The Public Health Council, New Jersey, voted 5-2 today in favor of making flu shots compulsory for preschoolers. The Public Health Council is an advisory board, and final approval needs to come from the state’s Health Commissioner. The Council’s recommendations are usually implemented. New Jersey health officials say the immunizations will help bring down the total number of sick children, hospitalizations and parents having to stay at home (to care for a child who is ill). [click link for full article]

New findings provide evidence that people who eat a lot of red and processed meats have greater risk of developing bowel and lung cancer than people who eat small quantities. The research by Amanda Cross and colleagues at the US National Cancer Institute is published in the latest issue of PLoS Medicine. [click link for full article]

About one-in-twenty women who are low-risk, according to current classification standards, may be at higher risk for heart disease if evidence is found of advanced coronary artery calcium, says an article in Archives of Internal Medicine (JAMA/Archives), December 10/24 issue. [click link for full article]

The Washington Post on Friday examined the Red Ribbon Express — a nationwide train trip launched by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that over the course of one year will reach 60,000 rural villages nationwide to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among youth. The project, assisted by [click link for full article]

The U.S. “has a trust responsibility for the health of American Indians, and it’s long past time we own up to that responsibility,” Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, writes in an Indian Country Today opinion piece. Dorgan calls for increased funding and “continuous innovation. [click link for full article]

CMS beginning Jan. 1, 2008, will set a standard Medicare reimbursement rate for a class of cancer drugs called radioimmunotherapies that patient advocates and makers of the treatments say sharply reduces payment and might make the drugs inaccessible to patients, the [click link for full article]

California State University-San Bernardino: The university is using a $4 million, five-year grant from NIH to establish a program promoting research and training on racial and ethnic health disparities. The grant will help support scholarships for minorities and other students who are interested in doing doctoral-level research into health disparities ( [click link for full article]

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Thursday approved a set of recommendations for Medicare programs that provide financial assistance to lower-income beneficiaries and for Medicare special needs plans, ” target=”_new”CQ HealthBeat reports. [click link for full article]

A Medicare bill under consideration in the Senate Finance Committee that would reverse a reduction in physician reimbursements scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 should not shift the cost of the reversal to future years, according to a draft letter from the American Medical Association addressed to the committee, [click link for full article]

The birth rate among U.S. teenagers ages 15 to 19 increased by 3% in 2006 after a 14-year decline, according to a report issued Wednesday by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, the New York Times reports (Harris, New York Times, 12/6). [click link for full article]