Pennsylvania health authorities reported two recent measles-associated deaths, noting only that both individuals were unvaccinated. These are the first reported measles deaths in the United States for 2026 and Pennsylvania’s first in more than thirty years. The item places these events in context with national data: three people died from measles in the U.S. last year, and experts have warned that adults are increasingly susceptible after cohorts of unvaccinated children have aged into adulthood, potentially fueling future outbreaks.
A new employer survey from the Business Group on Health highlights that rising health care costs are a problem even for large, sophisticated employers. The survey collected responses from 127 large employers, roughly half of which employ at least 25,000 workers. Across the 2023–2025 period, actual health care cost increases outpaced employers’ expectations. Looking ahead, respondents projected cost growth of 8.5% for 2026 and 9.2% for 2027 before any adjustments to benefits.
Ellen Kelsay, CEO of the Business Group on Health, told reporters that employers’ inability to predict health care spending is about more than budgeting: it is “emblematic of a bigger picture issue with the overall health care system.” The piece underscores that smaller employers are already abandoning employer-sponsored insurance at record rates, while larger firms are likely to continue offering benefits but face increasing volatility.
Kelsay’s remarks were framed as a prompt for large employers to reassess whether their insurers, consultants, and other vendors are delivering “meaningful value” given the unpredictability and accelerating cost trends reported by the survey.
Researchers at Oxford used a natural experiment design to examine associations between the newer shingles vaccine (Shingrix) and risks of major health outcomes. Previously, the team reported a link between the vaccine and lower dementia rates. In a follow-up analysis, the investigators observed an association between receipt of the newer shingles vaccine and a reduced risk of heart disease by comparing health records of people vaccinated before the shot’s approval with those who received it afterward.
Co‑author Maxime Taquet emphasized the need for randomized controlled trials to confirm these observational findings and noted that one trial is already underway. Taquet suggested that if trial data confirm the associations, Shingrix “could prevent hundreds of thousands of cardiovascular events in the USA alone,” and might be the first vaccine to offer protection for both heart and brain health.
Reporting discussed how shifts in federal grant priorities and funding cuts under the prior administration have reshaped research and investment approaches in women’s health. Some experts and investors now frame women’s health as an explicit investment category. Elizabeth Bailey, co‑founder of Foreground Capital, told STAT that this is the most exciting time to invest in women’s health in her two decades in venture capital because more people are treating it as a distinct market opportunity.
The coverage highlights that conditions that are unique to women, that affect women differently, or that disproportionately affect women all face research and investment challenges, and that the reprioritization of funding has created a new calculus for private investors and companies pursuing women’s health products and services.
Reproductive biologist David N. Hackney reflects on predictions made after Roe v. Wade was overturned and finds that several dire expectations have not uniformly materialized more than four years later. Predictions included falling abortion rates, worsened infant and maternal mortality, and the exodus of abortion providers from restrictive states. According to Hackney’s First Opinion essay, many of those anticipated outcomes have not come to pass as expected.
However, Hackney cautions against focusing solely on empirical consequences. He argues that emphasizing outcomes can shift the debate into data-driven contests, whereas the central issue should remain the underlying ethical assault represented by abortion bans. His stance is that discussions anchored primarily in consequence-based arguments risk losing sight of freedoms and rights at stake.
The Morning Rounds summary also links readers to related reporting and commentary across outlets. Suggested items include coverage of New Mexico’s decision to continue funding gender-affirming care for minors after federal cuts, a study on brain disease prevalence among NFL players, a STAT opinion piece on medical aid in dying, an article on how calf muscle condition can indicate heart health, and reporting on the recovery of Massachusetts’s biopharma sector in 2026.
Notes on sourcing and scope
All facts and quotations in this summary and rewrite are drawn from the STAT Morning Rounds item. Where the original referenced external reports (for example, the Business Group on Health survey and the Oxford observational work on Shingrix), this rewrite reports only the study design, high-level findings, direct quotations, and claims that were included in the STAT piece. Details such as study sample sizes, statistical measures, or specific methodologies from the original studies were not provided in the STAT summary and therefore are not included here.