涩里番

People in Ukraine who have suffered mental stress as a result of the war which continues in their country have found a space to heal in neighbouring Moldova.

96 Global Health NOW: Revised Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccines; Conscripting Chatbots in the HIV Fight; and Pets as Heralds of Chemical Exposures October 8, 2025 Ruth Jones, an immunization nurse, holds a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Borinquen Health Care Center. Miami, Florida, May 29. Joe Raedle/Getty Revised Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccines
   COVID-19 vaccine guidance in the U.S. is finally becoming clearer after months of confusion, .     Who is eligible? The CDC now recommends updated COVID-19 shots for everyone 6 months+, expanding on the FDA鈥檚 narrower recommendations in August.  

• The CDC says everyone seeking a shot should first have a conversation with a health care professional about risks and benefits.  

• But prescriptions or even a doctor鈥檚 appointment aren鈥檛 required; pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens are allowing self-attestation of eligibility.  

What about children? The new requirement could prove more challenging for parents seeking to vaccinate their children, .  

• Children鈥檚 shots are typically administered in doctors鈥� offices, which may not be consistently stocked, especially after the delayed guidance.   

• Major pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS typically offer vaccines only to children older than a set threshold like 3 years, 5, or higher, depending on the state.  

Does insurance cover the shot? All major insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare, will cover the shots. The Vaccines for Children program, which provides vaccines to 40% of U.S. children, has begun shipping doses.     Meanwhile, in England, criteria have been limited this year so that only those age 75+, and younger patients with weakened immune systems are being offered free boosters, . 

• Between a third and a half of people who arrive for vaccination appointments are being turned away, leading to angry outbursts, report pharmacists. 

Related: Acting CDC director says to break up MMR shot 鈥�   DATA POINT

90,000
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌�
Additional microplastic particles ingested each year by bottled water drinkers, compared with tap water drinkers. 鈥�
  The Latest One-Liners   200+ health facilities in eastern DRC have exhausted their supplies due to conflict-related looting, disruptions, and humanitarian funding declines, the ICRC reports today; in a survey last month, 85% of facilities reported medicine shortages, and 40% reported staffing shortages.  
  Nearly 28,000 injuries on the job in the U.S. each year are linked to hot weather, led by George Washington University and Harvard researchers that indicated that workers in states with workplace heat exposure standards had a lower risk of injury on hot days.     A taste-based flu test has been developed by researchers who chemically engineered a sensor that reacts to viral activity in a patient's saliva and releases a tasteable reporter upon detection, ; however, additional clinical studies with direct human testing are needed.     The U.S.鈥檚 federal organ transplant network has been ordered to stop some monitoring of transplant and donation outcomes amid the government shutdown, and ~25% of the staff of the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing, contracted by the government to manage most network functions, have been furloughed.   HIV/AIDS Conscripting Chatbots in the HIV Fight     In South Africa, the rollout next year of the injectable anti-HIV drug lenacapavir has the potential to dramatically reduce the virus鈥檚 transmission鈥攂ut only if millions of people take it.  

• Convincing them to do so will involve a concerted push from doctors, nurses 鈥� and AI chatbots.  

AI ally: The country鈥檚 health department has endorsed a new chatbot, Self-Cav, a WhatsApp-based AI system devoted to helping young South Africans navigate questions about HIV, sex, and other health topics.     Target demographic: Health advocates are especially trying to reach young women ages 15鈥�24, who account for ~40% of new HIV infections despite making up just 8% of the population. 
    GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Pets as Heralds of Chemical Exposures    Understanding how pollution affects pets could yield insights that improve both animal and human health, researchers say.  

• Because pets share our air, water, and homes but live shorter lives, typically in one location, they may help scientists trace environmental risks more clearly. 

