ReportWire

Tag: public health

  • Inside the Growing Scientist Migration to Europe

    [ad_1]

    It all started promisingly enough. French biologist Gabriela Lobinska had enjoyed her Ph.D. training, researching how organisms change over time. Arriving at Harvard Medical School in September 2024, she hoped for more of the same. She planned to look at how, over the course of a lifetime, healthy cells change into diseased ones.

    Donald Trump won the presidential election shortly after her arrival, and before long, things went downhill. In the spring, the grant paying her salary—along with thousands of others—was cut. In April, the White House proposed cutting by 40% the budget of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the country. Then the government withdrew Harvard’s ability to provide visas for international researchers like Lobinska. While a court allowed Harvard to sponsor visas for the time being, Lobinska was questioning why she was in the U.S. “There are places where I could go to do science,” she recalls thinking, “without all this.”

    Soon she had a job offer from AITHYRA, a new institute for biomedicine and AI in Vienna. And when she heard of a new Austrian fellowship called APART-USA—specifically for people leaving American institutions, with a generous four years of research funding—she applied, and got it.

    Now, she lives in the city where, before Vienna’s scientific community was devastated by World Wars I and II, blood types were discovered, cosmic rays were first identified, and psychoanalysis was born. All around her are architectural remnants of those heady days, like the 1910 Art Nouveau observatory on the edge of the Danube Canal—reminders that a place’s status as a scientific powerhouse is only as secure as the geopolitics that surrounds it.

    Read More: Why Michael J. Fox Sees Parkinson’s as a ‘Gift That Keeps on Taking’

    Lobinska is just the kind of scientist that Heinz Fassmann, president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, hoped to lure to Austria with the APART-USA fellowship. He saw the instability in the U.S., while regrettable for science, as an opportunity for Austria to reclaim some of this scientific glory. If the U.S. keeps cutting budgets, he says, we will keep scooping up the good people. By September 2025, 25 candidates had been accepted, including Lobinska. 

    The APART-USA fellows weren’t the only ones looking beyond U.S. borders. Nature, a leading science journal, reported in April 2025 that through the job board it maintains, “U.S. scientists submitted 32% more applications for jobs abroad between January and March 2025 than during the same period in 2024.” U.S. page views of job postings abroad also spiked: “In March alone, as the administration intensified its cuts to science, views rose by 68% compared with the same month last year,” Nature wrote.

    It goes on. In May 2025, the E.U. granted 500 million euros in funding for the “Choose Europe” initiative, intended to help draw international researchers. In April, the president of Germany’s Max Planck Society announced the Max Planck Transatlantic Program, stating it will include roles for researchers who are looking to leave the U.S. The French government also revealed 100 million euros in funding to attract international scientists.

    “The United States profited from the migration flow of highly qualified persons, decades after the Second World War,” Fassmann says. “And now, it’s maybe the first time that we can move around this migration direction—that Europe can profit from the talents that are educated in the United States.”

    The U.S. wasn’t always a magnet for scientists. “Hardly anyone in the United States devotes himself to the essentially theoretical and abstract portion of human knowledge,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America in 1840. In the late 19th century, Germany was the global leader in scientific research. It would be quite some time before the image of Americans as unimaginative backwoodsmen began to shift, and in the early 20th century, apart from agricultural research, American science was often supported by philanthropy and individual states, rather than by the federal government.

    Heinz Faßmann, President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, spearheaded in
    2025 the fellowship program, APART-USA, to attract top researchers from the U.S. to Austria.     Koekkoek for TIME

    After the Nazis took power in Germany in 1933, however, European researchers—including Albert Einstein, most famously—headed in greater numbers to the U.S. In 1939, just before war was declared, Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, warning that Germany had the brain-power and resources to create atomic weapons. FDR responded with the Manhattan Project, which employed many fleeing physicists and eventually developed the atomic bomb. Congress had new respect for the possibilities of research after that, and the flow of scientists into the U.S. accelerated.

    By the mid-20th century, the U.S. had turned into a haven for international talent. Before the war, American science had been notably less hierarchical than in many European institutions. Instead of having to spend years as an assistant to a senior professor, as in Germany, a young professor in America was largely a free agent, explains Daniel Kevles, a retired science historian at Yale University: “There was a great deal of freedom to do what you wanted.” And after the war, European science lay in shambles; there was no comparison between what awaited European scientists in the U.S. and what they could do at home.

    The U.S. also had an unusually large system of nationally funded labs, notable for their dedication to basic research. The peculiar openness of American society—scientists could bring their families and become citizens—added to the appeal, says Catherine Westfall, a science historian now retired from Michigan State University.

    Read More: The New Way to Predict Your Risk of a Heart Attack

    This was part of a particular mindset in the government, explains sociologist of science Olof Hallonsten of Sweden’s Lund University. “You maintain a big brain trust in the universities, in these big research centers, and you let people do more or less what they want,” he says, “because when the time comes that this whole brain trust needs to be mobilized…we can then pool all these resources into specific problem solving.”

    To be sure, American science has had its ups and downs. Senator Joseph McCarthy targeted scientists in his 1950s red-baiting campaign, including prominent figures like physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The center of gravity for nuclear physics moved back to Europe after American funding for a new collider collapsed in 1993. And it has never been unusual for researchers trained in the U.S.—American or otherwise—to move abroad, taking a job wherever their particular flavor of science is in demand. But in recent years, U.S. public and private sources were the largest funders of all research and development on the planet, and the country was a net importer of scientists. For many scientists, the U.S. had become a hub, where many were educated and hoped to stay.

    Now, that status may be shifting. Italian physicist Andrea Urru moved to the U.S. in 2023 to work on magnetism at Rutgers University. He was considering the possibility of securing a faculty position in the U.S., at the same time that he looked at jobs closer to home. “Developing an academic career in this country would be absolutely great,” he says. However, after the National Science Foundation, a major funder of basic science, came under threat from government cuts last year, that option “became even fainter, and I decided to direct my efforts towards getting funds in Europe.” Urru will soon move to the University of Cagliari in Sardinia.

    American geneticist Audrey Lin studies evolution using ancient DNA, with a particular focus on how dogs were domesticated. In the spring of 2025, when she was applying, “the job situation in the U.S. was very unstable, with a lot of faculty job searches being canceled or postponed,” she says. But “science doesn’t stop. I’ve spent almost a decade of my life training and working on my research, and this is what I’ve chosen to dedicate my life to. And I have to go where I can do this.” She too is now an APART-USA fellow, and arrived in Austria in February.

    Europe likely can’t compete with what the U.S. traditionally spends on science. As a whole, the continent funds about 20% of the world’s research and development, compared with the U.S.’s roughly 29%, according to numbers compiled by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. What’s more, large investments in basic science are usually the purview of a rapidly growing economy, Hallonsten says, which Europe’s is not. “The reason that China has been investing so much in science and technology in the past 20 to 30 years, of course, is that they have the money. They need to invest in something,” he says. “The same thing was true for the United States after World War II.” China now funds around 28% of the world’s R&D, but Hallonsten and other experts aren’t convinced the country will build a similar research environment to that of the U.S. Many researchers moving to China from abroad these days are U.S.-educated Chinese scientists, says Deborah Seligsohn, a professor of political science at Villanova University—people returning home, rather than immigrants.

    But Europe can try to provide some of what has historically been appealing about American science. At the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, in the Vienna Woods, new buildings have been springing up like mushrooms of steel and glass, labs where that culture of freedom is being carefully cultivated.

    Read More: 8 Phrases That Will Instantly Get Your Doctor’s Attention

    Italian biologist Elia Mascolo, who uses information theory to study how genes work, was attracted by the cluster of researchers already at ISTA. Working with specific people was also why he had spent four years in the U.S., and why he might have stayed longer if the right job had come along. But when the APART-USA fellowship was announced, he signed on. “It’s so niche, my research,” he says, sitting in a glass-walled pavilion on the campus, which is studded with quirky public art and bridges between buildings. It’s a common refrain among scientists: they have to go where the funding and support for their specific work is. 

    What does the U.S. stand to lose, if it is no longer a hub for science? “I think what we’re going to see now is a dispersal of scientific talent, and I think that’s costly, not just to the United States, but to the world,” says Seligsohn. “If you think about a long-term history of global development, there’s usually been a scientific hub when there are a lot of advances, whether that hub was Paris or Berlin or the United States.” As well, work from economists who study technological innovation has found that it increasingly depends on basic science. Since 1975, the percentage of new U.S. patents drawing on federally funded science has roughly tripled, to nearly a third of all patents filed.

    What the U.S. gives up, others stand to take. Fassmann says that Austria is not rescuing these scientists—it’s making a calculated attempt to redirect the flow of scientific migration.

    Since Trump took office in January 2025, nearly 8,000 research grants have been canceled or frozen, and around 25,000 federal scientists and employees of research agencies have lost their jobs, Nature has reported. The effects are still rippling through American institutions, and the long-term consequences of this upheaval remain to be seen.

    However unstable the landscape is for scientists in the U.S., there’s no guarantee of solid ground abroad, either. The world is a tumultuous place. Westfall, the American science historian, attended a recent physics meeting at CERN, one of the world’s largest institutions for scientific research. She sensed that European scientists also did not feel particularly at ease. “Everybody is feeling the insecurity about Russia and Ukraine,” she says, and there are fears that government spending in Europe might increasingly turn toward defense at the expense of funding for science.

    The picture in the U.S. continues to be uncertain and hard to read. There have been some changes since Lobinska’s stressful spring: Harvard enrolled a record number of international students in 2025, and Congress has pushed back against the budget proposed by the Administration, refusing many funding cuts to science. In the meantime, scientists continue to have to decide where they are going to take their work, each one making the call on where they think they’ll best be able to thrive.

    For chemist Yasin El Abiead, an APART-USA fellow, leaving the U.S. led to a homecoming. He grew up not far from Vienna and was educated there; he spent several years in the U.S. mainly because he, like Mascolo, wanted to work with a particular researcher. “[The U.S.] is where the money is, and that’s what brings more people there,” he says on a cold morning in January in his new lab. “That’s how it rolls. And if that ever turns around…I don’t know.” He sighs.

    Finally he puts words to what’s on his mind. “All the greatest researchers used to be in Germany,” he says, and in other parts of Europe. “You can still see many of these old buildings in Vienna…Austria was huge in science.” At the University of Vienna, in the chemistry department, there still stands a lecture hall that looks just as it did when Einstein was photographed attending a lecture there, not all that long before Nazis took over the country.

    The U.S. is where people go to do science, for the moment. “But things change,” El Abiead says. “Let’s see what happens.”

    [ad_2]

    Veronique Greenwood

    Source link

  • Indian Health Service to Phase Out Use of Dental Fillings Containing Mercury by 2027

    [ad_1]

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The federal agency that provides health care to Native Americans and Alaska Natives has announced it will phase out the use of dental fillings containing mercury.

    The Indian Health Service has used fillings, known as dental amalgams, that contain elemental mercury to treat decayed and otherwise damaged teeth for decades. Native American rights and industry advocates have called for an end to the practice, arguing it exposes patients who may not have access to private dentistry to a harmful neurotoxin.

    The use of mercury-containing amalgams, also known as “silver fillings” due to their appearance, has declined sharply since 2009 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reclassified the devices from low to moderate risk. The industry has largely abandoned them in favor of plastic resin alternatives, which are also preferred for aesthetic reasons.

    The Indian Health Service says it will fully implement the move to mercury-free alternatives by 2027. Already, the percentage of the Indian Health Service’s roughly 2.8 million patient user population receiving them has declined from 12% in 2005 to 2% in 2023, the latest year of available data, agency documents show.

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees IHS, said growing environmental and health concerns about mercury exposure, and global efforts to reduce materials containing the hazardous heavy metal prompted the change announced this month.

    “This is a commonsense step that protects patients and prevents harm before it starts,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in a statement.

    The agency’s switch to mercury-free alternatives also upholds legal responsibilities the U.S. government has to the 575 federally recognized tribes, he said.

