Category: global health
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WHO director-general calls plans for U.S.-funded vaccine trial ‘unethical’
WHO director-general calls plans for U.S.-funded vaccine trial ‘unethical’ The director-general of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that a U.S.-funded study of the hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau would be “unethical” if it proceeds as planned. “Of course, a sovereign country can decide whatever they want, but as far as WHO’s position is concerned,…
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Public health giant William Foege, who helped eradicate smallpox, has died at 89
Public health giant William Foege, who helped eradicate smallpox, has died at 89 William (Bill) Foege, credited by many for shepherding the smallpox eradication effort to completion, died Saturday at the age of 89. A towering figure, both literally — he was 6’ 7” — and figuratively, Foege epitomized all that was positive about an era…
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Opinion: My son had rotavirus before he could get the vaccine. Ending universal rotavirus vaccination is a tragedy
Opinion: My son had rotavirus before he could get the vaccine. Ending universal rotavirus vaccination is a tragedy The Department of Health and Human Services has removed the rotavirus vaccine, along with five others, from the list of universally recommended childhood immunizations. This makes the U.S. an outlier. According to the International Vaccine Access Center,…
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Congo declares its latest Ebola outbreak over, after 43 deaths
Congo declares its latest Ebola outbreak over, after 43 deaths KINSHASA, Congo — Congo on Monday announced the end of an Ebola outbreak that killed 43 people in one of the country’s southern provinces, with authorities saying no new confirmed cases had been reported in the past 45 days. Health Minister Roger Kamba said the…
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Opinion: The U.S. government’s failure to acknowledge World AIDS Day takes us back to a troubling time
Opinion: The U.S. government’s failure to acknowledge World AIDS Day takes us back to a troubling time “Silence = Death.” That was the mantra of determined AIDS activists who quickly concluded the U.S. government was not doing enough to combat the then-emergent AIDS epidemic, which first hit the headlines in 1981. Read the rest… Gavin…
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Opinion: A global health expert on Covid’s lessons — and warnings — for the future
Opinion: A global health expert on Covid’s lessons — and warnings — for the future Below is a lightly edited, AI-generated transcript of the “First Opinion Podcast” interview with vaccine and global health expert Seth Berkley. Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.…
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A new Ebola outbreak in Congo kills dozens as health officials warn of lack of funds
A new Ebola outbreak in Congo kills dozens as health officials warn of lack of funds GOMA, Congo — As a deadly new Ebola outbreak kills dozens in southern Congo, health authorities and organizations are sounding the alarm, warning they lack the funds and resources to mount an effective response to the crisis. The World Health Organization…
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Trump administration’s new global health aid strategy focuses on bilateral deals with countries
Trump administration’s new global health aid strategy focuses on bilateral deals with countries NEW YORK — The State Department on Thursday announced it will refocus its foreign health assistance strategy around multiyear bilateral deals with recipient countries, making aid dependent on negotiations that officials say will help reduce waste and advance American priorities. “We must…
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Risk of dying from chronic disease in the U.S. declined, but there are caveats, study says
Risk of dying from chronic disease in the U.S. declined, but there are caveats, study says The popular sentiment that Americans’ health is on a hellish downward spiral may not be true — or at least not entirely — according to a new study of global death data. From 2010 to 2019, the risk of…
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Opinion: The U.S. must reconsider its decision to reject amendments to a global health treaty
Opinion: The U.S. must reconsider its decision to reject amendments to a global health treaty Last week, the Trump administration rejected the 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) — a global treaty that the United States has been a part of since 2007. The rejection cited concerns about sovereignty, scientific freedom, and World…
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WHO expert group fails to find a definitive answer for how Covid-19 began
WHO expert group fails to find a definitive answer for how Covid-19 began LONDON — An expert group charged by the World Health Organization to investigate how the Covid-19 pandemic started released its final report Friday, reaching an unsatisfying conclusion: Scientists still aren’t sure how the worst health emergency in a century began. At a press briefing on Friday,…
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Generic cancer drugs used around the world fail quality tests, investigation shows
Generic cancer drugs used around the world fail quality tests, investigation shows Vital chemotherapy drugs used around the world have failed quality tests, putting cancer patients in more than 100 countries at risk of ineffective treatments and potentially fatal side effects, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reveals. The generic drugs in…
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Childhood vaccination coverage was falling across the globe even before Covid
Childhood vaccination coverage was falling across the globe even before Covid Childhood vaccination coverage has made leaps since 1980. But progress has significantly slowed in the last two decades. That is according to a study published in The Lancet Tuesday, which found stagnation and wide variation in childhood vaccination rates since 2010. The study, which…
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Opinion: STAT+: The World Health Assembly’s giant leap on rare diseases
Opinion: STAT+: The World Health Assembly’s giant leap on rare diseases On May 24, the World Health Assembly, the governing body of the WHO, ratified landmark legislation that, if implemented fully, will change the future for people living with rare diseases. It calls for concrete action plans that will have far-reaching impacts across health care…
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Opinion: I’m a dentist from India. The fluoride debate in the U.S. horrifies me
Opinion: I’m a dentist from India. The fluoride debate in the U.S. horrifies me Florida has just banned fluoride in public water, becoming the second state to do so. It’s part of decadeslong battle that has heated up in recent years. Local governments debate whether it belongs in the water supply. Parents question safety. Pseudoscience…
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STAT+: Overseas grants could be ‘closed down’ by NIH under new policy, internal email suggests
STAT+: Overseas grants could be ‘closed down’ by NIH under new policy, internal email suggests A National Institutes of Health policy change on funding of foreign scientists is far more sweeping than described in a Thursday announcement, according to an internal email that indicates international clinical trials and other research will be strictly vetted going…