By Shalina Chatlani, Stateline.org

More states are loosening vaccine mandates, scaling back vaccine promotion efforts and taking other steps likely to lower vaccination rates — even as a major measles outbreak spreads in Texas.

Meanwhile, public health experts worry that the confirmation of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could add fuel to such efforts, leading to the resurgence of long-tamed infectious diseases. Kennedy has made numerous baseless or false claims about vaccines, including linking them to autism and cancer and saying there is “poison” in the coronavirus vaccine.

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which Kennedy now oversees, canceled the upcoming meeting of a scientific panel that was slated to discuss next year’s flu vaccines. Also this week, an unvaccinated child died of measles in Texas— the country’s first measles death in a decade. The outbreak, which has spilled into neighboring New Mexico, has now grown to more than 130 cases.

Related Articles

Losing a pet can cut deeper than many people realize. Here’s how friends can help

An ice rink to fight opioid crisis: Drug-free fun vs. misuse of settlement cash

Texas measles cases rise to 146 in an outbreak that led to a child’s death

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious viruses. Here’s what to know and how to avoid it

Harsh flu season has health officials worried about brain complications in children

Already, vaccination rates are lower than they were before the pandemic. The COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives, but many Americans bristled at vaccine mandates, and disinformation and rapidly evolving public health advice undermined many people’s trust in scientific authorities.

Changing attitudes have had an impact: Vaccination rates among children born in 2020 and 2021 declined by between 1.3 and 7.8 percentage points for recommended shots, compared with children born in 2018 and 2019, according to a September report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The anti-vaccination trend is “the antithesis of public health,” Dr. Scott Rivkees, a pediatric endocrinologist who served as Florida’s surgeon general and health secretary from 2019 to 2021, told Stateline.

“The role of people in departments of health and the role of people in health care and medicine is to promote health and make sure the public is safe,” Rivkees told Stateline. “There’s such a rich history of legal precedent, such a rich history of public health precedent, saying that society benefits by having individuals vaccinated.”

In all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, children must receive certain vaccines to attend school. Every state offers an exemption for children who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. Thirty states plus the district allow families to skip the vaccinations for religious reasons, 13 states grant exemptions for religious or personal reasons, and two states — Louisiana and Minnesota — don’t require people to specify whether their objection is religious or personal.

Five states — California, Connecticut, Maine, New York and West Virginia — don’t allow nonmedical exemptions.

Republican officials in more than a dozen states have introduced legislation to loosen vaccine rules or otherwise reduce their use.

Legislation in Arizona would make it easier to claim a school exemption, while GOP-sponsored bills in Connecticut, Minnesota, New York and Oregon would limit or prohibit vaccine mandates for adults.

In Idaho, a Senate panel last week debated a bill that would ban mRNA vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, for a decade. Montana and Mississippi lawmakers considered but defeated similar proposals. And in West Virginia — one of the five states that currently does not allow nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine requirements — lawmakers are advancing a bill that would allow religious and philosophical objections.

“Public health will always, to some extent, involve politics, because it requires resources,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit serves on the FDA panel that was supposed to discuss next year’s flu vaccines.

“But it doesn’t have to be partisan, which is what has happened.”

A shift in Louisiana

Earlier this month, Dr. Ralph Abraham, Louisiana’s first-ever surgeon general, sent a memo to staff at the Louisiana Department of Health saying they should no longer recommend that Louisianans get “any and all vaccines.” The memo also said the agency will “no longer promote mass vaccination.” Instead, Abraham said, health workers should encourage residents to discuss the risks and benefits of vaccines with their doctors.

The memo puts an end to the Louisiana health department’s robust history of promoting vaccinations through local public health departments, community health fairs and media campaigns.

“Vaccines should be treated with nuance, recognizing differences between seasonal vaccines and childhood immunizations, which are an important part of providing immunity to our children. … Getting vaccinated, like any other health procedure, is an individual’s personal choice,” the memo states.

The agency did not respond to multiple requests for comment via email and phone call. But in a letter posted to the department’s website earlier this month, Abraham wrote that the state had made several missteps during the pandemic, including: promoting “inaccurate and inconsistent guidance on masking, poor decisions to close schools, unjustifiable mandates on civil liberties, and false claims regarding natural immunity.”

Abraham wrote that vaccinations can be good for some, but can be harmful for others, and that for decades public health has been driven by an ideology that “the sacrifice of a few is acceptable and necessary for the ‘greater good.’”

