Daily English Article — September 26, 2026

After nearly a month of unexplained delays, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally opened ordering for the 2026–2027 COVID-19 vaccines through the Vaccines for Children program. This federal initiative provides free immunizations to low-income children. The Food and Drug Administration had approved the vaccines in late August, but states were left waiting without a clear reason. Trump administration officials offered no transparent explanation, fueling speculation about political interference in public health decision-making.

The Department of Health and Human Services told reporters that the CDC had not yet finalized procurement decisions, and its language hinted that officials were questioning whether children should receive the vaccines at all. HHS stated it was committed to 'responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources' and ensuring that federally funded vaccines were 'appropriate' for target populations. Critics interpreted this wording as an attempt to cast doubt on childhood COVID-19 vaccination without openly opposing it.

The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that ordering had resumed, citing an unnamed source who attributed part of the holdup to delays in finalizing the CDC's clinical guidance for healthcare professionals. This guidance reportedly required review by an external expert. Crucially, CDC career officials had already completed all preparations for vaccine distribution. According to sources, Trump political appointees simply needed to authorize the rollout — described as pushing a button — but failed to do so in a timely manner.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Health added that CDC leadership approval had been explicitly required before distribution could begin, pointing to deliberate obstruction at the leadership level rather than bureaucratic inefficiency. When Ars Technica followed up with HHS on Thursday, officials again declined to explain what caused the delay or how it was ultimately resolved. They confirmed only that ordering was now open, leaving the public and health officials without accountability.

The episode raises serious concerns about the influence of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime opponent of COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy has falsely labeled them the 'deadliest vaccines ever made' and previously petitioned the FDA to withdraw approval. Last year, he unilaterally revoked the CDC's universal vaccine recommendations. A federal court order from March halted further changes, leaving current guidance recommending COVID-19 vaccines for immunocompromised children aged six months to seventeen years, with shared clinical decision-making advised for healthy children.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has sparked controversy after stating in a New York Times interview that he is unconcerned about research suggesting AI tools are causing children to forget basic mathematics. Huang's company is one of the world's leading suppliers of hardware powering AI data centers and services, giving him a strong financial incentive to promote widespread AI adoption. His dismissive attitude toward the educational consequences of AI dependence drew sharp criticism from educators and commentators alike.

Huang was presented with findings from Chinese research indicating that while AI tools help students complete homework more quickly, the skills the assignments were designed to build are failing to be retained. Students' performance on quizzes and tests was reportedly deteriorating as a result. Huang acknowledged that this loss of retention was likely happening widely, but insisted it was not a serious problem, raising eyebrows among those who view foundational numeracy as essential to cognitive development.

The CEO argued that skills like long division, multiplication tables, and square roots are becoming obsolete in an AI-driven world. 'Basic math is being forgotten. Does it matter? I don't think it does,' Huang said. When pushed by the interviewer to identify skills that do still matter, Huang suggested that society will 'discover new ones,' and gestured vaguely toward what he called 'systems thinking' as the intellectual capability of the future — without clearly defining the term.

In a candid admission, Huang revealed that he himself no longer remembers his home address, ZIP code, or telephone number, having outsourced that cognitive load to technology. He recalled panicking at a gas station when asked for his ZIP code. Rather than viewing this as a cautionary tale, Huang presented it as evidence that offloading such information to devices is perfectly acceptable and a natural evolution of human cognition in a technological age.

Critics pushed back hard against Huang's framing, arguing that his position conveniently aligns with his enormous financial stake in AI expansion. The Kotaku author pointed out that 'systems thinkers' who cannot perform basic arithmetic or recall fundamental information may be wholly dependent on functioning technology — a fragile situation. The article also raised the deeper concern that people using AI tools may not understand how results are generated, leaving them unable to verify or challenge the outputs they rely on.