#vaccine shortage

[beauila-blog]

Cholera Deaths Surge Globally Despite Being Preventable

Cholera, a disease long known to be easily preventable, has seen a dramatic increase in fatalities worldwide, with deaths rising by 71% in 2023, according to a World Health Organization (W.H.O.) analysis. The number of reported cholera cases only increased by 13%, signaling that outbreaks are becoming deadlier, largely due to overwhelmed health systems, conflict, and climate change.

Though cholera can be treated with basic and inexpensive interventions like oral rehydration salts, huge outbreaks in countries unaccustomed to handling the disease have stretched health infrastructure to the brink. Philippe Barboza, head of the W.H.O.’s cholera emergency response, called the sharp rise in deaths “totally unacceptable.”

“It reflects the world’s lack of interest in a disease that has plagued humans for thousands of years, afflicting the poorest people who cannot find clean water to drink,” he said.

In 2023, more than 4,000 cholera deaths were officially reported, but the actual toll could be as high as 100,000, according to the W.H.O.'s estimates based on testing data.

A Disease That Should Be Easy to Stop

Cholera causes severe dehydration as the body attempts to expel the bacteria through vomiting and diarrhea, and without timely treatment, it can be fatal within 24 hours. The solution? Basic treatments, like a simple bag of oral rehydration salts, which cost as little as 50 cents, along with IV fluids and antibiotics. Yet many people die without access to such care.

In 2023, cholera outbreaks were reported in 45 countries, up from 35 in 2021. Much of the burden has shifted to Africa, where cases surged by 125% last year, driven by catastrophic weather events such as floods and droughts, which exacerbate the spread of waterborne diseases.

Countries like Zambia and Malawi, though proactive in their responses, saw their health systems pushed to the limits. Lusaka, Zambia's capital, had to repurpose a stadium into a cholera treatment center. Meanwhile, in Sudan, ongoing civil conflict has displaced over nine million people, creating cramped living conditions in camps with poor sanitation. Despite efforts to control a cholera outbreak in Sudan last year, the disease has returned, with over 5,600 new cases reported since mid-August.

Deadly Community Spread and Overburdened Health Systems

One of the key reasons for rising fatalities is the increase in "community deaths," where people succumb to cholera without ever reaching a health facility. This has been a particular problem in large countries with weak cholera surveillance, like India, which reports very few cases relative to its population. Bangladesh, in contrast, has made significant strides in tracking and reporting cholera cases, accounting for over 23,000 cases in 2023, though much of this reflects improved detection rather than worsening outbreaks.

The W.H.O. recorded over 535,000 cholera cases worldwide in 2023, a rise from 472,000 in 2022. Countries like Afghanistan, Haiti, and Mozambique have also reported very large outbreaks, each with more than 10,000 confirmed or suspected cases, more than doubling the number of such massive outbreaks from previous years.

Vaccine Shortages Worsen the Crisis

The cholera crisis has been aggravated by a global shortage of vaccines, with demand outpacing supply for years. Vaccines are primarily targeted at low- and middle-income countries, where they sell for as little as $1.50 per dose. The International Coordinating Group, which manages the global emergency cholera vaccine stockpile, recommended a shift to a single-dose strategy to stretch supplies. However, even this measure has proven insufficient, with countries requesting 74 million doses in 2023, while fewer than half of those requests were fulfilled.

Rachel Park, international business director for EuBiologics, the sole global supplier of cholera vaccines, said the company is switching to a simplified vaccine formula that will boost production by 40% by the end of the year. Despite this, total supply will still fall short, with only 50 million doses expected to be available next year.

Bharat Biotech, an Indian pharmaceutical company, has developed a new cholera vaccine called HillChol, recently approved for domestic use. The company plans to apply for W.H.O. authorization to contribute to the global stockpile by 2026, with an initial annual production target of 40 million doses.

A Continuing Global Health Threat

As cholera cases continue to climb and vaccine shortages persist, many countries remain at high risk of outbreaks. With weather patterns exacerbating the spread of the disease, particularly in areas lacking adequate sanitation and access to clean water, cholera will continue to pose a significant threat to vulnerable populations worldwide.

