Trump's orders sow chaos in global public health

A recent flurry of executive orders and surprise actions by the Trump administration have roiled the international public health community, leaving healthcare workers scrambling and aid programs in peril. 

On January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order pausing U.S. foreign development assistance for 90 days to assess “programmatic efficiencies and consistency.” The ripple effects spread immediately. On January 24, the State Department put out a stop-work order halting foreign aid work. And on January 27, the Trump administration placed dozens of officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave. 

VA study shows COVID more severe than RSV, flu Primary outcomes included rates of 30-day hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death, as well as the secondary outcome of long-term death extending through 180 days. CIDRAP

A large study of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that, during the 2022 to 2023 season, having COVID-19 was associated with more severe disease outcomes than flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Differences became less pronounced, however, during the 2023 to 2024 season. 

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Will bird flu spark a human pandemic? Scientists say the risk is rising Nature - H5N1 is adapting to new mammalian hosts, raising the possibility of the virus spreading between humans. Kozlov, Max nature

Although many of the infections have been mild, emerging data indicate that variants of the avian influenza virus H5N1 that are spreading in North America can cause severe disease and death, especially when passed directly to humans from birds. The virus is also adapting to new hosts — cows and other mammals — raising the risk that it could spark a human pandemic.

Despite concerns about the future of research at the National Institutes of Health, current clinical trials can continue as scheduled, the agency’s acting director told staff scientists in an email Monday.

The clarification followed what staffers called “chaos” Wednesday when the Trump administration “paused” all communications from federal health agencies and suspended all government travel. The directive left NIH staff members with unanswered questions about their work and even whether they’d be able to continue caring for their patients.

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