María Iglesias-Caballero
Virologist at the Reference Laboratory for Influenza and Respiratory Viruses of the National Microbiology Centre - Carlos III Health Institute
As a citizen, I am very concerned about the reactionary wave that is affecting world politics and that the United States is taking to the maximum expression. I was already concerned about the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health, a vaccine denier and firm believer in many conspiracies. I was also [concerned] about the willingness of this administration to cut policies in public spending, which also leads to cuts in research and public health.
Therefore, even before the departure of the WHO, everything was very worrying and this is one more step in a country where the circulation of the H5N1 avian flu virus is now totally out of control, already during the Biden Administration: in livestock and in humans, with one death. As a virologist, I do not know how this is going to escalate, I do not know how the rest of the countries of the world are going to suffer and I do not know how it may affect the research and production of vaccines and other drugs against avian flu.
On the other hand, international organizations are not what they used to be: the WHO, during the genocide carried out by Israel in Palestine, asked several times to respect hospitals and the human right to health care during a war, but how many doctors have died and how many hospitals have been destroyed in spite of the WHO's and a lot of international organizations' call not to do so.
It is worrying and sad, but I think it is one more drop in a lot of situations that we as a society are going to have to face and that will be very hard for many groups and at a human level. On a professional level it is going to have a very strong impact on health and research in general. With these issues, the United States may lose the momentum it has always had in the scientific system, although what matters most to me is the impact it is going to have on many US citizens, migrant workers and on public health. We will see how the avian flu develops and where we will end up with this Secretary of Health who does not believe in vaccines.