Dr. Barboza warned that until global efforts are ramped up to meet the growing demand for vaccines and basic treatments, cholera will continue to claim lives unnecessarily. "How can we accept that people are dying in 2024 because they don’t have access to a simple bag of oral rehydration salts?" he said.

[creativemedianews]

How far has mpox spread, and what can you do to protect yourself?

How far has mpox spread, and what can you do to protect yourself? #Africa #Clade1 #Pakistan #poxvirus #Sweden

[corvidinthewoods]

seems the ADHD med shortage has finally hit me. i dont take mine every day so ive been able to make what i had last a long time, and at least it's summer now rather than running out during finals week. i reeeeaaally hope i can get my scriot filled before school starts tho. gonna ration what i have even harder.

[baraaalshrafa]

🙏Help me 🙏

🇵🇸🍉🇵🇸

Hello, my name is Baraa Al-Sharafa, I am 15 years old. We are a family of 6 people, my mother, father and 4 young children, my youngest brother is 8 years old.

Since October 7, 2023, we have been suffering from a war that has destroyed our dreams, homes and agricultural lands.

During this war, my father was injured in the head and eye due to the brutal war, and my little brother, who is 8 years old, was injured in the head due to the bombing.

During this war, we endured many difficulties as we faced hunger and thirst due to the lack of clean water, and we often walk long distances to get one gallon of water.

We also suffered from repeated displacement from one place to another due to the horrific and brutal bombing.

We have been deprived of education and building a future due to the war.

We also face a shortage of medicines and vaccines while diseases are increasing and spreading among us, and my little brothers have not received their vaccinations. Skin diseases have spread among them.

We have also been suffering from the absence of cooking gas for 10 months, so we use wood Plastic is an alternative to gas, which leads to poisoning.

We also suffer from the lack of electricity and the frightening darkness at night, which exposes my brothers to extreme fear because of the sound of gunfire.

In addition, we have not had a fixed income since the beginning of the brutal war..

I appeal to you to help my family so that we can live a better life

Our goal is achieved with your help and donations

VETTED BY BUTTERFLY 🦋NU 911

Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #34 )

[wintermage]

feeling that level of work burnout where not only am i burnt out on my current job, i can’t imagine any job in any industry being any better.

[adair-the-bard]

i got a haircut today, and it looks awesome! highly considering taking a photo and showing it off..

also school was cancelled because a pipe burst. can't wait to miss out on more school because of strikes

[beardedmrbean]

Finland's nursing shortage is in the news again as Helsingin Sanomat (siirryt toiseen palveluun) follows up on HUS sending pediatric patients to Denmark for life-saving operations.

In addition to nursing shortages slowing down the surgery queue at the New Children's Hospital, staff told HS there were other problems, too, including hospital design.

"They didn't listen to us when planning these facilities," a nurse with 20 years' experience told the paper.

Patients in intensive care must be under constant nurse supervision. But the hospital's modular spaces prevent nurses from watching over patients other than their own, making things less efficient, nurses told HS.

Higher speed limits

Summer speed limits are set to gradually come into force nationwide on Finnish roads starting on Wednesday, reports Hufvudstadsbladet (siirryt toiseen palveluun).

The top legal speed on highways will go back up to 120km/h and on other main roads to 100km/h.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, however, said that variable weather conditions in southern parts of the country this winter have damaged roads. This means that summer speed limits won't return to some stretches of road until they're repaired.

Star conscription

Utah Jazz player Lauri Markkanen starting his Finnish military service this month has been making headlines recently.

Iltalehti (siirryt toiseen palveluun)reports that Markkanen will be carrying out his service at a special sports division of the army.

The paper reports that after a few weeks of basic training, Markkanen—and other professional athletes starting entering service at the same—time can practice their respective sport.

Markkanen's service is symbolic, according to IL, which suggests Markkanen will carry out the minimum 165 days of service.

