Summary

The most impactful health news of the week were:

• Biomedicine: The universal cancer vaccine, from hope to a promising reality.
• Global health: The impact of the famine in Gaza: a painful death today and a curse for generations to come.
• International health policy: The US Republicans made cuts to Medicaid; will it cost them control of Congress?
• National health policy: Two years after the elections, what achievements has the government had in health care? Very few achievements, a lack of in-depth reforms, and, yes, many controversies.
• Companies: Almirall increases its profits by 72% in the first half of the year, to 26.5 million euros.

Biomedicine

• The universal cancer vaccine, from hope to a promising reality. The arsenal of vaccines is getting closer, with both preventive tools that combat pathogens that are risk factors for developing cancer, as well as therapeutic ones. It opens the possibility that it could be used in the fight against any cancer: it doesn’t attack the specific target protein in the tumor, but rather stimulates the immune system, boosting it as if it were fighting a virus.
• Scientists are shattering the myth that 10,000 steps a day are necessary for good health. The new standard for reducing disease risk is set at 7,000 steps, following a study of more than 150,000 adults.
• This test can predict a heart attack in your future.

Global Health

• The impact of famine in Gaza: a painful death today and a curse for generations to come. Gaza is consumed, exhausted by hunger. Samer Abuzerr, professor of Public Health at Khan Younis University of Science and Technology, explains that the lack of food now hurts more than the bombs. “Everything is catastrophic, but hunger, slow, silent, and preventable, is the most painful. Bombs kill instantly, but hunger kills in prolonged agony, especially children.”
• Nature editorial: Gavi needs $3 million to save two million children’s lives.

International Health Policy

• Republicans made cuts to Medicaid; will it cost them control of Congress? The Medicaid cuts in the “big and beautiful law,” according to Trump, threaten the Republicans’ results in the midterm elections.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• Two years after the elections, what achievements has the government had in the health field? Few achievements: Veo Plan, for glasses and contact lenses; new newborn screening; Mental Health Action Plan 2025-2027; Specific Suicide Prevention Plan; and the State Public Health Agency.
• Congress gives the green light to the State Public Health Agency. Of the six amendments proposed by the People’s Party (PP) in the Senate, three were approved, including the one regarding exceptions to the reference pricing system.

Companies

• International
  • AstraZeneca’s plans in the USA increase pharmaceutical companies’ investments by up to 252 billion euros.

• National
  • Almirall increases its profits by 72% in the first half of the year, to 26.5 million euros.

Biomedicine

• The universal cancer vaccine, from hope to a promising reality. The arsenal of vaccines is increasingly closer, with both preventive and therapeutic tools that combat pathogens that constitute risk factors for developing cancer. This opens the possibility that it could be used in the fight against any cancer: it does not attack the specific target protein in the tumor, but rather stimulates the immune system, boosting it as if it were fighting a virus (https://www.consalud.es/profesionales/vacuna-universal-cancer-avanza.html). Access the original article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025-01380-1
• The dangers of self-testing for the consumer. These types of tests are useful for pregnancy or HIV, but in many other cases they have the potential to cause harm (https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1543)
• Significant advances in the management of Crohn’s disease, with new monoclonal antibodies increasingly being developed that are useful in Crohn’s disease (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01522-3/fulltext)
• AI improves efforts to combat long COVID and other diseases with chronic fatigue (https://www.ft.com/content/9cdfadf4-21e2-4656-b0a8-235c5fdb68aa)
• The first pill for postpartum depression yields mixed results (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/health/post-partum-depression-treatment-pill.html)
• Obesity prediction can be guided by genetic data (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/health/obesity-genetic-risk-score.html)
• Scientists debunk the myth that 10,000 steps a day are enough for good health. The new standard for reducing disease risk is set at 7,000 steps, following a study of more than 150,000 adults (https://www.ft.com/content/6b1bee36-b1a3-4e9d-8391-0fd96bae3ec6).
• This test can predict a future heart attack (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/health/coronary-artery-calcium-heart.html). Access the original article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33997641/

