Latest news with #ScienceMinister
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Little-known signs of world's most infectious disease EVERYONE must know - as pandemic health chief issues chilling warning
The warning signs of measles have been highlighted as a top scientist has raised the alarm on declining vaccination rates. Science minister Lord Vallance of Balham warned that parents had forgotten just how deadly the world most contagious infection was before the invention of vaccines. 'People have forgotten that measles kills. They think, "Oh, measles—that's a pretty benign disease". It's benign because we've got vaccination', Lord Vallance told The Times. The 65-year-old added that to see people—most often children—die from entirely preventable disease was 'tragic'. 'People used to have 12 children because they knew five were going to die. It just doesn't happen like that anymore and vaccination has been a really major, major part of it,' he said. Measles usually starts with flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough and runny nose and is often followed by a tell-tale rash which starts on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body. But it can trigger more serious and even fatal health complications if it spreads to the lungs or the brain. The incredibly contagious disease can infect 9 in 10 unvaccinated children in a classroom if just one classmate is infectious. One in five children who catch the disease will be hospitalised, according to estimates, with one in 15 developing life-threatening complications like meningitis or sepsis. Lord Vallance, who became a household name during the Covid pandemic, was speaking in the wake of a surge in measles in England. Measles cases soared in 2024 with 2,911 cases confirmed in England—the highest number on record since 2012—and tragically one death recorded. Despite surging rates of infections uptake of a vaccine designed to protect children against the disease has fallen. Less than 84 per cent of five-year-olds in the nation had both recommended doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab last year. Experts have labelled the figures concerning and urged parents to vaccinate their children to avoid the 'life-long consequences' of potential measles infection. But it's not just the MMR jab. Lord Vallance's warning comes as data shows none of the 14 childhood vaccines offered on the NHS met the 95 per cent uptake target needed for herd immunity. Herd immunity is a public health concept where enough people are vaccinated that it stops diseases spreading rampantly through the population as a whole. Experts have blamed post-pandemic scepticism and vaccine fatigue for the rapidly declining rates, with Vallance also pointing the finger at, now thoroughly debunked, rumours linking the MMR jab to autism for causing 'huge problems around the world'. Now, together with health chiefs, he is urging parents to get their children vaccinated—with two doses of the MMR jab offering up to 99 per cent protection. It comes as concerning figures released last week revealed nearly half of children in some parts of England haven't had both MMR jabs by the time they turn five. Data shows just 52.7 per cent of youngsters that age in Kensington and Chelsea in west London are fully vaccinated. London remains one of the least vaccinated parts of the country—taking up a staggering 19 of the top 20 spots for low MMR jab uptake. Outside of London, Nottingham was worst with just 71.4 per cent of children jabbed. Dr Doug Brown, Chief Executive of the British Society for Immunology, told MailOnline: 'Vaccination is the safest and most effective way to protect your child against measles. 'Measles is a serious disease that can make children very ill and cause life-long consequences. 'In the 2024 measles outbreak in England, 1 in 5 children who contracted the disease needed to be admitted to hospital for treatment. 'To be fully protected against contracting measles, it is essential that children receive two doses of the MMR vaccine at the correct timepoints. 'We need to redouble efforts to implement the NHS Vaccine Strategy and engage with communities to ensure that all children receive the MMR vaccine and are protected against these nasty diseases. 'It is never too late to get vaccinated—if you're concerned that your child has missed out on a vaccination, contact your GP surgery.' Lord Vallance became a household name during the pandemic, appearing next to Boris Johnson and his esteemed colleague Sir Chris Whitty during tense Downing Street briefings to talk the nation through the crisis. But he also earned the nicknamed 'Dr Doom' during the crisis for being the face of bleak projections from scientists.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Science sector faces biggest overhaul in decades, warns cuts will put new research at risk
