Latest news with #BurnetInstitute
ABC News
3 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Getting COVID booster alongside flu shot could reduce hospitalisations, study finds
As winter begins, a new study has found that getting a COVID-19 booster at the same time as the flu vaccination could reduce the rate of hospital admissions for coronavirus. In a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, Burnet Institute researchers found that offering COVID-19 vaccination boosters alongside the flu shot could reduce the hospital admission rate for COVID-19 by up to 14 per cent. It comes amid a renewed push by experts for Australians to get the COVID-19 booster as the NB. 1.8.1 variant has driven up infections. Researchers used mathematical models to compare scenarios where COVID-19 vaccines were delivered at different times of the year. The results showed that even though COVID-19 was not seasonal like influenza, increasing COVID-19 booster rates by offering them at the same time as the influenza vaccine was still likely to be an effective public health strategy. In the last six months, there have been 1.3 million doses of COVID boosters administered to people aged 18 years and over. Experts have been proactive in their push for higher vaccination rates. Among them is Burnet Institute head of modelling and biostatistics, and co-author of the study, Associate professor Nick Scott. He said offering both vaccinations at the same time could also be a simple way to increase vaccination coverage. "By offering a COVID-19 booster vaccination alongside the annual influenza vaccination, we could aim to achieve similar vaccination coverage for COVID-19 as influenza, which would make a meaningful difference in reducing hospital admissions and deaths," he said. Another of the study's co-authors, mathematical modeller Fenella McAndrew, said the research showed that getting vaccinated at any time against COVID-19 was a benefit, so it made sense to receive both vaccinations together. "Unlike influenza, COVID-19 doesn't have a well-defined season, and when we modelled different scenarios, the percentage of people receiving booster vaccinations was more important than the timing of the vaccination," she said. With such a reliable vaccine available for COVID-19, it makes sense for people to receive regular booster vaccinations to protect themselves, she added. COVID-19 infection can lead to serious illness that can impact every system in the body, leading to a variety of health concerns including cognitive decline, immune system damage, liver impairment, kidney disease and reduced lung function. It can also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The Australian government recommends COVID-19 booster vaccinations every 12 months for healthy adults between the ages of 18-64 without any risk factors. Older Australians, aged 75 and older, without any risk factors are advised to receive a booster vaccination every six months. According to the Department of Health, regular COVID-19 vaccinations are the best way to maintain your protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. They are especially important for anyone aged 65 years or older and people at higher risk of severe COVID-19.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
U.S. foreign aid cuts might devastate global progress against HIV/AIDS
HIV could explode worldwide in the wake of U.S. cuts to foreign aid, resulting in millions of AIDS deaths and soaring rates of infection, a new analysis says. President Donald Trump has floated the notion of ending the President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief, a program created under President George W. Bush that combats HIV and AIDS in the developing world. The Trump Administration paused all foreign aid funding Jan. 20, ostensibly for a 90-day review and evaluation, with only limited exception. Authorization for PEPFAR lapsed Tuesday, according to CBS News, and the world is now watching and waiting to see what will come next. Such funding cuts could undo decades of progress made to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat, researchers argue in a study published Wednesday in The Lancet HIV. That study came at the same time Britain's Prince Harry withdrew from an AIDS/HIV charity he led in Africa for 19 years. If U.S. aid is cut, researchers estimate that new HIV infections could surge to as many as 10.8 million additional cases, and HIV-related deaths to 2.9 million, by 2030. "The United States has historically been the largest contributor to global efforts to treat and prevent HIV, but the current cuts to PEPFAR and USAID-supported programs have already disrupted access to essential HIV services including for antiretroviral therapy and HIV prevention and testing," co-lead researcher Debra ten Brink, a senior research officer at Australia's Burnet Institute, said in a news release. "Looking ahead, if other donor countries reduce funding, decades of progress to treat and prevent HIV could be unraveled," ten Brink said. "It is imperative to secure sustainable financing and avoid a resurgence of the HIV epidemic which could have devastating consequences, not just in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, but globally." Five nations provide more than 90% of total international HIV funding, and the U.S. pays nearly three-quarters of that, researchers said in background notes. To estimate the potential effects of cuts to HIV funding, researchers projected infection and death rates in 26 countries that currently receive funds to hold the line against the virus. As much as a six-fold increase in new infections could occur, with between 4.4 million and 10.8 million additional new HIV infections by 2030. The cuts could also result in between 770,000 to 2.9 million HIV-related deaths by 2030, results show. "There could be an even greater impact in sub-Saharan Africa, where broader prevention efforts, such as distributing condoms and offering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP is a medication that reduces the risk of getting HIV.) are at first risk to be discontinued," co-lead researcher Rowan Martin-Hughes, a senior research officer with the Burnet Institute, said in a news release. "This is in addition to disruptions in testing and treatment programs [that] could cause a surge in new HIV infections, especially in