Forbes Daily: A Major CDC Shift On Covid-19 Vaccines Draws Criticism

No one has donated more to Parkinson's disease research than Google cofounder Sergey Brin, and now he's giving away another $700 million.
Brin's recent gift of Alphabet shares was split between three nonprofits, most of which went to his 4-year-old nonprofit Catalyst4. Brin, who is worth an estimated $137 billion and is currently the world's eighth richest person, sees the work as deeply 'personal.' His mother had Parkinson's and he carries a genetic mutation that gives him a much higher chance of getting the disease.
His hope is to address both scientific research and eventual treatments for central nervous system diseases, which also include autism and bipolar disorder.
The CDC is no longer recommending routine Covid-19 vaccines or boosters for pregnant women and healthy children, a decision that drew criticism as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime vaccine skeptic. FDA Commissioner Martin Makary, who appeared in the video announcement with Kennedy, had written that pregnancy was a high-risk condition for Covid infections earlier this month.
The Giving Pledge announced 11 new signatories in 2025 who have pledged to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetime or in their wills—the largest cohort since 2021. Six of the new pledgers are members of Forbes' Billionaires' List, and the richest among them is Canva cofounder and chief product officer Cameron Adams, who is worth an estimated $2.9 billion.
Satya Patel
Homebrew
In Forbes' fourth annual Midas Seed list, a global ranking of the top 25 seed stage investors, Silicon Valley veteran Pejman Nozad stayed in the top spot. And a lack of IPOs and acquisitions means a handful of massive private startups are driving changes in the rankings for even those investors focused on the very earliest stage of a startup's lifecycle.
MORE: Satya Patel, a partner at the venture firm Homebrew who ranked No. 13 on this year's Midas Seed list, refers to his broad philosophy as a VC as 'bottom up' investing—betting on companies from 'boring' industries like HR or banking, and gussying them up with high-tech software. He's made early bets on companies like IPO-bound digital bank Chime, payroll unicorn Gusto, and Plaid, which was acquired by Visa in 2020 for $5.3 billion.
Following in the footsteps of President Donald Trump's crypto strategy, Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, is raising $2.5 billion to build a corporate bitcoin reserve. According to an SEC filing, the company will sell $1.5 billion in shares and $1 billion in convertible bonds to institutional investors, the proceeds of which will be used for the reserve—making cryptocurrency a core part of its balance sheet.
Elon Musk said he is 'disappointed' with President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill passed by the House last week, his most direct criticism of a signature White House policy after recently stepping back from his work as the head of DOGE. Musk said the expansive budget bill 'undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' as it is expected to add around $3.3 trillion to the federal debt over the next 10 years, according to an estimate published by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
A body of the United Nations released a new report that projects global temperatures will remain near record levels over the next five years, with a strong chance the 2024 annual temperature record will be broken during this period, likely worsening the impact of climate change and increasing the chances of extreme weather events. There is also a 70% chance that the 5-year average temperature for 2025-2029 will be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial numbers—a key benchmark laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement.
As President Donald Trump escalates his attacks on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump on Tuesday took credit for preventing 'lots of really bad things' from happening to Russia and said the Russian leader is 'playing with fire.' Trump's criticism comes after Russia launched one of its largest aerial attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war, killing at least 12 people, according to the Associated Press.
TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE
A string of recent high-profile aviation safety incidents has travelers nervous as summer approaches. A few key ways to reduce risk when flying, experts told Forbes, include avoiding airports with air traffic issues and booking direct flights. Consider your seat and the type of plane you'll be flying in, too—larger airplanes typically have more sophisticated safety systems.
General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja, No. 8 on Forbes' 2025 Midas List, believes his venture capital firm is going to transform how Americans access health care.
Last year, the firm announced its $485 million purchase of Summa Health, an 8,000-employee hospital system based in Akron, Ohio, with the aim of plugging it into Silicon Valley's innovation engine. That means injecting tech and artificial intelligence into almost every step of the health care process, from checkups to insurance.
Buying a hospital is jaw-dropping for a VC. Tech investors preach disruption, but they are deeply conservative when it comes to running their own funds. General Catalyst wants to break that mold.
Since 2018, it has morphed from a typical VC partnership to a multi-hyphenate investment house: There's the firm's 'creation' fund, which spins up new AI companies aimed at remaking dusty industries like accounting or customer service. Then there's the General Catalyst Institute, a think tank looking to shape technology policy around the world, and GC Wealth, a white-glove broker meant to woo well-heeled founders away from private banks.
That makes Taneja, 50, one of the champions of a new class of venture capitalist. 'Mega funds' are the sometimes-sniffy label for General Catalyst and peers like Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed and Thrive Capital, Josh Kushner's outfit. Managing tens of billions of dollars, they are still minnows compared to Blackstone ($1 trillion in assets) and KKR ($660 billion), but Taneja's ambition isn't to be the biggest investor. Instead, he wants General Catalyst to be a 'strategic conglomerate.'
But perhaps the biggest risk is that General Catalyst is doing too much. 'I get that question a lot,' Taneja says. He says it's a matter of having 'leadership bandwidth' and a good operating model, comparing the company to Amazon, which expanded from books to data centers to grocery stores to moviemaking.
WHY IT MATTERS Taneja has his critics, too. General Catalyst's industrial-scale investing barely resembles venture capital, some say. Others snipe, discreetly, about General Catalyst's focus shifting from generating returns from financing startups to 'farming fees' from ever-multiplying funds.
But Taneja's supporters are willing to back his bold vision thanks to a near-15-year winning streak. Since moving to Silicon Valley from Boston in 2011, Taneja has backed payment giant Stripe (last valued at $91 billion), defense startup Anduril (in funding talks at a $28 billion valuation) and a string of health care unicorns like Commure (valued at $6 billion).
MORE Ranking The World's Top Venture Capitalists In 2025
The Trump Administration paused interviews for new student visa applicants as it weighs expanded social media screening, a potential indication of a wider crackdown on international students:
More than 1.1 million: The number of international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Institute of International Education
$43.8 billion: The amount per year international students contribute to the U.S. economy
$100 million: The value of the remaining government contracts with Harvard that the Trump Administration canceled Tuesday
Remote work gives employees greater flexibility, but it can also be isolating. To help feel less lonely when working from home, try organizing occasional meetups if your colleagues are nearby, and if not, organize virtual lunches where the discussion isn't about work. It can be easy to blur the lines between personal and professional if your home is also your office, so be sure to dedicate a designated workspace, even if it's just a small corner.
Users reported outages for a popular streaming service Tuesday, the latest server disruption for the company. Which streaming platform is it?
A. Netflix
B. Spotify
C. Apple Music
D. Hulu
Check your answer.
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Fox News

