Latest news with #JulieLeask
ABC News
2 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
How RFK Jr is eroding global trust in vaccines
Sam Hawley: Donald Trump once declared them a medical miracle. Now his health secretary is taking an axe to them. Robert F Kennedy Jr doesn't believe in the science behind mRNA vaccines that were deployed across the world during COVID, and he's cut nearly half a billion dollars in research funding. Today, public health professor at Sydney Uni, Julie Leask, on what Kennedy's anti-vaccine stance means for global health. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. Julie, why don't we start with a reminder of Robert F Kennedy Jr's history when it comes to vaccines and science? He is a sceptic, and he doesn't mind a conspiracy theory or two, does he? Julie Leask: Yeah, exactly. He doesn't. Sen. Chris Murphy: Are you actually still recommending people get the vaccine, or are you not? Robert F. Kennedy Jnr: Senator, if I advise you to swim in a lake that I knew there to be alligators in. Wouldn't you want me to tell you there were alligators in it? Julie Leask: So he first really got very interested in vaccines in 2005 when he was hearing from parents about their concerns about autism and a belief that vaccines linked to autism. Now, they came to him because he'd been an environmental lawyer litigating governments and companies over environmental pollutions, you know, the lakes, the lands. And so I think he kind of carried that theme of being against pollution. In this case, he started to believe that vaccines pollute the body, if you like. And that's been quite an intense campaign for him in the last 20 years since the publication of this infamous article in Rolling Stones magazine called Deadly Immunity, which was retracted. Sam Hawley: And just to make clear, there is no scientific evidence that vaccines are linked to autism. Julie Leask: No, there's not. This has been looked into over decades now, and many large and well-done, rigorous studies repeatedly show no link between vaccines and autism. Senator Bernie Sanders: The evidence is there. That's it. Vaccines do not cause autism. Do you agree with that? Robert F. Kennedy Jnr: As I said, I'm not going to go into HHS with any preordained... Senator Bernie Sanders: I ask you a simple question, Bobby. Studies all over the world say it does not. What do you think? Robert F. Kennedy Jnr: If you show me those studies, I will absolutely, as I promised to Chairman Cassidy, I will apologize. Senator Bernie Sanders: That is a very troubling response. Julie Leask: And what's tragic there is that this idea keeps being resurrected and fed, and that's awful for parents of children with autism who are trying to understand the causes. And it really is redirecting resources away from better understanding and better science around this into what's really just a dead-end cause. Sam Hawley: Yeah, he often rejects established science. He's also rejected that when it comes to HIV and AIDS, that HIV causes AIDS. He's questioned the safety of polio and measles vaccines. He's falsely linked antidepressants to school shootings, and it goes on and on, right? Julie Leask: It does. And so it was so deeply concerning when it started to look like he would lead up the US Health and Human Services, which is essentially the role of the health minister for the United States. And that's what has happened. So our worst possible nightmare is coming true. Sam Hawley: Yeah. All right. Well, he says he's not an anti-vaxxer, but in 2021, he told Louisiana lawmakers that the coronavirus vaccine is the deadliest vaccine ever made. Robert F. Kennedy Jnr: Now, if you look at their post-licensing record, it confirms that this is the deadliest vaccine ever made. Sam Hawley: Now, that's just not true, is it? It's not. Julie Leask: It's completely false. In fact, the coronavirus vaccines are estimated to save many millions of lives. Now, this vaccine does carry some rare serious side effects. So the mRNA COVID vaccines are known to potentially cause myocarditis or pericarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle or the area around the heart. And also, of course, you know, common minor side effects. So it's not like vaccines are risk free and nobody is ever saying that. But what RFK Jr has done is sort of perpetuate junk science, made it look like there are all these studies showing the vaccine to be unsafe, when in fact the benefits of this vaccine far outweigh what are known risks of rare but serious side effects. Sam Hawley: All right, well, Julie, that's a reminder of RFK Jr's view on medicine and science. Now, as you say, he is leading the health system in America. And in June, he fired all 17 members of a committee that issues official government recommendations on immunisations. Just tell me about that and who replaced all these people. Julie Leask: So, this committee is very important. I mean, the equivalent in Australia is what people might have heard of as ATAGI, which is the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. These committees around the world are high level experts who have done a lot of research and published on vaccination and have deep expertise. They're vetted very carefully. They form a committee that looks at the evidence around vaccines, their safety, their benefits, their cost effectiveness. And they then make recommendations to the government. So he fired all 17 members of this committee and he replaced them with eight individuals. And the new committee consisted of some people who had a bit of a track record in vaccination, but themselves