16 h. ago In Trump’s America, vaccination rates are declining and measles is spreading | Katrina vanden Heuvel

Trump and RFK Jr have made every effort to undermine one of the major civilizing advances of the 20th century – our public health infrastructureNew data from the CDC suggests a grim back-to-school tradition emerging: in 2024, kindergarten vaccination rates declined for the fifth consecutive year. Meanwhile, vaccine exemptions reached a record high.These statistics became all the more disturbing last fall when, shortly after 286,000 children began their educations without proof of full immunity against measles, a man who has bragged about never getting a flu shot was re-elected to the presidency. Since then, the US has contended with its largest measles outbreak in three decades, while the leaders who should be stamping out this crisis are instead fanning the flames. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago RFK Jr has slashed vaccine research. You need to know how perilous that is for the world | Devi Sridhar

The avian flu virus is now just one mutation away from easier transmission among humans. Donald Trump’s health chief is a grave risk to world healthProf Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of EdinburghYou’d be hard-pressed to find many public health experts who have positive things to say about Donald Trump’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. Alongside his numerous policy failures, one Cornell University study found that he was the biggest source of Covid-19 misinformation. But if there’s one redeeming feature to Trump’s pandemic record, it has to be his leadership on Operation Warp Speed – a massive, government-funded initiative that played a pivotal role in fast-tracking Covid-19 vaccines.“Operation Warp Speed stands as one of the most remarkable scientific and humanitarian achievements of the past half-century,” the former US surgeon general Jerome Adams said. It directed billions of dollars into vaccine development and manufactur...

Politics

47 h. ago SNP urged to 'get a grip' of NHS as millions spent on consultancy services

Scottish health boards have spent public money on a range of consultancy services.

Economics

4 d. ago Red Dwarf legend gives health update and worried fans give support

The 65-year-old has now given an update on his health after cancelling public appearances

Events

6 d. ago Do not eat alert issued as health chiefs scramble to recall three cult chocolate bars due to deadly risk

Three cult Dubai-style chocolate bars have been urgently recalled by UK food safety chiefs over renewed fears they could trigger a fatal allergic reaction.

Events

7 d. ago RFK Jr’s health department to halt $500m in mRNA vaccine research

Agency to end 22 federal contracts, questioning safety of technology credited with helping end Covid pandemicThe US Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday it would terminate 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines, questioning the safety of a technology credited with helping end the Covid pandemic and saving millions of lives.The unit, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, helps companies develop medical supplies to address public health threats, and had provided billions of dollars for development of vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading...

Science

8 d. ago Public health chiefs scramble to roll out jab to protect against one of Britain's most common STI as drug

Health chiefs have rolled out a jab to protect against the most common STI in clinics across England.

Events

9 d. ago Inside the neighborhood patrols watching for Ice: ‘They thought they could scare us – but this is LA’

Volunteers with Union del Barrio look for immigration officers and post videos and alerts, warning people to seek shelterDawn broke on a foggy morning on Terminal Island, an artificial slice of land that rests where the city of Los Angeles meets the Pacific Ocean. Sea lions barked in the distance as sleek, white SUVs drove through a checkpoint into a federal prison. Chavo Romero, his hair pulled back in a ponytail, sipped coffee as he watched them.He awoke before daybreak, taking the day off from his public health job to drive here in the dark. Romero is part of a coalition of trained volunteers called Union del Barrio, who patrol the barrios, or neighbourhoods, to look for immigration enforcement, “La Migra.” When they spot Ice activity, they post videos that go viral, alerting people to seek shelter. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Unhealthy diets fueling public health crisis in the North, research suggests

People living in the North are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, develop cardiovascular disease and be obese because of poor eating habits.

Events

3 w. ago Trump news at a glance: How Robert F Kennedy Jr is cancelling medical science

Measles on the rise and vaccination rates falling; EPA to be gutted of its crucial research function. Key US politics stories from Saturday 19 July at a glance“The current administration is waging a war on science,” warned Celine Gounder, a professor of medicine and an infectious disease expert at New York University in a keynote talk in May to graduates of Harvard’s School of Public Health.That war appeared to enter a new phase in the aftermath of a recent supreme court decision that empowered health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic, and other agency leaders, to implement mass firings – effectively greenlighting the politicization of science. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump’s EPA eliminates research and development office and begins layoffs

Administration’s move to cut thousands of agency jobs will be devastating for US public health, union warnsThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday it is eliminating its research and development arm and reducing agency staff by thousands of employees. One union leader said the moves “will devastate public health in our country”.The agency’s office of research and development (ORD) has long provided the scientific underpinnings for the EPA’s mission to protect the environment and human health. The EPA said in May it would shift its scientific expertise and research efforts to program offices that focus on major issues such as air and water. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Did India roll out health warnings for popular street foods like samosas and jalebis?

Health ministry issues directive for public venues to carry cautionary notices aimed at making people 'aware about hidden fats and excess sugar'

Events

3 w. ago California hospital accused of losing bodies and failing to inform panicking families that their loved ones were dead

California’s public health department reportedly found several failures within the hospital system

Events

3 w. ago Indian government clarifies it’s not coming after samosas and jalebis after outrage

Health ministry issues directive for public venues to carry cautionary notices aimed at making people 'aware about hidden fats and excess sugar'

Politics

3 w. ago Britons smoke nearly 30 billion cigarettes every year, study finds

An estimated 28.6 billion cigarettes are smoked in Britain each year, equating to 78 million every day, according to a new analysis that highlights stark inequalities in consumption across the country. Researchers are now calling for targeted public health efforts to address these disparities and tackle persistent smoking rates.

Events

3 w. ago Myleene Klass receives MBE for campaigning work on miscarriages

Dame Patricia Hewitt was also honoured for her services to public health and NHS reform

Politics

3 w. ago India rolls out health warnings for popular street foods like samosas and jalebis

Health ministry issues directive for public venues to carry cautionary notices aimed at making people 'aware about hidden fats and excess sugar'

Events

4 w. ago HMRC criticised by watchdog for failing to track billionaires’ tax

Report comes as government faces growing demands for wealth tax to improve health of public finances after welfare U-turn earlier this monthHM Revenue and Customs has been sharply criticised by parliament’s spending watchdog for being unable to track how many billionaires pay tax in the UK.In a highly critical report on the collection of tax from wealthy individuals, the influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said HMRC could not say how much the super-rich either contributed to the exchequer or avoided. Continue reading...

Economics

4 w. ago Bereaved mothers call for urgent action to fix mental health services

The families were backed by Melanie Leahy who led a ten-year campaign for a public inquiry into mental health related deaths in Essex.

Politics