Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
A controversial research trial that will withhold hepatitis B vaccines from some African newborns was given approval to move forward this week.
It is a central part of the vaccine vision for Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a longtime vaccine opponent.
Continue reading...Warning follows Pete Hegseth announcement that firing squad execution of Fort Hood killer will be public
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Livestreaming an execution could cause post-traumatic stress disorder in the viewing public, mental health experts have said, after the US confirmed plans to broadcast the death by firing squad of a man who shot dead 13 unarmed soldiers.
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said on Thursday that Nidal Hasan, a former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be executed by firing squad on 3 December. Officials later confirmed it would be livestreamed. It is believed it will be the first public execution in the US in almost a century.
Continue reading...Researchers found five events, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, caused serious damage to mental wellbeing across UK
Brexit, Liz Truss’s mini-budget and other “shocks” over the last 10 years have led to a serious and lasting deterioration in the UK population’s mental health, research has found.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the first and second Covid lockdowns also triggered big rises in psychological distress, as measured by the number of people with depression and anxiety.
Continue reading...Ethan Scott Brown died after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate from the University of Glasgow
The family of a student who took his own life after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate have said the University of Glasgow “will be held to account”.
Ethan Scott Brown, 23, was due to graduate in December 2024 after studying geography.
Continue reading...Legislation is an effort by ruling Liberals to address growing clash over who has access to doctor-assisted death
Canada’s federal government said on Wednesday it would advance legislation to prevent people whose sole health condition is mental illness from accessing euthanasia, an effort by the ruling Liberal party to address a clash in the country over who has access to physician-assisted death.
Under the current rules, people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness have been barred from accessing medical assistance in dying (Maid) to end their lives. But that ban – due to be lifted in March – has divided lawmakers over whether to permit this expansion of the Maid program.
In Canada, Crisis Services Canada can be contacted at any time on 1.833.456.4566, or via text on 45645 from 4pm-12am ET. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...The number of pharmacies stocking the MS-2 Step medication increased from 2,228 to 4,107 after rules relaxed in 2023
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The number of Australian pharmacies stocking an abortion pill increased by almost 50% when prescribing restrictions were relaxed, with researchers saying the findings suggest deregulation of abortion promotes safer and faster healthcare.
A study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open on Thursday examined the impact of changes by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in 2023 which meant the medication, MS-2 Step, could be prescribed by any GP.
Continue reading...World Health Organization detects no sign of further outbreak since Darya Shipilova died last week
The World Health Organization has said the risk of an epidemic in Russia is low after the sudden death of a lab technician who worked at a plague research institute in Siberia.
Darya Shipilova, who was 28, died last week, two days after falling ill. Russian media reports suggested she may have become infected after an accident at her workplace, where dangerous pathogens are kept and studied.
Continue reading...PepsiCo initiated class II recall of 28oz bottles last month over ‘undeclared’ yellow dyes, FDA notice says
About 122,000 cases of the popular sports drink Gatorade have been voluntarily recalled across 37 US states due to their having “undeclared” food dye, according to an official federal notice.
The varieties of the drink involved in the notice include 28oz bottles of Gatorade Lemon Lime, Lime Zero, Orange and Gatorade Orange Zero, the notice said. Gatorade’s manufacturer – the soda giant PepsiCo – initiated its recall on 25 September, said the advisory, which was posted on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s website.
Continue reading...Most counties don’t have their own health agencies, and some specific population groups have low vaccination rates
Pennsylvania is bracing for a wave of measles cases, with some public health officials concerned that it’s “only a matter of time” until the disease spreads beyond the outbreak’s epicenter.
Last week the state reported its fifth measles-associated death amid 943 confirmed cases across 39 counties. The outbreak comes amid concerns that public health in the US has been hit by increasing vaccine skepticism, especially due to the power and influence of controversial health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Continue reading...‘AbortOmat’ in Warsaw offers novel way to challenge country’s restrictions and allow women swift, anonymous access
They call it the “world’s first parcel locker for abortion pills”. Polish campaigners have launched a new means of distribution as part of their ongoing effort to skirt the country’s near-total ban on abortion.
Painted pink and framed by zebra-striped curtains, the 22-compartment “AbortOmat” in Warsaw allows women to access the pills swiftly and anonymously using a six-digit code. The service was envisaged for those who cannot or do not want to wait days for mail delivery due to a missed miscarriage or health complications, or who worry about receiving the pills at home.
Continue reading...The data suggest Burnham may be able to win the argument with the public amid lobbying efforts
Andy Burnham has suggested that it would not be legitimate for a party to form a majority government with less than 30% of the vote.