    According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, dental amalgam fillings can release small amounts of mercury vapor during placement, removal, teeth grinding and gum chewing. It recommends that certain people at high risk for adverse effects of mercury exposure, including pregnant women, children under 6, and those with existing neurological conditions avoid the fillings. But the administration, along with the American Dental Association, says available evidence does not link mercury-containing fillings to long-term negative health outcomes.

    The World Health Organization has created a plan to encourage countries around the world to phase out the use of dental amalgams, citing potential for mercury exposure. In 2013 several countries, including the U.S., signed onto the Minamata Convention, a global agreement targeting the adverse health and the environment effects of mercury. In November, signatories to the convention agreed to phase out the use of mercury-containing dental amalgams by the year 2034.

    While Kennedy’s decision to stop its use within the IHS by 2027 puts the U.S. ahead of the global schedule, the country is still behind many other developed nations that have already banned the practice.

    “The rest of the world is light years ahead of us,” said Rochelle Diver, the U.N. environmental treaties coordinator for the International Indian Treaty Council, adding that IHS patients should not receive treatment that is considered antiquated by many dentists.

    In a statement, the American Dental Association acknowledged declining use of mercury-containing fillings, but said they remain a “safe, durable and affordable material.”

    The use of mercury in other medical devices, including thermometers and blood pressure devices, has also declined sharply in recent decades. While mercury-containing amalgams have fallen out of favor in the U.S. private dental sector, patients relying on government services may not have a say, according to Charles G. Brown, president of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.

    Many state-administered Medicaid programs continue to cover mercury-containing fillings as a treatment for tooth decay, Brown said.

    “If you’re on Medicaid, if you are stuck in the Indian Health Service, if you were stuck in a prison or other institution, you just don’t have any choice,” Brown said.

    Brewer reported from Oklahoma City.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Feb. 2026

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Scientists warn of dangerous chemicals in hair extensions

    [ad_1]

    Hair extensions contain many more dangerous chemicals than previously thought, new research has found after identifying dozens of hazardous substances in popular products—including those made from human hair.

    The findings add to growing concern about a largely unregulated category of beauty products that are widely used and disproportionately affect Black women.

    The new study by the Silent Spring Institute, a Massachusetts-based organization that researches cancer prevention, found that nearly all hair extensions tested contained chemicals linked to serious health risks, including cancer, hormone disruption, developmental problems, birth defects and immune system effects.

    More than 70 percent of Black women report wearing hair extensions at least once in the past year, compared with “less than 10 percent” of women from other racial and ethnic groups. Researchers note that this disparity in use means potential health risks fall unevenly on one part of the population.

    The research was led by Dr. Elissia Franklin, who examined 43 popular hair extension products purchased online and from beauty supply stores. The products were categorized by fiber type—including synthetic extensions, which are mostly plastic polymers, and bio-based extensions made from materials such as human hair, banana fiber or silk.

    Of the synthetic samples tested, 19 claimed to be flame retardant, three were labeled water resistant, nine heat resistant and three were marketed as “non-toxic.” Despite these labels, researchers found hazardous chemicals in nearly all products.

    To analyze the extensions, the team used a technique known as non-targeted analysis, which screens for a wide range of chemicals. Using two-dimensional gas chromatography paired with high-resolution mass spectrometry, the researchers detected more than 900 chemical signatures across the samples. These included unknown substances.

    Machine-learning software was then used to compare those signatures with an existing chemical library. Through that process, the researchers identified 169 individual chemicals spanning nine known structural classes.

    Dr. Hazal Jafari, a board-certified dermatology specialist with over 20 years of experience in clinical and aesthetic dermatology told Newsweek that the study’s results do not surprise her.

    “In dermatology we have long known that hair products, dyes, relaxers and adhesives in extensions can cause irritation, allergic contact dermatitis often on the scalp, behind the ears and around the hairline,” she said.

    “What is new here is the extent of the testing and the number of chemical compounds detected. People often think that hair extensions are ‘just hair,’ but many are subjected to a variety of coatings, preservatives, dyes, fragrances, and chemical finishes during the manufacturing process and because they’re often worn continuously for extended periods of time, they can result in prolonged skin contact with the attendant risk of inflammation.

    “In terms of toxicity, it was not really on the mind of most consumers, but for the dermatologists, we’ve always known that the scalp is an area that absorbs and responds in the same way as any other skin area.”

    The analysis revealed dozens of substances associated with serious health risks.

    These included flame retardants, phthalates, pesticides, styrene, tetrachloroethane and organotins. Many of these chemicals have been linked to increased risks of cancer, hormone disruption, developmental harm and effects on the immune system.

    All but two of the 43 products contained hazardous chemicals. The only samples without detected hazardous substances were two of the three labeled as “non-toxic.”

    In total, an alarming 48 of the identified chemicals appear on major hazard lists.

    Twelve are listed under California’s Proposition 65, which flags chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm. The researchers also found 17 chemicals associated with breast cancer across 36 samples, including compounds known to alter hormones in ways that increase cancer risk.

    “These findings make clear that stronger oversight is urgently needed to protect consumers and push companies to invest in making safer products,” Franklin said in a statement. “This is an industry that has long overlooked the health of Black women, who should not have to choose between cultural expression, convenience, and their health.”

    Jafari added: “To women who want to continue their use of these hair extensions, steer clear of anything that smells strongly of chemicals, try not to use any kind of adhesive or glue on your scalp, and be particularly aware if you experience itching, fiery sensations, scaling, or thinning at the hairline. should you experience inflammation on the scalp, it is therefore a good idea to take out these hair extensions. Consumers should look for reputable brands that have more transparency in their ingredients and safety testing, but the truth of the matter is that many beauty products are not regulated as strictly as people think.”

    But it looks like change is happening. New York recently introduced legislation that requires manufacturers of synthetic braids and hair extensions to disclose all ingredients used.

    In New Jersey, a bill that bans harmful chemicals from synthetic hair products is advancing through the legislature.

    Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about chemicals in beauty products? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

    Reference

    Franklin, E. T., Favela, K., Spies, R., Ranger, J. M., & Rudel, R. A. (2026). Identifying Chemicals of Health Concern in Hair Extensions Using Suspect Screening and Nontargeted Analysis. Environment & Health. https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.5c00549

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Scientific studies calculate climate change as health danger

    [ad_1]

    The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that climate change is a danger to public health, an idea that President Donald Trump called “a scam.” But repeated scientific studies say it’s a documented and quantifiable harm.

    Again and again, research has found increasing disease and deaths — thousands every year — in a warming world.

    The Environmental Protection Agency finding in 2009, under the Obama administration, has been the legal underpinning of nearly all regulations fighting global warming.

    “It boggles the mind that the administration is rescinding the endangerment finding; it’s akin to insisting that the world is flat or denying that gravity is a thing,” said Dr. Howard Frumkin, a physician and professor emeritus of public health at the University of Washington.

    Thousands of scientific studies have looked at climate change and its effects on human health in the past five years and they predominantly show climate change is increasingly dangerous to people.

    Many conclude that in the United States, thousands of people have died and even more were sickened because of climate change in the past few decades.

    For example, a study on “Trends in heat-related deaths in the U.S., 1999-2023 ” in the prestigious JAMA journal shows the yearly heat-related death count and rate have more than doubled in the past quarter century from 1,069 in 1999 to a record high 2,325 in 2023.

    A 2021 study in Nature Climate Change looked at 732 locations in 43 countries — including 210 in the United States — and determined that more than a third of heat deaths are due to human-caused climate change. That means more than 9,700 global deaths a year attributed to warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

    A new study published this week found that 2.2% of summer deaths in Texas from 2010 to 2023 were heat related “as climate change brings more frequent and intense heat to Texas.”

    In the more than 15 years, since the government first determined climate change to be a public health danger, there have been more than 29,000 peer-reviewed studies that looked at the intersection of climate and health, with more than 5,000 looking specifically at the United States, according to the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed research database.

    More than 60% of those studies have been published in the past five years.

    “Study after study documents that climate change endangers health, for one simple reason: It’s true,” said Frumkin, a former director of the National Center for Environmental Health appointed by President George W. Bush.

    In a Thursday event at the White House, Trump disagreed, saying: “It has nothing to do with public health. This is all a scam, a giant scam.”

    Experts strongly disagree.

    “Health risks are increasing because human-cause climate change is already upon us. Take the 2021 heat dome for example, that killed (more than) 600 people in the Northwest,” said Dr. Jonathan Patz, a physician who directs the Center for Health, Energy and Environmental Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The new climate attribution studies show that event was made 150-fold more likely due to climate change.”

    Patz and Frumkin both said the “vast majority” of peer-reviewed studies show health harms from climate change. Peer-reviewed studies are considered the gold standard of science because other experts pore over the data, evidence and methods, requiring changes, questioning techniques and conclusions.

    The various studies look at different parts of health. Some looked at deaths that wouldn’t have happened without climate change. Others looked at illnesses and injuries that didn’t kill people. Because researchers used different time periods, calculation methods and specific aspects of health, the final numbers of their conclusions don’t completely match.

    Studies also examined disparities among different peoples and locations. A growing field in the research are attribution studies that calculate what proportion of deaths or illness can be blamed on human-caused climate change by comparing real-world mortality and illness to what computer simulations show would happen in a world without a spike in greenhouse gases.

    Last year an international team of researchers looked at past studies to try to come up with a yearly health cost of climate change.

    While many studies just look at heat deaths, this team tried to bring in a variety of types of climate change deaths — heat waves, extreme weather disasters such as 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, wildfires, air pollution, diseases spread by mosquitos such as malaria — and found hundreds of thousands of climate change deaths globally.

    They then used the EPA’s own statistic that puts a dollar value on human life — $11.5 million in 2014 dollars — and calculated a global annual cost “on the order of at least $10 billion.”

    Studies also connect climate change to waterborne infections that cause diarrhea, mental health issues and even nutrition problems, Frumkin said.

    “Public health is not only about prevention of diseases, death and disability but also well-being. We are increasingly seeing people displaced by rising seas, intensifying storms and fires,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman, a physician and dean emeritus at the George Washington University School of Public Health.

    “We have only begun to understand the full consequences of a changing climate in terms of health.”

    The issue gets complicated when cold-related deaths are factored in. Those deaths are decreasing, yet in the United States there are still 13 times more deaths from cold exposure than heat exposure, studies show.

    Another study concludes that until the world warms another 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius) from now, the number of temperature-related deaths won’t change much “due to offsetting decreases in cold-related mortality and increases in heat-related deaths.”

    But that study said that after temperatures rise beyond that threshold, and if society doesn’t adapt to the increased heat, “total mortality rises rapidly.”

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • RFK Jr. Pledged More Transparency. Here’s What the Public Doesn’t Know Anymore

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK (AP) — A year ago, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he wanted to rebuild trust in federal health agencies, and vowed to employ “radical transparency” to do it.

    But many types of health information that steadily flowed from the government for years or decades has been delayed, deleted and in some cases stopped all together.

    The collection and sharing of information was hurt by sweeping layoffs at federal agencies and the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Officials took down health agency websites to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump, causing outside researchers to archive federal health datasets and leading to a lawsuit that ended with a judge ordering the websites’ restoration.

    Ariel Beccia, a researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said changes in the flow of federal health information have made her angry.

    “We pay taxes to hopefully have good, inclusive public health practice and data,” said Beccia, who focuses on the health of LGBTQ youth. “The past year it felt like every single day, something that I and my colleagues use daily in our work has just been taken away” by federal officials.

    Asked about now-unavailable data and information, a spokesman for Kennedy said the premise of The Associated Press’ inquiry was flawed and relied on selective and inaccurate characterizations.

    “Secretary Kennedy is leading the most transparent HHS in history, with unprecedented disclosure and openness aimed at restoring public trust in federal health agencies,” said the spokesman, Andrew Nixon.

    He pointed to an HHS webpage on the agency’s transparency efforts, which includes a list of canceled government contracts and the repackaging of previously available information — including a U.S. Food and Drug Administration “chemical contaminants transparency tool.”

    Here are some examples of how less information is coming out of federal public health agencies than in past administrations.

    The Project 2025 blueprint that’s been influential to the Trump administration called for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to enhance its data collection of U.S. abortions, but the agency failed to post its annual abortion surveillance report in November. (Nixon said it will come out this spring.)

