Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
USAID Employees Seek Exit After Halt In Congressional Funding
Politico: U.S. Global Vaccination Program Employees Look To Leave Over Lack Of Funding
Dozens of USAID employees — working to get Covid-19 vaccines in arms and strengthen health systems around the world — are looking to leave the agency after Congress failed to provide additional funding for their programs, according to three people familiar with the matter. As employees look for new opportunities, the programs themselves are in flux while agency leaders consider consolidating Covid-19 programs at the United States Agency for International Development. (Payne and Banco, 4/15)
Reuters: Britain Approves Valneva's Easy-To-Store COVID Shot
Britain approved on Thursday Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine, making it the first European country to give a nod to the French firm's coronavirus shot, that is easier to store and involves a process widely used in making flu and polio vaccines. (Grover and Morland, 4/14)
Bloomberg: Taiwan Reports Record Cases As Covid-Free Status Crumbles
Taiwan reported a record number of Covid cases as multiple outbreaks across several cities overwhelmed health authorities’ efforts to contain the virus. Local infections rose to an all-time high of 1,209, health minister Chen Shih-chung said at a briefing in Taipei on Friday. It was the first time since the global pandemic began that Taiwan has reported more than 1,000 cases in a day. Chen also warned that the daily case figures are likely to get much worse. (Ellis and Hou, 4/15)
In other global health news —
AP: Clinton Health Access Initiative Names Shah As New CEO
The Clinton Health Access Initiative selected Dr. Neil Buddy Shah as its new CEO Thursday, a sign of the global health organization’s move towards growth in low- and middle-income nations and use of new philanthropic efforts to help fund the expansion. Shah is currently managing director of global health and development research and funding organization GiveWell and previously co-founder and CEO of data analytics and advisory firm IDinsight. Also a leader in the “Effective Altruism” movement, Shah will start in his new role at Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) on June 14. (Gamboa, 4/14)
Stat: U.S., U.K. Investigating Unusual Cases Of Hepatitis In Young Children
Public health officials in the United States and the United Kingdom are investigating a number of unusual cases of serious hepatitis in young children, the cause or causes of which are currently unknown. Evidence from the U.K. and from Alabama — where nine cases have been recorded since last fall — points to the possible involvement of an adenovirus. Adenoviruses generally attack the respiratory tract, causing cold-like illnesses. But they have been linked to bladder inflammation and infection, and occasionally to hepatitis, though rarely in children who are not immunocompromised. (Branswell, 4/14)
Fox News: Ukraine Focus Shows Bias Against Black Lives, WHO Chief Says
World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hit the global community Wednesday for its focus on the war in Ukraine, questioning "if the world really gives equal attention to Black and White lives." In a press briefing, the agency chief said that ongoing emergencies in Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria have garnered only a "fraction" of the global concern for Ukraine. In March, Tedros – who is from Ethiopia – said there is "nowhere on Earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat" than the country's Tigray region. Thousands have been killed since the civil war began in November 2020, and the UN Refugee Agency reports that more than 3,000 people have been fleeing from Tigray each day into eastern Sudan. (Musto, 4/13)
