EU chief's texts to a pharma boss during pandemic were likely erased, the NYT reports
Von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla exchanged the messages as COVID-19 ravaged European communities from Portugal to Finland and the EU scrambled to buy millions of hard to find vaccines. She was under intense scrutiny to deliver.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I'm in control of my sexual health' - UK gonorrhoea vaccine rollout begins
Gonorrhoea vaccines will be widely available from today in sexual health clinics across the UK, in a bid to tackle record-breaking levels of infections. The jabs will first be offered to those at highest risk - mostly gay and bisexual men who have a history of multiple sexual partners or sexually transmitted infections. NHS England say the roll out is a world-first, and predict it could prevent as many as 100,000 cases, potentially saving the NHS almost £8m over the next decade. The Terrence Higgins Trust, who campaigned for the vaccine to be introduced in the UK, told the BBC it was "a huge win" for sexual health. Gonorrhoea is a bacterial infection that is transmitted through unprotected sex. Symptoms can include pain, unusual discharge, inflammation of the genitals and infertility, but in some cases it can have no symptoms at all. The NHS says it can be avoided by the proper use of condoms and by accepting the vaccine if offered. Doctors are becoming increasingly worried about the number of infections, and hope the vaccine, which is 30-40% effective, will also help slow the growing number of antibiotic-resistant cases. The vaccine, known as the 4CMenB vaccine, was designed for preventing meningitis B in babies, but the bacteria that causes the two diseases are so closely related that the jab is also effective against gonorrhoea. There were more than 85,000 cases of gonorrhoea in 2023 - the highest since records began almost 100 years ago. One of those diagnosed was Joey Knock, who says the infection gave him diarrhoea, made him feel "wiped out" and led to him taking time off work to recover. He told BBC News: "I discussed it with my friends and I definitely had worse symptoms [than them] with it. "I felt really bad, I couldn't keep food down and I just felt totally run down." Because he has many sexual partners, the 35-year-old decided to pay a private pharmacy for a course of gonorrhoea vaccinations in February 2024 before travelling abroad to a festival. He paid £220 and says he's glad he did it. "It helps knowing that I'm taking control of my sexual health and doing what I can to stay safe and practise safer sex and be much less worried about the severity of the symptoms," he says. Joey says he uses the protection the vaccine offers him alongside other methods of safer sex, including taking PrEP, a drug which helps prevent HIV, and DoxyPep - antibiotics taken after sex to prevent bacterial STIs, a treatment not widely available on the NHS. He says he also occasionally uses condoms - but sees the vaccine as an extra tool to keep him safe in situations where he or his partner doesn't want to use them. Since being vaccinated, Joey has been re-infected with gonorrhoea but says the symptoms were much less severe. He told the BBC: "I've been able to get on with my day and it has just become something much more manageable, and getting tested regularly and knowing my body really helps too." Matthew, a 63-year-old from East Scotland, was diagnosed with gonorrhoea 10 years ago and had a reaction known as reactive arthritis - extreme pain in your joints caused by your body's reaction to an infection. He told the BBC that the experience, which has caused lasting damage to some of his fingers and toes, was so painful it's left him fearful of becoming re-infected and has impacted his mental health. He says: "I'm constantly looking for symptoms and I'm constantly aware of it, and I feel a bit like I used to do in the 1980s when I was constantly fretting about HIV. "I'd get some sort of cough and think 'oh my god, what's happening?'" He is hoping to be one of the first people to get a vaccine in order to give himself and his sexual partners more protection. "You're not just protecting yourself, you're protecting your partners. "I think it will also relieve some of the burden on sexual health services, it's getting difficult to get appointments so if it can work to reduce the incidence of STIs I think it's really worth it." Richard Angell, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a leading sexual health charity, told the BBC the vaccine was a "remarkable addition to our toolkit on sexual health". Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS national director for primary care and community services, said it was important "everyone eligible takes up the offer through sexual health services" in order to "keep each other safe". "It's a real step forward for sexual health," she added. People who may be eligible for the vaccine are being asked to contact their local sexual health clinic for more information. Pride in London returns as events struggle with falling funds 'I had a criminal record for 56 years for being a lesbian - nobody told me' 'Our love is frowned upon, but we push through': Navigating religion and relationships
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Yes, Trump was called a 'convicted US felon' by Scottish newspaper