    HHS officials blamed the delay on the CDC’s former chief medical officer, Dr. Debra Houry, saying she directed staff to return state-submitted abortion data rather than analyze it. But Houry — who resigned months before the report was slated to come out — said that claim was false. She says the report was derailed because of HHS cutbacks to the funding and staff needed to get it done.

    Fighting the nation’s overdose epidemic has long been a priority for both Republicans and Democrats. And the federal government has continued to collect and report on death certificate-based information on drug deaths.

    But the Trump administration curtailed other kinds of overdose work, including shutting down the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which tracked emergency department visits — an early alert about drug-use trends. It was discontinued “as part of a broader effort to align agency activities with agency and administration priorities,” officials posted.

    Nixon said past DAWN data will remain available. But some experts say that’s not enough, and recently likened the termination of DAWN and other recent changes to spreading cracks in a windshield that makes it harder to see what’s ahead in the epidemic.

    Smoking has long been known as the nation’s leading preventable cause of death. The federal government for decades has not only monitored what percentage of people use cigarettes and other tobacco products, but also run successful public education campaigns like the FDA’s “Real Cost” and the CDC’s “Tips from Former Smokers.”

    Those campaigns were ended last year, although Nixon said the FDA campaign will return.

    Meanwhile, layoffs to CDC staff who worked on smoking meant an important survey on youth smoking and vaping — normally out in the fall — was never released. Those layoffs also put a stop to work on a report on smoking for the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General.

    For three decades, federal health officials tracked food poisoning infections caused by eight germs. In July, the Trump administration scaled back required reporting to just two pathogens monitored by the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, known as FoodNet.

    Under the change, health departments in 10 states that participate in the joint state and federal program only monitor infections caused by salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. Tracking is optional for infections caused by campylobacter, cyclospora, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia.

    CDC officials said the change would allow the agency to “steward resources effectively.” Food safety experts said the move undercuts the nation’s ability to accurately monitor risks in the U.S. food supply.

    Even before Kennedy was confirmed, President Donald Trump signed executive orders to roll back protections for transgender people and terminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

    That caused the CDC to remove from its website a range of information about HIV and transgender people. The government also stopped collecting and reporting crucial survey findings on transgender students — data that has shown higher rates of depression, drug use, bullying and other problems.

    That data is used to help fund and focus suicide-prevention programs and other efforts. And this is all happening as the federal and some state governments try to discourage gender-affirming care, ban transgender youth from sports and dictate which bathrooms they can use, Beccia said.

    “Without the data, we can’t systematically show the harm that’s being done” by these policies, Beccia said.

    Nixon said the data collection and reporting now aligns with agency priorities.

    Before he was health secretary, Kennedy was a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement and repeatedly accused federal health advisers of conflicts of interest that aligned them with vaccine-makers. In June, he dismissed the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and named his own replacements.

    A federal official said the government would release ethics forms for the new members. But it didn’t.

    Meanwhile, a CDC website that compiles disclosures by past and current ACIP members has more than 200 entries of former panel members, but information on only one Kennedy appointee. Among those missing from that list are Martin Kulldorff, the initial chair of Kennedy’s reconstituted committee, who had been paid to be an expert witness in legal cases against the vaccine-maker Merck. Another is current member Dr. Robert Malone, who also was paid as an expert witness in vaccine litigation.

    AP Health Writer JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report.

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Feb. 2026

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Additional case of measles exposure reported at Disneyland, health officials say

    [ad_1]

    Orange County health officials are warning of another possible measles exposure after a confirmed case visited Disneyland last month.

    The OC Health Care Agency on Saturday said an individual who was infectious with measles visited Disneyland Park on Thursday, Jan. 22 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Disney California Adventure Park from 3 p.m. until closing.

    Anyone who was at those locations during the listed times may be at risk of developing measles symptoms between seven and 21 days after exposure, officials said.

    The warning follows a measles exposure notice issued last week involving an international traveler who passed through Los Angeles International Airport and later visited Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

    Health officials urged people who are not fully vaccinated or who are unsure of their immunity status to contact a healthcare provider about receiving the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

    “There are populations who cannot receive the measles vaccine — whether due to age, health conditions or allergies,” said Dr. Anissa Davis, Orange County’s deputy health officer. “Those individuals may face significantly higher health risks when exposed to the virus.”

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 733 measles cases have been confirmed across 20 states nationwide this years as of Feb. 5.

    Symptoms typically include fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by a rash that begins on the face and spreads to the body, the agency said.

    Health officials advised anyone who develops symptoms to stay home and call a medical provider before seeking care to avoid exposing others.

    [ad_2]

    Sydney Barragan

    Source link

  • Fear among Minnesota’s Somali community compounds a public health woe: Low measles vaccination rates

    [ad_1]

    MINNEAPOLIS — Public health officials and community leaders say that even before federal immigration authorities launched a crackdown in Minneapolis, a crisis was brewing.

    Measles vaccination rates among the state’s large Somali community had plummeted, with the myth that the shot causes autism spreading. Not even four measles outbreaks since 2011 made a dent in the trend. But recently, immunization advocates noted small victories, including mobile clinics and a vaccine confidence task force.

    Now, with the U.S. on the verge of losing its measles elimination status, those on the front lines of the battle against vaccine misinformation say much progress has been lost. Many residents fear leaving home at all, let alone seeking medical advice or visiting a doctor’s office.

    “People are worried about survival,” said nurse practitioner Munira Maalimisaq, CEO of the Inspire Change Clinic, near a Minneapolis neighborhood where many Somalis live. “Vaccines are the last thing on people’s minds. But it is a big issue.”

    A discussion group for Somali mothers at Inspire Change has shifted online indefinitely. In community WhatsApp groups and other channels, parents have more pressing priorities: Who will care for kids when they can’t go to school? How can we safely get groceries and prescriptions?

    In 2006, 92% of Somali 2-year-olds were up-to-date on the measles vaccine, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Today’s rate is closer to 24%, according to state data. A 95% rate is needed to prevent outbreaks of measles, an extremely contagious disease.

    Community vaccination efforts go through cycles, Maalimisaq said, with initiatives starting and stopping.

    Imam Yusuf Abdulle said immigration enforcement has put everything on hold.

    “People are stuck in their homes, cannot go to work,” he said. “It is madness. And the last thing to think about is talking about autism, talking about childhood vaccination. Adults cannot get out of the house, forget about kids.”

    Estimated autism rates in Somali 4-year-olds are 3.5 times higher than those of white 4-year-olds in Minnesota, according to University of Minnesota data. Researchers say they don’t know why. And in this vacuum of scientific certainty, inaccurate beliefs thrive.

    Many blame the measles, mumps and rubella shot — a single injection proven to safely protect against the three viruses, with the first dose recommended when children are 12 to 15 months old.

    In November, at one of Maalimisaq’s last Motherhood Circle gatherings, Somali mothers and grandmothers volleyed questions at facilitators. Won’t a shot for three viruses overwhelm a baby? Why does autism seem more prevalent here than back home?

    Vaccines are tested for safety, Maalimisaq and her panel explained. Delaying a shot is risky, they warned, because of what measles — which is seeing its highest spread in the country in more than three decades — can do.

    Local health officials have long followed best practices: enlisting community members to champion vaccines, hosting mobile clinics and uplifting the work of Somali health providers like Maalimisaq.

    But initiatives have been start-and-stop. Federal funding cuts affected efforts, and public health officials admit their outreach could be more consistent and comprehensive.

    Most parents here vaccinate their children eventually. Many Somali families prefer to wait until a child is 5, despite a lack of evidence that doing so cuts autism rates. Measles is endemic in Somalia, where war and international aid cuts have crippled the medical system, and elsewhere in East Africa where residents here often travel.

    “Measles is just a plane ride away, and measles is going to find the unvaccinated,” said Carly Edson, the state health department’s immunization outreach coordinator. “We are always at risk.”

    About 84,000 Somalis live in the Twin Cities area, of 260,000 nationwide. The community is the country’s largest, and most are U.S. citizens. Before the immigration crackdown, mosques and malls buzzed, with people gathering during evenings to sip chai or have henna drawn on their hands.

    Now, many in the community want to lie low. People are afraid to seek routine medical care. Without those touchpoints, trust quickly erodes, Maalimisaq said.

    Among the last cohort of Somali moms at the clinic, 83% had vaccinated their kids by the end of the 12-month program, she said. Some were making 10-second videos explaining why they vaccinated. But efforts have paused.

    Parents here have long dealt with racism and isolation, though they’ve built a strong community. They want answers for the autism rates, but science has no simple answers for what causes the lifelong neurological condition, said Mahdi Warsama, the Somali Parents Autism Network’s CEO.

    Warsama said Trump’s unproven claims last fall that taking Tylenol during pregnancy could cause autism sparked fears and questions here. The idea that the MMR shot should be split into three vaccines — one backed, with no scientific basis, by acting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jim O’Neill, though no standalone shots are available in the U.S. — has spread, too.

    Warsama traces the issue back more than a decade, when discredited researcher Andrew Wakefield published his study — since retracted — claiming a link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Wakefield visited with Twin Cities Somalis in 2011.

    “The misinformers will always fill the void,” Warsama said.

    Parents want to be heard, not debated — that’s why short doctor appointments don’t work, said Fatuma Sharif-Mohamed, a Somali community health educator.

    “That 15 minutes will not change the mind of a parent,” she said.

    Some doctors are pushing beyond the exam room — work they describe as slow and taxing. Changing one family’s mind can take multiple visits, even years.

    Dr. Bryan Fate, leader of a Children’s Minnesota vaccine confidence committee, said new strategies are underway, including social media videos from doctors and possibly a prenatal classes for expectant parents.

    “I’m going to call you in five days,” Fate said he tells hesitant parents, “and there’ll be no changes to this speech.”

    Overall, Minnesota’s kindergarten MMR vaccination rate has dropped more than 6 percentage points in the past five years, compared with a 2-point drop nationwide.

    State data suggests the effort to catch kids up may be effective: While less than 1 in 4 Somali kids in Minnesota is vaccinated against measles by age 2, 86% get at least one dose by age 6 — just short of the statewide rate, 89%.

    Doctors worry in particular about unprotected young children, for whom severe complications — pneumonia, brain swelling and blindness — are more common.

    Imam Abdulle said when parents ask him about the vaccine, he tells his own story. He wasn’t opposed to it but decided to err on the side of waiting. His son was diagnosed with autism at age 3, Abdulle said, and later was vaccinated.

    Correlation, he reminds parents, is not causation.

    The community doesn’t want to be painted as a source of disease, Abdulle said. But after outbreaks in 2011, 2017, 2022 and 2024, there’s also open acknowledgment that measles isn’t going away.

    “Our kids are the ones who are getting sick,” Abdulle said. “Our community is suffering.”

    Last year, Minnesota logged 26 measles cases. The state health department said the cases were across several different communities with pockets of unvaccinated people.

    In Maalimisaq’s Motherhood Circles, the most effective words often come not from doctors but fellow parents, such as Mirad Farah. Farah’s daughter was born premature. She worried the MMR shot would be too much and delayed vaccination. Her daughter still developed autism.

    “So what did that tell me?” she asked the room. “It confirmed that autism is not from the MMR.”

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Fear Among Minnesota’s Somali Community Compounds a Public Health Woe: Low Measles Vaccination Rates

    [ad_1]

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Public health officials and community leaders say that even before federal immigration authorities launched a crackdown in Minneapolis, a crisis was brewing.

    Measles vaccination rates among the state’s large Somali community had plummeted, with the myth that the shot causes autism spreading. Not even four measles outbreaks since 2011 made a dent in the trend. But recently, immunization advocates noted small victories, including mobile clinics and a vaccine confidence task force.

    “People are worried about survival,” said nurse practitioner Munira Maalimisaq, CEO of the Inspire Change Clinic, near a Minneapolis neighborhood where many Somalis live. “Vaccines are the last thing on people’s minds. But it is a big issue.”

    A discussion group for Somali mothers at Inspire Change has shifted online indefinitely. In community WhatsApp groups and other channels, parents have more pressing priorities: Who will care for kids when they can’t go to school? How can we safely get groceries and prescriptions?