usually tended to be COVID lockdown sceptics or very critical of the government's responses, which aligned with how he thought. Also, there are some vaccine sceptics on that committee. There are very, very clever people who are new to vaccination. And there are some people who are just extremely low on any vaccination expertise, but handpicked by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., because of their positions that are more likely to align with his very marginal views. And that has really caused a great deal of concern among the US medical community, public health community and also among policy advisors as well because of the ramifications of this. Sam Hawley: Hmm. All right. So he puts this new, really controversial committee in place. And then, Julie, last week he cancelled nearly 500 million dollars of grants and contracts for developing mRNA vaccines. Now, this was the technology, of course, used during the pandemic. Just give me your initial reaction when you saw that news. Julie Leask: I was not surprised, but also very concerned, as I have been, about the sort of, I'd say, public health vandalism that the Trump administration are engaging in public health globally and, of course, locally in vaccination programs. So mRNA vaccines have helped save millions of lives by stopping people from getting really severe COVID and dying from it. They also hold promise for enabling us to quickly pivot to vaccine development with a new virus that could be the next pandemic. So one of the concerns has been about avian influenza, bird flu. This mRNA technology enables you to quickly develop the vaccine without sort of having to sort of grow the incubate, the germ in eggs and take six months or more in production. So there's so much promise with these vaccines. And then the therapeutics have promise and are being studied for their ability to treat cancer and certain types of anemia. So huge promise. And it's just driven a massive wedge in that scientific field and in development. So we're going to see a big brain drain in mRNA science, particularly from the US, where there's been so much exciting and positive work. Sam Hawley: Well, in a video released on social media, RFK Jr. argued that mRNA vaccines don't work. Robert F. Kennedy Jnr: After reviewing the science and consulting top experts at NIH and FDA, HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risk and benefits for these respiratory viruses. Sam Hawley: And then he then said in a statement that they encourage new mutations and can actually, he says, prolong pandemics. That's his view. How damaging are those words? Julie Leask: They are damaging. A lot of my research is in how people respond to these kinds of messages. What this is doing, and it's unique, this is one of the most influential countries in the world when it comes to vaccine science and policy. And it now has its leadership, someone who is ostensibly, by their actions, demonstrated to be an anti-vaccination activist in the health portfolio. And this is going to really supercharge not just the vaccine misinformation that is peddling, but also diminish people's confidence in vaccines because we rely a great deal on trust and trust in the expert systems that produce and recommend vaccines. And now the public are being told, yes, trust those systems and those experts, except when it comes to the United States. So in a way, we're having to sort of do this dual thing of saying, trust us, but don't trust them. And that becomes incredibly confusing and difficult for the public. Sam Hawley: And presumably that's not contained within America. Faith in public health, that could have an impact here too, right? In a GP surgery in Australia. Julie Leask: It could and, you know, we're hearing from the nurses and nurses are the biggest providers of vaccines. I'm a former nurse myself and a midwife. We're hearing from them around the country that they're getting more and more questions about vaccine, the schedule in the first year of life. You know, whether there are too many vaccines given, whether they're really that necessary, because these what we're seeing is very marginal positions and now being, you know, allegedly legitimised by the US administration. So it is going to affect Australia. We might not be seeing too much of it yet, but we will in the coming years as this administration continues to reap the havoc on public health. Sam Hawley: Well, Julie, Donald Trump, we presume, is backing this move, even though he hailed mRNA vaccines as a medical miracle during the pandemic. And he did seem to still support the technology when he was asked about the funding cut by a reporter last week. Journalist: You were the driving force behind Operation Warp Speed, these mRNA vaccines that are the gold standard. Now your health secretary is pulling back all the funding for research. He's saying that the risks outweigh the benefits, which puts him at odds with the entire medical community and with you. What is going on? Donald Trump, US President: Research on what? Journalist: Into mRNA vaccines. Donald Trump, US President: Well, we're going to look at that. We're talking about it and they're doing a very good job. Operation Warp Speed was, whether you're Republican or Democrat, considered one of the most incredible things ever done in this country. Sam Hawley: So what do you fear? What do you think we might see next from RFK Jr.? Julie Leask: It's going to be very interesting because Trump likes chaos. That's pretty clear from what he's done. And even saying about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I'm going