NHS to roll out new vital jab for premature babies
From late September, the single-dose injection will be offered to infants born before 32 weeks, providing six months of protection and replacing previous monthly injections.
Experts anticipate the drug will offer a 'protective bubble' for thousands of vulnerable infants, significantly reducing their risk of severe illness and hospitalisation from RSV.
Approximately 9,000 babies across the UK, including those in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, are expected to benefit from this new immunisation programme.
Trial data indicates nirsevimab offers over 80 per cent protection against RSV, a common virus responsible for around 30,000 hospital admissions and 30 deaths among youngsters in the UK annually.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Superbugs could kill millions more and cost $2tn a year by 2050, models show
Superbugs could cause millions more people to die worldwide and cost the global economy just under $2tn a year by 2050, modelling shows. A UK government-funded study shows that without concerted action, increased rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could lead to global annual GDP losses of $1.7tn over the next quarter of a century. The research, by the Center for Global Development thinktank, found the US, UK and EU economies would be among the hardest hit, prompting accusations that recent swingeing aid cuts are self-defeating. On Thursday, the UK government announced it was axing funding for the Fleming fund, which combats AMR in low- and middle-income countries, as part of wider aid cuts. The Trump administration has confirmed $9bn in cuts to its foreign aid budget, while a number of European countries have also reduced spending on overseas aid. Anthony McDonnell, the lead author and the research and a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, said: 'When we conducted our research on the economic impacts of antimicrobial resistance, it was anticipated that resistance rates would continue to follow historical trends. 'However, the sudden cuts to Official Development Assistance by the US, which has cut its aid spend by roughly 80%; the UK, which has announced aid cuts from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income; and substantial reductions by France, Germany, and others, could drive up resistance rates in line with the most pessimistic scenario in our research. 'Even countries that have been successful in keeping AMR rates under control cannot afford to be complacent. Unless AMR programmes are protected from aid cuts, resistance rates across the world will likely increase at a rate in line with the worst-affected countries. 'This would result in millions more people dying worldwide, including across G7 nations. Investing in treatment for bacterial infections now will save lives and deliver billions in long-term economic returns.' The research calculated the economic and health burden of antibiotic resistance for 122 countries and forecast that in that in this most pessimistic scenario, by 2050, GDP losses in China could reach just under $722bn a year, the US $295.7bn, the EU $187bn, Japan $65.7bn and the UK $58.6bn. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), deaths from AMR are expected to increase 60% by 2050, with 1.34 million people in the US and 184,000 in the UK alone predicted to die each year from antibiotic resistant bugs, while numbers of those becoming seriously ill from drug-resistant bacteria are also expected to jump. Superbugs increase the number of hospital admissions and lead to longer and more intensive hospital stays, costlier second-line treatments and more complex care, meaning resistant infections are roughly twice as expensive to treat as those for which antibiotics are effective. The study estimates global health costs of treating AMR could increase by just under $176bn a year, while in the UK, they would rise from $900m to $3.7bn and in the US from $15.5bn to just under $57bn. Higher rates of resistant bugs would also shrink the UK, EU and US workforces by 0.8%, 0.6% and 0.4% respectively, the study found. But if countries invest more in tackling superbugs – increasing access to new antibiotics and high-quality treatment of these infections – the US economy would grow $156.2bn a year and the UK $12bn (£9.3bn) by 2050. Responding to the findings, Dr Mohsen Naghavi, a professor of health metrics at IHME, said: 'Today the threat of AMR is increasing, and without immediate action from all stakeholders the medicines we have access to now could stop working, potentially causing a simple infection to become deadly.' That would involve policy changes from the US, European and UK governments, the development of new drugs and ensuring everyone understood that antibiotics were ineffective against viruses, he added. A UK government spokesperson said: 'Our 10-year health plan recognises antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a major threat and commits to urgently tackle its spread, including through new vaccines. 'We have made important progress - reducing antibiotic use in meat and pioneering a world-first subscription model to incentivise the development of new treatments. We also continue to work closely with international partners to influence global efforts to limit the spread of AMR.'