some of the areas where the greatest gains have been made, such as preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and pediatric HIV deaths," Martin-Hughes added. Between 2010 and 2023, countries that receive foreign aid made significant progress against HIV, with an average 8% annual decrease in new infections and a 10% decrease in HIV-related deaths, researchers noted. Researchers said if foreign aid is greatly reduced, new infections and deaths could be expected to rise back to levels not seen since 2010, potentially undoing all progress made since 2000. Even a temporary cut in funding of one to two years could represent a setback that would require an additional 20 to 30 years of investment before HIV/AIDS is ended as a public health threat, researchers wrote. The U.S. action dovetailed with news that a management dispute prompted Prince Harry to step down as a patron of Sentebale, a charity he set up to help young people with HIV and AIDS in the African nations of Lesotho and Botswana. Reuters noted that he co-founded the charity in 2006 in memory of his mother Princess Diana, who helped combat stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. More information The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more on HIV/AIDS. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
The Independent
27-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Foreign aid cuts will lead to more HIV infections and deaths, study suggests
HIV infections and deaths will rise as a result of cuts to foreign aid, according to a study. Researchers said that funding cuts could undo decades of progress. A new report says that infections and deaths could surge to levels not seen for more than two decades. Experts, led by academics from Australia, estimate there could be up to 10.8 million additional HIV infections by 2030 in low-and-middle income countries as a result of the cuts. And there could be up to 2.9 million HIV-related deaths between 2025 and 2030 if funding cuts proposed by the top five donor countries, including the USA and the UK, are not mitigated. Sir Keir Starmer recently slashed overseas aid spending to fund defence commitments he said were necessary to protect the UK amid uncertainty over the Ukraine war and its implications for European security. Anneliese Dodds resigned as international development minister over the decision, which will see the budget cut from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in the next two years. After taking up post in January, US president Donald Trump announced a pause in most US foreign aid spending. He also announced that the US would withdraw from the World Health Organisation. A paper, published in The Lancet HIV, highlights how international donors have contributed to 40% of all HIV funding in low-and-middle income countries since 2015. The USA, UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands together account for more than 90% of international funding, but they have each recently announced plans to implement significant cuts to foreign aid, the article adds. It is estimated that these plans will lead to a 24% reduction in international HIV funding by 2026. As a result, the team modelled the human cost of the cuts. They estimated there could be between 4.4 million to 10.8 million additional HIV infections by 2030 in low-and-middle income countries. And between 770,000 to 2.9 million HIV-related deaths in children and adults could occur in the same time frame. 'Unmitigated funding reductions could significantly reverse progress in the HIV response by 2030, disproportionately affecting sub-Saharan African countries and key and vulnerable populations,' the authors wrote. It comes after the UN programme for combating HIV and Aids, UNAids, said that daily new HIV infections around the world could almost double without the aid provided by the United States. 'The United States has historically been the largest contributor to global efforts to treat and prevent HIV, but the current cuts to Pepfar (the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) and USaid-supported programmes have already disrupted access to essential HIV services including for antiretroviral therapy and HIV prevention and testing,' said co-lead study author Dr Debra ten Brink of the Burnet Institute (Australia). 'Looking ahead, if other donor countries reduce funding, decades of progress to treat and prevent HIV could be unravelled. 'It is imperative to secure sustainable financing and avoid a resurgence of the HIV epidemic which could have devastating consequences, not just in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, but globally.' And reports suggest that the Trump administration is planning to end funding for Gavi, the vaccine alliance. Responding to the reports, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, said: 'The funding cuts in the first three months of this year affecting USaid, ODA, WHO and now Gavi are suffocating global health.' Commenting on the study, the National Aids Trust said it is 'extremely alarmed' by the potential impact of proposed cuts. Daniel Fluskey, director of policy, research and influencing at the charity, said: 'These funding cuts will have a devastating impact for millions of people across the world as well as threatening the progress that has been made, both globally and in the UK, on ending the HIV epidemic. 'Like any virus, HIV does not stop at international borders. We will not reach the goal of ending new transmissions by 2030 in the UK with a resurgence of HIV across the world.' Anne Aslett, chief executive of the Elton John Aids Foundation, added: 'This report demonstrates the critical and urgent need for donors to recognise the cumulative impact of their decisions to cut aid budgets. 'If funding for the global HIV response falls away to the extent this report suggests it could, millions more people will get sick, and health budgets will simply not be able to cope.' A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: 'The UK provides significant funding to the global HIV response, supporting work to end Aids-related deaths and prevent new HIV infections. 'We remain firmly committed to tackling global health challenges, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it will help us deliver on our Plan for Change in the UK by supporting global stability and growth.'