“We should reject this utilitarian approach and restore medical decision-making to its proper place: between doctors and patients,” he wrote.

Louisiana Republican lawmakers have embraced this sentiment, saying that after the COVID-19 pandemic, they want to see less government involvement in vaccinations.

“I’m pleased that Dr. Abraham has taken this approach,” said Republican state Rep. Kathy Edmonston, who last year authored laws prohibiting Louisiana schools from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations and mandating that they provide exemption information to parents. “I’m not against vaccinations. He’s not against vaccinations. I’m for people being able to make up their own mind.”

Jill Hines, co-director of Health Freedom Louisiana, a group that opposes vaccine mandates, dismissed the significance of ending mass vaccination campaigns, because “everybody should have a primary care physician if they want one, and nobody is really denied access to a vaccine.”

But Kimberly Hood, former assistant secretary of the Louisiana Office of Public Health, noted that the state is largely rural, and many residents don’t have easy access to a health care provider.

“Failing to promote vaccination may not sound like a huge deal, but it actually invalidates what we in public health have seen and learned for many, many years, which is that you have to make it easy, affordable, accessible,” Hood told Stateline.

“It’s not just stepping away from vaccination; we’re stepping away from our kind of obligation together, what it means to live together in a society.”

Staying the course in Mississippi

But in neighboring Mississippi, which is also Republican-dominated, GOP leaders are staying the course — at least so far. More than two dozen anti-vaccine bills have died in the Mississippi legislature in the past two years, including this year’s proposed ban on mRNA vaccines.

The state struggled with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic, and in 2022 Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law a measure banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

But for years, Mississippi maintained one of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the nation. The state slipped from first to third between 2023 and 2024, after a federal judge ruled that the state must allow religious exemptions. Its current childhood vaccination rate is 97.5%, well above the 91% national average but lower than the 99.3% rate it had in 2019.

“Our law is still in effect, and if you don’t have a medical or religious exemption, then you must be fully vaccinated to attend school or go to day care in Mississippi,” said Dr. Daniel Edney, Mississippi’s state health officer. “The science is clear and in Mississippi we stand on the science.”

Edney said he hasn’t faced any political pressure to reverse course. Unlike in Louisiana, where Republican Gov. Jeff Landry tapped Abraham — a former three-term Republican congressman who co-chaired his transition committee — as surgeon general, Edney was selected by the 11-member Mississippi State Board of Health. The governor chooses the members of that panel, but they serve staggered four-year terms.

“I have zero pressure from the governor or legislative leadership regarding our approach to vaccines,” Edney told Stateline. “We’re not focused on politics. We don’t blow in the wind based on what administration is in power.”

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Andrew Dehan, Bankrate.com

If you qualify for a no-down-payment mortgage, you could get a loan for the full purchase price of a home. Here’s what you need to know.

A no-down-payment mortgage doesn’t require you to make a down payment at closing. With rising home prices, it’s more and more difficult for many buyers to save up for the upfront costs of homeownership. No-down-payment loans eliminate one of the biggest upfront costs.

One-fifth (20%) of aspiring homeowners believe they won’t ever be able to save enough to buy a home, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Down Payment Survey.

The two most prominent no-down-payment mortgages are VA and USDA loans.

VA loans

If you’re a military service member, veteran or surviving spouse, you might qualify for a VA loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Unlike a conventional loan, VA loans don’t typically require a down payment, and they don’t charge mortgage insurance. However, you will pay a funding fee, either at closing or by financing it into your mortgage. This fee ranges from 1.25% to 3.3% of the loan amount, and it varies depending on the down payment amount and whether you’ve used a VA loan before. Those who don’t make a down payment, as well as repeat VA loan applicants, pay higher funding fees.

USDA loans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guarantees USDA home loans for lower- to moderate-income buyers purchasing homes in eligible rural areas. These loans don’t require a down payment, but there’s an upfront fee — also known as a guarantee fee — of 1% of the principal loan amount which can be financed into the mortgage. On top of that, there’s an annual fee of 0.35% of the loan amount which lasts for the life of the loan. The only way to remove this annual fee is to refinance to a non-USDA loan.