18 minutes ago

• Fox News

Bret Baier: 'All bets are off' if Iran retaliates against US

All times eastern THE CLAMAN COUNTDOWN: POWER PLAYERS Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage

Bloomberg

19 minutes ago

• Bloomberg

Novo Nordisk's CagriSema Shot Tied to Greater Weight Loss at Lower Doses

Novo Nordisk A/S's next-generation obesity shot CagriSema helped patients lose weight in large studies despite only about three-quarters of the patients ever making it to the highest dose. Surprisingly, patients who chose to stick with a lower dose lost more weight on average. The studies allowed patients to stop at lower doses of the drug, an unusual option in a trial. Researchers presenting new data Sunday at the American Diabetes Association meeting in Chicago say the findings offer clues as to how the drug would be used in real life. There's a group of people who respond very well to this medicine, said Timothy Garvey, director of the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who helped lead the trials.

Yahoo

23 minutes ago

• Yahoo

What Do Employees Really Want Instead Of Pizza Parties?

'Overworked and underpaid employees don't want pizza parties and team-building exercises,' he said. His eyes looked strained, and I couldn't tell if he had a headache or was exhausted… I guessed both. 'What's wrong with pizza?' I joked, trying to lighten the mood. 'Nothing. I like pizza. But when you're stressed about finances, have to fight for every penny you make, juggle more responsibilities than you have time, and doing everything you can to exceed expectations to the point of burnout… well, what you need is to feel valued, have opportunities for growth, a wage and a title that reflects everything that you're doing, some help, strong support and a good work culture… some freakin' hope… something that has more of a lasting impact than a slice of pizza.' I remained silent. I couldn't decide if I was allowing him more space to think or if I was thinking to myself how much I agreed with him. 'It's almost insulting,' he continued. '99.9% of the time, they act like they don't even recognize our existence, and now they want to throw us a party? No thanks. Having a party is great, but first, let's get your team healthy enough to enjoy it.' He paused. 'They're panhandling a superficial solution to a real problem.' 'And what's the real problem?' I asked. 'They aren't investing in people — they're investing in results. They don't realize that the results will exceed their expectations if you authentically invest in good, hardworking, talented people. Despite the lack of meaningful appreciation and resources, we have a great team. Think what it could be if they added the missing components.' He removed his glasses and wiped his eyes. He stared at me with a tiredness that went well beyond the moment. 'Wouldn't it be nice to have an environment where employees are invested in so much that they could find another job but don't because they love where they work?' he asked. 'That would be nice,' I said. 'What do you think is going to happen?' 'We are woefully under-supported, yet the expectations keep rising. Essentially, we're being set up to fail… either by failing to reach their unattainable bar or by failing our health and family in thinking that we must continue without setting realistic boundaries. Heck, it could end where I cannot meet their increasing expectations, get let go, and cannot even use them as a reference. That would be ridiculous, as I'm a great employee. I feel destined to fail, and that's a horrible feeling.' 'Sounds like fear is playing a role, too,' I said. 'You bet it does! They have me: I am too strapped for time and finances to even look for another job. By the end of the workday, I'm beyond exhausted, have headaches, can't sleep, and am barely present for my family. Yet, I'm doing this for my family. That's messed up. Worst, I actually like my job. Heck, I'm great at it. But who cares? They'd rather put money into hiring other positions and socials than caring for the few doing the bulk of the work. Where does that leave me? Seriously, where? It leaves me angry because I CARE.' I didn't say anything. 'Right… you're lack of response has been my answer for a long time. I can't do a damn thing, and they know it. But you know what?' 'What?' 'Even more than what I know about them, I know me,' he said. 'I've been in much worse situations than this one. I'm accustomed to survival mode. The difference was that I was fighting for something worth the sacrifice. Here, I am fighting to take care of my family in an environment that isn't fighting for me. The sacrifice, as it stands, is not supporting my why… if I am too sick or strained to be available to my family, why am I giving my limited energy to a job that would soon forget me the moment I'm gone?' 