Melody Schreiber

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Melody Schreiber

Amid controversial dismissals for independent advisers and staff at health agencies, alongside lackluster responses to the bird flu and measles outbreaks, experts fear the US is now in worse shape to respond to a pandemic than before 2020. H5N1, which has received less attention under the Trump administration than from Biden’s team, is not the only influenza virus or even the only variant of bird flu with the potential to spark a pandemic.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Melody Schreiber

As top US health officials turn against some mRNA vaccines, experts fear for the country’s preparedness for the next pandemic and worry that other vaccines will be targeted next. Donald Trump’s administration recently canceled a $766m award to Moderna on the research and development of H5N1 bird flu vaccines, and officials have announced new restrictions and regulations for Covid mRNA vaccines – actions that signal a move away from the breakthrough technology.

3 weeks ago | kpbs.org | Melody Schreiber

About two decades ago, Namibia was one of the hardest-hit countries in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. More than one in three adults tested positive for HIV. Dr. Mark Dybul remembers visiting a clinic in rural Namibia and meeting a woman and her baby. She was HIV-positive and was terrified of passing the virus on to the child. She named her baby No Hope in the local language. "That's one of the most devastating things you could ever hear," Dybul says.

3 weeks ago | kawc.org | Melody Schreiber

About two decades ago, Namibia was one of the hardest-hit countries in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. More than one in three adults tested positive for HIV. Dr. Mark Dybul remembers visiting a clinic in rural Namibia and meeting a woman and her baby. She was HIV-positive and was terrified of passing the virus on to the child. She named her baby No Hope in the local language. "That's one of the most devastating things you could ever hear," Dybul says.

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Melody Schreiber

As the Trump administration contemplates new clinical trials for Covid boosters and moves to restrict Covid vaccines for children and others, parents whose children participated in the clinical trials expressed anger and dismay. “It’s really devastating to see this evidence base officially ignored and discarded,” said Sophia Bessias, a parent in North Carolina whose two- and four-year-old kids were part of the Pfizer pediatric vaccine trial. “It’s infuriating.