expanded recently over concerns that more of its products may include Burkholderia cepacia complex. Exposure to the bacterium could ‘result in serious and life-threatening infections,’ the company said in a release.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3KgcWl0
MEDICAID SUPPORTS HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OF US: Medicaid keeps Minnesota’s hospitals strong and ensures communities across the state have access to care. Policymakers must protect Medicaid so every Minnesotan — regardless of income or health status — can get the care they need, when they need it. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3FtrCuH (SPONSORED: Minnesota Hospital Association)
COTTON: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Life-saving, state-of-the-art technology is now in the hands of a rural volunteer fire department in northeast Minnesota. ‘It’s an amazing thing for a rural fire department to have this, where only typically ambulance services have this or maybe a sheriff’s deputy,’ said Gary Gagnon of the Cotton Volunteer Fire Department (CFD). For years, the members of CFD have been asking for the Lund University Cardiac Assist System, commonly called the LUCAS machine, because of the impact it’ll have on the large community they protect.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/46lIg9C
NASHWAUK: Via KAXE-Radio, VERBATIM: “North Memorial Health took over the Nashwauk ambulance on Wednesday, Sept. 3. North Memorial, which is owned by the Brooklyn Center-based nonprofit North Memorial Medical Center, signed a three-year contract with Itasca County earlier this year. The County Board of Commissioners voted in February to take over the long-struggling ambulance service from the city of Nashwauk, creating a special taxing district to pay for it.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47EHyq9
LYME DISEASE: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Lyme disease can cause serious harm, but so can bogus tests and treatments. The complexity of diagnosing the tick-borne disease has given rise to an entire industry of unapproved tests and unproven alternative treatments that experts say should be avoided, including lasers, herbal remedies and electromagnets.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mZH6aI
VAPES: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “U.S. authorities have seized 4.7 million unauthorized e-cigarettes valued at $86.5 million in the largest operation of its kind to date, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday. The seizures, led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were part of a joint federal operation in Chicago aimed at intercepting illegal e-cigarette shipments, HHS said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41R6Fm1
MORE: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “It’s the latest attempt by law enforcement to staunch the flow of unauthorized vapes that have flooded into the U.S. in kid-friendly flavors, often from China. Their influx has forced the FDA to try to eliminate thousands of illegal products sold by under-the-radar importers and distributors. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service also seized illegal products from distributors and retailers in North Carolina, Arizona, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida, federal officials said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47FdXNl
CLIMATE: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “In 2023, a group of 16 young Montanans won a much-heralded climate change case that said the state had deprived them of a ‘clean and healthful environment,’ a right enshrined in Montana’s constitution. Their victory in Held v. Montana, later upheld by the state Supreme Court, resounded across the country, showing that young people have a stake in the issue of climate change, advocates say. Yet, state policies to address the causes of climate change in Montana — home to large coal, oil, and natural gas deposits — haven’t changed in the wake of the case. On Sept. 17, some of those plaintiffs are scheduled to appear in federal court to request that U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen block a series of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on energy issues.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3K2mIXT
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL HEALTH CARE, ESSENTIA IS RECOGNIZED FOR PROVIDING TOP CLINICAL CARE: According to the latest report from Minnesota Community Measurement, a statewide resource on health care quality, costs and equity, Essentia ranked as a high performer with 19 of 20 clinical quality metrics scoring above statewide averages. According to Dr. Maria Beaver, chief quality and patient safety officer at Essentia: “This is a testament to the amazing care provided by all our clinical care teams and all our colleagues who support them.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dCxy1D (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
SHUTDOWN: Via Government Executive, VERBATIM: “With just three weeks until the government shuts down, Republicans leaders in the House and Senate are preparing to put forward a stopgap spending bill that would keep agencies afloat past the current Sept. 30 deadline. Such a measure would require Democratic support in the Senate, however, and the minority party is seeking to exploit that leverage to avoid health care cuts scheduled to hit in the coming months. ‘We will not support a partisan spending agreement that continues to rip away health care from the American people, period full stop,’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on Thursday after meeting with top Democratic appropriators and his counterpart in the Senate.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3VISXxQ
VACCINES: Via ABC News, VERBATIM: “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a Senate hearing [last] Thursday that children receive up to 92 vaccine doses in early childhood ‘in order to be fully compliant between maternity and 18 years.’ But doctors tell ABC News that that number isn't accurate. Excluding annual flu and COVID-19 shots, children generally receive roughly 30 vaccine doses – many in combined injections – before the age of 18. Combination vaccines are single shots that include two or more vaccines that might otherwise be given separately: the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine is a common example.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47GqhNu
SMALLPOX/MPOX: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “Emergent BioSolutions announced yesterday that it has received a $56 million contract extension to supply the US government with doses of a combined smallpox/mpox vaccine. The single-dose vaccine, ACAM2000, was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2007 for active immunization against smallpox in people considered to be at high risk of infection, then for active immunization against mpox in high-risk individuals in 2024. It's one of two FDA-approved smallpox and mpox vaccines, along with Bavarian Nordic's Jynneos vaccine.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3V9kKYe
FRESH15: The latest season of Fresh15 includes interviews with new Minnesota House members. So far, five new members have shared their goals, background and fun facts before they take office in a historic session this January.
Rep. Kari Rehrauer
Rep. Wayne Johnson
Rep. Julie Greene
Rep. Keith Allen
Rep. Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
MAYO: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic in Rochester has been named the No. 1 smart hospital in the world by Newsweek's ‘World's Best Smart Hospitals 2026’ and earned more No. 1 specialty rankings than any other hospital in Newsweek's ‘World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2026’ list.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42bexz1
CHRONIC DISEASES: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “Among all high-income Western countries, the United States has shown the worst performance in reducing the probability of dying from chronic diseases, a new study finds. From 2010 to 2019, deaths due to chronic diseases declined in most age groups in the US but increased among adults 20 to 45, ‘a rare phenomenon in high-income western countries,’ according to the study, published Wednesday in the journal The Lancet.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/463kNv2
COVID: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “Relative to uninfected children, COVID-19 patients aged 8 to 17 years were at a 49% higher risk for new-onset depression or anxiety in 2021, rising to 59% in those with severe illness, according to a University of Utah study published this week in PLOS One.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mb6zg8
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
CAFFEINE: From University of Tübingen via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Researchers have discovered that everyday substances like caffeine can influence how bacteria such as E. coli respond to antibiotics. By examining 94 common drugs and food ingredients, scientists found that certain compounds trigger genetic regulators that control bacterial transport proteins, altering what gets inside the cells. In the case of caffeine, this led to reduced uptake of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, weakening its effectiveness.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HWIlsd
Copyright © 2025 Fluence Media, All rights reserved.
You signed up or are media / a public official interested in health care news from Fluence Media.
Our mailing address is:
Fluence Media
PO Box 270031
Minneapolis, MN 55427