to let Bobby go wild on health. So if he's sort of seen or feels like the technologies that he once promoted are now being undermined by his health secretary, he might start to push back against that. And really, the hope would be that he doesn't like to see quite so much damage being done to this technology. It's, as always with Trump, sometimes quite hard to predict what he will do. Sam Hawley: But it sounds like if this isn't reversed, it could have very severe and lasting consequences for the world. Exactly. Julie Leask: And, you know, it will not just undermine our access to these technologies, but it's undermining public confidence. And one of the things that we think is very important is getting people mentally ready for the sorts of misinformation they might hear about vaccines, such as, you know, we found the cause of autism, it's this or that ingredient of vaccines. And therefore, you know, avoid having it. And then the government could probably be stronger in the way it supports research and development. So if we've lost all this capacity in the US, there's that opportunity that comes with that, that we can capture some, harness some of that lost talent from the US and augment our existing incredible talent we've got here in Australia too. Sam Hawley: Julie Leask is a professor of public health at the University of Sydney's Infectious Diseases Institute. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead. Audio production by Cinnamon Nippard and Sam Dunn. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. ABC News Daily will be back again on Monday. Thanks for listening.
ABC News
17-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Meet the Aussie deported from the US, the HPV vax drop + explaining the digi cam hype
HPV vaccine rates are declining in Australia, and experts have warned it's putting our ability to eradicate cervical cancer at risk. Plus, Alistair Kitchen is an Aussie who flew to the US last week for a holiday. But when he landed, he was detained, interrogated and eventually deported. Why? He reckons it was because of his stance on Gaza. Also, why gen z is capturing Y2K nostalgia through the lens of a digital camera. Listen now: 01:14 - The decline in HPV vaccination rates 06:31 - Why Trump ditched Albanese 10:19 - Alistair Kitchen on being deported from the US 23:13 - Why digi cams are having a moment right now Guests: Professor Julie Leask, School of Public Health, University of Sydney Professor Julie Leask, School of Public Health, University of Sydney Alistair Kitchen, freelance journalist Alistair Kitchen, freelance journalist Dr Kathleen Williams, School of Creative Arts and Media, University of Tasmania Get the whole story from Hack:
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Australia has had record flu cases this year – and that's before winter arrives. What's going on?
Australia is being struck by a surge in respiratory illnesses, with record breaking inter-seasonal flu cases since the start of the year. However, flu remains the 'underdog of infectious diseases', in that people underestimate its severity, and as a result vaccinations rates remain stubbornly low, Prof Julie Leask from the University of Sydney, says. What are the case numbers and how can you protect yourself? In 2025 there had been 83,402 flu cases nationally, as of Tuesday, according to the government's national notifiable diseases surveillance system (NNDSS). It represents a rise of more than 10,000 more cases compared to the 73,641 flu cases reported to the end of May last year. There have also been 67,141 cases of Covid-19, and 52,611 cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – which causes infections of the lungs – to date this year, as of Tuesday, according to the NNDSS. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Prof Paul Griffin, an infectious diseases physician from the University of Queensland, says the country is experiencing a record-breaking surge in respiratory illnesses, with flu cases the highest ever recorded outside the traditional winter months. 'This year's cases are well above what we've seen for the past five years for January, February, March and April, very clearly,' Griffin says. Griffin says it is unclear what the high number of cases will mean for the rest of the season: 'We don't know till we're in it. It does mean with that number of cases already, low vaccination rates, the impact is already very significant and more significant than it should be because we've got a very small proportion of people vaccinated.' Figures from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance show that in the year to date only 11.7% of children between six months and five years old received the flu vaccine, despite this age group being among the most at-risk of developing serious complications. Only 7.6% of five- to 15-year-olds, 12.8% of 15- to 50-year-olds, 21.2% of 50- to 65-year-olds, and under half (46.9%) of those over 65 have had vaccines to date this year. Griffin says 'with that much flu already, it's very clear we need to have as many people vaccinated as possible and we're well below that. The vaccine rates are still terrible.' Leask says flu vaccination needs to be a habit for Australians, with data showing once someone receives a vaccine one year, they tend to continue it the next. It's important for healthcare workers to encourage patients to initiate that habit, she says. Griffin urges everyone to get vaccinated for flu, as well as consider taking other steps to prevent getting infected, like hand hygiene and air purifiers and even mask wearing for high-risk people.
