Free Republic

Staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell ABC News the agency has descended into turmoil as senior officials offer their resignations over the Trump administration's effort to oust the agency's new director. A dozen CDC staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the mood inside the agency to ABC News, including some who said Thursday that the last 24 hours have left them questioning how much longer they should remain in their roles amid fears that the agency is, in the words of one staffer, "changing from a trusted scientific organization to a personal dictatorship" run...

This year, the FDA announced it would no longer be issuing blanket bans due to sexual orientation and instead screen potential donors on their risk of contracting and transmitting HIV, with the policy going into effect in August. At the time, the federal health agency said it would use "gender-inclusive, individual risk-based questions" without compromising "the safety or availability of the blood supply."

Just two months ago, Florida was experiencing the worst COVID-19 surge in the United States. The Sunshine State had the highest seven-day average of cases per day as well as the highest hospitalization rate in the country. Despite these grim metrics, Governor Ron DeSantis did not issue new lockdowns, closures or stay-at-home orders, arguing that the spike was due to a seasonal pattern of the virus and urging residents to get vaccinated.

Almost half of Republicans say they will not get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to them compared with just six percent of Democrat men, according to a new poll. The study, released by PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll Thursday, surveyed 1,227 US adults from March 3 to March 8 about their views on taking one of the three vaccines approved by the federal government. It uncovered stark differences in opinion depending on political beliefs with 49 percent of Republican men saying they would not be taking the shot, while just 6 percent of Democrat men said the same.