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☆ RFK Jr.’s to-do list to make America ‘healthy’ — vaccines, fluoride and food — has health experts worried
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Meg Tirrell | Katherine Dillinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“Donald Trump’s bungling of public health policy during the Covid pandemic cost hundreds of thousands of lives. “FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” he said in a social media post. Pack your bags.”That warning followed comments Kennedy has made about ending National Institutes of Health research into infectious diseases, putting doctors in the field on edge. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Kennedy’s messaging on food policy has resonated with some health experts in that field.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Dr, Ashish Jha, “, Carlos del Rio, Trump, ” Trump, “ Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, ” Robert Weissman, “ Donald Trump’s bungling, Michael Osterholm, ”, Osterholm, he’d, Ronald Reagan’s, he’s, ” Kennedy, Paul Offit, Jesse Watters, I’ve, Jason Schwartz, Edward Chen, it’s, I’m, Ashley Malin, ” Malin, Food Kennedy, Sanjay Gupta, Marion Nestle, Sen, Ron Johnson, Nestle, ” Nestle, CNN’s Carma Hassan, Nadia Kounang, Daniel Dale, Aaron Pellish Organizations: CNN, US Department of Health, Human, Brown University School of Public Health, Emory School of Medicine & Grady Health, Public Health, Health, HHS, Department of Health, Human Services, Public Citizen, Infectious Disease, University of Minnesota, US Centers for Disease Control, US Food and Drug, FDA, Pharma, of Health, Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, CDC, Vaccines, Health Defense, Fox News, Yale School of Public Health, Trump White, U.S, American Dental Association, Environmental Protection Agency, MSNBC, Epidemiology, University of Florida’s College of Public Health, CNN Health Locations: Wisconsin

The recommendation coincides with a new report finding asymptomatic bird flu infection in some workers. Those cases were discovered using blood, or serology, testing and seem to have been transmitted from sick animals, not people. To date, 46 people have been diagnosed with bird flu, also known as H5N1, in the United States this year. Of those 115, eight (7%) had antibodies showing they’d been infected with the bird flu. Until now, workers who had a known exposure to bird flu but didn’t have symptoms haven’t been routinely tested.

Persons: Nirav Shah, Demetre Daskalakis, ” Daskalakis, they’d, Shah, “, ”, who’s, Jennifer Nuzzo, “ We’ve, ” Nuzzo, Daskalakis Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, National Center, farmworkers, Pandemic, Brown University School of Public Health, Food and Drug Administration Locations: United States, California, Washington, Colorado, Michigan

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that high-risk adults get a second updated Covid vaccine to bolster their protection against the virus. No other vaccines are given at such a high frequency, but experts say there’s no reason to believe that the vaccines — and in particular, the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna — aren’t effective. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines were the first to use mRNA technology to induce immunity to a virus, an approach that proved critical in the early days of the pandemic because mRNA vaccines can be developed much faster than traditional vaccines. Despite the CDC recommending an additional shot, there’s no evidence that the mRNA vaccines aren’t working as expected, said Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunology at the Yale School of Medicine. In a perfect world, the Covid vaccines would be able to be updated much faster to match the strains in circulation.

Persons: Akiko Iwasaki, Iwasaki, —, ”, Ashish Jha, ” Jha, “, Jha, I’ve, “ Topping, John Wherry, ” Wherry, Anna Durbin, ” Durkin, we’ll Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Pfizer, Moderna, CDC, Yale School of Medicine, Emory University, Brown University School of Public Health, White, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The U.S. is in what may end up being its biggest summer wave of Covid, with no end yet in sight. This year’s summer wave also began earlier than last year’s, Jha said. “Besides that, there’s not much that we can sort of put our finger on to say this is what’s driving this summer surge," Pekosz said. Jha said that what happens this winter is impossible to predict but that there could be a silver lining to a large summer wave. “A big summer wave tends to lead to a little bit of a smaller winter wave and vice versa, just because there’s a little bit more immunity in the population,” he said.

Persons: ”, Ashish Jha, “ It’s, ” It's, There's, Maria Van Kerkhove, Van Kerkhove, Rosem Morton, Jha, Andrew Pekosz, “, there’s, Pekosz, Michael Phillips, epidemiologist, ” Phillips Organizations: Brown University School of Public Health, White, Covid, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, The Washington, Getty, Food and Drug Administration, CDC, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, didn't, NYU Langone Health Locations: U.S, Europe, Washington, Western U.S, Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Covid, New York City

Even as it has become increasingly clear that the bird flu outbreak on the nation’s dairy farms began months earlier — and is probably much more widespread — than previously thought, federal authorities have emphasized that the virus poses little risk to humans. Yet there is a group of people who are at high risk for infection: the estimated 100,000 men and women who work on those farms. That leaves the workers and their families vulnerable to a poorly tracked pathogen. And it poses broader public health risks. If the virus were to find its way into the wider population, experts say, dairy workers would be a likely route.

Persons: ”, Jennifer Nuzzo Organizations: Pandemic, Brown University School of Public Health

☆ Providence Officials Approve Overdose Prevention Center
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Anna Betts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than two years ago, Rhode Island became the first state in the nation to authorize overdose prevention centers, facilities where people would be allowed to use illicit drugs under professional supervision. On Thursday, the Providence City Council approved the establishment of what will be the state’s first so-called safe injection site. Minnesota is the only other state to approve these sites, also known as supervised injection centers and harm reduction centers, but no facility has yet opened there. The only two sites operating openly in the country are in New York City, where Bill de Blasio, who was then mayor, announced the opening of the first center in 2021. Brandon Marshall, a professor and the chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health, said studies from other countries “show that overdose prevention centers save lives, increase access to treatment, and reduce public drug use and crime in the communities in which they’re located.”