SBS Australia
06-05-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
As flu season approaches, there's a 'dire' reason alarm bells are ringing in Australia
More than 63,000 flu cases have been reported this year in Australia. Source: Getty / Tom Merton Tens of thousands of have already been reported in Australia so far this year , and with flu season around the corner, experts are concerned that many people aren't taking the consequences seriously enough. More than 63,000 flu cases have been reported this year, tracking above the average number of cases for the past five years. The number of cases seen so far, combined with a persistently low for flu, have set off alarm bells in the medical community. Earlier this year, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) called for action after over 48,000 cases were reported in the first quarter of the year. In 2024, there were 30,494 cases, and in 2023, there were 18,582 cases in the same period. RACGP president Dr Michael Wright said vaccination rates for the flu have fallen and brought attention to the most severe consequences of the illness. "More than 1,000 deaths last year involved the flu, a 67.3 per cent increase on 2023, while more than 4200 people were admitted to hospital," he said. While the number of cases seen in flu seasons is difficult to predict, as Australia moves into the colder months, there will be an exponential increase in the number of cases. Flu seasons have become harder to predict since the COVID-19 pandemic, so it's currently unclear whether this season will continue on its record trajectory. However, professor Julie Leask from the University of Sydney said the consequences of the flu can be serious, regardless of comparisons to previous years. "It doesn't necessarily need to be a record flu season for it to be important," she said. In January, 16 Australians died from the flu, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The flu is typically caused by influenza A or B, but there are many subtypes and strains of these viruses, and dominant strains tend to change year to year. The illness can cause fever and chills, sneezing, coughing, a sore throat, and gastrointestinal issues in children. Professor Paul Griffin from the University of Queensland told SBS News that while many people believe that flu is "just like a cold", it has huge impacts on the community and can cause severe illness. While the flu is predominantly a respiratory infection, it can have impacts on "basically the whole body", Griffin said. Severe bronchitis, inflammation of the brain (known as encephalitis), heart issues like myocarditis and muscle issues such as acute viral myositis can occur in rare cases. The flu is also known to contribute to heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular issues. "Obviously that's not the most common outcome from the flu, and most people won't require hospitalisation or get all of those things. But the unfortunate reality is enough people do that it's a big problem," Griffin said. Young children, older adults, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with chronic medical conditions, immunocompromised people and smokers are at greater risk of severe illness or complications. But adults who don't belong to these groups can also experience these issues. Leask told SBS News the flu has a "personality problem" because it can be confused with other less-serious viruses. "It's estimated that around 3,000 people a year die from flu, whether it's on their death certificate or there's some other death, such as a cardiac death that flu brought on. That's the estimate. So, it's really quite a burdensome disease that's underappreciated," she said. The flu also places a massive weight on the medical system every year, with hundreds of thousands of GP visits and thousands of hospitalisations. "The flow-on effect of that is that people who need to seek primary care or go to hospital then struggle to get those issues addressed," Griffin said Vaccination rates for the flu have been trending downwards in recent years. In 2020, 13.6 per cent of people aged 15 to 50 had been vaccinated by May, according to the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance. This year, 8.2 per cent have been vaccinated so far. Leask said Australia's vaccination rates for the flu are consistently "dire", and while the majority of Australians complete childhood vaccinations, the uptake of yearly flu vaccinations is more subject to motivation and access. In Australia, the flu shot is free for young children, pregnant women, adults aged 65 and older, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with certain medical conditions under the National Immunisation Program. Most others have to pay out-of-pocket for the flu shot. Leask said vaccination rates are improved by services that remind Australians they're due for their shots, encourage them to get one and provide services and systems that make it as convenient as possible. People are also much more likely to receive the flu shot in a year if they have had at least one in the past two years. "We know that flu vaccination is a habit, and once you start that habit, you tend to continue with it," Leask said. However, there are many prevailing myths about the flu vaccination that can also discourage people from getting the shot, Griffin said. One issue is that many people believe they will get sick from the flu regardless of whether they have been vaccinated. While the vaccine can't provide total coverage against infection, Griffin said there are still strong benefits to getting the shot. "Breakthrough infections can happen relatively commonly, so you can be vaccinated and still get the flu," Griffin said. "But what we know is that no matter what happens when you get the flu after you're vaccinated, it's going to help at least a little bit in terms of reducing the severity, perhaps duration, and perhaps the ability to pass it on. There's a whole host of benefits." Leask also stressed that vaccination is not just about protecting yourself — it is also about trying to ensure the safety of others in the community who may develop more severe illness. "We need to remind people that this is not just about protecting yourself from what could be a rotten couple of weeks laid out, days of work, feeling really crook," she said. "If I get a flu vaccine, I'm less likely to get the flu and therefore much less likely to pass it on to my old mother, who I really don't want to make sick from influenza because she could get really sick from it."