One example: Lead-screening clinics for local dogs, in Flint, Michigan, identified several animals, all living in the same household, whose results were of 鈥渆xtreme concern.鈥� Officials subsequently found that the lead level of the home鈥檚 drinking water posed a clear danger to both people and animals.    Because they spend a lot of time on the ground, dogs and cats could be at elevated risk from other chemical contaminants鈥攎aking them especially good 鈥渟entinel species.鈥�  
    OPPORTUNITY Stanford Global and Planetary Health Research Convening     The will be held in-person on January 28, 2026, at Stanford University鈥攂ringing together students, faculty, staff, and researchers working in global and planetary health from Stanford and beyond. There will be no virtual option to attend.      This year鈥檚 theme, Reimagining Global and Planetary Health, explores potential solutions and strategies to help address global and planetary health challenges and build resilience; researchers are invited to submit abstracts to be considered for presentation.  

• Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 9 a.m.鈥�3 p.m. PT at the , Stanford University 
•  
•  

QUICK HITS Darfur: ICC convicts Janjaweed leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity 鈥�     Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs 鈥�     Past surgeons general warn HHS Secretary Kennedy must go 鈥�     The rise of 鈥榥ightmare bacteria鈥�: antimicrobial resistance in five charts 鈥�     Public Health Response to the First Locally Acquired Malaria Outbreaks in the US in 20 Years 鈥�     Promise and gaps in America First strategy for global health 鈥�      Lessons from a historic quest to heal spider bites are helping to fight neglected tropical diseases today 鈥�     Podcast: How to Cover Science Under Trump 鈥� Issue No. 2801
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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As indirect talks in Egypt seeking to end Gaza鈥檚 two-year war continue, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) says rebuilding the devastated health system is critical to securing lasting peace and stability.

96 Global Health NOW: Tobacco Use Falls, Industry Pivots; Aid Cuts Hit Yemen Amid Measles Crisis; and Conversion Therapy Goes Before the Court October 7, 2025 A customs officer burns cigarettes seized from illegal trade during a press conference in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on July 22. Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP via Getty Tobacco Use Falls, Industry Pivots    Global tobacco use is continuing its decades-long fall, released yesterday, but the industry is fighting back by marketing new nicotine products to young people.    Positive trendlines:  

• Prevalence of tobacco use among those 15+ was 19.5% last year, dropping from 26.2% in 2010, and 33.1% in 2000. 

• Men in Southeast Asia using tobacco plummeted to 37% last year from 70% in 2000. 

Not so positive: 

• 24.1% of adult Europeans used tobacco in 2024鈥攖he world鈥檚 highest prevalence, .  

• In Bulgaria, nearly 36% of people smoke鈥� Europe鈥檚 highest prevalence. 

鈥楴ew wave鈥� of addiction: 

• 100 million+ people globally vape, including 86 million adults and 15 million youths ages 13鈥�15, per WHO estimates. .  

• WHO鈥檚 Etienne Krug warned of e-cigarettes鈥� 鈥渘ew wave鈥� of nicotine addiction, , saying: 鈥淭hey are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.鈥�  

WHO advice: 鈥淕overnments must act faster and stronger in implementing proven tobacco-control policies,鈥� said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.    Related: How Milwaukee smoke shops are handling Wisconsin鈥檚 new vape law as confusion persists 鈥�   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The deaths of at least 14 children in India have been linked to contaminated cough syrup, the Indian-made Coldrif Syrup鈥攚hich allegedly contained up to 500X the permissible limit of a toxin called diethylene glycol; Indian police have opened a manslaughter investigation into the deaths.  
  The U.S. has become increasingly reliant on other countries for antibiotics over the past several decades, by Johns Hopkins University researchers that shows that China supplies more than 60% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients U.S. antibiotics manufacturers need鈥攁nd, since 2020, nearly a third of the finished antibiotics imported by the U.S. come from India.  
  Suicides among Gen Z adults who are now entering their late 20s are exceeding the number of millennials鈥� suicides a decade ago, per a Stateline analysis of CDC data; 85% of the increase is among Black and Hispanic men.  
  A historic phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of antimalarial drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy鈥攁imed at addressing a longstanding gap in malaria research鈥攅nrolled its first patient; the trial is being conducted in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Kenya.   U.S. and Global Health Policy News CDC stops recommending COVID-19 shots for all, leaves decision to patients 鈥�

