Latest news with #FionaHavers
Mint
12 hours ago
- Health
- Mint
Covid-19 variant ‘Nimbus' with ‘razor blade throat' symptom spreads in California – should you worry?
A new Covid-19 variant – NB.1.8.1 or 'Nimbus' – may be driving a recent rise in cases in some parts of the world. The rise is cases in primarily seen in eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions, the World Health Organization said on May 28. The new variant had reached nearly 11 per cent of sequenced samples reported globally in mid-May, an AP report said on Wednesday. Airport screening in the United States detected the new variant in travelers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York. You aren't likely to get sicker from this variant than others. The WHO said some western Pacific countries have reported increases in Covid cases and hospitalisations, but there's nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared to other variants, the report added. The variant has earned a new nickname – 'razor blade throat' Covid. That's because the variant may cause painful sore throats. The symptom has been identified by doctors in the United Kingdom, India and elsewhere, according to various media outlets. According to the AP report, other Covid-19 symptoms of any variant include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or loss of taste or smell. Experts say there isn't major cause for concern with the Nimbus variant. The WHO has designated Nimbus as a 'variant under monitoring' and considers the public health risk low at the global level. Current vaccines are expected to remain effective. A US government scientist who oversees the team responsible for collecting data on Covid-19 and RSV hospitalisations used to shape national vaccine policy has resigned, citing concerns over how such data would be used by the Trump administration. The scientist, Dr Fiona Havers, told colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday that she no longer had confidence that the Covid and RSV data would be used "objectively or evaluated with appropriate scientific rigor to make evidence-based vaccine policy decisions," according to an email seen by Reuters. Havers, leader of the RESP-NET Hospitalization Surveillance Team, did not respond to requests for comment. Her resignation follows moves by Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. to abruptly fire all 17 members of the CDC's independent vaccine advisory panel and drop a recommendation for administering Covid shots to healthy children and pregnant women. Kennedy, who has long sown doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, replaced the advisory board with eight members of his own choosing, some of whom have histories of objecting to Covid shots or vaccines in general.
CNN
a day ago
- Health
- CNN
Infectious disease expert explains why she resigned from the CDC
Former CDC infectious disease expert Dr. Fiona Havers tells CNN's Jake Tapper why she resigned her post as a senior vaccine adviser, citing concerns about changes to the agency's vaccine processes under US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
CNN
a day ago
- Health
- CNN
Infectious disease expert explains why she resigned from the CDC
Former CDC infectious disease expert Dr. Fiona Havers tells CNN's Jake Tapper why she resigned her post as a senior vaccine adviser, citing concerns about changes to the agency's vaccine processes under US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
UPI
2 days ago
- Health
- UPI
CDC vaccine expert quits after RFK Jr. cuts advisers
Dr. Fiona Havers, who led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's tracking of hospitalizations from COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, stepped down this week. Adobe stock/HealthDay June 18 (UPI) -- A senior scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has resigned, warning that changes in leadership may weaken the country's vaccine program. Dr. Fiona Havers, who led the CDC's tracking of hospitalizations from COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, stepped down this week. "Unfortunately," she said in an email to colleagues, " I no longer have confidence that these data will be used objectively or evaluated with appropriate scientific rigor to make evidence-based vaccine policy decisions." The memo was obtained by The Washington Post. Havers' departure comes just days after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with new appointees. The panel makes recommendations on use of vaccines in the United States. At least three of the new members have spoken out against mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Two have served as witnesses in lawsuits against vaccine makers, and one served on the board of the nation's oldest anti-vaccine group, The Post reported. Havers worked at the CDC for 13 years. She presented hospitalization data at advisory committee meetings. Her resignation is the latest in a string of exits from the agency. Earlier this month, Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, a CDC vaccine adviser, also resigned. And before that, five senior leaders stepped down from their CDC roles, The Post reported. In addition, Melinda Wharton, a top CDC official who managed advisory panel operations, was removed from her role last week. In a commentary published June 16 in JAMA, the 17 former panel members said the recent cuts have "critically weakened" the U.S. vaccine program. "We are deeply concerned that these destabilizing decisions, made without clear rationale, may roll back the achievements of U.S. immunization policy, impact people's access to lifesaving vaccines, and ultimately put U.S. families at risk of dangerous and preventable illnesses," they wrote. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said HHS is "committed to following the gold standard of scientific integrity" under Kennedy's leadership. "Vaccine policy decisions will be based on objective data, transparent analysis and evidence -- not conflicts of interest or industry influence," Nixon said in a statement. In her email to colleagues, Havers expressed pride in the work she and her team had done. "I'm grateful to have been part of such important and effective work that has provided decision-makers with real-time, high-quality, rigorous scientific evidence that have been used to track disease severity over time, tailor vaccine messaging to groups at highest risk for severe disease and provide critical inputs for vaccine cost-effectiveness analyses," she wrote. Just this April, Havers presented data showing that infants under 6 months old had the highest rates of COVID-related hospitalizations, The Post reported. Her report also found that most hospitalized children under 2 years old had no underlying health conditions. More information Learn more about the role of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Health
- New York Times
Why a Vaccine Expert Left the C.D.C.: ‘Americans Are Going to Die'
In 13 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Fiona Havers crafted guidance for contending with Zika virus, helped China respond to outbreaks of bird flu and guided safe burial practices for Ebola deaths in Liberia. More recently, she was a senior adviser on vaccine policy, leading a team that produced data on hospitalizations related to Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. To the select group of scientists, federal officials and advocates who study who should get immunizations and when, Dr. Havers is well known, an embodiment of the C.D.C.'s intensive data-gathering operations. On Monday, Dr. Havers resigned, saying she could no longer continue while the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dismantled the careful processes that help formulate vaccination standards in the United States. 'If it isn't stopped, and some of this isn't reversed, like, immediately, a lot of Americans are going to die as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases,' she said in an interview with The New York Times, the first since her resignation. Dr. Havers, 49, cited an escalating series of attacks on federal vaccine policy by Mr. Kennedy. Three weeks ago, the health secretary announced in a minute-long video on X that the agency would no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children or pregnant women. Last week, he fired all 17 members of the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, saying without evidence that the group was beset with conflicts of interest and that a clean sweep was needed to restore public trust. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
