Former President Donald Trump has distanced himself from a Heritage Foundation document that outlines positions on abortion and a range of other social issues. But Democrats view it as a window into the far right’s to-do list and a clear opening for political attack.
Dairy workers in Texas show signs of prior, uncounted bird flu infections in a new study. Without labor protection and better health care, cases are bound to quietly rise as the outbreak among livestock blazes in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promises better tests are in the works, but the episode points to vulnerabilities in the country’s defense against emerging outbreaks.
So far, all nine cases reported nationally this year at dairy and poultry farms have been mild, consisting of respiratory symptoms and eye irritation. Scientists have warned that the virus could mutate to spread from person to person, like the seasonal flu, and spark a pandemic.
Even with a stockpile of bird flu vaccinations, the federal government is not offering them to those at high risk. Along with testing and measures to prevent spread, vaccinations may protect people and stop the outbreak from becoming a pandemic.
A Supreme Court ruling restricting federal power will likely have seismic ramifications for health policy. A flood of litigation — with plaintiffs like small businesses, drugmakers, and hospitals challenging regulations they say are too expensive or burdensome and not authorized by law — could leave the country with a patchwork of disparate health regulations.
Three months into the U.S. bird flu outbreak, only 45 people have been tested. Laboratories that are the foundation of diagnostic testing have yet to get approval to detect the bird flu virus. They say their path forward has been slowed by miscommunication and uncertainty from the CDC and FDA.
If widely used, flu tests could be helpful now. In the meantime, the government needs to clear a path for H5N1 tests, researchers warn, to avoid the early missteps of the covid pandemic.
If widely used, flu tests could be helpful now. In the meantime, the government needs to clear a path for H5N1 tests, researchers warn, to avoid the early missteps of the covid pandemic.
Faulty lead test kits made by Magellan Diagnostics may have been used as late as 2021 to test children for exposure to the toxic metal. The company agreed to pay $42 million to settle criminal charges that it concealed malfunctions.