CDC signs off on fall Covid shots. It may not be easy to get one, depending on where you live. 鈥�     Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired 鈥�     Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary 鈥�   GHN EXCLUSIVE Q&A A nurse records vital signs for a measles patient in the M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res isolation ward at Al-Wahda hospital, Dhamar, Yemen. May 27. Mohammed Khawamel/MSF Aid Cuts Hit Yemen Amid Measles Crisis    Even before conflict in Yemen escalated a decade ago, only about half the country鈥檚 population had access to health services. Today, amid gaps in routine immunization programs and the loss of U.S. aid funding鈥攚hich accounted for over 50% of the country鈥檚 humanitarian response plan funding in 2024.    鈥淭he detrimental impact [of the cuts] cannot be overstated,鈥� Marisa Lister, a M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res medical coordinator based in Sanaa, told GHN in a Q&A.    Key challenges:  

• MSF facilities encounter vaccine-preventable diseases daily, including measles, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus.  

• Measles cases at MSF facilities in Yemen have risen 470% since 2022. From April through July 2025, MSF saw 1,400+ measles patients鈥攎ore than half of them children under 5. 

• Health care needs rise during the peak disease season (July鈥揙ctober). 

• Widespread malnutrition further exacerbates the challenges of treating measles. In one hospital, nearly half of all people treated for measles were classified as severely malnourished.     

For a disease as contagious as measles, 鈥渃ase management alone cannot and will not stop an outbreak,鈥� says Lister. 鈥淚nstead, the root causes鈥攐ften inadequate vaccination coverage and poor water and sanitation鈥攏eed to be tackled.鈥�        DATA POINT

15 million
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺�斺��
Number of deaths per year that could be prevented by adoption of a 鈥減lanetary health鈥� diet, which could also head off a climate disaster. 鈥�
  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HUMAN RIGHTS Conversion Therapy Goes Before the Court    This week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments around Colorado鈥檚 conversion therapy ban in a case that could have nationwide implications not only for LGBTQ+ protections, but also for how states regulate medical care, .     Details: is a challenge to a 2019 state law that bans licensed therapists from trying to change a young person鈥檚 sexual or gender identity鈥攁 practice known as conversion therapy that is widely condemned by major psychological and medical groups as ineffective and dangerous. Colorado is one of 20 states with such a ban.  

• But plaintiff Kaley Chiles, a counselor represented by conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), argues that the ban violates therapists鈥� First Amendment rights.  

Coopted evidence: Meanwhile, researchers say ADF has 鈥減rofoundly misrepresented鈥� their research on sexual fluidity in the arguments to support conversion therapy, .    OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Bangladesh dengue cases top 50,000 in 2025 鈥�     Haiti battles rabies with vaccines and vigilance 鈥�      A three-pronged approach to combat malaria in Burundi 鈥�      Their parents never got them vaccinated. As young adults, they faced a choice. 鈥�     Pediatricians Can鈥檛 Bear These Costs 鈥�     A bold doctor sent her kids away and helped beat one of the world's deadliest viruses 鈥�     He Was Expected to Get Alzheimer鈥檚 25 Years Ago. Why Hasn鈥檛 He? 鈥�   Issue No. 2800
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: A Nobel Prize for Illuminating the Immune System; Mississippi鈥檚 Maternal Care Emergency; and Fishing for Parasites October 6, 2025 A screen displays the portraits of the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at a Karolinska Institute press conference. Stockholm, Sweden, October 6. Atila Altuntas/Anadolu via Getty A Nobel Prize for Illuminating the Immune System      Three scientists who conducted groundbreaking research into the human immune system were today, with the awards committee calling their discoveries 鈥渇undamental鈥� to our understanding of immunology, .    Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi made key discoveries to unlock an understanding of peripheral immune tolerance鈥攈ow the body regulates its immune system, how immune cells are typically prevented from attacking the body, and what happens when they do.     Ongoing impact: 鈥淭heir discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of new treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases,鈥� .     Interlocking discoveries: The three decades of research began in 1995, when Sakaguchi鈥檚 experiments with mice led to the discovery of a previously unknown set of immune cells, now known as regulatory T cells or T-regs, which protect the body against autoimmune diseases, .  