"The bigger the athlete, the bigger the role model for kids and young people," Jari Karinkanta of the Defence Forces said.

The story also garnered interest amongst US sports publications with ESPN (siirryt toiseen palveluun) and Sports Illustrated (siirryt toiseen palveluun) covering Markkanen's military obligation.

Lauri Markkanen recently became the first Finn ever to become selected as a reserve for the NBA's All-Star game.

[macrotiis]

I hate that I had to detrans for a month coz of a shortage in sustanon. I ended up going on reandron bc being detrans was just too much for me & my mental health rly tanked for it.

I’m back on sustanon now, but it’s like starting from scratch so I’m going through another mini puberty again & my face is so sore from acne 😩

[petalsandpurity]

there's a shortage of kitty vaccines again :(

[panreivonreyes]

so for months i've been thinking i wasn't eligible for a second covid booster because i don't have any of the specific conditions listed as high risk on the vaccine eligibility page,and they're really picky about who can get boosters and when over here, and next week it'll be a year since my last covid shot and now that i have to do weekly work experience in a creche (where none of the kids are vaccinated, because under 5's can't get a covid vaccine here) i have definitely been feeling Not Great about that, but i got an official text recently that suggested there was a chance that i might actually be eligible so today i rang the info line since i figured it wouldn't hurt to ask, and apparently thanks to some list my gp put me on at some point i am actually eligible, as long as no one gets too fussy about what counts as severe enough mental health issues or whatever (which is my best guess for how i got on that list) so the lady on the info line booked me an appointment and said she couldn't guarantee they'd give me one but it was definitely worth a shot and yup, as of about 3pm today i have the new bivalent pfizer in my body! yay!

[thebibliosphere]

No worries if no spoons, but do you have mcas safe suggestions for managing covid? Just got my first infection and 24 hours in I am DEEPLY suffering. God speed to people who’ve had this more than once

Oh no. I’m so sorry!

I haven’t had it since before vaccines and treatment were a thing but I know a lot of fellow masties have done okay on Paxlovid to get over the worst of it.

If you can’t take that and can up your MCAS meds, I know that saved my bacon when I got it in March 2020. Doubling my famotidine really helped. I don't know if anyone remembers the major shortages of antihistamines that happened during the first year of the pandemic, but that's because they were being used up treating COVID patients in the hospitals, famotidine included.

I actually recovered quicker than Mothman who ended up needing a dose of prednisone to shake the cough after 8 weeks.

Other than that, eat what you can, keep your fluids up, and sleep as much as you can. The importance of rest cannot be overemphasized enough.

Obligatory: I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice. I’m just sharing what helped me as an MCAS patient.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Alarm bells ring in Japan as experts warn of fast-spreading new Covid variant KP. 3 - Published July 19, 2024

Paywalled at the South China Morning Post: Unpaywalled by Covidsafehotties.

The country reported a 39 per cent week-on-week surge in infections from July 1 to 7, with Okinawa the hardest hit

Japan is grappling with a new and highly contagious coronavirus variant that is fuelling the country’s 11th wave of Covid-19 infections, health experts warn. The KP. 3 variant is spreading rapidly, even among those who are vaccinated or have recovered from previous infections, according to Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases.

“It is, unfortunately, the nature of the virus to become more resilient and resistant each time it changes into a different form,” Tateda told This Week in Asia. “People lose their immunity quite quickly after being vaccinated, so they have little or no resistance.”

Tateda, who sits on Japan’s advisory panel formed at the start of the pandemic, said the coming weeks will be critical as authorities monitor the variant’s spread and impact.

While hospitals have reported a sharp uptick in Covid-19 admissions, Tateda said he is “relieved that not many of these cases are severe”. Typical symptoms of the KP. 3 variant include high fever, sore throat, loss of smell and taste, headaches, and fatigue.

According to the health ministry, medical facilities across Japan logged a 1.39-fold – or 39 per cent – increase in infections from July 1 to 7, compared to the previous week.