Telegraph
26-03-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
New modelling predicts up to 10 million additional HIV infections following aid cuts
Aid cuts by Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer could trigger a resurgence in HIV cases, with up to 10.8 million more people infected globally. Modelling published in the Lancet HIV medical journal shows the cuts could reverse decades of progress in slowing the epidemic that still kills around one person per minute. It says there will be between 4.4m to 10.8m additional new infections by the end of this decade in low-and-middle income countries unless the funding shortfall can be filled. The peer-reviewed study also estimated there could be between 0.8m and 2.9m HIV-related deaths in children and adults by 2030. Overall new infections and deaths from HIV will return to those last seen in the early 2000s. The grim forecast comes only days after the chief of the United Nations Aids agency made her own warning that US funding cuts could lead to an additional six million deaths in the next four years. Winnie Byanyima this week said she feared a return to the 1990s, when HIV medication was scarcely available in poorer countries, and infections and deaths soared. Foreign donors provide around two-fifths of all anti-HIV funding in low and middle-income countries, with America, the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands between them making up 90 per cent of that. Yet each of these countries has recently announced significant aid cuts, giving reasons including the cost of rearming and reacting to the war in Ukraine, the desire to slim down public spending, or ideological opposition. America's cuts are potentially the steepest, after the Trump administration paused all foreign aid for a 90-day review into programmes. The US Pepfar anti-HIV programme is a cornerstone of the global fight against the virus and the largest commitment by a country ever to address a single disease. In the 20 years since it was introduced by George W. Bush, it is credited with saving 26 million lives in more than 50 countries. The Trump administration has vowed to keep 'lifesaving' parts of it, but other parts have been scrapped and it remains unclear how much will survive. 'Decades of progress' could unravel Foreign aid goes to pay for everything from research into new vaccines and treatments, to giving anti-retroviral drugs to those already infected, to providing anti-HIV preventative jabs and tablets to those most at risk of catching the virus. Taken across all five donors, the cuts are between them projected to see a 24 per cent fall in global international HIV funding by next year. Dr Debra ten Brink, a scientist at Australia's Burnet Institute and one of the paper's lead authors, said: 'The current cuts to Pepfar and USAID-supported programmes have already disrupted access to essential HIV services including for antiretroviral therapy and HIV prevention and testing. 'Looking ahead, if other donor countries reduce funding, decades of progress to treat and prevent HIV could be unravelled.' 'It is imperative to secure sustainable financing and avoid a resurgence of the HIV epidemic which could have devastating consequences, not just in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, but globally.' The modelling looked at the impact on 26 countries and then extrapolated across all lower and middle income countries. If the funding reductions continue as planned, they found there could be between 4.4m to 10.8 million extra new HIV infections by 2030. That would represent a 1.3 to six-fold increase in new infections for people at higher risk of acquiring HIV, compared to if funding levels remained consistent. Dr Rowan Martin-Hughes, also of the Burnet Institute, said: 'There could be an even greater impact in sub-Saharan Africa, where broader prevention efforts, such as distributing condoms and offering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP – a medication that reduces the risk of getting HIV) are at first risk to be discontinued. 'This is in addition to disruptions in testing and treatment programmes could cause a surge in new HIV infections, especially in some of the areas where the greatest gains have been made, such as preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and paediatric HIV deaths.' The billions of foreign aid poured into anti-HIV efforts have contributed to significant progress in treating and preventing the virus. There has been an average 8.3 per cent yearly decrease in new infections and a 10.3 per cent decrease in HIV-related deaths, the researchers said. If that trend continued, many countries would be on track to meet global targets to eliminate HIV/Aids as a public health threat by around 2036. That could now go into reverse, the modelling suggests. 'There is an urgent need for innovative, country-led financing strategies and an integration of HIV services into broader health systems, however, this can't happen overnight,' said Dr Nick Scott, also of the Burnet Institute (Australia). 'Long-term strategic planning is required for countries to transition from internationally supported to domestically financed programmes. Our study highlights how important international collaboration and investment have been in maintaining progress against HIV.'
