00:00The U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization, WHO, has caused serious concern
00:06in the international scientific community. Dr. Demetri Deskalakis, former head of the CDC's
00:12vaccination committee, in an interview with Euronews, mentions the risk that may arise from
00:17this decision. What that means for people's health is that we won't have flu vaccines that
00:24are as good because we won't be at the table to discuss the flu vaccines. We may not have
00:29the same visibility into emerging infections. And frankly, the U.S. withdrawing from the
00:36WHO, given the fact that they were a pretty important contributor to the WHO, means that
00:41the WHO won't be as well prepared to be able to address emerging outbreaks and infections.
00:47So I think overall, the U.S. pulling out of the WHO isn't just bad for American health.
00:53I think it's bad for global health. According to Dr. Deskalakis, Robert Kennedy's health
00:58policies are causing confusion in Europe. This, he said, presents an opportunity for Europe.
01:03I fear that the Secretary of Health in the United States, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is going
01:10to destabilize the vaccine infrastructure in the United States. I am concerned that manufacturers
01:16in the U.S. will feel that it will be no longer feasible to be able to manufacture vaccines. So
01:22I think it's a challenge to the European Union, but I think it's also a great opportunity
01:27because I think the U.S. is going to unfortunately leave a very significant health care and public
01:33health vacuum globally. The former White House official also referred to the issue of HIV treatment,
01:39the focus of his work for many years, which the Trump administration cut its funding in U.S. aid.
01:46Millions of people have been put on antiretroviral, anti-HIV medications, prolonging their lives and
01:52preventing progression to HIV or to AIDS and to death. And so I think anything that destabilizes
01:58that infrastructure may mean that we're going to lose ground. Also, I think some of the efforts of
02:06the current administration to erase some of the priority populations that are served by PEPFAR
02:11will also be problematic. So, you know, drug users, LGBTQ people are all part of the story for HIV.
02:19And so any effort to create social stigma around those issues will end up driving people away from
02:25prevention and care. The HIV infrastructure that supports everyone's health is also critical for
02:31public health security. If that falters, then I think the entire world will be a less safe place,
02:37not only for HIV, but all other emerging infections as well.
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