    In 2006, 92% of Somali 2-year-olds were up-to-date on the measles vaccine, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Today’s rate is closer to 24%, according to state data. A 95% rate is needed to prevent outbreaks of measles, an extremely contagious disease.

    Community vaccination efforts go through cycles, Maalimisaq said, with initiatives starting and stopping.

    Imam Yusuf Abdulle said immigration enforcement has put everything on hold.

    “People are stuck in their homes, cannot go to work,” he said. “It is madness. And the last thing to think about is talking about autism, talking about childhood vaccination. Adults cannot get out of the house, forget about kids.”


    Vaccine misinformation has long thrived in Minnesota’s Somali community

    Estimated autism rates in Somali 4-year-olds are 3.5 times higher than those of white 4-year-olds in Minnesota, according to University of Minnesota data. Researchers say they don’t know why. And in this vacuum of scientific certainty, inaccurate beliefs thrive.

    Many blame the measles, mumps and rubella shot — a single injection proven to safely protect against the three viruses, with the first dose recommended when children are 12 to 15 months old.

    In November, at one of Maalimisaq’s last Motherhood Circle gatherings, Somali mothers and grandmothers volleyed questions at facilitators. Won’t a shot for three viruses overwhelm a baby? Why does autism seem more prevalent here than back home?

    Vaccines are tested for safety, Maalimisaq and her panel explained. Delaying a shot is risky, they warned, because of what measles — which is seeing its highest spread in the country in more than three decades — can do.

    Local health officials have long followed best practices: enlisting community members to champion vaccines, hosting mobile clinics and uplifting the work of Somali health providers like Maalimisaq.

    But initiatives have been start-and-stop. Federal funding cuts affected efforts, and public health officials admit their outreach could be more consistent and comprehensive.

    Most parents here vaccinate their children eventually. Many Somali families prefer to wait until a child is 5, despite a lack of evidence that doing so cuts autism rates. Measles is endemic in Somalia, where war and international aid cuts have crippled the medical system, and elsewhere in East Africa where residents here often travel.

    “Measles is just a plane ride away, and measles is going to find the unvaccinated,” said Carly Edson, the state health department’s immunization outreach coordinator. “We are always at risk.”


    Trust with patients and parents has eroded

    About 84,000 Somalis live in the Twin Cities area, of 260,000 nationwide. The community is the country’s largest, and most are U.S. citizens. Before the immigration crackdown, mosques and malls buzzed, with people gathering during evenings to sip chai or have henna drawn on their hands.

    Now, many in the community want to lie low. People are afraid to seek routine medical care. Without those touchpoints, trust quickly erodes, Maalimisaq said.

    Among the last cohort of Somali moms at the clinic, 83% had vaccinated their kids by the end of the 12-month program, she said. Some were making 10-second videos explaining why they vaccinated. But efforts have paused.

    Parents here have long dealt with racism and isolation, though they’ve built a strong community. They want answers for the autism rates, but science has no simple answers for what causes the lifelong neurological condition, said Mahdi Warsama, the Somali Parents Autism Network’s CEO.

    Warsama said Trump’s unproven claims last fall that taking Tylenol during pregnancy could cause autism sparked fears and questions here. The idea that the MMR shot should be split into three vaccines — one backed, with no scientific basis, by acting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jim O’Neill, though no standalone shots are available in the U.S. — has spread, too.

    “The misinformers will always fill the void,” Warsama said.


    Doctors try new strategies to reach parents

    Parents want to be heard, not debated — that’s why short doctor appointments don’t work, said Fatuma Sharif-Mohamed, a Somali community health educator.

    “That 15 minutes will not change the mind of a parent,” she said.

    Some doctors are pushing beyond the exam room — work they describe as slow and taxing. Changing one family’s mind can take multiple visits, even years.

    Dr. Bryan Fate, leader of a Children’s Minnesota vaccine confidence committee, said new strategies are underway, including social media videos from doctors and possibly a prenatal classes for expectant parents.

    “I’m going to call you in five days,” Fate said he tells hesitant parents, “and there’ll be no changes to this speech.”

    Overall, Minnesota’s kindergarten MMR vaccination rate has dropped more than 6 percentage points in the past five years, compared with a 2-point drop nationwide.

    State data suggests the effort to catch kids up may be effective: While less than 1 in 4 Somali kids in Minnesota is vaccinated against measles by age 2, 86% get at least one dose by age 6 — just short of the statewide rate, 89%.

    Doctors worry in particular about unprotected young children, for whom severe complications — pneumonia, brain swelling and blindness — are more common.


    ‘Our community is suffering’

    Imam Abdulle said when parents ask him about the vaccine, he tells his own story. He wasn’t opposed to it but decided to err on the side of waiting. His son was diagnosed with autism at age 3, Abdulle said, and later was vaccinated.

    Correlation, he reminds parents, is not causation.

    The community doesn’t want to be painted as a source of disease, Abdulle said. But after outbreaks in 2011, 2017, 2022 and 2024, there’s also open acknowledgment that measles isn’t going away.

    “Our kids are the ones who are getting sick,” Abdulle said. “Our community is suffering.”

    Last year, Minnesota logged 26 measles cases. The state health department said the cases were across several different communities with pockets of unvaccinated people.

    In Maalimisaq’s Motherhood Circles, the most effective words often come not from doctors but fellow parents, such as Mirad Farah. Farah’s daughter was born premature. She worried the MMR shot would be too much and delayed vaccination. Her daughter still developed autism.

    “So what did that tell me?” she asked the room. “It confirmed that autism is not from the MMR.”

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Cold winter, pending budget cuts raise concerns for LI homelessness | Long Island Business News

    [ad_1]

    On a bitter cold Tuesday, Northwell ‘s Street Medicine team and members of the (LICH), headquartered in Amityville, participated in a count of the homeless in the region for the “Point-In-Time Count.”

    This effort is part of a nationwide tally that is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is led locally by LICH, which partners with nonprofits to help stamp out homelessness through access to housing and other assistance.

    On any given night, there are about 400 people who are homeless and living on the streets of Long Island, experts say.

    But this year, they warn, the region may see a crisis in the face of single-digit temperatures ahead of pending federal budget cuts. The number of homeless people on Long Island could jump by as much as 50 percent or even more, said Mike Giuffrida, LICH’s associate director.

    Programs, he said in a news release about homelessness on Long Island, “are starting to close in the dead of winter – that’s a death sentence for people forced onto the streets.”

    Since 2018, LICH has placed 240 Long Islanders from the streets to supportive housing.  Now, Giuffirda said, these Long Islanders could soon face eviction because of pending federal cuts. “This is more than a policy shift,” he said in a news release. “ aside, there’s a level of cruelty here.”

    As many as 10,000 people a year experience homelessness, according to the news release. Rising costs and a shortage of housing all play a role. And those experiencing homelessness also face disparities such as chronic illness, mental health issues and substance abuse disorders. Suffolk County is facing a particular crisis: About 30 percent of its homeless single adults are unsheltered, compared with 5 percent in New York City, according to LICH.

    The Northwell team began going into the field about two years ago, offering wellness visits for homeless Long Islanders, and when needed, writing prescriptions and referring them to specialists. The team helps patients access health insurance, which many already qualify for, including Medicaid and Medicare, according to the news release. The team also has helped 16 clients obtain housing.

    “Housing is health,” Dr. Debbie Salas-Lopez, executive vice president of the Institute for Community Health and Wellness at Northwell, said in the news release.

    “Our Street Medicine program is a direct manifestation of Northwell’s mission to extend care beyond hospital walls and meet our most vulnerable neighbors where they are, understanding that physical well-being is inextricably linked to stable living conditions,” she added.

    “This Point-In-Time Count highlights the urgent need to address homelessness as a critical public health crisis, especially with impending federal cuts threatening to compound an already dire situation for thousands of Long Islanders.”


    [ad_2]

    Adina Genn

    Source link

  • Measles Confirmed In Clark Co. Adult – KXL

    [ad_1]

    Vancouver, Wash. – Public health officials in southwest Washington are investigating a confirmed case of measles in Clark County. They say the adult’s vaccination status is unverified; they recently traveled to an area experiencing a measles outbreak.

    The person was reportedly at Ridgefield High School while contagious, on January 14, 15 and 16. “People who were at Ridgefield High School those days and who have not been vaccinated against measles or have not had measles in the past are at risk for getting sick,” says Clark County Public Health. No other locations have been identified as potential exposure sites.

    The case follows three confirmed cases of measles in Oregon since the first of the year; two in Linn County and one in Clackamas County. A substantial outbreak of the disease is also underway in the southwestern U.S.

    “Measles is a disease we should be worried about. It can be a very bad disease,” says Kaiser Permanente Pediatrician Dr. Lisa Denike, “If your children are not vaccinated, I think you should be worried. If your children are vaccinated, the risk is much, much lower that your child could become infected if they’re exposed to a person with measles.”

    Initial symptoms include runny nose and fever, then a rash, fatigue and body aches. “The kids are quite miserable,” says Dr. Denike. “Risks of dehydration and secondary infections; we know the measles virus actually can suppress our immune systems. So, being infected with measles puts you at risk for contracting other illnesses.” She notes a patient can be infected and contagious as many as four days before symptoms emerge.

    Dr. Denike admits measles is still rare, despite the increase in recent years. She has only seen a couple of cases in her long career. “I will never forget those kids,” she tells KXL News, “Those were some of the sickest kids I’ve ever taken care of, and that really drove home to me the reason that we need to prevent measles infections. It’s not just a rash and a runny nose for two days.” She says vaccination is still the most effective way to prevent contracting and spreading the disease.

    If you think your family has been exposed, Dr. Denike says it’s important to contact your doctor, “I would suggest a virtual visit. Measles is incredibly contagious. It’s the most contagious disease there is. It can float in the air, it can be on surfaces for hours after an infected person has been in a specific location, which is why we worry when we start having these cases and we worry about exposures and tracking them.”

    More about:

    [ad_2]

    Heather Roberts

    Source link

  • The U.S. Has Pulled Out of the WHO. Here’s What That Means for Public Health

    [ad_1]

    The U.S. was one of the first countries to join the World Health Organization (WHO) when it was created in 1948 as part of the United Nations. But on Jan. 22, 2026, it officially withdrew from the global health group.

    The U.S. has historically been the largest funder to the WHO, through both its assessed and voluntary contributions, so the departure is poised to disrupt both global and domestic health. “This is one of the most penny-wise and billion-dollar-foolish moves,” says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

    Here’s what to know.

    Is the U.S. officially out of the WHO?

    The WHO’s charter does not contain a clause allowing member states to withdraw. But in agreeing to join decades ago, the U.S. Congress included an option to leave the organization as long as the U.S. gave a year’s notice and met its financial obligations by paying its dues in full.

    The first condition appears to have been met: A year ago, President Donald Trump gave notice that the U.S. would withdraw. But the U.S. has not paid its outstanding dues—including from the final year of the Biden Administration.

    The WHO’s principal legal officer Steven Solomon said during a press briefing on Jan. 13 that the matter will be discussed by the organization’s executive board, which is scheduled to meet in February, and those talks could extend to the General Assembly that meets in May. “We look forward to member states discussing this,” he said. “Because these questions of withdrawal—questions of the conditions, the promise, and agreement reached between the U.S. and World Health Assembly [of the WHO]—these are issues reserved for member states, and not issues WHO staff can decide.”

    Will the U.S. be prevented from working with the WHO?

    Dr. Tedros Ghebreysus, WHO Director-General, has said he is open to accepting the U.S. back as a member and hopes it will reconsider the decision to withdraw.

    “WHO has signaled—very intentionally, I think—that they want to continue to work with the U.S.,” says Dr. Judd Walson, chair of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “The flag of the United States continues to fly outside the WHO building [in Geneva], and that’s not a mistake. It’s a very intentional signal that they welcome us to re-engage.”

