Hacker News with Generative AI: Public Health

Anger, despair, and defiance from a voice within the US federal research system (bmj.com)
People around the world are watching with disbelief as the new US government closes down its aid programme, withdraws from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris agreement on climate change, deletes datasets that do not fit with its ideology, refuses to pay adequate overhead to universities—so halting research and bankrupting many, and insists that certain words are not used in federal documents, including federally funded research.

Science, Politics, Research, Public Health, Climate Change

33 points by yunque 2 hours ago | 19 comments

CDC layoffs strike response ability during flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks (theconversation.com)
In just a few short weeks, the Trump administration has brought drastic changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health.

Public Health, CDC, Outbreaks, Trump Administration

8 points by rntn 5 hours ago | 1 comments

CDC terminates flu vaccine promotion campaign (npr.org)
As flu rages, the Trump administration has pulled the plug on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flu immunization campaign that targeted high-risk groups, including pregnant women.

Health, Public Health, US Politics, Vaccines, Influenza

74 points by throw0101d 6 hours ago | 74 comments

Trump administration yanks CDC flu vaccine campaign (npr.org)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is stopping a successful flu vaccination campaign that juxtaposed images of wild animals, such as a lion, with cute counterparts, like a kitten, as an analogy for how immunization can help tame the flu.

Health, Politics, Public Health, Government, CDC

16 points by perihelions 1 day ago | 0 comments

Water chlorination levels in US and EU likely increase cancer risk (pressreader.com)

Health, Cancer, Water Treatment, Public Health, Europe

14 points by oliverchan2024 3 days ago | 1 comments

Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists (nytimes.com)
The notices came all weekend, landing in the inboxes of federal scientists, doctors and public health professionals: Your work is no longer needed.

Science, Government, Funding, Public Health

5 points by strangeloops85 3 days ago | 2 comments

Water chlorination levels in US and EU likely increase cancer risk (theguardian.com)
Chlorinating drinking water at levels common in the United States and European Union probably increases the risk of several cancers, a new analysis of recent research from across the globe finds.

Health, Cancer, Water Treatment, Public Health, Environmental Science

3 points by kawera 4 days ago | 1 comments

Half of CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Laid Off (newrepublic.com)
Hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged that the Department of Health and Human Services would not undergo a staff purge, it did.

Public Health, Government, Layoffs, Politics

56 points by basementcat 5 days ago | 19 comments

New SF public health chief was part of McKinsey opioid-marketing operation (sfstandard.com)
Daniel Tsai, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s choice to lead the Department of Public Health, has a blue-chip résumé: After studying at Harvard University, he landed a prestigious consulting gig before jumping into government, leading Medicaid programs in Massachusetts, then federally under former President Joe Biden.

Public Health, San Francisco, Opioid Crisis, Consulting

253 points by iancmceachern 6 days ago | 78 comments

Musk's takeover of US health agencies raises pandemic threat, experts warn (theguardian.com)
The “department of government efficiency”, the Donald Trump-created program known as Doge and headed by the billionaire Elon Musk, has accessed or requested access to sensitive systems at multiple health agencies as the US president attempts to grant the committee sweeping powers within the federal government.

Politics, Public Health, Government, Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk

9 points by n1b0m 6 days ago | 1 comments

CDC cuts expected to decimate Epidemic Intelligence Service (statnews.com)
The Trump administration’s campaign to slash the federal civil service will hit one of the crown jewels of global public health on Friday.

Public Health, Government, Trump Administration

104 points by anigbrowl 7 days ago | 61 comments

Louisiana to end mass vaccine promotion, state's top health official says (apnews.com)
The Louisiana Department of Health “will no longer promote mass vaccination” according to a Thursday memo written by the state’s top health official and obtained by The Associated Press.

Public Health, Louisiana, COVID-19, Vaccination

72 points by petethomas 7 days ago | 42 comments

CDC Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians (nytimes.com)
Three dairy veterinarians, including one who worked only in states with no known bird flu outbreaks in cows, had recent, undetected bird flu infections, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public Health, Avian Flu, Veterinary Medicine

125 points by bookofjoe 8 days ago | 60 comments

Is it time to worry about bird flu? [video] (youtube.com)

Public Health, Avian Flu, Video

5 points by mgh2 8 days ago | 0 comments

Some people didn't know they had a bird flu infection, study suggests (apnews.com)
A new study shows that bird flu has silently spread from animals to some veterinarians.

Health, Science, Avian Flu, Public Health

6 points by geox 8 days ago | 0 comments

USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts (cidrap.umn.edu)
The Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid delivered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the subsequent shutdown and dismantling of the agency altogether, has sent shockwaves throughout the community of people working on tuberculosis (TB) treatment, diagnosis, and prevention.

