The Health Brief

This week EURACTIV's health reporter Marta Iraola talks to Dr. Emilie Karafillakis about vaccine confidence in Europe and what is behind people's lack of trust in vaccination and public health campaigns. In this episode, the health team reunites before the summer to say goodbye to this podcast as from September health topics will be covered under Beyond the Byline podcast.

From YouTube-recommended videos to facial recognition used to unlock smartphones, AI is already being used on a daily basis. The healthcare sector is not an exception as its ability to process vast amounts of medical data helps in diagnostics and medical image analysis. To better understand where AI is already used and what potential it holds, EURACTIV’s Giedrė Peseckytė is talking with Jakob Kather, a medical doctor and a Professor of Clinical artificial intelligence at the computer science and the medical faculty in Dresden. As he says, he is in a “quite unique position at the interface of computer science and medicine,” where with his team he is using artificial intelligence for medical decision-making and developing tomorrow's AI tools for medicine.

As the European Parliament debates how European health data space should be shaped, EURACTIV talks with the co-rapporteur of the file, Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol (EPP), touching on primary and secondary use of data, the reasons why parliament supports the opt-out option and what is left to discuss before the discussions can start with the Council. 

European Health Data Space (EHDS) focuses on the primary and secondary use of data. While the primary use of data is data used by citizens and healthcare professionals at the national and EU levels the secondary data is to be used by researchers, policy makers and pharma. The Commission's proposal does not include any say for patients regarding the secondary use of data, while Parliament, which is currently dealing with the proposal, is vowing for an opt-out option. In the meantime, there is a petition circling calling for the empowerment of patients regarding the secondary use of their health records. About what concerns are being seen for the patients when it comes to reuse of the health data EURACTIV's Giedre Peseckyte is talking with Jan Penfrat, the senior policy advisor at the European digital rights association.

On the occasion of the first Healthcare Forum, which took place in Wąsowo, Poland last week, Euractiv spoke with the Regional Director of WHO/Europe, Dr Hans Kluge. In this interview, Dr. Kluge looked back on his meeting with the Polish and Ukrainian Ministers of Health about the Healthy Reconstruction of Ukraine. He dug into the physical and mental health needs of the refugees, but also into the limited access to sexual and reproductive rights for Ukrainian women in Poland, as some of them could not have an abortion due to the Polish law.

This week EURACTIV'S health team explores why fertility is decreasing across the globe, what challenges people face when they want children and the situation of fertility treatments in Europe. For that, Health Reporter Marta Iraola talks with Dr Carlos Calhaz-Jorge, a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology and chair of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). 

This week, EURACTIV’s health team dives into how endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) can affect children, especially in their most important developmental years. They talk with Doctor Anders Juul, a paediatric endocrinologist at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. He explains how children are exposed to these chemicals and the health issues this can cause them, both as kids and as adults. 

Psilocybin, MDMA or LSD might associate with party drugs but their therapeutic value is being discovered worldwide. Ian Roullier took part in two clinical trials that looked at the effects of psilocybin on depression. Through his personal experience, Roullier shares his insights on psychedelic-assisted therapy, its potential value to patients and what is needed to boost research in this field. 

Tobacco is responsible for 8 million deaths a year but despite that governments across the world spend millions supporting tobacco farms, according to WHO Director-General  Tedros Ghebreyesus.  As 31 May marks World No Tobacco Day, EURACTIV’s health team talks with Rudiger Krech, WHO Director of the Health Promotion Department, on the impact of toxic chemicals used in tobacco farms on farmers’ health and why it is important to move towards growing sustainable food crops instead of tobacco.

From psychedelics and mental health literature to having pets in EU institutions - EURACTIV’s health reporter Giedrė Peseckytė is talking with three MEPs - Maria Walsh from Christian Democrats, Mikuláš Peksa from the Greens and Karen Melchior from Renew -  about mental health. 

As this week is European Testing Week, a European campaign that aims to increase testing efforts and promote awareness of the benefits of earlier hepatitis and HIV testing, EURACTIV's health team is talking with Jens Lundgren, Professor of infectious diseases at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.  He has been involved with clinical HIV research for the last 30 years and in this interview he talks about the importance of early diagnosis for HIV patients. 

This week, EURACTIV’s health team talks with Chantal Friebertshäuser, Senior Vice President at Moderna for Europe, the Middle East and Canada. They discuss the end of COVID and the new vaccine they are developing against cancer. They also talk about the new facility the biotechnology company recently opened in Madrid, Spain. This new laboratory, equipped with the latest technology, is the biggest end-to-end production hub for Moderna outside the United States.