    Read More: Bill Gates: I’m Still Optimistic About Global Health

    Osterholm says researchers will likely continue to stay in touch with their global-health colleagues, but on an individual level that lacks the coordination and clout of federal-level participation. The yearly update of the flu vaccine is a good example. “The flu world has always been very close globally,” he says. “I am quite convinced that there will be unofficial information-sharing among this group. The question is, at what point does that information have to be official in order for companies to take action deciding which vaccine strains they are going to use?”

    Walson sits on a few WHO committees and says he asked his colleagues there whether the U.S. decision changed his ability to participate. “They said absolutely not—that as a U.S. citizen, I still have the capacity to participate in the workings of the WHO. And there are scientists and technical experts engaging to continue to maintain our access [to the WHO] at the individual level. Clearly we have lost the coordination of all of these activities, but we will still have some engagement.”

    Solomon echoed that intention. “While there is an open question when and how withdrawal happens, there is not an open question about what the constitution says about WHO’s overall mission. The constitution sets out the objective for the organization, of health for all people, wherever they live and without discrimination.”

    What will change now that the U.S. is no longer a member of the WHO?

    One of the first things that could change for U.S. scientists is their access to databases that are important for monitoring infectious diseases like influenza, as well as emerging threats that could affect the health of Americans, such as COVID. While many of these data sources are public, and U.S. scientists will continue to access them, they might not have as much insight into how the raw data were collected and processed, says Walson. That could be important for understanding how to interpret the information and for getting a head start on potentially dangerous outbreaks of new infectious diseases. 

    One major dataset involves tracking influenza strains as they emerge around the world—an important tool for determining which strains of the virus are dominating in a particular year, and therefore which strains vaccine makers should target in the annual flu shot. The WHO makes public recommendations each year to guide manufacturers’ decisions, and it’s unclear how much access the U.S. will continue to have to this data in advance of the WHO’s recommendation.

    “By pulling out, we are not just losing our ability to provide data, but also to contribute to the dialogue and make sure we have a say in understanding why the flu vaccine is being composed in the way it is every year,” says Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “It takes the seat at the table away from us. And those tables are where global health decisions are made.”

    The effects on U.S. and global health “will be a slow bleed,” says Walson. “Most Americans will not wake up on Jan. 23 and say, ‘Look what happened when the U.S. withdrew from WHO.’ But the problem is that the impacts will be difficult to reverse once they happen.”

    That includes being less aware of emerging disease threats, which could become worse if the U.S. is unprepared for them. Early detection is critical for avoiding large-scale outbreaks and avoiding disease and deaths, says Osterholm. “Early detection is a priceless gift in terms of responding. It’s like a forest fire. If the fire is only five acres big, that’s different from responding to a fire that is 5,000 acres big. Unfortunately, we may now find ourselves in the 5,000-acre scenario when it comes to disease outbreaks.”

    That could have implications for how well health officials can respond to those threats. “We are not going to know when the next concerning outbreak of pneumonia happens, and we won’t be able to prepare with a drug or vaccine or whatever response is appropriate,” says Marrazzo. “We won’t be able to tell [Americans] who travel abroad about health risks. I’m worried about missing sentinel events because we pulled back.”

    Walson, who is currently collaborating with the WHO on projects in Kenya, says “people are much more skeptical of the motivations of Americans and American institutions in engaging in global collaboration” than they used to be. “There is a sense that we have always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and have just now revealed that to the world. It’s harder to say that we are going to work together to resolve problems when people feel we continue to have ulterior, self-serving motives.”

    Read More: How a Tiny Worm Helped Unlock the Biology of Aging

    The withdrawal of the U.S. from the global health community also has important geopolitical implications. While the WHO’s policies are determined by consensus by all member states, the absence of the U.S. now creates room for other countries to exert more influence, which could affect global health priorities. “Countries like India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China are stepping in to make up some of the void left by the U.S.,” Walson says. “That has consequences for who is setting priorities and who has influence in the halls of WHO to guide policy and guidelines.”

    Even more damaging than the immediate effects on specific health programs, he says, is the broader economic and political impact of weakening global health programs. Since the U.S. has been the largest funder of the WHO, the withdrawal has forced Ghebreyesus to revise the budget and rely less heavily on dominant donors, which he told TIME in 2025 he had already begun doing before Trump’s decision to withdraw. He said at the Jan. 13 briefing that while the organization now has 75% off its needed budget covered, 25% remains to be raised.

    Still, the restricted budget potentially means fewer resources to support the health of low- and middle-income countries, which rely on the WHO for financial support and guidance on health policies and recommendations. “A lot of countries rely on technical expertise from WHO, and as the work force shrinks, that becomes less available,” says Walson. “As countries experience worse health—more mortality and morbidity—economic conditions worsen as sick populations can’t work, and the economic situation of already poor countries deteriorates further. Political instability follows, with mass migration, war, and conflict, and now things start spilling over borders.”

    Those countries aren’t the only ones that are likely to suffer, he says. “The degradation of political systems as a result of worsening health will have consequences for U.S. health, as that will further the spread of disease.”

    What’s more, Walson says, the economies of developed nations like the U.S. depend on the strength and stability of the developing world, which makes up the market that sustains these economies. “When we are no longer supporting them to help them grow, we are constraining our own markets,” he says. That recognition of the need for a multi-lateral approach to global health was the impetus behind creating the WHO in the first place, based on the reality that countries interact and depend on one another—and the health of one affects the health of all.

    “Withdrawal from the WHO is a lose for the United States, and also a lose for the rest of the world,” said Ghebreyesus at the briefing. “It also makes the U.S. unsafe and the rest of the world unsafe. It’s not really the right decision.”

    [ad_2]

    Alice Park

    Source link

  • Thousands advised to stay inside In Georgia, Tennessee

    [ad_1]

    Thousands of people in communities across parts of Georgia (including Dalton, Adrian, and Louisville) and Tennessee (including Chattanooga, Dunlap, and Tracy City) have been advised to stay indoors, after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recorded that fine particle pollution (PM2.5) had reached “unhealthy” levels, as of January 22, 2026, at 2.45 a.m., according to the AirNow Map.

    Why Does This Matter

    When local air quality readings are classified as “unhealthy,” the EPA warns that everyone in the affected area might begin to experience certain health effects, ranging from coughing and eye, throat, and nose irritation to chest tightness and shortness of breath. 

    Members of sensitive groups, which include children, the elderly, and people with existing heart and lung health conditions, may experience more serious health effects.

    What To Do When Air Is “Unhealthy”

    When air quality reaches “unhealthy” levels, the EPA advises everyone in the affected area to take more breaks during outdoor activities, reduce activity intensity, and move longer or more strenuous activities indoors when possible, until the air quality improves. 

    Local health agencies, such as New York City’s Department of Health, recommend wearing a properly fitted respirator (such as an N95 or KN95) to help reduce exposure when someone must remain outdoors for extended periods.

    Individuals in sensitive groups should be particularly cautious, as elevated PM2.5 levels can exacerbate or trigger heart and lung issues.

    The EPA also advises checking real‑time conditions and forecasts to plan activities for when air quality is better, and to keep medications and asthma action plans current for those with respiratory conditions

    How Air Pollution Affects Health

    According to the EPA, fine particulate matter—known as PM2.5—consists of “fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.”

    Because of their small size, PM2.5 can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, which is why exposure to PM2.5 can trigger a range of health effects, including asthma, decreased lung function, and increased respiratory issues, and can contribute to serious outcomes for people with cardiovascular conditions. 

    What Causes ‘Unhealthy’ Air Quality

    PM2.5 comes from multiple sources, including direct emissions and the formation of particles in the atmosphere from gases. According to the EPA, common sources of increased PM2.5 include power plants, industrial activities, vehicles, wood burning, and wildfires.

    How the EPA Measures Air Quality

    The EPA uses the Air Quality Index (AQI) to measure and report the air quality across America. The AQI uses a scale and six categories to establish the health concern levels, with the higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern.

    The categories are:

    • Good (0–50): Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk
    • Moderate (51–100): Air quality is acceptable; some pollutants may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of unusually sensitive people
    • Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101–150): Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects, but the general public is less likely to be affected
    • Unhealthy (151–200): Some members of the general public may experience health effects, and members of sensitive groups may experience more serious effects
    • Very Unhealthy (201–300): A health alert is issued as the risk of health effects is increased for everyone
    • Hazardous (301–500): A health warning of emergency conditions is issued as everyone is more likely to be affected. 

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Calling the Shots: Tracking RFK Jr. on Vaccines

    [ad_1]

    It was one of President Donald Trump’s more audacious picks for his Cabinet: anti-vaccine activist and alternative health advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to helm the nation’s health department.

    Kennedy, however, won over the senators needed to confirm him to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, promising not to remove government website statements pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism and to keep current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems intact. Ahead of being tapped by Trump for the role, he said he wouldn’t take vaccines away from those who wanted them while stressing a desire for individual choice.

    Since his confirmation, Kennedy has toed the line between backing vaccination as a preventive public health tool and making statements or overseeing developments that threaten to undermine that tool. His moves have played out against the backdrop of an explosion in vaccine-preventable measles cases in West Texas and an intense flu season that resulted in high rates of hospitalization, along with bird flu outbreaks that have raised the specter of another pandemic.

    Here’s a look at notable vaccine-related moves and remarks made by Kennedy or under his authority since he was sworn in as head of HHS on Feb. 13:

    Sign Up for U.S. News Healthcare of Tomorrow Bulletin

    Your trusted source for critical insights and solutions-focused analysis.

    Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S. News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy.

    • Dec. 16, 2025 – The CDC ended the long-standing recommendation for all newborns to receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth after its revamped committee of outside vaccine experts voted 8-3 to scrap it. The agency now recommends parents consult with a healthcare provider to decide whether infants born to hepatitis B-negative mothers should get the vaccine. “We are restoring the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B,” CDC acting Director Jim O’Neill said in a statement.
    • Nov. 28, 2025 – Dr. Vinay Prasad, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a memo to agency staff that a review “found that at least 10 children have died after and because of receiving COVID-19 vaccination.” In the memo, which was first reported by The New York Times, Prasad said the true number could be higher and accused the agency of ignoring safety concerns. He did not include information like the ages of the kids, whether they had health problems or how the agency staff determined the vaccine-death link. Prasad said he would propose new oversight and review of vaccines.

    • Sept. 18-19, 2025 – The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices held a chaotic meeting where it voted to weaken COVID-19 shot recommendations, saying that individuals should consult with their healthcare provider about whether they should get the shot. They decided against a prescription requirement for the shot in a narrow vote. The panel also voted against recommending a combination jab against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, or MMRV, for children under the age of 4 and postponed a vote on the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.

    • July 7, 2025 – Several medical groups sued Kennedy and HHS over his changes to federal vaccine policies, including his decision to remove healthy children and pregnant women from the COVID-19 vaccine schedule, which the plaintiffs asked the court to vacate. The lawsuit accuses Kennedy of working “to dismantle the longstanding, Congressionally-authorized, science- and evidence-based vaccine infrastructure that has prevented the deaths of untold millions of Americans.”

    • Aug. 27, 2025 – Kennedy announced that emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 shots were rescinded, instead issuing full marketing authorization for the shots – but only for those who are at “higher risk” of severe COVID-19. The FDA authorization is for adults 65 and older as well as for children and adults with at least one medical condition that puts them at risk of severe illness.

    • July 22, 2025 – Kennedy accepted a recommendation from the CDC’s ACIP to remove the mercury-based preservative thimerosal from all influenza vaccines distributed in the U.S. “Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe, mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility,” Kennedy posted on social media. However, many studies have shown that the small amount of thimerosal used in vaccines is harmless. The move is not expected to impact many Americans, as the vast majority of flu vaccines distributed in the U.S. do not contain the preservative.  

    • May 27, 2025 – Kennedy announced via social media that the CDC was no longer recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy pregnant women and children, citing a “lack of clinical data” to support administering repeat shots for those populations. The move came despite the agency listing pregnancy as a health risk factor for developing complications from COVID-19.

    • July 29, 2025 – Democrats on the Senate Health Committee announced that they would investigate Kennedy’s overhaul of the CDC’s ACIP, which makes vaccine recommendations for Americans. “By removing all 17 of ACIP’s members and replacing them with eight individuals handpicked to advance your anti-vaccine agenda, you have put decades of non-partisan, science-backed work – and, as a result, Americans’ lives – at risk,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to Kennedy. 

