Category World News

The United States government’s top-level vaccine panel has approved to repeal advice that newborn babies should be given a vaccine to prevent hepatitis B, a virus that can lead to chronic liver problems.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8 to 3 on Friday to overturn the medical advice, which has made hepatitis B vaccines a common component of post-natal care.

Instead, the ACIP approved new guidance that advises parents who have no prior hepatitis B infection to discuss whether to give their children the vaccine.

Additionally, it continues to advise against pregnant women who have hepatitis B from distributing the vaccine.

The change was quickly denounced by medical professionals and even pharmaceutical companies, who warned that it might encourage parents to leave their kids without vaccinations.

Undersecretary of health and human services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the change is regarded as the biggest move to change US vaccination practices.

“Our country will define itself today. The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Michael Osterholm, told the news agency Reuters, “We can no longer trust federal health authorities when it comes to vaccines.”

ACIP ignored decades of evidence that demonstrated its potent safety profile and efficacy when voted to ban the hepatitis B vaccine’s universal birth dose. More people with chronic liver disease and more hepatitis B infections will be affected by its decision.

He further stated that “parents and clinicians must ignore ACIP” if the organization continues to ignore the evidence regarding vaccine efficacy and safety.

Hepatitis B: What is it?

1.2 million people invent hepatitis B each year all over the world. The virus is also responsible for roughly 1.1 million deaths in 2022, according to the World Health Organization.

Children who share a toothbrush might be able to spread the virus through simple bodily fluid contact, which is where hepatitis B is found.

Infections are known to shorten life expectancy and lead to fatalities like liver cancer and cirrhosis, which are caused by tissue scarring.

The hepatitis B vaccine offers lifelong virus protection for the majority of people.

The three-dose regimen’s initial shot is typically given shortly after birth. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had previously advised that doctors give birth within 24 hours of the baby’s birth in order to maintain a healthy baby.

The first vaccination should occur 12 hours after birth, whichever comes first for a child who has a parent who has a hepatitis B test positive.

Prior to giving birth to a premature child, it was advised to wait a month before giving the first dose.

The infant typically receives its third and final dose before the infant reaches the age of 18.

Prior to Friday’s announcement, US government health experts had also advised all newborns to get shots. The vaccine itself has been available since the 1980s, and those guidelines have been in place for decades, dating back to 1991.

Changing medical advice

However, Kennedy has pushed for a revision of vaccination laws since joining President Donald Trump’s second-term cabinet.

The younger Kennedy is an environmental lawyer and former presidential candidate who gained notoriety as a vaccine sceptic. He is the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

He has been accused of spreading vaccine conspiracy theories despite repeatedly claiming he is not “anti-vaccine.”

For instance, he claimed that the COVID-19 shot was the “deadliest vaccine ever made” when speaking to a group of Louisiana politicians in 2021. He also published an article in 2005 disproving a widely discredited theory in favor of vaccines for autism and other neurological disorders. The publishers of that article later retracted it.

Despite having no prior medical background, Kennedy was appointed as Trump’s health and human services secretary in February. The position is in charge of a number of health and welfare organizations, including the CDC, the FDA, and Medicaid.

The US government quickly altered its approach to some vaccines under his leadership.

For instance, the FDA’s guidance on who should take the COVID-19 vaccine was constrained in August. Only people with health conditions or those over the age of 65 were advised to get the vaccine.

Critics warned that changes could force younger people to get a prescription and pay out of pocket for the preventive care. They would also limit the COVID-19 vaccine’s availability.

Under his leadership, the CDC removed assurances from its website that vaccines don’t cause autism last month.

In addition, he has changed the guidelines for vaccine development and cut back on government funding for research into the mRNA vaccines, which are the foundation of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Shake-up at ACIP

However, one of Kennedy’s most notable changes was the ACIP, a panel that has been in charge of vaccines since 1964.

The 17-member committee was replaced by people who, according to Kennedy, are largely sceptical of vaccination or have little prior research experience.

Kennedy argued that the panel’s mass firing was necessary to maintain its independence and defend “unbiased science.”

He stated in a statement that “today we are placing the restoration of public trust before any particular pro- or anti-vaccine agenda.”

However, Kennedy’s own beliefs were replaced by those who lacked trust, according to public health experts, who expressed outrage.

Despite the panel’s altercation, the panel’s members were still divided on how to change the hepatitis B vaccine recommendation.

Since September, there have been two delays in voting on the subject. One ACIP member, paediatrics professor Cody Meissner, cited the medical obligation to “do no harm” during the vote on Friday.

By changing this wording, we are harming ourselves. And he cast his ballot, saying “no”

However, the majority of the ACIP panel ultimately voted in favor of the change, citing the “flexibility” it provided for new parents. However, the CDC’s recommendations were not legally binding in the past.

Concerned about the uncertainty that the change would bring, industry groups expressed grave concerns.

The American Pharmacists Association stated in a statement that “the science is clear: the hepatitis B birth dose saves lives, and there is no new evidence to support delaying or removing this essential protection.”

Thomas Frieden, a former director of the CDC, urged the public to oppose the change.

“No one should accept this misguided and dangerous recommendation,” he wrote. “Now obstetricians, pediatricians, insurers, state health departments, and others should stand up for fact-based care, protect our children, and not mess with success.”

Washington, DC – In line with President Donald Trump’s desire for regional dominance, a frequently published document outlining the United States’ foreign policy and security has highlighted the need for US “preeminence” in the Western Hemisphere.

The release of the National Security Strategy (NSS) on Friday also recommended balancing trade with China and preventing Taiwan from becoming a sovereign nation.

The new NNS, however, did not concentrate solely on China or identify Beijing as the US’s greatest challenge, as opposed to the previous assessment, which was released while Joe Biden was president in 2022.

