Latest news with #GlobalHealthSecurity
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration cancels multi-million dollar bird flu vaccine contract with Moderna
The Trump administration has cancelled a $766 million contract with Moderna for the development of its human bird flu vaccine, the company has announced. The pharmaceutical giant was awarded the multi-million dollar contract by the Biden administration last year, as the H5N1 virus began to ravage US dairy and poultry farms. It has since infected more than 70 people in America, killing one, and experts say it is only a matter of time before it starts to spread between humans – an event that could trigger a new pandemic. Just yesterday, an 11 year old boy died in Cambodia after becoming infected, the fifth H5N1 death in the region this year. A spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that after an internal review, the agency had decided to cancel the Moderna contact. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a long time vaccine sceptic, has repeatedly expressed concern over the safety of mRNA vaccines despite them having saved millions of lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. This week Mr Kennedy also announced that mRNA Covid vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children or healthy pregnant women. Currently, the US lacks sufficient bird flu vaccine stockpiles, with only 0.82 doses available per person, according to disease analytics firm Airfinity. The agreement with Moderna was intended to strengthen the country's pandemic preparedness by diversifying its emergency H5N1 vaccine stocks. It is thought mRNA vaccines can be developed and produced more rapidly than traditional flu vaccines which are grown in chicken eggs – a method that is both slow and difficult to scale. The cancellation of the contract came on the same day Moderna announced positive results for the jab from its first preliminarily clinical trials: testing of 300 people found the H5N1 vaccines to be 98 per cent efficacy, and 'generally well tolerated.' 'The cancellation [of the contract] means that the government is discarding what could be one of the most effective and rapid tools to combat an avian influenza outbreak,' Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security told Reuters. The European Union has secured 450 million doses of bird flu vaccines – enough for one dose per EU resident – from multiple manufacturers, including CSL Seqirus, GSK, and Pfizer. Moderna, founded just 11 years ago and based in Massachusetts, received over $30 billion in US government funding during the Covid-19 pandemic under the leadership Dr Anthony Fauci, which allowed it to quickly develop and deploy millions of doses of its vaccines. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
HIV testing and monitoring down by a fifth after Trump aid cuts
Crucial testing and monitoring of vulnerable South African HIV patients has fallen by up to a fifth since Donald Trump cut aid to health workers and clinics, government data shows. The testing to monitor blood virus levels has fallen by 17 per cent in young people, and by 21 per cent in pregnant women. The data reported by Reuters also shows that testing in infants has fallen by a fifth and is one of the most concrete signs yet of the effect the aid cuts are having on the country with the highest number infected by HIV. Aaron Motsoaledi, health minister, admitted the funding cuts had caused problems, but strongly denied suggestions the country's anti-HIV campaign was close to collapse. He said: 'Under no circumstances will we allow this massive work conducted over more than a decade and a half to collapse and go up in smoke because of what President Trump has done.' Modelling released in March has already predicted the cuts could trigger soaring rates of global HIV infections and millions of deaths. There could be between 4.4m to 10.8m additional new HIV infections by the end of this decade in low-and-middle income countries according to the forecasts published in the Lancet journal. Regular testing of HIV patients is considered vital for managing the long-running outbreak because it tells whether treatment is keeping the virus in check, and whether it is sufficiently suppressed to prevent it spreading to others. Testing is particularly important in pregnant women who are at risk of passing on the infection during childbirth. Public health experts warn that with less testing, fewer people who are at risk of transmitting the virus will be identified. Missing a test can also indicate that a patient has dropped out of the system and may be missing treatment. Trump froze many foreign aid programmes by executive order in the early days of his administration. South Africa was doubly hit, as he also targeted aid to the country for allegedly discriminating against white people. He falsely said white land was being seized by the government. South Africa did not rely on America for its anti-HIV drugs but did rely on the United States President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) to pay 15,000 health workers. These workers did HIV testing and counselling in hotspots and checked up on patients who had dropped off their medication. 'These are shocking figures, with profound implications for maternal and child health across the country,' said Francois Venter, executive director of the Ezintsha Research Centre in Johannesburg. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Thailand reports first anthrax death in decades
Thailand has reported its first anthrax death in decades, prompting authorities to track hundreds of people who have potentially been exposed to deadly bacteria. A 53-year-old man in Mukdahan province died from the highly dangerous livestock disease, with authorities confirming a second case and investigating three more suspected infections. The dead man had been exposed after a cow was slaughtered during a religious ceremony, according to early investigations. The meat was later distributed and consumed within the village. Authorities identified at least 638 people as being potentially exposed, including 36 who had taken part in butchering livestock, while the rest had consumed raw or undercooked beef. 