    • June 25, 2025 – HHS officials missed a self-set deadline to release ethics forms for new members of the committee before a June meeting. Eventually, Kennedy’s conflict-of-interest database was updated with significantly less information on the new members than prior members. 

    • June 11, 2025 – Kennedy announced eight new ACIP members. At least half of the picks had spoken out against vaccination in some way, according to The New York Times. Infectious disease experts accused Kennedy of breaking his pledge not to appoint “ideological anti-vaxxers” to the panel.

    • June 9, 2025 – Kennedy announced that he was removing all 17 members of the CDC’s ACIP, which makes vaccine recommendations for Americans. “A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,” Kennedy said in a statement. The removal went against a promise Kennedy made to GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana to gain the senator’s vote for Kennedy’s confirmation. 

    • Nov. 19, 2025 – The CDC revised its long-held stance that vaccines don’t cause autism, now saying on its website that the consensus is “not an evidence-based claim.” It continues: “Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.” The change sparked outcry from public health groups as well as Cassidy, who voted for Kennedy’s confirmation after gaining several commitments from him, including one to not remove language on the CDC website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism. “What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism,” Cassidy posted on social media after the website was updated. 

    • Sept. 22, 2025 – Kennedy joined Trump at a White House event where the president claimed that vaccines should “be taken separately” rather than as a combined shot and that “it seems when you mix them, there could be a problem.” Trump also promoted claims about vaccines and autism, saying, “I think I can say that there are certain groups of people that don’t take vaccines and don’t take any pills that have no autism.” Kennedy added that the Trump administration will be “closely examining” vaccines as it seeks to find the cause of autism, which the HHS secretary had previously promised would come by September. 

    • March 25, 2025 – The Washington Post reported that HHS had hired David Geier to study potential connections between vaccines and autism – a debunked theory he has previously promoted that again drew the spotlight after Kennedy refused to reject the claim during his confirmation hearings. Geier faced disciplinary action from state regulators more than a decade ago for practicing medicine without a license and was listed as a data analyst in the HHS employee directory, according to the Post. 

    • Jan. 5, 2026 – The CDC announced a revamped childhood vaccine schedule that decreased the number of vaccines recommended for children, nixing shots for flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV. Vaccines for those diseases are only recommended now for certain groups deemed high risk. The Trump administration said that all shots would continue to be covered by insurance companies. “This decision protects children, respects families and rebuilds trust in public health,” Kennedy said in a statement. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other public health organizations sued over the move, calling it “harmful and unlawful.”
    • Sept. 9, 2025 – A new MAHA strategy report said that HHS and the White House Domestic Policy Council will develop a framework focused on “ensuring America has the best childhood vaccine schedule.”

    • Feb. 18, 2025 – In his first address to agency staff after taking over as HHS secretary, Kennedy said a commission would investigate the childhood vaccination schedule, questioning whether it was among “possible factors” tied to poor health in the U.S. Kennedy said the Make America Healthy Again commission – created by a Trump order – would convene “representatives of all viewpoints” to examine potential causes behind a “drastic rise in chronic disease,” including some issues that “were formerly taboo and insufficiently scrutinized.” 

    • Aug. 27, 2025 – The White House fired CDC Director Susan Monarez less than a month into her new role after she clashed with Kennedy over vaccine policies. Kennedy reportedly asked Monarez to fire career agency officials and commit to backing his own advisers, which she refused to do. Four high-ranking officials resigned in support of the former director. 

    • July 2025 – Prasad, the FDA’s top vaccine official and Trump’s replacement for Dr. Peter Marks, left the post after less than three months on the job. Prasad “did not want to be a distraction,” an HHS spokesperson said in a statement, adding that he was leaving the role to “spend more time with his family.” But less than two weeks after his ouster, Prasad was rehired to the same role. “At the FDA’s request, Dr. Vinay Prasad is resuming leadership of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said.

    • March 28, 2025 – The Wall Street Journal reported that Marks – the FDA’s former top vaccine official and head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research – submitted his resignation after being forced to either resign or be fired. In a resignation letter, Marks said he’d been “willing to work to address (Kennedy’s) concerns regarding vaccine safety and transparency,” but accused the HHS chief of merely wishing for “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

    • May 14, 2025 – Kennedy, in his testimony to lawmakers on Trump’s budget proposal that would slash the HHS budget by more than a quarter, said that his “opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.” He added that he doesn’t think “people should be taking medical advice from me.” When Kennedy was questioned about whether he would hypothetically vaccinate a child of his for measles, he said, “probably, for measles.” He wouldn’t answer the same question about vaccines for chicken pox or polio. 

    • April 2025 – Kennedy told CBS News after the second measles death in an unvaccinated child in the U.S. that people should get the measles vaccine but that the “government should not be mandating those.” Despite his endorsement of the vaccine, Kennedy said in the same interview that “we’re always going to have measles, no matter what happens, as the vaccine wanes very quickly.” However, according to the CDC, most people who are vaccinated against measles “will be protected for life.”

    • March 11, 2025 – In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Kennedy said the measles vaccine “does cause deaths every year … so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves.” According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America, no deaths have been found to be related to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine among healthy people, while “there have been rare cases of deaths from vaccine side effects among children who are immune compromised.” The CDC recommends such individuals not get the MMR vaccine or wait to get it.

    • March 4, 2025 – In an interview with Fox News, Kennedy stressed nutrition and exercise as ways to avoid being severely impacted by measles: “It’s very, very difficult for measles to kill a healthy person.” He said the area in West Texas undergoing a measles outbreak is “kind of a food desert” and that malnutrition “may have been an issue” for a child who died of measles in that outbreak. State health officials said the child, who was not vaccinated, “had no known underlying conditions.”

    • March 2, 2025 – Kennedy wrote in a Fox News op-ed that “studies have found that vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality.” He pointed to a CDC recommendation, updated after he took office, supporting the use of vitamin A to treat measles infections. While health experts acknowledge that vitamin A can be beneficial for patients with a measles infection, they’ve also emphasized it is not a replacement for vaccination and warned that it can cause dangerous health complications when given in excess.

    • December 2025 – HHS terminated millions in grant money for the American Academy of Pediatrics because the initiatives “no longer align with the Department’s mission or priorities,” according to an HHS spokesman. The group has criticized the changes Kennedy has made to federal vaccine policies. “The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth and their families in communities across the United States,” said Mark Del Monte, the academy’s chief executive and executive vice president.
    • Aug. 5, 2025 – HHS announced it will pull contracts and cut funding for 22 vaccine development projects totaling nearly $500 million. “After reviewing the science and consulting top experts at NIH and FDA, HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses,” Kennedy said in a video announcement on social media, referring to the vaccine technology used in COVID-19 and flu shots. But infectious disease experts argued the decision puts the U.S. at risk for future pandemics, crediting mRNA technology for the fast turnaround of the COVID-19 vaccines. 

    • March 2025 – The Trump administration targeted NIH grants aimed at studying vaccine hesitancy and how to improve immunization levels. According to NPR, more than 40 grants related to vaccine hesitancy were canceled. 

    • January 2026 – Kennedy removed at least four members of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccinations, which reviews issues relating to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The committee suggests which vaccines and what conditions should be covered by the program, which Kennedy plans to revamp.
    • Sept. 9, 2025 – In its MAHA strategy report, the Trump administration said that HHS and NIH will “investigate vaccine injuries with improved data collection and analysis, including through a new vaccine injury research program at the NIH Clinical Center that may expand to centers around the country.”

    • July 28, 2025 – Kennedy posted on social media his plan to revamp the federal system to compensate people harmed by vaccines. Kennedy said that the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program “is broken, and I intend to fix it.” According to Kennedy, the program has paid out $5.4 billion to 12,000 petitioners since its inception in 1986. He accused the program of dismissing cases that have merit and slow-walking others. “I will not allow the VICP to continue to ignore its mandate and fail its mission of quickly and fairly compensating vaccine-injured individuals,” Kennedy said. The program “is a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions,” according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. 

    • Aug. 14, 2025 – HHS announced it is reinstating the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines – a panel created by Congress to improve safety and oversight – in a move requested by Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine advocacy group Kennedy previously led. The task force, which was disbanded in 1988, will now work with the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines to produce regular recommendations. The move comes after Children’s Health Defense sued Kennedy in July for failing to establish the task force. 

    – Former U.S. News writer Steven Ross Johnson contributed to this report

    [ad_2]

    Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder

    Source link

  • EPA Says It Will Stop Calculating the Economic Savings to Health in Key Air Pollution Rules

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it will stop calculating how much money is saved in health care costs and preventable deaths avoided from air pollution rules that curb two deadly pollutants.

    The change means the EPA will focus rules for fine particulate matter and ozone only on the cost to industry, part of a broader realignment under President Donald Trump toward a business-friendly approach that has included the rollback of multiple policies meant to safeguard human health and the environment and slow climate change.

    The agency said in a statement late Monday that it “absolutely remains committed to our core mission of protecting human health and the environment” but “will not be monetizing the impacts at this time.” The EPA will continue to estimate costs to businesses to comply with the rules and will continue “ongoing work to refine its economic methodologies” of pollution rules, spokeswoman Brigit Hirsch said.

    Environmental and public health advocates called the agency’s action a dangerous abdication of one of its core missions.

    “The EPA’s mandate is to protect public health, not to ignore the science in order to eliminate clean air safeguards that save lives,” said John Walke, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

    He called the change in how public health benefits are calculated “reckless, dangerous, and illegal,” adding: “By pretending real health benefits do not count, EPA wants to open the door for industry to foul the air, while communities and families pay the price in asthma attacks, heart disease and premature deaths.”

    The change in how the EPA calculates health benefits was first reported by The New York Times.


    The move is part of the EPA’s broader change in approach

    The move comes as the Trump administration is seeking to abandon a rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution, arguing that the Biden administration did not have authority to set the tighter standard on pollution from tailpipes, smokestacks and other industrial sources.

    In a court filing in November, the EPA said the Biden-era rule was done “without the rigorous, stepwise process that Congress required” and was therefore unlawful.

    The EPA said it continues to recognize the “clear and well-documented benefits” of reducing fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5, and ozone.

    “Not monetizing DOES NOT equal not considering or not valuing the human health impact,” Hirsch said in an emailed statement, saying the agency remains committee to human health.

    Since the EPA’s creation more than 50 years ago, Republican and Democratic administrations have used different estimates to assign monetary value to a human life in cost-benefit analyses.

    Under former President Joe Biden, the EPA estimated that its proposed rule on PM2.5 would prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays by 2032. For every $1 spent on reducing PM2.5, the agency said, there could be as much as $77 in health benefits.

    But the Trump administration contends that these estimates are misleading. By failing to include ranges or other qualifying statements, EPA’s use of specific estimate “leads the public to believe the Agency has a better understanding of the monetized impacts of exposure to PM2.5 and ozone than in reality,” the agency said in an economic impact analysis for the new NOx rule.

    “Therefore, to rectify this error, the EPA is no longer monetizing benefits from PM2.5 and ozone but will continue to quantify the emissions until the Agency is confident enough in the modeling to properly monetize those impacts.”

    The United States has made substantial progress in reducing PM2.5 and ozone concentrations since 2000, the agency said.


    Critics warn the change poses risks to human health

    But critics said a new EPA rule that revises emission limits for dangerous nitrogen oxide pollution from new gas-burning turbines used in power plants demonstrates the risks of the new approach.

    Emissions of nitrogen oxide, also known as NOx, form smog and soot that is harmful to human health and linked to serious heart and lung diseases. EPA’s final NOx rule, issued Monday, is substantially less restrictive than a proposal under the Biden administration. For some gas plants, the rule weakens protections in place for two decades.

    The new rule does not estimate the economic value of health benefits from reducing NOx and other types of air pollution under the Clean Air Act. Critics said the change means EPA will ignore the economic value of lives saved, hospital visits avoided and lost work and school days prevented.