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Aid cuts predicted to cause 2.9 million more HIV-related deaths by 2030
Up to 2.9 million more children and adults will die from HIV-related causes before 2030 because of aid cuts by countries including the US and Britain, a new study has found. A resulting resurgence of the HIV epidemic would have 'devastating consequences' globally, researchers warned, after estimating between 4.4m and 10.8m extra new infections in the next five years due to the cuts. This would mean up to a six-fold increase in new infections among at-risk groups, compared with a scenario where funding levels remained consistent. Dr Debra ten Brink, of Melbourne's Burnet Institute and a co-lead author of the study, said: 'Decades of progress to treat and prevent HIV could be unravelled.' The modelling, published in the Lancet HIV, is the first to analyse the potential combined impact of funding cuts from leading donors, and projects a 24% reduction in global international HIV funding by 2026. The US, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands together provide about 90% of international funding for HIV but have all announced, or already implemented, plans to reduce overseas aid spending. Anneliese Dodds resigned as the UK's international development minister over a decision to cut the aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in the next two years. 630,000 The number of people who died from Aids-related illnesses in 2023 – more than one every minute. Since the epidemic began, a total of 42.3 million people have died. 1.3 million The number of new infections in 2023, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Women and girls accounted for 44% of these. 39.9 million The number of people around the world living with HIV. Of these, 30.7 million are accessing antiretroviral therapy. 51% The percentage by which the death rate has fallen in just over a decade. The risk of an HIV-positive mother passing the virus on to her baby is now less than 1%. $19.8bn The amount of funding available for Aids response in low and middle-income countries by the end of 2023. Of this, 59% came from domestic sources. International funding dropped by 7.9% between 2020 and 2023. Since 2015, overseas donors have been responsible for about 40% of HIV funding in low and middle-income countries. The US has historically been the largest donor but earlier this year announced an almost-immediate halt to most spending, including many projects supported by the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). Those cuts have already disrupted essential HIV services covering prevention, testing and treatment globally. The study used a mathematical model that took in data from 26 countries to produce its estimates. In a worst-case scenario covering an immediate halt to Pepfar support, wider aid reductions and no mitigation, it estimated there would be between 770,000 and 2.9 million additional HIV-related deaths by 2030 – a return to levels not seen since the early 2000s. Dr Rowan Martin-Hughes, co-lead author, said sub-Saharan Africa could see an even greater impact, where prevention efforts such as distributing condoms and offering preventive drugs were 'at first risk to be discontinued'. He said: 'This is in addition to disruptions in testing and treatment programmes [which] could cause a surge in new HIV infections, especially in some of the areas where the greatest gains have been made, such as preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and paediatric HIV deaths.' Ten Brink said: 'It is imperative to secure sustainable financing and avoid a resurgence of the HIV epidemic, which could have devastating consequences, not just in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, but globally.' The team called for countries to instigate innovative financing strategies and integrate HIV services into wider health systems. Campaigners said the study should prompt a rethink of plans to cut aid. Anne Aslett , of the Elton John Aids Foundation, said: 'This report demonstrates the critical and urgent need for donors to recognise the cumulative impact of their decisions to cut aid budgets. 'If funding for the global HIV response falls away to the extent this report suggests it could, millions more people will get sick, and health budgets will simply not be able to cope.' Meanwhile, Save the Children warned that UK aid cuts would see deaths linked to malnutrition rise worldwide. Charities have called for the British government to pledge £3bn in nutrition-linked spending at the fourth Nutrition For Growth summit in Paris this week, though it has yet to make any commitment.