Instead, the US government emphasized non-interventionist policies. Trump’s statement that “the nation-state is and will remain the world’s fundamental political unit is and is” reflected his disdain for multilateralism and international organizations.

Five important lessons can be drawn from the document, as follows.

Hemispheric dominance

By strengthening the Monroe Doctrine, a US policy in opposition to European colonization and American interference, the US is attempting to “restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere.”

It will promote “private economies” while promoting “private economies” in addition to reducing international influence in the hemisphere.

The document states that “we will reward and encourage the region’s governments, political parties, and movements that are broadly in line with our principles and strategy.”

Trump has already taken this approach by publicly supporting conservative politicians in Latin America and providing $ 40 billion to bolster Argentina’s economy under president Javier Melei.

The document states that we will not allow non-Hemispheric rivals to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically important assets in our hemisphere.

This “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine is a wise and potent restoration of American power and priorities that is in line with American security interests.

The NSS also recommends moving US military installations to the Western Hemisphere, “apart from theaters whose relative importance to American national security has declined in recent decades.”

The US is using this strategy as it launches deadly attacks on alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

Additionally, the Trump administration has mandated a military deployment in Venezuela, which raises the possibility that Washington will use force to overthrow left-wing President Nicolas Maduro.

preventing Taiwan from becoming a conflict.

The US prioritized the US’s top priority over China in the final two National Security Strategies, including the one released during Trump’s first term in office.

However, this NNS did not emphasize Beijing’s rivalry.

The document nevertheless stressed the need to rebalance trade with China and win the economic competition there. In order to counterbalance Beijing, it emphasized the need to collaborate with Asian allies by focusing on India.

To encourage New Delhi to contribute to Indo-Pacific security, it said, “We must continue to improve commercial (and other) relations with India.”

The document lists the dangers of China attempting to seize Taiwan, noting that Beijing claims to be its own and is a major computer chip producer.

Additionally, it was pointed out that China’s acces to the Second Island Chain in the Asia Pacific and its position in the South China Sea, a crucial hub for international trade, would be strengthened by capturing Taiwan.

The NNS states that “to prevent a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch,” is a top priority.

In order to deter conflict, the strategy demanded that US allies in the area increase their military spending.

The statement read, “We will build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain.”

“But the American military cannot and ought not to be required to do this alone. Our allies must increase their spending and, more importantly, increase their involvement in collective defense.

Berating Europe

The NNS scorned Europe for what it called “censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition,” despite Trump’s crackdown on speech against Israel in the US and his administration’s enforcement action.

According to the strategy, migration policies and the “failed focus on regulatory suffocation” are the causes of Europe’s “prospect of civilizational erasure.”

Additionally, it criticizes European officials’ “unrealistic expectations” of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, claiming that the US has a “core interest” in putting an end to the conflict.

Some European leaders last month objected to the US’s proposal to end the conflict, which would allow Russia to control large areas in eastern Ukraine.

Without giving examples, the NNS attributed the “subversion of democratic processes” to some European governments’ inability to support their citizens’ demands for peace.

Additionally, the document suggested that the US might end its long-held security umbrella.

Washington would prioritize “enabling Europe to stand on its own feet and operate as a group of aligned sovereign nations, including by accepting primary responsibility for its own defense, without being dominated by any adversarial powers,” the NNS reads.

shifting from the Middle East to the Middle East

The US no longer has the highest priority in terms of strategic importance, according to the NSS.

It claims that factors that made the area so significant, such as energy production and widespread conflict, “no longer hold.”

The strategy predicts that “America’s historical reason for focusing on the Middle East will fade as the US ramps up its own energy production.”

The ceasefire in Gaza and the US attack on Iran in June, which it claimed “significantly degraded” Tehran’s nuclear program, are also being cited as contributing factors in the argument.

There is less of this problem today than headlines might suggest, but conflict continues to be the Middle East’s most troublesome dynamic, it reads.

The Middle East will “increasingly become a source and destination of international investment,” according to the US administration, who predicted a promising future for the region.

It describes the area as “emerging as a place of partnership, friendship, and investment.”

In reality, there are still crises and violence in the Middle East. Nearly daily Israeli attacks have continued despite the truce in Gaza as deadly settlers and soldiers continue to target Palestinians in occupied West Bank.

Israel has increased its airstrikes in Lebanon, which has increased concern about a further, forceful assault on the nation to disarm a weakened Hezbollah.

Israel has continued to use incursions and strikes in Syria in an effort to militarily rule the region after the government of former president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown a year earlier.

The US continues to be deeply rooted in the region with its ongoing military presence in Syria, Iraq, and the Gulf region, despite its unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.

The US still has significant interests in the Middle East, including ensuring “that Israel remains secure” and safeguarding shipping lanes and energy supplies.

The Middle East no longer serves as the country’s preeminent foreign policy, according to the statement, “but the days are thankfully over because it no longer serves as the country’s constant irritant and potential source of imminent catastrophe”

“Flexible realism”

According to the document, the US will pursue its own goals in negotiations with other nations, which suggests Washington won’t encourage the spread of democracy and human rights.

Without imposing any social change that disobeys their traditions and histories, “We seek good relations and peaceful commercial relations with the world’s nations.”

We affirm and acknowledge that acting in accordance with such a realistic assessment and maintaining good relations with nations whose governing systems and societies are different from ours while supporting our interests in the process are both inconsistent and hypocritical.

However, the strategy suggests that the US will continue to pressure some nations, particularly Western partners, on values that it believes are significant.

Tiny populations. Brutal logistics. And political turmoil.

US officials have arrested a man suspected of planting pipe bombs at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic parties in Washington, DC, the night before the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

In a public debate, critics claim that remarks are inappropriate.