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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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- What would it mean for the US to leave the World Health Organization? ›
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- Senate grills RFK Jr. on healthcare policy and vaccine statements ›
- 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 ›
Ian Explains: What's behind RFK Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" movement?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to become the country’s most powerful public health official. What will his “Make America Healthy Again” movement mean for the future of US health policy? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down RFK Jr.’s MAHA agenda and how it could reshape government agencies, medical institutions, and Big Pharma. The MAHA-verse is sprawling, bringing together people on both sides of the political spectrum who want to take on big medicine, eliminate processed foods, remove toxins from the environment, and curb vaccine mandates. The MAHA worldview blends traditional wellness ideas with deep skepticism towards the mainstream medical establishment, which can often verge on conspiracy and medical advice at odds with established science—like raw milk and unfluoridated water. Why does it matter? Because Donald Trump has embraced it. Just like MAGA remade the GOP, MAHA could remake healthcare, wielding enormous influence over not just the health department, but also the CDC, FDA, NIH, and USDA.
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 (🔔).
Donald Trump speaks on the last day of Turning Point's four-day AmericaFest conference on Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix.
What would it mean for the US to leave the World Health Organization?
President-elect Donald Trump’s advisors are reportedly urging him to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization on his first day in office, according to a report published Sunday in the Financial Times.
The US currently provides approximately 16% of the WHO’s funding, giving it outsized influence on the institution. Experts say a withdrawal would severely hamper the world’s ability to respond to public health crises like pandemics.
"Politically, Trump’s lack of support could open the door to lowered support from other countries, in an environment of increased skepticism towards international engagement and foreign aid in general—especially among many ascendant right-wing parties in Europe—amid fiscal constraints and pressures to increase defense spending," says Eurasia Group's Laura Yasaitis. "Ongoing pandemic preparedness efforts, such as the pandemic treaty, would be majorly set back, as would other efforts like the polio eradication campaign."
It’s not an empty threat. Trump actually initiated the process of leaving the WHO in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing the organization of being controlled by China. He never followed through on the actual withdrawal, however, and Joe Biden re-established ties in 2021.
This time around, Trump has aligned himself with figures whose views on healthcare are well outside the scientific consensus. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a vociferous opponent of vaccination, is tapped to lead Health and Human Services, while David Weldon, another anti-vaxxer from the fringe, is set to lead the Centers for Disease Control. Incoming Food and Drug Administration commissioner Martin Makary has also questioned the benefits of certain vaccines, like hepatitis B and COVID boosters. With advisers like these, the WHO would be smart to start planning for a pullout, even if it doesn’t happen on Jan. 20.
Beijing won’t butt in on this one, of course, since they stand to gain the most from US healthcare isolationism. If Trump was worried about Chinese control of the WHO back in 2020, pulling out in 2025 would all but guarantee that Beijing steps into the void.
A drone view of a Liberian-flagged cargo ship anchored after Argentine authorities quarantined it on the Parana River over a suspected case of mpox onboard, according to the government, in San Lorenzo, Argentina August 21, 2024.
“Not COVID,” but caution: WHO on high alert as new mpox strain spreads
Thailand confirmed on Thursday that the country has its first case of the new, more dangerous strain of mpox, and Argentina has quarantined a cargo ship in the Parana River over a suspected case onboard.
The news comes as global public health authorities raise the alarm about the fast-spreading variant of the virus, which has already surged in central and eastern Africa. So far in 2024, those regions have recorded over 17,000 infections, and while cases are usually mild, more than 500 people have died.
Mpox is a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. It is typically transmitted through intimate physical contact, face-to-face breathing, infected skin lesions, or contaminated objects.
Why is this strain different? The new clade 1b strain has caused concern because it seems to spread more easily through routine close contact, and it is affecting women and children in larger numbers. It is fatal in about 3.6% of cases, especially for children.
Although the World Health Organization has issued a global public health emergency warning, it insists this “is not the new COVID,” and that the spread can be controlled through public health efforts — like enhanced surveillance and tracing, as well as isolating those infected — while the new strain is studied.
World Health Organization (WHO) displayed on screen with pharmacy medical syringe and vaccine vial. Seen in this photo illustration, in Brussels, Belgium, on September 24, 2023.
WHO can succeed at AI?
The World Health Organization recently released Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health — or SARAH — an AI chatbot that’s able to answer basic health questions. SARAH is able to answer health questions in eight different languages, and the organization says she’s a tool to fight misinformation about mental health, cancer, and COVID, among other things.
The WHO bills SARAH, which appears as a female avatar with a voice and facial expressions, as a digital health “promoter” — not a provider — and, though SARAH hasn’t taken the Hippocratic Oath, it’s meant to fill in the gaps for people searching for health questions without access to proper health care providers. (They’ll still need a broadband connection.) You can speak through a microphone, and SARAH will respond, or you can type your answers to a similar effect.
But SARAH still struggles with plenty of basic queries, according to independent researchers who spoke to Bloomberg.
SARAH is trained on GPT-3.5, the model that OpenAI powers its free version of ChatGPT with, not the updated premium version (that’s GPT-4). Bloomberg found that SARAH repeatedly hallucinated — giving false and outdated medical information about drugs, medical advisories, or WHO’s own data. It incorrectly said that an Alzheimer’s drug was not approved, couldn’t provide details on where to get a mammogram, and couldn’t even recount the WHO’s finding about hepatitis cases worldwide.
When GZERO tested SARAH, it didn’t make any noticeable mistakes, but it basically refused to answer any questions, including a query about whether COVID is still dangerous. It responded, “I’m here to encourage you to live a healthy lifestyle, so I can't respond to that. Is there anything else health-related you'd like to discuss or any other questions I can help answer for you today?”
So maybe don’t cancel that appointment with your doctor just yet.
How can the world build back better public health after COVID?
Every year, over ten million people globally die from high blood pressure, more than all infectious diseases combined. Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control, is tackling this massive problem in public health, among many others, as CEO of Resolve to Save Lives.
He told GZERO’s Tony Maciulis that ensuring easy access to three drugs — amlodipine for blood pressure, metformin for blood sugar, and atorvastatin for cholesterol — could save tens of millions of lives over the next quarter century for just a penny per pill.
It’s part of a set of goals Frieden calls the three Rs: Renaissance in public health, robust primary healthcare and resilient populations. But as the developing world takes on more and more public debt, where will the money come from?
See more from Global Stage.