'Very true,' I said. 'I have two months of savings in my account. If I quit today, I would have two months to look for a job. Imagine what I could do with two months of actual rest and serenity. Granted, it would be stressful, especially since I'm already familiar with the devil I know. But, as it stands now, eventually, my body will force me to take two months off to recuperate from whatever condition I'm bringing upon myself. So, if I have to be down and out, wouldn't it be better to be down and out to find a job — rested and fed — than sick?' 'Sounds like you lack work-life balance because you fear losing your job if you speak up, fear failing their continued rising expectations, and fear of an eventual health prognosis of keeping your job if nothing changes,' I said. 'I'm afraid either way, I'm going to lose everything,' he said. 'Let's play that out. What if you lost your job today for whatever reason? What horrible thing could happen?' I asked. 'I could have a hard time finding another job due to the economy, I could be forced to sell our home, I would default on some loans, I would….' He stopped. 'I would fail my family.' 'Of all you just said, you didn't mention losing your family,' I said. 'Oh, I would never lose them. They are my life, and I know my wife and kids are always beside me,' he said. 'Always.' 'So, you'll never lose what is most important because you won't lose them, right?' I asked. 'Right,' he said. For the first time, his eyes looked like they had just read a hopeful line in a sad book. 'You're not letting your family down by acknowledging your worth, recognizing where you're most needed, and adjusting accordingly,' I said. 'What are you suggesting?' he asked. 'I would never tell you what to do, as that is between you and your family. I would recommend you take it to prayer with your wife. I would caution you not to allow this to continue for much longer, as you will eventually begin to harbor resentment and anger toward your employer and yourself for putting up with it. And I would stop having so many passive boundaries.' 'Passive boundaries?' he asked. 'Yes. You know you are a valuable employee. You mentioned to me earlier that you've been a stellar employee in every job you've had. Guess what? You will be again if you choose to get another job. Stop allowing others to pacify you with empty promises and pizza parties. Speak to what you want, whether a promotion or help … whatever you know to be true. If they don't see your requests as valid, that doesn't make them false. It just means they don't know your worth… make sure you do.' 'I know my worth, but I also know my responsibilities,' he said. 'That's fair. Often, we do things as adults because we 'have to' more than 'want to.' Responsibility isn't meant to be taken lightly or shirked. Over time, however, we must pay attention to patterns, noticing when individuals consistently demonstrate that they are not going to change and when it is upon us to change.' 'I get that. I'm just terrified of letting my family down,' he said. The weight upon him was suffocating, and I could tell he was carrying a burden that would eventually break him. 'That's speaking from a position of self-loathing and shame. Such thinking keeps you stagnant in areas where God has gifted you and given you talents to grow. There is nothing shameful about taking care of your health, not diminishing your value, and moving forward in full faith that God is opening doors you haven't even seen.' 'Opening doors I haven't even seen,' he repeated. 'I like the sound of that.' 'All I'm saying is keep your options open… you've convinced yourself that you're trapped. You're not. Even if things change for the better in your current job or it all falls away, the most important things will remain. And God will eventually position you on higher ground. He knows your needs. He knows you. Believe this. Trust God. And move forward, being okay with whatever outcome God provides.' 'Whatever outcome God provides. Yes,' he said. For the first time, he offered a faint smile. God, be with us as we make difficult decisions. Help us to simply be obedient to You, trusting that You will either change our situation or change us. May we use the skills and talents You have blessed us with to serve You with joy, knowing that You will provide for us and sustain us well beyond any earthly position. You are stronger than our greatest fears, and in Your strength, and in Your name, we move. Our true position is in You alone, Christ Jesus. Lead us, guide us, and take us from fear to faith in Your presence and peace. This column was initially published by CherryRoad Media. ©Tiffany Kaye Chartier.