Jefferey Jaxen reports on mounting concern over microplastics accumulating inside the human body, as HHS Director, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, announces a major new research effort to investigate the health implications of widespread plastic exposure. From drinking water to the air we breathe, scientists are detecting microscopic plastic particles in places few expected to find them, raising new questions about how modern environmental contamination may be interacting with human biology.

At the same time, a new controversy is emerging around blood transfusions and COVID vaccination status, as some patients begin requesting blood donations exclusively from unvaccinated donors. Blood banks insist the supply remains safe, but the requests reflect a growing public conversation about what remains in the bloodstream after both environmental and pharmaceutical exposures.

As these two stories unfold, Jefferey examines why the question of what’s circulating in the human body today is becoming increasingly concerning for researchers, regulators, and the public alike.

AIRDATE: April 9, 2026