Other zero-down mortgage options

New York-based Sunmark Credit Union offers a no-down-payment option — known as a Dream Bigger mortgage — without permanent mortgage insurance.
If you’re in the medical field and have school debt, you may qualify for a no-down-payment physician mortgage. These allow higher debt-to-income DTI ratios, provided you have the income to afford monthly payments.
Most loan types allow gift funds as part of the down payment — or the whole thing. If you have a family member or friend willing to give you money toward your home, you may be able to avoid putting money down.

If you aren’t eligible for a true no-money-down home loan, you might still qualify for a low-down-payment mortgage.

3% conventional loans

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two government-sponsored enterprises underpinning mortgages in the U.S. — back several 3-percent-down conventional loan programs: Conventional 97, HomeReady, Home Possible and HomeOne.

You will be required to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI varies in cost depending on your down payment amount and credit score. Once you reach 80% loan-to-value (LTV) on your home, you can request the lender remove PMI. Otherwise, it will automatically come off once you reach 78% LTV.

FHA loans

Insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), an FHA loan requires only 3.5% down with a credit score as low as 580. If you have a credit score between 500 and 579, you’ll need to put 10% down.

Similar to PMI, you’ll pay FHA mortgage insurance with an FHA loan. However, unlike conventional PMI, you’ll pay both an upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) at closing and an annual MIP divvied up between your monthly payments. The upfront MIP equals 1.75% of your loan amount, and the annual MIP varies depending on your down payment and other factors. If you make a down payment of 10% or more, you’ll pay the annual MIP for 11 years. Otherwise, you’ll pay it for the life of the loan.

1% down mortgage programs

Some mortgage lenders offer conventional mortgage programs that require only 1% down, including Rocket Mortgage’s ONE+ program. In this case, the lender pays 2% of the required 3% down payment for a HomeReady or Home Possible loan, and you need only provide the remaining 1%.

Good Neighbor Next Door

The Good Neighbor Next Door (GNND) program is for borrowers who work in select public service professions — teachers, firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical technicians — and plan to buy a home in a qualifying area. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the program provides a discount of up to 50% on the list price of a qualifying home.

Pros and cons of a no-down-payment mortgage

The ability to buy a home with no or very little money down can be appealing, but there are drawbacks, too.

The pros of no-down-payment mortgages include:

You can buy a home now instead of later. When you don’t have to come up with a substantial down payment, you won’t have to save up as much money to buy a home.
You can keep more cash on hand. Even if you have enough to make a sizable down payment, you might want to keep that money liquid for things like emergency savings, remodeling or investing.

The cons of no-down-payment mortgages include:

You’ll have no or little equity. Home equity is the portion of your home that isn’t financed by a mortgage. When you start with a low- or zero-down loan, you’ll have little to no equity. If home values fall, you could end up owing more on the home than it’s worth, making it difficult to sell or refinance.
Your interest rate might be higher. You might pay a higher interest rate for a no- or low-money-down loan. That’s because, with less money tied up in the home, a mortgage lender might view you as more of a risk. Of course, the higher your interest rate, the more you’ll pay overall.
You’ll need a bigger mortgage. The less you put down, the more you’ll need to borrow, which means you’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan.
You’ll pay fees. Both VA and USDA loans come with fees, which add to the cost of the loan.

No-down-payment mortgages are geared toward buyers with limited savings who want the security of owning a home. While they’re a great option for those who qualify, they also come with extra fees. You’ll pay less for your loan over time if you can afford to make a down payment.

FAQ

What credit score do I need to buy a house with no money down?

The Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture don’t set a minimum credit score requirement for VA and USDA loans, respectively. However, most lenders offering these loans do, and they’d want them to be at least in the “fair” range: 620 for VA loans, 640 for USDA loans.

What are my alternatives if I don’t qualify for a low-money-down loan?

If you don’t qualify for a no- or low-down-payment mortgage, a down payment assistance program might help. These programs typically offer loans or grants to first-time or repeat homebuyers within certain income thresholds based on location. The money can often be applied to both the down payment and closing costs.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Unwanted phone calls are out of control. Whether it’s a robocall trying to sell you something or spam calls from scammers trying to rip you off, it’s enough to make you want to stop answering your phone. So what can you do to stop them?

The scourge of unwanted phone calls has been branded an epidemic by consumer groups, while the Federal Communications Commission says it’s the top consumer complaint. The calls are a nuisance to many ordinary people, some of whom have complained to The Associated Press.

