1. US exited the WHO. The WHO isn’t perfect, but it’s our best effort as an international community to try to tackle diseases by sharing knowledge/resources, especially with countries who lack them. The US was the WHO’s largest funding source; many of the WHO experts were from the US-based CDC.  Why does cross-border cooperation matter?  Deadly outbreaks of viruses like Ebola can happen in countries with poor infrastructure, poor sanitation, and poor healthcare resources.  The ability of WHO to respond allows outbreaks to be contained.  The response to the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic raised serious questions, and several experts drafted structural changes.  However, despite these proposed reforms, not enough was done to be ready for a swift response to the 2020 Covid-19 outbreak.  A swifter, science-based (not political and coordinated response could have shorted the pandemic and saved lives.   Sadly, instead of learnign from mistakes, in this case, the US has doubled-down on the mistake, withdrawing from future cooperation. In the face of another pandemic, the WHO would have less funding, fewer experst with loss of the US.  Also the US contribution to spreadign any future pandemic with its  large population is terrifying:, extensive global air travel through major airports hourly, poor health literacy, and poor access to healthcare

2. CDC – Centre for Disease Control, based in US; it has a global framework widely used internationally. And we all know after Covid: a virus anywhere is only ever a short flight away. Grants for certain programmes are already suspended. Many countries with fewer resources adopt US frameworks and recommendations from organisations like CDC and FDA.

3. The plans to cut funding for the NIH, the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. We directly benefit from their research and advancements here.  This is especially important for those who suffer with rarer disease, of which there may be only 1 – 2 cases every year in their home country.  The US has also “brain-drained” from around the world over decades: many of the worlds top scientists are based and funded in the US, even if they are “seconded” (that is, have a second appointment) back home. NIH also funds global research.

4. Today is the most concerning so far:

We already suffer in Ireland from a great deal of health information imported from US. Today, the US appointed new head of Health and Human Services, known as RFK, Jr.

He is a prominent anti-science voice: denies that HIV causes AIDS, questions basic advancements in human health like flouride and pasteurisation, has spread misinformation about wi-fi, viruses, vaccines, and antidepressants. He has shared incorrect theories about Covid-19 being designed to target certain races.   While sound bites from his confirmation hearing have him retracting or denying some of these statements, he literally wrote all of this in a book and has given extensive interviews and speeches.   Interesting note: while supporters have traded on his famous family name, his own family have actively campaigned to not have him appointed.  In short, any political career at all for this person is actually inconceivable give the scandal attached to him:  he once dumped a dead bear in Central Park, NY, claimed to have been infected with a brain worm, and is connected to having contributed to a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people, mostly children under 5.

Bottom line: We can expect a rise in vaccine hesitancy and health misinformation being spread through social media as the US government gives an unparalled platform to fringe and anti-science views. Slower health research/advancement and slower response to future outbreaks of disease.

For a deeper dive into vaccine skepticism and science, try the pod cast episode Temple of Vaccinia  https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/Int7tFkOYQb  Free to listen to on Spotify.

Dr. Kate McCann is a former Fellow Eck Institute for Global Health and has post-doctoral work in Molecular Biology.  She has published extensively over 15 years on publicly-funded cancer, covid, and vaccine research, and presented research internationally, including at the NIH. She has previously disclosed her (lack of) conflict of interest.