[xh ]Science cuts could come at the cost of new and research, sector warns Samples at an Auckland laboratory. Photo: Nick Monro / RNZ The administrators of a leading science fund fear cuts as part of the sector's biggest overhaul in decades could come at the cost of new and innovative research. Budget 2025 allocated just over $813 million for business, science and innovation. Almost three quarters of that, nearly $577m, was dedicated to rebates for international filmmakers, leaving about $236m for science and innovation. The budget funded major science reform through the reallocation of money from funds dedicated to research and innovation, with much of the $212m repurposed for new government initiatives. The Science Minister said the reprioritisation of funds would help unleash the long-term potential of the new science system. However, administrators of the blue-skies research Marsden Fund are worried cuts will curb innovation and evidence-based solutions at a time when they are needed most. Much of the $212m reallocated from research and innovation funds such as the Health Research Council, Marsden Fund and Strategic Science Investment Fund, would help set up an office to oversee changing gene technology rules as well as an agency to attract foreign investors. Eighty-four million dollars of repurposed funds were slated for Invest New Zealand over four years and close to $23m to establish a new Gene Technology Regulator over the same period, while the merging of Crown Research Institutes into three of the four new public research organisations was allocated $20m over two years. Money found in the disestablishment of Callaghan Innovation would contribute to the new science landscape. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King Money found in the disestablishment of Callaghan Innovation would also contribute to the new science landscape, such as the formation of the Science, Innovation, and Technology Advisory Council - nearing $6m over five years. However, $38m of reallocated money was set aside for Callaghan Innovation's shutdown, with another $20m to keep its Gracefield Quarter running for another year, while the government decided its future. The chair of the Marsden Fund Council, Professor Gill Dobbie, said Budget 2025 resulted in a $5m funding cut over three years, and suspected that would come at the cost of new research projects. The 30-year-old fund, established to support excellent fundamental and blue-skies research, was allocated just under $79m in the 2025/2026 financial year. The Science Minister's office confirmed that funding for Marsden would be cut in stages over the next couple of years, with a new baseline funding of $71m from 2028/29. For the 2025 funding round, the Marsden Fund Council anticipated just over 100 projects - from a total of 978 proposals - would receive grants from about $80m in available funding. Science Minister Shane Reti. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Projects typically received funding for three years of research, Dobbie said, therefore already contracted researchers would be prioritised when the cuts came in. "There likely will be a reduction in [the] number of new grants we can award each year from 2026/27," she said. "The Marsden Fund Council will review the amount committed through existing research contracts and then determine the number of new grants that can be awarded." In a post-budget statement, the fund's administer, the Royal Society of New Zealand, said the budget cuts came at a time when New Zealand needed "innovation, critical thinking, and evidence-based solutions more than ever" and followed changes to the Marsden Fund last year, that saw support for social sciences and humanities research dropped, and an increased focus on research with the potential for economic benefit. Royal Society chief executive Paul Atkins expressed concern that funding cuts would "effectively reduce the amount available for active research projects". "The capability of our research sector has taken years to build up, and we risk losing talented, knowledgeable, and highly skilled experts." Meanwhile, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) has cancelled the 2026 funding round for its contestable Endeavour Fund to focus on the merger of Crown Research Institutes into new mega science entities. The $55m Endeavour Fund supported research via Smart Ideas - designed to be fast-fail - and longer-term research programmes of up to five years. MBIE said there was precedent to pause contestable funding rounds during a shake-up to reduce the burden on staff. It said the funding for 2026 would instead be directed to current research projects that would otherwise end. "We expect that a contestable round will be undertaken in 2027 subject to further work as part of the science reforms." Technology used to assess the characteristics of fruit. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life Science Minister Shane Reti said the reallocated funding would ultimately benefit the system and create more opportunites for research and innovation. He said funding for science, innovation and technology was in line with Budget 2025's approach to economic and fiscal management. "The government has reprioritised funding for initiatives we need to unleash the potential of our science system in the long term - providing for a modern gene technology regime and fundamental changes to New Zealand's science, technology and innovation system, including new public research organisations and a forward-looking science council." Science, innovation and tech start-ups would also benefit, he said, from the government's $100m budget boost to Elevate NZ Venture Funding and an increase to the R&D tax incentive. "I see these as long-term investments that will over time create even more opportunities for world-leading research and innovation that leads to better outcomes for New Zealanders and our economy." Regarding the Endeavour Fund, he said it had not been suspended. "Any speculation about the future of the Endeavour Fund is just that - speculation. Changes to future funding rounds would likely be subject to Budget decisions." 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