Global Health, Public Health, Tuberculosis, Politics

91 points by Red_Tarsius 8 days ago | 119 comments

Nine unvaccinated people hospitalized as Texas measles outbreak doubles (arstechnica.com)
An outbreak of measles in one of Texas' least vaccinated counties continues to rapidly expand, with officials reporting 24 cases Tuesday, up from just nine confirmed on Friday.

Public Health, Texas, Measles, Vaccines, Disease Outbreaks

12 points by rbanffy 8 days ago | 6 comments

Judge tells agencies to restore webpages and data (apnews.com)
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered government agencies to restore public access to health-related webpages and datasets that they removed to comply with an executive order by President Donald Trump.

Government, Law, Technology, Public Health

95 points by petethomas 10 days ago | 53 comments

Measles outbreak erupts in one of Texas' least-vaccinated counties (arstechnica.com)
Health officials in Texas are battling a growing measles outbreak in an area that has some of the state's lowest vaccination rates and highest non-medical exemptions.

Health, Texas, Measles, Vaccines, Public Health

9 points by rbanffy 11 days ago | 0 comments

New York Shutting Down Live Bird Markets After Finding Bird Flu (time.com)
On Feb. 7, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued an order to temporarily close live bird markets after cases of avian influenza, or bird flu, were detected in seven markets in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx in the past week.

New York, Avian Influenza, Public Health, Bird Flu

8 points by bookofjoe 13 days ago | 0 comments

Measles outbreak erupts in one of Texas' least vaccinated counties (arstechnica.com)
Health officials in Texas are battling a growing measles outbreak in an area that has some of the state's lowest vaccination rates and highest non-medical exemptions.

Health, Public Health, Texas, Vaccination, Measles

11 points by smy20011 13 days ago | 8 comments

Long Covid impacted more than 1M children: CDC study suggests (abcnews.go.com)
More than 1 million children may have been affected by long COVID as of 2023, new federal data published Monday suggests.

Health, Children, COVID-19, Research, Public Health

63 points by luu 14 days ago | 26 comments

Live poultry markets ordered shut in New York City due to avian flu outbreak (apnews.com)
All live poultry markets in New York City and some of its suburbs were ordered Friday to close for a week after the detection of seven cases of avian flu, which has also hit farms nationwide, led to the slaughter of millions of birds and driven up egg prices.

Avian Flu, Public Health, Food Safety

5 points by geox 14 days ago | 0 comments

CDC Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People (nytimes.com)
Cats that became infected with bird flu might have spread the virus to humans in the same household and vice versa, according to data that briefly appeared online in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but then abruptly vanished.

Public Health, Animal Health, Virus Transmission, CDC

25 points by vinni2 15 days ago | 3 comments

Flu cases in NYC reach 4-year high as CDC reports nationwide spike (nbcnewyork.com)
Flu cases in NYC reach 4-year high as CDC reports nationwide spike

Health, Flu Season, Public Health, CDC

7 points by geox 15 days ago | 0 comments

Why the WHO has recommended switching to a healthier salt alternative (theconversation.com)
This week the World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines recommending people switch the regular salt they use at home for substitutes containing less sodium.

Health, Nutrition, WHO, Salt, Public Health

24 points by gnabgib 17 days ago | 46 comments

CDC datasets uploaded before January 28th, 2025 (archive.org)
An archive of all CDC datasets uploaded to https://data.cdc.gov/browse before January 28th, 2025. Excludes corrupt datasets and data not publicly accessible.

Data, Public Health, Archive, CDC

7 points by Bengalilol 18 days ago | 1 comments

Antibiotics, vaccinations linked to reduced risk of dementia (cam.ac.uk)
Antibiotics, antivirals, vaccinations and anti-inflammatory medication are associated with reduced risk of dementia, according to new research that looked at health data from over 130 million individuals.

Health, Medicine, Dementia, Research, Public Health

28 points by nithinj 20 days ago | 0 comments

CDC data are disappearing (theatlantic.com)
Last night, scientists began to hear cryptic and foreboding warnings from colleagues: Go to the CDC website, and download your data now. They were all telling one another the same thing: Data on the website were about to disappear, or be altered, to comply with the Trump administration’s ongoing attempt to scrub federal agencies of any mention of gender, DEI, and accessibility.

Data, Politics, Government, Public Health, Science

749 points by doener 20 days ago | 589 comments

Health and climate information disappearing from federal websites (theverge.com)
Key resources for environmental data and public health have already been taken down from federal websites, and more could soon vanish as the Trump administration works to scrap anything that has to do with climate change, racial equity, or gender identity.

Climate Change, Government, Public Health, Environmental Data

39 points by nothrowaways 21 days ago | 1 comments