    Under Trump, the EPA “recklessly refuses to place any value on protecting the health of millions of Americans from nitrogen oxides pollution in the face of mountains of medical science finding that this pollution contributes to asthma attacks, heart disease and other serious health problems.” said Noha Haggag, a lawyer for the Environmental Defense Fund, another environmental group.

    “EPA is leaving millions of people in harm’s way when common sense solutions are at hand for modern national limits on nitrogen oxides pollution,” Haggag said.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Lowell’s Washington School cleared for lead contamination

    [ad_1]

    LOWELL — During separate meetings, both the School Committee and the Board of Health weighed in on suspected lead contamination at a worksite at Washington Elementary School, with the BOH requesting protocols on future projects.

    At the Nov. 19 School Committee meeting, Superintendent of Schools Liam Skinner assured the body that the official report of in-depth testing, performed by Titan Lead Testing LLC on dust generated by recent repair work, showed that “there are no lead levels of concern in the school.”

    “We’re pleased that the situation was mitigated in the way that it was,” Skinner said.

    The school, which Skinner described as one of the district’s oldest buildings, was built in 1910.

    According to previous Sun reporting, a section of the ceiling collapsed in the basement in early fall. But the cleanup of the debris and repair of the area by employees with the Department of Public Works spread dust throughout the building that is home to pre-K through grade 4 students and staff.

    The school district uses the buildings, but almost all are owned by the city. The district is responsible for custodial services, like cleaning, while the city is responsible for repairs and improvements.

    “It seems as though the area was wrapped in such a way that dust should not have escaped from the area where the construction was going on, but that was clearly not sufficient or didn’t work well,” Skinner said. “So, dust from the area did travel. It was quite remarkable to witness the extent to which dust could travel from the lower areas to the upper areas.”

    An over-the-counter kit indicated that there might be lead in the dust, and the district ordered testing through Titan, as well as a thorough cleaning of the school over the weekend of Nov. 15-16.

    Skinner said School Deputy Facilities Director John Leahy oversaw the weekend cleaning. The former School Committee member, District 3 – Belvidere city councilor and mayor owned and operated Leahy Painting for 25 of the 40 years that he was a professional painter. He gave up his private contracting business to take a position in the Facilities Department of Lowell Public Schools.

    “John Leahy was quite familiar with lead paint and lead paint dust issues and knew the correct procedure for cleaning that,” Skinner told the committee. “He was able to be there and instruct people on the proper techniques and the proper equipment.”

    School reopened that Monday.

    The lead conversation was raised in the Board of Health meeting held Jan. 7 at City Hall. Unlike the School Committee meeting, the Titan report was attached to agenda packet and part of the public record.

    Health and Human Services Director Lisa Golden said that although the school does have some lead paint in it, all the testing came back negative.

    Titan referenced the issue of undisturbed lead, noting that when renovation, repair or painting activities are performed in premises identified as housing or child-occupied facilities, work must be done in accordance with the “RRP Rule” as described in the Code of Massachusetts Regulations, 454 CMR 22.00.

    “Renovation and demolition activities that impact surfaces where lead may be present require specific work practices and disposal requirements,” said the report written by Master Inspector/Risk Assessor David Pesce, and addressed to DPW Commissioner Paul St. Cyr.

    “These regulations require the use of trained workers and firms, including a certified Lead-Safe Renovation Supervisor, notification to occupants, occupant protections, posting of signs, use of containment, lead-safe work practices, cleaning requirements, and post-cleaning verification or clearance,” Pesce said.

    The report recommended that an ongoing operations and maintenance plan should be developed in order to identify surfaces containing lead-based paint which may be disturbed by renovation and maintenance activities such as painting or repairs.

    “This plan would outline procedures for testing surfaces, training of workers, worker protection, occupant protection, and post-work cleanup of work areas,” Pesce said.

    Given the age of the building, state regulations and the Titan report, BOH member Kathleen Cullen-Lutter questioned what process was in place to address present or potential lead-based work.

    “Maybe [Golden] can clarify with Mr. St. Cyr that there is a process if they were to disturb the lead that they would have that process in place,” Chair Jo-Ann Keegan said.

    Environmental issues surrounding aging facilities in district buildings have dominated the city-school discourse. For years, the almost 60-year-old Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School, located at 425 West Meadow Road, has had a proclivity for mold growth that has, at times, delayed the opening of the first day of classes.

    In 2024, a “considerable” amount of asbestos was found in parts of the 1922 building that is under renovation during the $422 million Lowell High School renovation and rebuilding project. Construction dust was monitored during the project after high levels were found in adjacent classrooms.

    More recently, the Sullivan Middle School experienced flooding when four heating coils froze in early December, flooding the school library.

    Pesce’s report cautioned that not all surfaces were tested at the Washington School, suggesting that a protocol for future work would be warranted.

    “Additional lead-containing building substrates and components may be present in other building areas or hidden by floor, wall and ceiling finishes or otherwise may be inaccessible,” his report said.

    [ad_2]

    Melanie Gilbert

    Source link

  • Flu Cases Are Skyrocketing in the U.S.

    [ad_1]

    Flu cases in the U.S. are seeing a marked uptick, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The new numbers, which cover the period up to December 20th and were released Tuesday, show that more than 25% of tests reported to the system were positive for influenza. This rate is nearly double what last year’s flu season saw around this time. 

    Hospitalization rates due to flu are also high—three times higher than in the CDC’s numbers for the 2023-2024 flu season around this time, and substantially higher than last flu season’s hospitalization peak, which wasn’t reached until February 2025. 

    The primary culprit? A variant of influenza A, dubbed subclade K, that first appeared in the summer, after this year’s flu shot had already been designed. Subclade K differs enough from the viruses used to inform the shot—and from flu viruses people already have immunity to—that it’s spread swiftly and widely as winter has gotten under way.

    In the U.K., subclade K drove a very early flu season, with cases starting more than a month earlier than epidemiologists usually expect. It helped provoke the declaration of a flu epidemic in Japan in October. In the US, flu cases started to tick up around the usual time, but the rate of new infections has been noteworthy, say experts. 

    Read more: What to Know About the New ‘Subclade K’ Flu Variant

    As of the latest report, twenty-nine U.S. states or territories, as well as Washington, D.C., and New York City, now have high or very high rates of influenza-like illness, according to the CDC. This measure doesn’t use virus-specific tests, but it’s a way of keeping track of flu or flu-like disease on a broader scale.

    Early data from the U.K. suggest that although this year’s flu shot isn’t a perfect match for subclade K, it still provides protection against hospitalization. The vaccine was 70-75% effective in preventing hospitalization in children and about 30-40% effective in adults, a lesser but still substantial advantage. In the US, as of early December, less than half of Americans had received this year’s shot. 

    “It’s definitely not too late to get a flu vaccine if you haven’t done it already,” a medical officer in the CDC’s influenza division told NPR. Pharmacies offering the vaccine can be found via Vaccines.gov.
    As the U.K. season kicked off, experts noted that early flu seasons often mean tougher flu seasons. The rate of positive tests is still high in the U.K., but the latest data suggest it may be trending downward. In the U.S., it’s still too soon to tell when the peak will arrive.

    [ad_2]

    Veronique Greenwood

    Source link

  • States Try to Snuff Out Lab-Grown Meat Before It Really Starts

    [ad_1]

    Lab-grown meat could be widely available in supermarkets across the U.S. in 10-15 years.

    Advocates say the product offers consumers more choices, boosts food security for a country with growing demand and increases sustainability for a world with already stressed resources.

    However, some states have already answered this question – with a hard “no.”

    Seven states have banned the manufacturing, sale or distribution of lab-grown meat, and more have taken steps to restrict its labeling. Many of these steps happened in 2025, and the Department of Health and Human Services lists them on its website as examples of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s movement to “Make America Healthy Again.”

    The latest ban in Texas started in September and lasts two years, though lawmakers can choose to extend it. Violators could face civil and criminal penalties.

    “This ban is a massive win for Texas ranchers, producers and consumers,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement. “Texans have a God-given right to know what’s on their plate, and for millions of Texans, it better come from a pasture, not a lab. It’s plain cowboy logic that we must safeguard our real, authentic meat industry from synthetic alternatives.”

    But supporters of lab-grown meat are not going down without a fight. Lawsuits challenging bans have been filed in both Texas and Florida.

    In its lawsuit against Texas, the Institute for Justice and cultivated food producers Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods argued the ban is “nothing more than unconstitutional economic protectionism.”

    “This ban slams the door on choice, when all we’re asking is the freedom for Texans to decide for themselves,” Wildtype co-founder Aryé Elfenbein said in a statement.

    State and federal action over the next several years could determine much about the future of the budding industry. And despite the pushback in recent months, some see reason for optimism about its future.

    What Is Lab-Grown Meat – and Is It Safe?

    The Good Food Institute, a think tank working in “alternative protein innovation,” says that “cultivated meat is identical to conventional meat at the cellular level.”

    Lab-grown meat comes from animal cells, so it’s not vegetarian like the “Impossible Burger” and similar products derived from plants.

    Animal stem cells are placed in bioreactors and mixed with a blend of water, sugar, fats and vitamins to grow more cells and build the muscle and fat otherwise grown inside an animal. Growth factors and other proteins are typically added as well. The cells are then harvested and shaped into final products like a chicken fillet.

    The product is completely safe, says David Kaplan, a professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University, and approvals from the Food and Drug Administration underscore that. The agency has approved five companies’ cultivated meat products, ranging from chicken to salmon to pork fat.

    “All their data is publicly available through their filings, and there’s nothing in there that says it’s anything but at least as good, if not better, than what consumers eat today,” Kaplan says.

    But consumers won’t be seeing it on the shelves anytime soon. David Block, a professor at the University of California, said it will be at least 10 to 15 years before lab-grown meat could be widely available in supermarkets.

    The timeframe depends on everything going right for building a big manufacturing facility from scratch.

    “I would argue that nobody has done this at a really large scale yet, so nobody knows exactly what they want to see in a very large-scale facility,” Block says.

    Where Lab-Grown Meat Restrictions Stand Across the U.S.

    Access to lab-grown meat thus far in the U.S. has been extremely limited, consisting of brief appearances in select restaurants like Bar Crenn in San Francisco and China Chilcano, in Washington, D.C.

    But that hasn’t stopped states from banning the product.

    Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas have passed bans (some of them temporary) on the manufacturing, sale or distribution of cell-cultured meat. Additional states have taken steps to regulate labeling of the product.

    embed:

    The related debate has been both heated and highly politicized.

    When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the ban in Florida, he described it as “fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.” He added that his administration “will save our beef.”

    But the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association isn’t worried about competition.

    Sigrid Johannes, the association’s senior director of government affairs, described the bans as state legislators “responding to their own constituents, it’s as simple as that” in a statement to U.S. News.

    “Plenty of Americans from both sides of the aisle have serious concerns about yet another ultra-processed, artificial food landing on grocery store shelves, masquerading as whole-ingredient beef,” Johannes said. “NCBA has never pushed for a federal ban because we’re not afraid of competing with these products in the free market, but we will continue advocating for appropriate labeling rules so consumers know exactly what they’re eating.”

    Though Kennedy and the Trump administration have cheered these states on, they haven’t proposed any similar federal action on the subject.

    A Fight for the Future

    Of course, the nature of the product means the lab-grown meat industry faces more challenges than just government bans.

    “There’s still issues, probably most notably the cost of those products,” says Block, who serves as director of the Integrative Center for Alternative Meat and Protein.

    Production is expensive and has only been done in small quantities thus far. But Block says there is potential to bring the price down.

    “If you were to produce these materials at really huge scale, then the cost would come down,” he says. “But that’s not really happening on any of these products yet.”

    Whether the demand is there for such a scale-up is unknown, but there are some signs of interest. A 2024 survey from Purdue University found that 60% of consumers are willing to try cultivated beef, chicken and pig, with chicken garnering the most interest.

    While most headlines will refer to the product as lab-grown meat, researchers prefer to call it cultivated meat.

    “In terms of the way it would be perceived by consumers, if you say lab-grown, it has a very different connotation,” says Kaplan.

    Experts say they are optimistic about the industry’s future, but they are worried about investing during the Trump administration.