• In 2001 Brunkow and Ramsdell discovered a mutation in Foxp3, a gene linked to rare human autoimmune disease, which was later found to control the development of those T-regs. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   A baby in Alberta, Canada, died of measles late last week, marking the country鈥檚 first death from the outbreak that began last spring; the baby鈥檚 mother contracted measles during pregnancy, and the baby, born prematurely, died shortly after birth.     Invasive mosquitoes capable of carrying dengue, chikungunya, and Zika have been located in England for the first time, ; the findings demonstrate the new threat posed by the insects as they move northward through Europe amid rising temperatures.     Brazilians are avoiding liquor as officials investigate a surge in methanol poisoning cases that includes 11 confirmed cases tied to alcohol, 116 suspected cases, and one death.     A generic form of the abortion medication mifepristone was approved by the FDA ahead of the government shutdown, ; it is the second generic version to reach the market.   U.S. and Global Health Policy News Renowned U.S. climate center trims staff ahead of expected budget cuts 鈥�

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here鈥檚 What Never Arrived. -

After Trump's Medicaid Cuts, Patients at Rural Maine Clinics Feel the Fallout 鈥�

Exclusive: After months in limbo, four NIH institute directors fired 鈥�   THE QUOTE
  鈥淢y work isn鈥檛 dangerous, but stopping research that could lead to cures could be.鈥� 鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺�� 鈥撯�揝arah Stanley, a University of California, Berkeley tuberculosis researcher, in a STAT commentary:
  MATERNAL HEALTH Mississippi鈥檚 Maternal Care Emergency     Last year, Mississippi reported its highest rate of infant deaths in over a decade: 10 deaths per 1,000 births. Among Black babies, the rate was markedly higher: 15.2.    The uptick led the state to declare a in August.  

• 鈥淚f having babies dying at the rate that our babies are dying is not a public health emergency, I don't know what is,鈥� said Daniel Edney, Mississippi鈥檚 health officer.  

Convergence of crises: Cost and lack of insurance are major barriers to care, as the state resisted Medicaid expansions; and more than half of Mississippi's counties are considered 鈥渕aternity care deserts.鈥�    Bigger picture: Mississippi鈥檚 crisis is a warning for the rest of the U.S., say obstetricians, as cutting Medicaid expansions in other states could lead ~6 million women to lose coverage.        GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NTDs: SOLUTIONS Fishing for Parasites     Africa鈥檚 Lake Victoria is infested with schistosomes, parasites that can infiltrate the skin and cause schistosomiasis, or bilharzia, a disease that affects 200 million people, kills ~10,000 people a year, and impairs children鈥檚 physical and cognitive development. 

• The schistosomes thrive within the lake鈥檚 abundant snail population.  

A new angle in angling: To reduce the snail (and parasite) population, scientists have turned to catfish鈥攁 natural predator that has steadily disappeared from the lake in recent years, .  

• Restocking catfish cut snail numbers by 57% and bilharzia infections by 55%. 

   OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS All in one 鈥榮uper鈥� Covid vaccines could slow next pandemic, study finds 鈥�

Russia spiralling into an HIV crisis 鈥�

Afghanistan: Ban on Girls鈥� Education Linked to Rise in Forced and Child Marriage 鈥�

Yes, Amish people do have autism, but we still don鈥檛 know how many do 鈥� 鈥�

Fresh Insights Into the Stubborn Problem of Lead Water Pipes 鈥�

Millions could be living with hidden smell loss after COVID without knowing 鈥�

Cannabis and Breastfeeding: What鈥檚 the Harm? 鈥�

With makeshift jump ropes and hide and seek, kids play to cope with crisis 鈥� Issue No. 2799
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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Although there are fewer smokers now than 15 years ago, one in five adults worldwide is still hooked on tobacco.

Health authorities in Haiti are turning deaths caused by rabies-infected dogs into a public health awakening with the support of the UN鈥檚 health agency in the region, PAHO.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.

Researchers at 涩里番鈥檚 (CGP) have launched a first-of-its-kind guide to help Canadian health-care providers offer more inclusive, respectful and affirming care to intersex adults.