In his Today interview, asked why he wanted electoral reform and a move towards proportional representation, Burnham replied:
I found it better being elected under a different system as mayor of Greater Manchester, where people had one or two, they could put that on the ballot paper.
Because you had a reason to stop on every doorstep and chat to people who might not always support your party and try and get their second preference.
No, it could happen with any political party. It’s whether that would be a legitimate government.
I think you’ve got it completely wrong really, if you don’t mind me saying, to put it like that, because I have put out … a vision for a national care service.
There are pensioners out there who watch your programme who are paying for care costs from their basic state pension. Now, is that right or fair?
Continue reading...Work and pensions secretary says the current system is flawed because it consigns too many people to a life on benefits when they would be better off working
‘I can deliver’: Burnham pledges radical change on eve of Labour conference
Kuenssberg puts it to Burnham that, according to the Health Foundation, a system offering adult social care free at the point of delivery (like healthcare delivered by the NHS) would cost £18bn.
Burnham says the cost is “not that high” (ie, not as high as £18bn).
Not that high.
But can I directly deal with this issue of the costs?
Louise Casey is still doing an official review for us, so I will set out the vision, if you like, on Tuesday [in his speech to the conference].
Louise will then help us with the how. How do we make this happen? When can we make it happen?
Continue reading...Various factors block sufferers of disease from receiving treatment that is effective and has widespread availability
Sickle cell patients are missing out on an effective treatment despite widespread US hospital access to the technology, new research has found.
That treatment is called a red blood cell exchange, a procedure that discards a patient’s damaged red blood cells while simultaneously mixing the patient’s remaining plasma, platelets and white blood cells with red blood cells from a donor before returning them to the body.
Continue reading...New research suggests the technology could be used to increase out-of-hospital access to life-saving devices
Drones could help cut the time it takes to get a defibrillator to people experiencing cardiac arrests when not in hospital, researchers have suggested.
In the UK alone, there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests a year where emergency medical services attempt to resuscitate the individual, according to the British Heart Foundation. However, fewer than one in 10 people survive such an event, and some who do are left with neurological problems.
Continue reading...Province’s rat patrol called in to investigate as town of Bowden announces discovery of dead vermin
For more than seven decades, residents of Alberta have shared something in common with Antarctica and the high Arctic: all locations are officially free of rats.
But on Thursday the Canadian province’s reputation as a firewall against rodent infestation took a hit when the town of Bowden announced the discovery of a dead rat and called on the province’s “rat patrol” to investigate.
Continue reading...NHS England says test can be done while patient is on operating table and is being piloted in five centres around the country
A rapid new test for brain tumours can diagnose patients while they are still on the operating table.
Scientists have called the development “gamechanging” and said it could secure early treatment for those who “do not have time on their side”.
Continue reading...Patient groups decry ‘scandalous’ delays as four integrated care boards take step due to soaring demand for diagnoses
NHS bodies are forcing people with suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism to wait at least two years before they can be assessed as they struggle to meet surging demand for diagnoses of neurodiversity.
Four NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) covering large regions of England have adopted the approach because they cannot afford the cost of the number of assessments that people are seeking.
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Anthony Albanese has revealed an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI hacked Medicare in June.
The prime minister made the comments at the UN summit in New York.
This incident occurred in June this year and involved an Open AI agent gaining unauthorised access into the public-facing Medicare statistics reporting service portal, which is administered by Services Australia.
The AI agent accessed both public and non-public files.
Continue reading...Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refuses to count four measles deaths in the state though doctors are ‘seeing new forms’ of disease
The US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its measles dashboard on Friday – but it’s still not counting four measles deaths in Pennsylvania, where the outbreak appears to be accelerating and cases are appearing in ways providers have never seen before.
Members of Congress on Monday requested an “immediate briefing” on the decision to change how measles deaths are reported as cases continue to rise throughout the United States, reaching levels not seen in decades. A possible measles exposure was reported in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia last week.
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Jim Chalmers was also asked earlier if the government would support a national royal commission into violence against women and children. He said the government had chosen to increase resourcing for child and family violence and domestic violence, adding to the ABC:
We’re trying to deal with the sources of all of this violence, whether it be more security in the housing system, whether it be the monetised misogyny that we see online – there are a whole range of factors feeding in here.
We do acknowledge that all of this violence is obviously entirely unacceptable. It’s horrific in every way. That’s why we’ve increased the resources and that’s why we all need to do better to do everything we can to make a difference here.
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