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Weight-loss jabs linked to five deaths in Scotland
Weight-loss injections have been linked to the deaths of five people in Scotland, while hundreds more report having become ill after using them. The jabs were developed to suppress appetite among obese patients with type 2 diabetes but have become more commonly used as a quick-fix diet aid. Last year a Scottish nurse, Susan McGowan, was the first person in the UK whose death was directly linked to the prescription-only medication. Now, however, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said it has received five reports of fatalities linked to weight-loss jabs north of the border. The watchdog said in March that it had been notified 361 times since January last year of patients in Scotland who have suffered illness after taking the drugs.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
BMA members could triple their pay covering doctors' strikes
Doctors who are members of the British Medical Association will be able to triple their salary by covering for junior colleagues during industrial action, NHS leaders have said. Up to 50,000 resident doctors, who were previously known as junior doctors, are poised to begin a five-day walkout from 7am on Friday, which is expected to lead to the cancellation of 100,000 appointments. If the walkout goes ahead, senior colleagues will fill in for them and be able to request premium rates of pay. In previous strikes consultants have been paid as much as £3,000 to cover a single 12-and-a-half-hour night shift. Matthew Taylor, the head of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, said that the strikes would increase the risk of 'severe harm' to patients. He said: 'It is hard for the public to understand when, in terms of the BMA, some members are going on strike, while others — consultants — are asking for three times more than their usual salary in order to cover for that strike action. 'I do worry that public sympathy will be stretched. NHS trade unions have tended to have high levels of support when they take action. I think the indications are that the public do not feel the same level of sympathy. Particular elements of this, like those providing cover, being able to ask for a lot more money, have an impact on trust.' Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is expected to hold talks with the BMA on Tuesday, and there are hopes in the government of a breakthrough. They last met on Thursday with both sides describing the discussions as constructive. • Five deaths linked to disruption from last junior doctors' strikes Streeting has made clear that he 'cannot move' on headline pay for resident doctors, who are pushing for a 29 per cent pay rise. However, several other issues are up for negotiation, including the possibility of writing off student loans if medical graduates keep working in the NHS for a certain number of years. Younger doctors can graduate from five years of medical school with £100,000 in debt, which could be reduced over time under a 'loan forgiveness' scheme. Other possible reforms include cutting doctors' pensions to give them 'higher pay today', subsidising fees for exams and speeding up career progression so they earn more at a younger age. Taylor said that the strikes could mean 100,000 operations being cancelled. 'Some people who have been waiting many months in pain are going to have to wait longer because consultants who would have been holding clinics or doing operations will instead need to be on wards or in A&E,' he said. • NHS put up with harm of last strikes, says boss — but not any more He said that the increased pressure on hospitals meant increased risk for patients. 'When appointments don't take place, when there is more pressure on hospitals, there is a risk of severe harm to people because services are overstretched.' He also said that there were financial consequences. 'If already hard-pressed [hospital] trusts are not able to undertake activity they don't get the money for that activity,' he said. The Centre for Economics and Business Research, an economic think tank, has suggested that the industrial action could cost Britain £64 million. Dr Tom Dolphin, chairman of the BMA council, said: 'Senior doctors keep urgent services running safely during strikes by resident doctors, but this is work over and above their regular contracted work. The rates of pay for all extra-contractual work are not unique to covering strike days, and year-round trusts are having to pay overtime rates and expensive agency fees to cover rota gaps, not just on strike days. 'This is due to repeated failures by governments to fix the staffing crisis in the NHS.' Dolphin added: 'The BMA firmly believes that any harm arising from failure to plan appropriately for reduced staffing levels on strike days is the responsibility of senior directors at a hospital.' The industrial action poses a significant threat to Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to cut NHS waiting lists. Internal NHS modelling already suggests that the government is unlikely to hit the target by the end of this parliament. A YouGov survey for The Times has found that 36 per cent of the public supported further industrial action by junior doctors, while 49 per cent opposed it. When doctors last went on strike, just before last year's general election, YouGov found it was supported by 59 per cent of the public and opposed by 36 per cent.
