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Should we worry about bird flu in the US?
How worried should we be about bird flu spreading to humans in the US? Are rising bird flu numbers the beginning of the next pandemic? On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, New York Times science and global health reporter, Apoorva Mandavalli says that now is the time to start taking bird flu more seriously. The virus, known as H5N1, has been circulating in the US since 2024 in poultry and dairy cattle, but fears are growing about its spread to humans after the first bird flu death was reported in Louisiana last month. One big reason for that is that the flu virus is very good at adapting, picking up characteristics that keep it spreading. With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. set to lead the US health department, Mandavilli worries about our ability to deal with a bird flu epidemic, especially given his opposition to mRNA vaccines and endorsement of raw milk, which can harbor bird flu virus, posing serious risks to public health.
“Surveillance has been just really, really poor. We don’t actually know what this virus is doing, how it’s evolving, how widely it’s spread,” Mandavilli says, “That first death was quite a wakeup call.”
Watch the full interview on GZERO World: Trump's health agenda—from RFK Jr. to leaving WHO
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
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How Trump is remaking US public health, with NY Times reporter Apoorva Mandavilli
Listen: In President Trump’s short time in office, he’s already made sweeping changes to US public health policy—from RFK Jr.’s nomination to lead the health department to withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. On the GZERO World Podcast, New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli joins Ian Bremmer for an in-depth look at health policy in the Trump administration, and what it could mean, not just for the US, but for the rest of the world. President Trump has made it clear: he wants to slash government spending and remake institutions like the CDC, NIH, and FDA. But are those plans a much-needed correction to an overly bureaucratic system or prescription for the next pandemic? What do we need to know about bird flu and changes to USAID? Bremmer and Mandavilli discuss RFK Jr.’s influence in Trump’s second term and what the future of health and medical policy in America could look like.
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- Should we worry about bird flu in the US? - GZERO Media ›
Trump's health agenda—from RFK Jr. to leaving WHO
From RFK Jr.’s nomination to lead the health department to an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization, President Trump has already made sweeping changes to public health policy, and this may be just the beginning. On GZERO World, New York Times Science and Global Health Reporter Apoorva Mandavilli joins Ian Bremmer for an in-depth look at health and medicine in the second Trump administration—and what it could mean, not just for the US, but for the rest of the world. With bird flu numbers rising in the US and a noted vaccine skeptic poised to become the country's most powerful public health official, should we be worried about potential new pandemics or cuts at the CDC and NIH? Will the FDA endorse RFK’s ideas about raw milk and unfluoridated water? RFK gets a lot right about the need to focus on disease prevention and remove toxins fom our food and environment, but many of his ideas are at odds with mainstream medical science, posing a risk to public health. Bremmer and Mandavilli break down the big stories in healthcare right now, and what the future of the US medical establishment could look like.
"We have a huge problem with trust in this country, and that predates RFK Jr.," Mandavilli says, "Now when you have somebody who has made those comments very openly about the CDC not being trustworthy or the FDA not being trustworthy, and that's who's leading the health department, I think we are in real danger of people [not trusting] anything."
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
- Ian Bremmer: American democracy at risk thanks to conspiracy theories ›
- The Disinformation Election: Will the wildfire of ... - GZERO Media ›
- Trump’s rockiest Cabinet picks get spicy hearings ›
- What would it mean for the US to leave the World Health Organization? ›
- What can RFK Jr. do for Donald Trump? ›
- Senate hearings: Gabbard and RFK Jr. make it out of committee ›
- Senate grills RFK Jr. on healthcare policy and vaccine statements ›
- Should we worry about bird flu in the US? - GZERO Media ›