Claim: In advance of a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump, Scottish newspaper The National's front page read "Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland." Rating: In late July 2025, claims about how a Scottish newspaper characterized U.S. President Donald Trump in advance of his visit to Scotland gained attention across social media platforms. For instance, a July 27 Facebook post (archived) featured an alleged image of the newspaper's front page reading: "This is how one of Scotland's largest publications welcomed Donald Trump!" (Occupy Democrats/Facebook) The post accumulated more than 34,000 reactions as of this writing. Similar claims have appeared across Facebook (archived), as well as on Reddit (archived) and Bluesky (archived). We found this claim to be true. The National, a Scottish newspaper, published (archived) a front page with the headline "Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland" on July 25 as Trump arrived in Scotland. The newspaper's front-page story included the subheading "Republican leader, who was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, will visit golf courses." The National's official X account posted (archived) the front page with the caption: "Tomorrow's front page. Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland." The X account also posted (archived) a video that showed one of the paper's journalists, Laura Pollock, holding the print version, stating: "Supporters of Donald Trump are very angry at our front page this morning but we have a challenge for them. Which part is factually inaccurate?" The description "convicted US felon" is factually accurate. Trump was convicted (archived) on May 30, 2024, by a Manhattan jury on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, related to hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Although he received an "unconditional discharge" sentence on Jan. 10, 2025 — meaning no prison time, probation or fines — the conviction remains on his record. The National is a Scottish daily newspaper owned by Newsquest Media Group, which has been a subsidiary of the American media company Gannett — publisher of USA Today — since 1999. It began publication (archived) on Nov. 24, 2014, and was the first daily newspaper in Scotland to support Scottish independence. Media Bias/Fact Check, a tool that provides transparency to a source's biases and objectivity, rated (archived) The National as "Left-Center biased based on editorial positions that moderately favor the left" while giving it a "High" rating for factual reporting due to "the use of credible sources and a clean fact-check record." Shalal, Andrea and Andrew Macaskill. "Trump travels to Scotland for golf and bilateral talks amid Epstein furor." Reuters, 25 July 2025, Accessed 25 July 2025. Jackson, Lucky. "The National newspaper front page as Donald Trump visits Scotland." The National, 25 July 2025, Accessed 25 July 2025. Herb, Jeremy, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell. "Trump found guilty in hush money trial." CNN, 30 May 2024, Accessed 25 July 2025. Bustillo, Ximena. "Trump is sentenced in hush money case — but gets no penalty or fine." NPR, 10 Jan. 2025, Accessed 25 July 2025. Press Association. "The National launches in Scotland 'to fly flag for independence'." The Guardian, 24 Nov. 2014, Accessed 25 July 2025. "The National – Scotland – Bias and Credibility." Media Bias/Fact Check, Accessed 25 July 2025.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gonorrhoea vaccine becomes available at sexual health clinics in England
A vaccine for gonorrhoea is now available at sexual health clinics in England as part of a world-first scheme. The vaccination programme is expected to save the NHS £7.9 million over the next decade and combat increasing levels of antibiotic-resistant strains of the disease. The move aims to tackle rising levels of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) after cases in England topped 85,000 in 2023, the highest since records began in 1918. The free jab will be on offer from Monday to patients at the highest risk of the sexually transmitted infection, including gay and bisexual men with a recent history of multiple sexual partners or a bacterial STI. The vaccine is an existing jab, known as 4CMenB, that is currently used to protect people against the meningococcal B disease, a serious bacterial infection that can cause meningitis and sepsis. It is used in the routine childhood programme and given to babies at eight weeks, 16 weeks and one year. The programme is targeted to those most at risk and could prevent up to 100,000 cases. Gonorrhoea disproportionately impacts specific communities, such as those in deprived areas, people of black Caribbean ethnicity, and gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, according to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Patients getting the gonorrhoea vaccine will also be offered jabs for mpox, human papillomavirus (HPV), and hepatitis A and B at their appointment. Ashley Dalton, the minister for public health and prevention, said: 'Rolling out this world-leading gonorrhoea vaccination programme in sexual health clinics in England represents a major breakthrough in preventing an infection that has reached record levels. 'This government's world-first vaccination programme will help turn the tide on infections, as well as tackling head-on the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. 'I strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to come forward for vaccination, to protect not only yourselves but also your sexual partners.'