'All individuals who may have been in contact with infected meat are being monitored,' the health ministry said. Meanwhile the United Nations said Democratic Republic of Congo was battling its own outbreak, which had killed one person. Medics found 16 suspected cases and one confirmed human case in the country's North Kivu Province, which has been blighted by violence and has this year seen the M23 rebel group make sweeping gains. Anthrax is caused by a spore-forming bacteria called Bacillus anthracis and typically affects cows, sheep and goats but can also spread to people. The bacteria produce potent toxins which are responsible for the symptoms. The most common form is anthrax of the skin, when spores get into cuts or scratches, leading to black bumpy sores, headaches, muscle aches, fever and vomiting. Gastrointestinal anthrax is caught from eating meat from an infected animal and can lead to severe abdominal pain, vomiting of blood and severe diarrhoea. The rarest and most severe form of human anthrax is when the spores reach the lungs, which can cause severe breathing problems. Inhaled anthrax, if untreated, can have a fatality rate as high as 90 per cent. Thai officials said the dead man was a construction worker with underlying diabetes. He developed a lesion on his right hand on April 24 and was hospitalised three days later. As his symptoms got worse, his wound turned black, his lymph nodes swelled up in his armpit and he began fainting and having seizures. Globally, there are thought to be a few thousand human cases each year. This week's death was the first anthrax fatality in Thailand since 1994. Thailand last reported human anthrax cases in 2017, when two people were infected without fatalities. In 2000, 15 cases were recorded, also without deaths. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The UK cannot stand by as Sudan falls apart
Sudan is fast approaching the two-year anniversary of its brutal conflict, with no end in sight. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, will soon be hosting talks in London to re-energise the lagging peace process. These talks must succeed. Sudan has been torn apart with unimaginable brutality. Fighting continues between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with both pursuing military victory at all costs. The human toll is unfathomable: 12.7 million displaced and millions on the brink of starvation. In some areas, famine has already been declared. Some of the 300,000 pregnant women who are running for safety end up giving birth on the roadside. Reports of systematic rape and sexual violence, even against children, have been met with deafening silence. The country's social fabric is being violently torn apart before our eyes. Yet the global response to this unfolding horror has been one of shameful neglect and plain indifference. The UN Security Council stays in a state of paralysis, with the UK-led resolution to protect civilians blocked by Russia's veto in November. We cannot stand by as Sudan descends further into chaos. There is an urgent need to reset the humanitarian response which has been woefully inadequate. We are facing the largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis, with over 30 million people needing aid – more than half of them children. Yet aid funding to Sudan is on a cliff-face – the latest UN appeal only six per cent funded. This means critical services shutting down and people in desperate need being denied basic care. The prospect of further cuts to the UK's own aid budget is also looming on the horizon. The upcoming talks in London on April 15 must serve as a catalyst to reignite the political process towards peace. Top of the agenda must be ensuring unrestricted access so agencies can reach those in desperate need - this requires greater UN presence in areas like Darfur. The protection of civilians and enforcement of international humanitarian law must also be key priorities for the discussions. However, we cannot afford to wait for the peace process to reach its conclusion. A humanitarian crisis is already unfolding, demanding immediate action. Aid must be significantly scaled up without delay. The UK should set an example by making a substantial commitment to protect and increase aid to Sudan and the surrounding region. At the start of this year, David Lammy told Parliament that we 'refuse to let these conflicts be forgotten.' Yet years of shameful neglect has already steered Sudan towards a potentially irreconcilable path of deepening conflict. The stakes could not be higher. If we do not meet this challenge, millions of innocent lives hang in the balance. Sarah Champion is the Labour MP for Rotherham and the Chair of the International Development Select Committee Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Three in four countries suffering ‘severe disruption' to health after aid cuts, WHO warns
Three in four countries are suffering 'severe disruption' to healthcare systems after dramatic aid cuts by the United States and other countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. One in four countries also reported increased out-of-pocket payments for healthcare, job losses for healthcare workers, disruptions to information systems, and a faltering supply of medicines and health products. The WHO has 'compiled feedback from more than 100 countries' to understand the impact of the aid cuts, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing on Thursday. 'The results show severe disruptions to health services in three quarters of countries, and closures of health facilities in one quarter of countries,' he said. On January 20 2025, Donald Trump, the US President, issued an executive order suspending all foreign aid programmes for 90 days. Some 83 per cent of US foreign aid contracts have since been cancelled, plunging healthcare in the developing world into crisis. In response, the WHO has begun work to accelerate the transition away from a reliance on foreign aid in favour of domestic fundraising, with the goal of fostering self-sufficiency in the supported countries, Dr Tedros said. 'WHO has been working with counties for many years to support them to transition away from a dependency to sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources,' he said. 'We are now supporting countries to accelerate that transition to avert the health impacts that these sudden and unplanned cuts are having.' Several governments have already pledged to increase domestic health spending. South Africa's parliament has approved an additional $1.5 billion for its health budget this year and Nigeria has allocated an additional $200 million dollars to health in its 2025 budget. Many others are taking action to absorb the cuts to aid and bridge their financing gap. The WHO chief urged countries hit by the cuts to prioritise the poor and protect them from having to resort to 'impoverishing out-of-pocket health spending' on medical bills. He also urged governments to maintain their health budgets, resist reductions in public health spending, and make efforts to avoid closing services or facilities. Instead, governments looking to offset reductions in foreign aid should consider 'introducing or increasing taxes on products that harm health: tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks,' Dr Tedros said. Dr Tedros admitted that the WHO, which the US plans to completely stop funding, was overly dependent on its large donors. 'We saw this coming but we didn't expect that it would be the US,' he said. The WHO now plans to expand its donor base and hopes to emerge as a stronger organisation, Dr Tedros added. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
