United States: A withdrawal of COVID-19 vaccination funding from the Trump administration triggered the Minneapolis Health Department to announce this decision on Wednesday. 

According to the Minneapolis Health Department, vaccination clinics, together with immunization education, will permanently stop. 

Immunization funding cut 

The funding supported citywide vaccination operations through educational programs and cost-free adult and pediatric clinics with record updates for students at Minneapolis Public Schools. 

The city immediately stopped working with MHealth Fairview Odam Medical Clinic and neighborhood HealthSource through the established contacts. 

Submitted: Part of Minnesota’s federal cuts include $27.5 million from DHS grants.

Temporary Commissioner Shireen Gandhi says “federal COVID dollars were abruptly terminated” and that other states are “facing the same whiplash…” pic.twitter.com/S1NpDTcAFy

— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) March 27, 2025

The city official claims funding shortages require the support of three Health Department employees who work from alternative budget sources until better options are identified. 

What are the officials stating? 

According to Minneapolis Health Commissioner Damón Chaplin, “The impact on our community is substantial. We are canceling five free vaccine clinics scheduled for April, and the future of our vaccine services in underserved communities is uncertain. Decisions at the federal level threaten public health now and in the future,” fox9.com reported. 

Furthermore, “Decisions at the federal level are impacting lives and hurting employees dedicated to making Minneapolis a healthy place to live. Their work on our vaccine program has saved lives and prevented illnesses throughout the city. Eliminating federal support for these positions hurts our community and puts more burden on Minneapolis to deliver our mission to improve the health and well-being of every community member,” the commissioner noted. 

The Minneapolis Health Department worked jointly with community organizations to run 87 vaccine clinics at underserved locations that delivered approximately 800 COVID-19 vaccines, with 700 flu shots and 500 MPOX vaccines. 

The health department organized 21 vaccine clinics, which led to 1,475 vaccinations that benefited 501 patients who received 12 available vaccines for youth, fox9.com reported. 

The Minneapolis Health Department reports that out of all 6-year-old children in the city, only 70% received all their recommended vaccinations in September 2024. 

United States: Experts in Nature Metabolism indicate that consuming sugar substitutes could trigger appetite stimulation, which might result in people eating more than necessary. 

Artificial Sweeteners May Fuel Hunger 

According to senior investigator Dr. Kathleen Page, who leads the University of Southern California Diabetes and Obesity Research Center, the brain reacts strangely because sucralose in Splenda offers sweetness without typical calorie content, as stated in the news release. 

According to Dr. Page, “If your body is expecting a calorie because of the sweetness, but doesn’t get the calorie it’s expecting, that could change the way the brain is primed to crave those substances over time,” US News reported. 

Researchers in background notes revealed that approximately four in ten Americans frequently use artificial sweeteners mainly as a method to lower their sugar consumption. 

“But are these substances actually helpful for regulating body weight?” Page enquired. 

“What happens in the body and brain when we consume them, and do the effects differ from one person to the next?” 

How was the study conducted? 

Investigators watched 75 participants respond using brain imaging following water consumption and the consumption of sucralose-sweetened beverages and regular sugar-sweetened beverages. 

Healthcare personnel obtained MRI brain scans together with blood draws and hunger assessment results from study participants twice following each drink’s ingestion. 

The test participants consumed each drink type one after another. The use of sucralose as a beverage sweetener led to higher hypothalamus brain activity than both neutral water and sugar-sweetened drinks, according to research outcomes. 

The consumption of sucralose enhanced the hypothalamic connections toward brain regions, which control sensory input and motivation functions. 

The results indicate sucralose might possibly affect human cravings or eating reactions, according to Page. 

Sucralose purportedly increased hunger indications after sweet drink consumption yet yielded similar hunger reports as the water did among the participants, according to the study investigators. 

Studies identified that obesity patients exhibited the most intense responses from sucralose consumption among all test groups. 

Testing blood samples demonstrated that drinking sugar elevated both blood sugar quantities and hormone levels such as insulin as well as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), which modern weight loss medications replicate, US News reported. 

The consumption of sucralose produced no change in hormone levels based on research findings. 

United States: Rabies infected the recipient following their organ transplant, which took place in a Michigan hospital in December, according to the state health department declaration on Wednesday. 

More about the news 

According to Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, “A public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ,” NBC News reported. 

According to the statement from the department, the patient underwent the transplant at an Ohio hospital in December before passing away in January. 

The release failed to provide any details about the receiver’s identity along with the exact nature of the transplanted organ. 

The donor who donated the organ was not registered as either a Michigan resident or an Ohio resident. 

Patient dies from rabies after organ transplant from infected donor:
A Michigan resident has died of rabies after receiving an organ transplant.

The patient, who received the transplant at an Ohio hospital in December 2024, died of the fatal virus in J… https://t.co/rrCowWNdGF

— Elwin Sidney (@ElwinSidney) March 27, 2025

Sutfin stated that Michigan health officials, along with Ohio department employees and the Centers for Disease Control Prevention, jointly investigated the patient’s fatal condition. 

The Rabies Laboratory at the CDC diagnosed the infection. 

According to the statement, “Health officials worked together to ensure that people, including health care providers, who were in contact with the Michigan individual were assessed for possible exposure to rabies,” NBC News reported. 

“Post-exposure preventive care, if appropriate, has been provided,” they added. 

The department stated it would not release further information to NBC News. 

The agencies responsible for comments, including the Ohio Health Department and CDC, stayed silent when approached for interviews. 

The disease spreads from animals to humans through direct contact with their saliva or blood, which comes from bats, raccoons, skunks, and stray dogs. 

People may not recognize immediate rabies infection because the early signs mimic flu symptoms, which include headaches followed by fever and nausea. 

When rabies advances in patients, it causes swallowing problems, and they also experience heavy drooling along with hallucinations. 

Failure to obtain prompt medical care after being scratched or bitten by an infectious animal will result in death due to rabies. 

Data from the CDC indicates that the annual rabies deaths have fallen below 10 since 1960 despite previous numbers of at least 500 mortalities annually before that period. 

The United States screens potential organ donors for viral infections as well as bacterial diseases along with other pathogens, yet rabies testing is usually excluded due to slow results and minimal person-to-person occurrence of the infection.