Related Articles

Smartphones in schools: Do they help students learn?

Teens are spilling dark thoughts to AI chatbots. Who’s to blame when something goes wrong?

In a reversal, plans for U.S. natural gas power grow, complicating progress on climate

Amazon’s new AI-powered Alexa promises to be your ‘best friend in a digital world’ for a monthly fee

Nvidia sales surge in the fourth quarter on demand for AI chips

“I need help on getting spam calls to stop,” one reader said in an email. She’s getting up to 14 calls a day despite the countermeasures she’s employed.

As the name implies, robocalls are automated calls to deliver recorded messages to a large number of phones. A robocall purely to deliver a message or collect a debt is allowed under U.S. regulations, but the Federal Trade Commission says robocalls with a recorded voice trying to sell you something are illegal unless you’ve given explicit written permission to receive them. Many robocalls are also probably scams, the FTC warns.

If you’re flooded by unsolicited calls, here are some ways to fight back.

Phone settings

Smartphone users can turn on some built-in settings to combat unknown calls.

Apple advises iPhone users to turn on the Silence Unknown Callers feature. Go to your “Settings,” then scroll down to “Apps,” and then to “Phone,” where you’ll see it under the “Calls” section. When you turn this on, any calls from numbers that you’ve never been in touch with and aren’t saved in your contacts list will not ring through. Instead, they’ll be sent to voicemail and show up in your list of recent calls.

Android has a similar setting that allows you to block calls from private or unidentified numbers, although you will still receive calls from numbers that aren’t stored in your contact list.

After this story was first published, a reader wrote in with a workaround for that problem: Leave your Android phone on Do Not Disturb but configure it so that anyone on your Contacts list is allowed to interrupt.

Just keep in mind that you could also end up not getting important calls, which sometimes come from unknown numbers.

If an unwanted call does get through, both Android and iPhone users can block the individual phone number by tapping on it in the recent callers or call history list. You can also enter numbers directly into your phone’s block list.

Do not call

Sign up for the national Do Not Call registry, which is a list of numbers that have opted out of most telemarketing calls. The Federal Trade Commission, which runs the registry, says it only contains phone numbers and holds no other personally identifiable information, nor does the registry know whether the number is for a landline or a cellphone.

The FTC says there are some exemptions, including political calls, calls from non-profit groups and charities, and legitimate survey groups that aren’t selling anything. Also allowed are calls from companies up to 18 months after you’ve done — or sought to do — business with them.

But it also warns that while having your number on the registry will cut down on unwanted sales calls, it won’t stop scammers from making illegal calls.

Other countries have similar registries. Canada has its own Do Not Call list while the U.K. has the Telephone Preference Service.

Carrier filters

Check whether your wireless carrier has a call-blocking service. Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, three of the biggest U.S. networks, all have their own call filters for customers to block robocalls and report spam. There’s typically a free basic version and an advanced version that requires a subscription fee.

Try an app

If your phone company’s filters aren’t good enough, try third-party apps to weed out unwanted callers.

There are a host of smartphone apps available that promise to block spam calls, like Nomorobo, YouMail, Hiya, RoboKiller, TrueCaller and others. Many charge a monthly or annual subscription fee but some offer a free basic option. Some also can be installed on landline phones, but only if they use VOIP technology, not copper cables.

The Associated Press hasn’t tested any of these apps and isn’t making specific recommendations. We recommend you read user reviews and try some out for yourself.

Apple says the apps work by comparing a caller’s number with a list of known numbers and labeling them, for example, spam or telemarketing. Then it might automatically block the call. “Incoming calls are never sent to third-party developers,” the company says.

Report calls

Did you know you can file a complaint with the FCC about specific spam calls? You can do so easily through an online form. It might not give you immediate satisfaction, but the National Consumer Law Center says data on complaints is the best tool federal agencies have for determining how big a problem robocalls are.

Just say no

While companies you’ve done business with can make robocalls to you, the National Consumer Law Center says it’s probably because you gave consent – possibly hidden in fine print. But you can also revoke your consent at any time.

Just tell the company representative that you want to “revoke consent,” and if that doesn’t stop them, contact customer service and tell them that you don’t consent to receive calls and want your number added to the company’s “do not call” list, the center says.

Hang up

You might be tempted to try to engage with the call in an attempt to get your number off the call list or be put through to a real person. The FTC warns against doing this and recommends that you just hang up.