    “I’m very bullish about what we’ve gotten to and where things stand,” Kaplan says. “I’m just very uncertain on how quick the next step will be, and I’m very worried that we will be left behind by other countries because we’re not doing the investments.”

    Sign Up for U.S. News Healthcare of Tomorrow Bulletin

    Your trusted source for critical insights and solutions-focused analysis.

    Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S. News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy.

    [ad_2]

    Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder

    Source link

  • NYS taps Long Islander for cannabis education panel | Long Island Business News

    [ad_1]

    A Long Islander has been appointed to the 15-member Cannabis Education Advisory Panel. The new panel was created by the state Office of Cannabis Management to guide cannabis education for young people, parents, caregivers and other trusted adults.

    Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of Family & Children’s Association, is the sole panel member from . He and his co-panelists will advise on creating accurate, culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate cannabis education materials.

    “I’m pleased to have been named to the CEAP and look forward to helping to craft evidence-informed cannabis education initiatives for youth, families and communities across New York State,” Reynolds said in a news release about the panel.

    The panel comprises professionals, clinicians specializing in adolescent development and addiction, educators, prevention specialists, faith leaders and community-based service providers. With members who were selected for their mix of backgrounds and geographic reach, the panel will serve for up to 12 months. It will meet regularly to advise OCM on expanding public health campaigns and educational resources statewide.

    Reynolds brings decades of experience in behavioral health, addiction services, youth development and public health education to the panel. Under his leadership, Family & Children’s Association provides prevention, treatment and education programs serving tens of thousands of Long Islanders each year, including youth and families affected by substance use, mental health challenges and health literacy gaps.

    As OCM develops new public health campaigns, CEAP will be tasked with advising on messaging, tone, scientific accuracy and cultural relevance. CEAP is also charged with helping align educational materials with best practices in adolescent health and development, as well as supporting transparency and public trust. The panel will coordinate with the state’s Department of Health and the Office of Addiction Services and Supports as it aims to ensure consistency and statewide impact.


    [ad_2]

    Adina Genn

    Source link

  • New Variant Subclade K: What to Know as Flu Season Starts

    [ad_1]

    Ahead of the holidays, cases in the U.S. are already increasing in most states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “Seasonal influenza activity continues to increase in most areas of the country,” the agency said in a weekly update. “Some indicators are elevated, but severity indicators remain low, and flu season is just starting.”

    While the timing of the increased flu activity is similar to previous years, there is something unique about the season: a new variant.

    The variant, called subclade K, has increased rapidly in Europe and several countries in East Asia, according to the Pan American Health Organization, or PAHO. The organization issued a call to strengthen surveillance and promote vaccination – particularly among older adults and people with risk factors.

    “PAHO also urges countries to ensure timely clinical management of cases and prepare health services for the possibility of early, or more intense, respiratory disease activity,” it said.

    Here is what to know about the flu season and new variant:

    What’s Going on with Flu Season and How Does It Compare to Previous Ones? 

    Five jurisdictions are experiencing high or very high levels of influenza-like illness that includes fever plus a cough or sore throat: New York City, New York state, Louisiana, Colorado and New Jersey, the CDC reports.

    Nearly 3 million people have caught the flu already this season, according to agency estimates. An estimated 30,000 people have been hospitalized, and 1,200 died from flu so far this season.

    Lab-confirmed flu hospitalization rates are higher now than they were at this time last year.

    “It’s very difficult to predict a flu season, but right now we’re at the beginning of what we probably are going to see as a pretty severe influenza season driven primarily by this clade K virus,” Andrew Pekosz, a microbiology and immunology professor at Johns Hopkins University, told reporters during a briefing Tuesday.

    The CDC recently reported the first death of a child from the flu this season.

    Less than 40% of children have gotten a flu shot this year, according to CDC data. That’s lower than this time during the previous six seasons. Last flu season was the deadliest flu season for U.S. children in more than a decade, with 280 fatalities.

    What to Know About the Subclade K

    The new variant, subclade K, “is part of the natural variation process of seasonal influenza viruses,” according to PAHO.

    In positive news, health authorities in the countries seeing the variant’s spread have not reported any increases in the severity of influenza cases.

    But more people might be susceptible to infection because the variant “has mutations that are making it less able to be recognized by your body’s immune response,” according to Pekosz.

    This year’s flu shot is a mismatch for the variant, as the shot was created before the strain was identified by researchers. But officials still recommend getting the shot since it appears to protect against severe infections.

    “Although evidence on vaccine effectiveness for the current season remains limited, preliminary data from Europe indicate that vaccination continues to provide protection comparable to previous years against severe disease, including hospitalization,” PAHO said.

    Sign Up for U.S. News Healthcare of Tomorrow Bulletin

    Your trusted source for critical insights and solutions-focused analysis.

    Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S. News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy.

    How to Protect Yourself from the Flu

    The CDC “recommends that everyone 6 months and older who has not yet been vaccinated this season get an annual influenza (flu) vaccine.”

    Early estimates from the flu season in England found that hospitalizations remained in the expected ranges for children and adults, “suggesting that influenza vaccination remains an effective tool in preventing influenza-related hospitalizations this season,” according to the agency.

    When the vaccine is a mismatch with the circulating strains, “vaccine effectiveness may be reduced but influenza vaccination continues to provide benefits, including: 1) protection against severe influenza illness, hospitalization, and death; 2) protection against other circulating influenza viruses represented in the influenza vaccines; and 3) help to reduce the overall community spread of influenza,” the CDC said.

    The agency also recommends avoiding close contact with sick people, covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands and avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth.

    [ad_2]

    Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder

    Source link

  • Notorious ‘winter vomiting bug’ rising in California. A new norovirus strain could make it worse

    [ad_1]

    The dreaded norovirus — the “vomiting bug” that often causes stomach flu symptoms — is climbing again in California, and doctors warn that a new subvariant could make even more people sick this season.

    In L.A. County, concentrations of norovirus are already on the rise in wastewater, indicating increased circulation of the disease, the local Department of Public Health told the Los Angeles Times.

    Norovirus levels are increasing across California, and the rise is especially notable in the San Francisco Bay Area and L.A., according to the California Department of Public Health.

    And the rate at which norovirus tests are confirming infection is rising nationally and in the Western U.S. For the week that ended Nov. 22, the test positivity rate nationally was 11.69%, up from 8.66% two months earlier. In the West, it was even worse: 14.08%, up from 9.59%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Norovirus is extraordinarily contagious, and is America’s leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC. Outbreaks typically happen in the cooler months between November and April.

    Clouding the picture is the recent emergence of a new norovirus strain — GII.17. Such a development can result in 50% more norovirus illness than typical, the CDC says.

    “If your immune system isn’t used to something that comes around, a lot of people get infected,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco.

    During the 2024-25 winter season, GII.17 overthrew the previous dominant norovirus strain, GII.4, that had been responsible for more than half of national norovirus outbreaks over the preceding decade. The ancestor of the GII.17 strain probably came from a subvariant that triggered an outbreak in Romania in 2021, according to CDC scientists.

    GII.17 vaulted in prominence during last winter’s norovirus surge and was ultimately responsible for about 75% of outbreaks of the disease nationally.

    The strain’s emergence coincided with a particularly bad year for norovirus, one that started unusually early in October 2024, peaked earlier than normal the following January and stretched into the summer, according to CDC scientists writing in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

    During the three prior seasons, when GII.4 was dominant, norovirus activity had been relatively stable, Chin-Hong said.

    Norovirus can cause substantial disruptions — as many parents know all too well. An elementary school in Massachusetts was forced to cancel all classes on Thursday and Friday because of the “high volume of stomach illness cases,” which was suspected to be driven by norovirus.

    More than 130 students at Roberts Elementary School in Medford, Mass., were absent Wednesday, and administrators said there probably wouldn’t be a “reasonable number of students and staff” to resume classes Friday. A company was hired to perform a deep clean of the school’s classrooms, doorknobs and kitchen equipment.

    Some places in California, however, aren’t seeing major norovirus activity so far this season. Statewide, while norovirus levels in wastewater are increasing, they still remain low, the California Department of Public Health said.

    There have been 32 lab-confirmed norovirus outbreaks reported to the California Department of Public Health so far this year. Last year, there were 69.

    Officials caution the numbers don’t necessarily reflect how bad norovirus is in a particular year, as many outbreaks are not lab-confirmed, and an outbreak can affect either a small or large number of people.

    Between Aug. 1 and Nov. 13, there were 153 norovirus outbreaks publicly reported nationally, according to the CDC. During the same period last year, there were 235.

    UCLA hasn’t reported an increase in the number of norovirus tests ordered, nor has it seen a significant increase in test positivity rates. Chin-Hong said he likewise hasn’t seen a big increase at UC San Francisco.

    “Things are relatively still stable clinically in California, but I think it’s just some amount of time before it comes here,” Chin-Hong said.

    In a typical year, norovirus causes 2.27 million outpatient clinic visits, mostly young children; 465,000 emergency department visits, 109,000 hospitalizations, and 900 deaths, mostly among seniors age 65 and older.

    People with severe ongoing vomiting, profound diarrhea and dehydration may need to seek medical attention to get hydration intravenously.

    “Children who are dehydrated may cry with few or no tears and be unusually sleepy or fussy,” the CDC says. Sports drinks can help with mild dehydration, but what may be more helpful are oral rehydration fluids that can be bought over the counter.

    Children under the age of 5 and adults 85 and older are most likely to need to visit an emergency room or clinic because of norovirus, and should not hesitate to seek care, experts say.

    “Everyone’s at risk, but the people who you worry about, the ones that we see in the hospital, are the very young and very old,” Chin-Hong said.

    Those at highest risk are babies, because it doesn’t take much to cause potentially serious problems. Newborns are at risk for necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening inflammation of the intestine that virtually only affects new babies, according to the National Library of Medicine.

    Whereas healthy people generally clear the virus in one to three days, immune-compromised individuals can continue to have diarrhea for a long time “because their body’s immune system can’t neutralize the virus as effectively,” Chin-Hong said.

    The main way people get norovirus is by accidentally drinking water or eating food contaminated with fecal matter, or touching a contaminated surface and then placing their fingers in their mouths.

    People usually develop symptoms 12 to 48 hours after they’re exposed to the virus.

    Hand sanitizer does not work well against norovirus — meaning that proper handwashing is vital, experts say.

    People should lather their hands with soap and scrub for at least 20 seconds, including the back of their hands, between their fingers and under their nails, before rinsing and drying, the CDC says.

    One helpful way to keep track of time is to hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice, the CDC says. Chin-Hong says his favorite is the chorus of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.”

    If you’re living with someone with norovirus, “you really have to clean surfaces and stuff if they’re touching it,” Chin-Hong said. Contamination is shockingly easy. Even just breathing out little saliva droplets on food that is later consumed by someone else can spread infection.

    Throw out food that might be contaminated with norovirus, the CDC says. Noroviruses are relatively resistant to heat and can survive temperatures as high as 145 degrees.

    Norovirus is so contagious that even just 10 viral particles are enough to cause infection. By contrast, it takes ingesting thousands of salmonella particles to get sick from that bacterium.

    People are most contagious when they are sick with norovirus — but they can still be infectious even after they feel better, the CDC says.

    The CDC advises staying home for 48 hours after infection. Some studies have even shown that “you can still spread norovirus for two weeks or more after you feel better,” according to the CDC.

    The CDC also recommends washing laundry in hot water.

    Besides schools, other places where norovirus can spread quickly are cruise ships, day-care centers and prisons, Chin-Hong said.

    The most recent norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship reported by the CDC is on the ship AIDAdiva, which set sail on Nov. 10 from Germany. Out of 2,007 passengers on board, 4.8% have reported being ill. The outbreak was first reported on Nov. 30 following stops that month at the Isle of Portland, England; Halifax, Canada; Boston; New York City; Charleston, S.C.; and Miami.

    According to CruiseMapper, the ship was set to make stops in Puerto Vallarta on Saturday, San Diego on Tuesday, Los Angeles on Wednesday, Santa Barbara on Thursday and San Francisco between Dec. 19-21.

    [ad_2]

    Rong-Gong Lin II

    Source link