Okinawa prefecture has been the hardest hit by the new strain of the virus, with hospitals reporting an average of nearly 30 infections per days. The KP. 3 variant has accounted for more than 90 per cent of Covid-19 cases nationwide, the Fuji News Network reported, leading to renewed concerns about bed shortages at medical facilities.

Since Japan’s first detected Covid-19 case in early 2020 involving a man who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, East Asian nation has recorded a total of 34 million infections and around 75,000 related deaths. The country’s Covid-19 caseload peaked on August 5, 2022, when more than 253,000 people were receiving treatment.

Japan’s uptick in cases coincides with similar increases being observed globally. In the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 23.5 per cent week-over-week rise in the number of people visiting hospitals with Covid-19 symptoms during the week ending July 6.

High-profile US.figures such as President Joe Biden and Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris, have recently tested positive and gone into isolation. Meanwhile, several riders in the ongoing Tour de France cycling race have also returned positive test results.

Experts say it is too early to determine the full impact of the new variant on Japanese businesses or cross-border activities like travel. Precautionary measures are already in place at the country’s air and seaports to monitor the health of incoming arrivals. However, the global spike in cases may deter some Japanese from venturing abroad this summer.

A recent survey by Nippon Life insurance found that just 3.2 per cent of Japanese plan to travel abroad in the coming months, which is likely to depress annual travel figures once again. In 2023, Japan saw 9.62 million outbound travellers, a recovery after three years of extremely low pandemic-era numbers, but still far below the 20.01 million outbound travellers recorded in 2019.

Despite the latest surge, infectious disease expert Tateda insists there is no need for panic in Japan. However, he emphasised the importance of following precautions implemented during the pandemic’s peak, such as mask-wearing in public, handwashing, and social distancing.

Tateda also stressed that anyone testing positive should immediately isolate themselves.

[satellitebroadcast]

Israel has killed 1,151 workers in Gaza’s healthcare system since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Among the dead are 260 nurses, 184 health associates, 165 physicians, and 76 pharmacists, along with hundreds of management and support staff. While most of the victims’ names have been confirmed by health authorities, over 150 confirmations are still pending due to Israel’s refusal to release the martyrs’ bodies. In addition to those killed, hundreds of health workers remain imprisoned, where they face abuse and torture, as documented by international organizations. Ziad Muhammad Al-Dalu, a physician from Al-Shifa Hospital, was among those who died in Israeli custody, as reported by the Ministry of Health. His death serves as yet another example of Israel’s deliberate targeting of Gaza’s healthcare workers and infrastructure, actions that violate international humanitarian law. The ongoing attacks on healthcare have left tens of thousands of people with life-altering injuries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 25% of those injured between October 2023 and July 2024 have suffered burns, severe limb injuries, or amputations, with no access to rehabilitation services. Dozens of physiotherapists were killed in the attacks, and inpatient rehabilitation services have been shut down for months. “Even the most essential assistive devices, like wheelchairs and crutches, are lacking due to the restricted flow of aid,” the WHO said. Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid continues to choke Gaza’s healthcare system. At the moment, one of the most urgent problems is the shortage of soap and detergents. With the cost of a small bar of soap reaching USD 10—a price that could buy approximately 2 kilograms of soap in Germany—many families in Gaza are unable to afford basic hygiene supplies. “A family relying on cash-for-work income would spend 60% of the unskilled income on consumable hygiene products,” warned organizations monitoring water and sanitation in Gaza. With soap being an omnipresent product, it might be difficult to imagine how severe the effects of a shortage might be, particularly for children. Health and hygiene officials estimate that adequate access to soap in the Gaza Strip could reduce respiratory infections by 20% and diarrheal diseases by up to 40%. This would potentially prevent illness in at least one in three children currently suffering from diarrhea. However, humanitarian organizations estimate that delivering the 5 million soap bars needed each month to meet demand in Gaza is basically impossible under the existing restrictions. Despite this situation, Gaza recently completed the first phase of its polio vaccination campaign, with an 87% coverage rate among children—just below the 90% benchmark. The campaign is set to resume in the coming weeks, but incidents of Israeli forces obstructing access to those taking part in it persist, jeopardizing future public health efforts. As winter approaches, the need for essential medicines, hygiene supplies, and nutritious food in Gaza becomes even more urgent. Concerns about potential floods and worsening living conditions highlight once again the critical need for an immediate ceasefire and rebuilding of the health system.