“Pressing numbers to speak to someone or remove you from the list will probably only lead to more robocalls,” the agency says on its advice page. “And the number on your caller ID probably isn’t real. Caller ID is easy to fake” and can’t be trusted, it says.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky advises not even saying anything when you receive what you think is a robocall. We’ve all received scammy calls that start with something like “Hello, can you hear me?” to which you’ve probably replied “yes” without thinking.

Scammers “can then store the recording of your confirmation and use it for fraudulent activities,” Kaspersky says. “So, avoid saying yes where possible.”

LAURA CHILDS: Minnesotan Gerry Schmitt, writing as Childs, hosts a meet-and-greet celebrating publication of “High Tea and Misdemeanors,” latest in her mystery series in which tea shop owner Theodosia Browning and her sommelier Drayton are hired to cater an elegant wedding with murder as a guest. Noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

ALLISON EPSTEIN: Presents “Fagin the Thief,” in conversation with Ann Foster. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

TONI HALLEEN: Launches her novel “The Good Samaritan,” about a college professor’s entanglement with a boy he finds huddled under a tarp in a rainstorm. 7 p.m. Monday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

MARLENE M. JOHNSON: Minnesota’s first female lieutenant governor discusses her memoir “Rise to the Challenge,” in conversation with Margaret Kelliher, former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. 6 p.m. Friday, Story Line Books inside the Union Depot, 214 E. Fourth St., St. Paul.

EMILY ST. JAMES: Discusses “Woodworking: A Novel,” in conversation with Dex  Anderson. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

LESLIE JAMISON: Presents “Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story,” in conversation with Peter Bognanni. 7 p.m. Thursday, Mages & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

LINDA SUE PARK: Newbery Award winner celebrates her newest picture book, “Smiling Eyes,” which showcases the variety of Asian eye shapes and hues in an inclusive celebration of eyes. 6 p.m. Wednesday, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

PRESS PLAY: Minnesota Center for Book Arts hosts a printing event with local artists Nancy Ariza, Robyn Awend, Andrea Shaker and Whitney Terrill in a celebration of International Women’s Day featuring female-identifying artists and the power of community and creative expression. Free. 1-4 p.m. Saturday, MCBA in the Open Book building, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Mpls.

(Courtesy of Orchard Books)

DAVID SHANNON: Internationally acclaimed author celebrates “That’s Not Funny, David,” newest companion picture book to his Caldecott Honor award-winner “No, David.” 1 p.m. March 9, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

MAI DER VANG: Pulitzer Prize finalist joins poet/scholar Chaun Webster for a reading and conversation about Vang’s new poetry collection “Primordial,” focusing on the saola, a rare and critically endangered animal native to the mountains of Laos and Vietnam, as a vehicle to investigate the collective trauma experienced by the Hmong people. Free. 7 p.m. Thursday, East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul.

What else is going on

Minnesota author Julie Fasciana offers a twisty tale of domestic revenge in the new short story anthology “Deadly Yellowstone” (Thalia Press), made up of 13 original stories by fiction writers from across North America, set in Yellowstone National Park. She will host a meet-and-greet from noon to 2 p.m. March 29 at Once Upon a Crime bookstore, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

Excelsior Bay Books is for sale, according to a letter to customers posted by Shelf Awareness, publisher of news about book stores. Ann and Dale Woodbeck have owned the 28-year-old store in the Minneapolis suburb since 2019. They are looking for a seller dedicated to continuing their legacy.

Kat Beaulieu, St. Paul writer, has published “Owl Music,” the first book from his Tapestrata Inc. publishing company. It’s a fable about an owl, a boy and a feather inspired by the author’s finding a great horned owl feather four years ago. Illustrated by Melissa Crowley, the book’s first 1,000-copy printing sold out and 5,000 more made up a second printing. Beaulieu, a former IT professional, will discuss “Owl Music” during the International Festival of the Owls Friday through March 9 in Houston, Minn., across the river from La Crosse, Wis. For information go to festivalofowls.com.

Related Articles

Readers and writers: A guide to Minnesota’s spring and summer books

Readers and writers: Focusing on collections from Minnesota poets

Literary calendar for week of February 23: ‘Creature Needs’ anthology

How George E. Johnson made millions in the hair care industry while following the Golden Rule

Eastern Europe’s traditional ingredients get star treatment in the new cookbook ‘Kapusta’