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Genetically modified kidney marks major milestone in organ transplantation; The latest health stories from around the world

A 62-year-old man with end-stage renal disease has become the first human to receive a new kidney from a genetically modified pig, doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/first-pig-to-human-kidney-transplant-performed-boston-2024-03-21/  The four-hour surgery, performed on March 16, “marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients,” …

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Eli Lilly announces direct-to-patient portal for new weight loss drug; The latest health stories from around the world

Eli Lilly, maker of the anti-obesity drug Zepbound, announced last week the launch of LillyDirect, a direct-to-patient portal, allowing some patients to obtain its drug for as little as $25 a month.  The move is seen as a major shift in the way these popular medications can reach patients. https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/eli-lilly-offers-obesity-drug-directly-consumers-2024a10000fl?   For many of the 42 million Americans with obesity, weight …

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WHO declares JN.1 COVID-19 variant a “variant of interest; The latest health stories from around the world

For the first time since it declared an end to the global Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 on 05 May,  the World Health Organization (WHO) has called the COVID-19 variant JN.1 a standalone “variant of interest.” WHO has gone further to state that JN.1 will drive an increase in cases of the virus. https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/covid-strain-jn-1-now-variant-interest-who-says-2023a1000w73?  JN.1 …

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UK approves CRISPR gene therapy for SCD; The latest health stories from around the world

In a world first, U.K. regulators have approved a therapy that uses CRISPR, the Nobel Prize–winning gene-editing tool invented in 2012. The treatment has been shown to help people with beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease, both inherited blood disorders that involve defects in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin. It relies on removing blood stem cells …

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New monovalent COVID-19 vaccines approved in US; The latest health stories from around the world

After the US Food and Drug Administration authorized new monovalent COVID vaccines on early last week, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices backed the decision a day later with a nearly unanimous vote in favour of universal XBB-containing shots. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/996378?  Reports of a mutating virus and COVID hospitalisations of about 17,000 people a …

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US to negotiate on prices for a number of prescription drugs; The latest health stories from around the world

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced its first list of 10 prescription drugs whose prices will be open for negotiation in 2023 and 2024. Any settled price will become effective in 2026. The HHS will be working through the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the provisions of …

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UK COVID-19 surveillance “flying blind”; The latest health stories from around the world

The UK is nearly “flying blind” when it comes to COVID this autumn, experts have said, amid an increase in cases. While the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to track some metrics of COVID, including hospitalization numbers, many of the community surveillance studies tracking infection levels have finished. www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/05/uk-almost-flying-blind-on-COVID-this-autumn-experts-say? Now experts have said the …

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Mandy Cohen

Biden to appoint Mandy Cohen as Director of the CDC; The latest health stories from around the world

Public health advocates are applauding the news that President Joe Biden intends to name Mandy Cohen, a physician and public health expert with broad government experience, to lead the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.adj1029?et_rid=785235729&utm_campaign=SCIeToc&af=R&et_cid=4766136&utm_medium=email&utm_content=alert&utm_source=sfmc Biden will appoint Cohen by the end of the month to replace current CDC Director Rochelle Walensky …

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Chinese researchers release new COVID-19 data; The latest health stories from around the world

Chinese researchers released a trove of new genetic data last Wednesday that may offer fresh clues to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also substantially revised a related study they first posted online 13 months ago to include this evidence, which some scientists say gives more credibility to the thesis that SARS-CoV-2 could have …

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More than 100 countries bid for pandemic preparedness funds; The latest health stories from around the world

More than 100 low- and middle-income countries have put in early bids for at least $5.5 billion from a fund that initially has only $300 million to spend to help them better prepare for pandemics. https://www.reuters.com/world/pandemic-fund-vastly-oversubscribed-more-money-needed-world-bank-2023-03-07/ The demand is a sign that pandemic prevention, preparedness and response needs more money and attention, the head of …

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