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Flu vaccine coverage drops in Australia, experts call for urgent action
Australian health experts are sounding the alarm over low flu vaccination rates as winter sets in, warning children and older adults are particularly vulnerable to a dangerous and potentially deadly flu season. Despite being eligible for free flu shots, fewer than one in three children under five, and just 32.5 per cent of Australians aged 65 and over, have been vaccinated so far this year. In the first three months of this year, 84 people died from Influenza, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, released last week. A social scientist with the University of Sydney's Infectious Diseases Institute, Professor Julie Leask, said the nation's flu vaccination coverage is 'perpetually low'. 'Our influenza vaccination rates in Australia are dire and they're not improving,' she said Professor Leask said some flu-related hospitalisations and deaths were 'potentially preventable'. 'The vaccine isn't perfect, but it's much better than zero, which is what you're looking at if you don't have a vaccine. Of course, there are other measures to reduce the risk of respiratory infections, but nothing matches an effectiveness of even between 50 and 70 per cent and even better in children having that vaccine,' she said. The National Centre for Immunisation Research found that just 62 per cent of people received a flu vaccine by the end of the 2024 season, a drop compared to 2022. Children, aged six month to five year olds, had a low coverage rate of 28 per cent. Professor Leask said new data from the 2025 National Vaccination Insights Project, which surveyed more than 2000 adults in March, shows many Australians are underestimating the seriousness of influenza, with nearly one-third not having had a flu shot in the past two years. By March, only 32.5 per cent of people aged 65 and over, one of the most vulnerable groups, had received their flu shot, a rate that shows no improvement on previous years. 32 per cent of all adults surveyed reported they hadn't received a flu vaccine at all in the past two years. Cost, inconvenience, and access, especially in rural areas, were key barriers to getting vaccinated, according to the survey. The most common places people received their flu shot were GP clinics, pharmacies, and workplaces. Although many respondents said they planned to get vaccinated, concern about catching the flu remained low, even among groups at higher risk of severe illness. While the majority of respondents believed the flu vaccine was safe, 22 per cent did not. Professor Leask suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the unusually low vaccination rates. 'The idea here is that after Covid, people were really over the topic of vaccination,' she said. 'There might have been a bit of a backlash in some groups about that, and people wanted to get on with their lives and were a little bit disengaged from vaccination.' Dr Paul Griffin, an infectious diseases physician, underscored the yearly devastation caused by the flu. 'We know that there's deaths in the order of thousands, hospitalisations around 20,000 every year,' Dr Griffin said. 'Hundreds of thousands of doctors at visits and quite a lot of financial implications in terms of lost work days. So while a lot of people underestimate the flu at the moment, the impact is very significant.' He said people at higher risk include children, older adults, pregnant women, people with chronic medical conditions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and smokers. 'It's not just a flu, it's a very severe viral infection in its own right and can be life threatening,' he said. Professor Leask said that dispelling myths, along with effective campaigning and communication, and convenient access could help increase vaccine uptake. 'We need to keep busting those myths, such as the flu vaccine gives you the flu, it doesn't. 'Campaigns need to remind people of the benefits to self and others if we get a vaccine. We might not think we're at risk, but we may help protect other people who are. 'We might not think we're at risk, but we may help protect other people who are,' she said.