[xamaxenta]

Marco having a jar of candy or a bowl of sweets in his office, as a treat for sitting through the nerve wracking process of seeing the doctor

Ace however helps himself whenever he sees fit

Saunters right on in and sticks his dirty mitts in the candy bowl, pops a hard boiled candy between his teeth and grins at Marco before crushing it with a snap of his jaw

Marco doesnt give him much reaction, lest he provoke further bad behaviour

If Ace is looking to persuade a rise from him, he wont find it here

Until the sweet jar gets refilled with lollipops, round cherry flavoured suckers and Ace incinerates the wrapping with a cheery hum and sticks the candy into his mouth, situating it along his left cheek whilst he makes himself comfortable on Marco’s nice chaise, for patients

Hes waiting

Marco likes the game but is vaguely infuriated at how intent Ace seems to be on winning, if he wanted something he wouldve asked by now, theyre well enough into their relationship to have that kind of ease

“Dont you have work to be getting on with?” Marco asks, terser than he wouldve liked to admit

Doesnt look over when Ace pulls the lollipop out from between his lips with a wet slick pop, the sound may as well have echoed within the confined space of the infirmary

“Yea.” Ace affirms, hard hot molten candy clicking against the enamel of his teeth as he leisurely enjoys his stolen treat, “Im on break though.”

Marco cant argue with that, breaks were important after all.

“When’s the last time you moved?” Ace speaks up before Marco can put voice to any of his further thoughts.

He hesitates, caught out by the question, “about an hour ago.”

“Youre a shitty liar.”

For some reason the instantaneous response prickles at Marco’s skin in a manner he didnt have time to unpick just yet, all he knows is Ace can read him, better than anticipated and he’s unsure about if he likes that or not.

“And you are being a disruption.”

“Since when has that ever bothered you.” Ace retorts, sucking noisily on his candy.

“Since today, I’d say I’m a little bothered yes.” Marco recognises his migraines, his phoenix will only suppress so much and he’s worried about the dual flu season incoming, theres been a shortage on the vaccine supply making it incredibly difficult for Marco to source any from a neutral vendor.

Ace kicks his desk.

Marco jumps and shoots the logia a warning glance.

Ace ignores this and kicks his chair instead. And then proceeds to blink and twirl the stick of his dwindling lollipop between his teeth, lips stained dark red from the dyed sugar.

“Ace.” Marco warns, exasperated and not in the mood to play whatever game he was after.

“Are you sufficiently bothered yet?” Ace ignores him again.

Marco frowns, sets down his pen. Ace raises his leg again, foot poised. Marco thinks he looks ridiculous like this, half reclined with his legs spread open like a—

For fucks sake.

Ace kicks out again with intent and Marco catches him by the ankle, grasping him in full and yanking him in, the legs of the chaise screeching along the floor as Ace takes the furniture with him lest he fall off.

Marco glances between the spread of his legs to the dark sugar red of Ace’s mouth, the brazen look in his eyes and back to the heave of his ribcage, surprise shorting out his breathing into something fluttery and new

The phoenix recognises trapped prey and Marco allows her to clip instinct over his humanity

“And you thought seducing me was the best course of action.”

Its rhetorical

It worked

They both know it did

Ace grins, crunches down on his treat and spits out the little plastic stick to claim his prize

Kissing Marco tastes like cherries and salt and something they’d both like to surmise is due to their devil fruits, bitter and astringent, ozone if it could be tasted, fire if it could be anything other than spicy

“Mm, so are you bothered yet cuz you kinda feel—“ Ace mumbles over the press of Marco’s lips to his own, Marco bites at his lip

“Shut up.”