Persons: Bill de Blasio, Brandon Marshall, ” Organizations: Providence City Council, Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health Locations: Rhode Island, Providence, Minnesota, New York City, they’re

☆ Some states are loosening their Covid isolation guidelines, shifting away from CDC recommendations
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Oregon changed its isolation policy in May when the Covid-19 public health emergency lifted, and California followed suit earlier this month. The recent order from the California health department notes that the potential infectious period spans from two days before through 10 days after symptoms or a positive test. Less restrictive isolation policies could allow people to feel more comfortable with testing, which could prompt them to get treatment or feel more comfortable taking other protective measures. Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s state health officer, said that equity was a key factor considered in the decision to change isolation policy in the state. Public health policy decisions are rarely black-and-white, experts say, and weighing tradeoffs can be more of an art than a perfect science.

Persons: Tomás Aragón, ”, Jennifer Nuzzo, we’re, Dan Barouch, Sarita Shah, Dean Sidelinger, ” Barouch, –, ” Nuzzo, Shah, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, you’re, ” Shah, “ Organizations: CNN —, US Centers for Disease Control, California Department of Public Health, CDC, Pandemic, Brown University School of Public Health, Center, Virology, Vaccine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Emory University, Get CNN, CNN Health Locations: California, Oregon, COVID, hospitalizations, Covid

State and local officials have touted the settlements as providing desperately needed relief to communities hit hard by the crisis. But when the money will be paid out, and who will get it, remains far from clear, Reuters has found. Among the states where money is already reaching organizations on the ground are Massachusetts, Kentucky and Arizona. Most states share a significant portion of their total settlement funds with their city and county governments, which make their own independent decisions about how to spend. But in May, the board overseeing the state’s opioid settlement denied a joint application by Challenges and a county health department to fund harm reduction efforts, without explaining its decision.

Persons: Johnson, ”, Brandon Marshall, Julie Burns, Chris Bryan, Glenn Hegar, Lisa Ruzicka, “, Ruzicka, “ I’ve, drugmakers Johnson, Lauren Kestner, Tricia Christensen, –, we’re, ” Marc Burrows, Brendan Pierson, Disha, Alexia Garamfalvi, Claudia Parsons Organizations: Johnson, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Reuters, District of Columbia, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Reuters, Brown University School of Public Health, Rhode, Texas, Hope Foundation, Walgreens, Alliance, state’s Department of Health, Human Services, Prevention Services, Community Education Group, Alabama Attorney, University of Mississippi Medical, Inc, Thomson, & $ Locations: Massachusetts, Texas, United States, Maryland, Illinois, . Arkansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Rhode, RIZE Massachusetts, RIZE, Kansas, North Carolina, Charlotte, Appalachia, Mississippi, Alabama, New York

☆ U.S. records 100 million Covid cases, but more than 200 million Americans have probably had it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The U.S. officially recorded more than 100 million cases as of Tuesday, just under one-third of the total population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Covid-19 has easily infected more than 200 million in the U.S. alone since the beginning of the pandemic — some people more than once. "There are have been at least 200 million infections in the U.S., so this is a small portion of them," Frieden said. The estimate was based on a survey of commercial lab data that found about 58% of Americans had antibodies as a result of a Covid infection. The more than 21 million additional confirmed cases on top of the CDC's February estimate of about 187 million total infections gives a low-end estimate of more than 208 million infections since the pandemic began.

But it still refuses to use Western mRNA vaccines to innoculate the population more quickly. China's hesitancy to use Western vaccine technology is contributing to the mass protests against its COVID-19 restrictions. Despite that, China is still refusing to approve and distribute Western vaccines to innoculate its citizens. In lieu of the Western vaccines, which are based on mRNA, China has been relying on its own brand of jabs, which rely on inactivated, or killed, virus. Germany this week suggested China should use Western vaccines to speed up the process and protect the country from the virus, Politico reported.

☆ China's people are protesting the country's severe zero-COVID policies, and public-health experts agree with them
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Protests are erupting across China over the country's restrictive zero-COVID policies. Public-health experts say the policies are unsustainable, ineffective, and unnecessarily severe. Without vaccination campaigns targeting older adults, China's lockdowns may only delay a catastrophic COVID wave. Tyrone Siu/ReutersThere is no easy way forward for China, but constant 2020-style lockdowns are not the solution, according to public-health experts, who called the policies unsustainable, ineffective, and irrational. As a result, Huang thinks the zero-COVID lockdowns are completely unwarranted.

This year, hospitals are being overwhelmed with a combination of Covid, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the flu. This “tripledemic” of flu, Covid and RSV is a reminder that even as the pandemic ends, the threat of seasonal respiratory viruses remains. When and where respiratory viruses are surging, mask mandates should be reinstated. A recent study found that Boston school districts that had lifted mandates averaged 45 more Covid cases per 1,000 students and staff than those with mandates. This means that RSV — for which a vaccine is still being developed — can be mitigated through both mask-wearing and hand-washing.

Flu cases are already rising in parts of the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The convergence of viruses is hitting health care systems as they're forced to reckon with staffing shortages that worsened during the pandemic. Staffing deficits mean there is little wiggle room to accommodate any additional surges of patients, whether they're sick with Covid, flu or other illness. But as the cold weather sets in and people increasingly gather indoors, Covid cases are expected to rise. The vast majority of Covid cases circulating now are an omicron subvariant, BA.5.

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