Global Health

• The impact of famine in Gaza: a painful death today and a curse for generations to come. Gaza is consumed, exhausted by hunger. Samer Abuzerr, professor of Public Health at Khan Yunis University of Science and Technology, says that the lack of food now hurts more than the bombs. “Everything is catastrophic, but hunger, slow, silent, and preventable, is the most painful. Bombs kill instantly, but hunger kills in prolonged agony, especially children” (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-07-27/el-impacto-de-la-hambruna-en-gaza-una-muerte-dolorosa-hoy-y-una-condena-para-las-generaciones-venideras-los-ninos-comen-hojas.html)
• Gaza: Health workers protest demanding an end to atrocities (https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1529)
• Rethinking the war on AIDS. The reduction in US aid forces recipient countries to adopt other strategies (https://www.economist.com/international/2025/07/24/rethinking-the-war-on-aids)
• Nature editorial: Gavi needs $3 million to save two million children’s lives (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02270-x)
• The fight against polio is jeopardized by the withdrawal of US funding. Despite significant progress, aid cuts are jeopardizing results (https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2025/07/23/la-lutte-contre-la-polio-mise-en-peril-par-le-retrait-des-financements-americains_6623195_3244.html)
• The US wants to destroy stocks of female contraceptives intended for USAID beneficiary countries (https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2025/07/24/les-etats-unis-vont-detruire-des-contraceptifs-feminins-stockes-en-europe-qui-etaient-destines-a-des-pays-beneficiaires-de-l-usaid_6623521_3210.html)

International Health Policy

• USA
  • Republicans cut Medicaid; will this cost them control of Congress? The Medicaid cuts in Trump’s “big and beautiful bill” threaten Republicans’ midterm election results (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/06/republican-medicaid-cuts-midterms-big-beautiful-bill-00440023)
  • RFK, JR rescind support for flu vaccines, falsely linking them to autism (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/health/rfk-jr-flu-vaccines-thimerosal.html)
  • The Trump Administration’s policy toward NIH and the FDA jeopardizes new drug development, according to the Congressional Budget Office (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/health/trump-nih-medical-research.html)

• China
  • Concern in China over the outbreak of Chikungunya fever, which has left more than 2,500 cases. The most common symptoms of the disease include high fever, severe joint pain, and the appearance of skin rashes (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/07/23/68807445e9cf4af2128b45ab.html)

• United Kingdom
  • How has the Labour Party behaved with healthcare after its first year in power? Waiting lists have decreased, but only very slowly (https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1379)
  • Trump, medicines, and the future of the NHS (https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/trump-medicines-and-the-nhs)

• European Union
  • The EU outlines its priorities for the next decade with a strengthening of its health policies (https://www.consalud.es/politica/ue-prioridades-proxima-decada-salud.html)

National Health Policy

• Central Administration Initiatives
  • Congress gives the green light to the State Public Health Agency. Of the six amendments proposed by the People’s Party (PP) in the Senate, three are approved, including the one regarding exceptions to the reference price system (https://diariofarma.com/2025/07/22/el-congreso-da-luz-verde-por-fin-a-la-agencia-estatal-de-salud-publica)
  • Two years after the elections, what achievements has the Government had in the area of health? Few achievements: Veo Plan for glasses and contact lenses; new newborn screening; Mental Health Action Plan 2025-2027; Specific Suicide Prevention Plan; and the State Public Health Agency (https://www.consalud.es/politilca/dos-anos-despues-de-las-elecciones-que-avances-sanitarios-ha-logrado-el-gobierno.html)
  • These are the legislative initiatives awaiting the Ministry of Health after the summer (https://www.consalud.es/politica/estas-son-las-iniciativas-legislativas-que-esperan-a-sanidad-tras-la-vuelta-del-verano.html)
  • The Ministry is working on new nursing prescription guidelines (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250720/sanidad-trabaja-nuevas-guias-prescripcion-enfermera-sedacion-insuficiencia-cardiaca-dolor-quirurgico/1003743853473_0.html)

• Initiatives from the Autonomous Communities
  • Catalonia will put more pressure on to ensure that doctors don’t speak Spanish (https://www.eldebate.com/espana/cataluna/20250722/preocupacion-govern-quejas-linguisticas-sanidad-358-2024-frente-casi-30-millones-visitas_319612.html)
  • La Rioja, a new step toward making the Faculty of Medicine a reality (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/medico-joven/grado/rioja-nuevo-paso-facultad-medicina-sea-realidad-2026-2027.html)
  • Asturias signs a historic pact on mental health. One hundred public and private entities, including patients, family members, associations, political parties, unions, media outlets, professional associations, and city councils, signed the agreement, which will serve as the basis for the future regional law (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/asturias/asturias-rubrica-un-pacto-historico-por-la-salud-mental-con-especial-enfasis-en-los-jovenes.html).
  • Madrid begins processing the new Public Health Law (https://www.comunidad.madrid/noticias/2025/07/23/comunidad-madrid-inicia-tramitacion-nueva-ley-salud-publica-aumentara-mejorara-proteccion-poblacion).
  • Galicia will allocate €1.3 million for AI to streamline healthcare work. (https://diariofarma.com/2025/07/21/galicia-destinara-13-millones-de-euros-al-desarrollo-de-la-ia-para-desburocratizar-el-trabajo-sanitario)

• Kidney transplant
  • Kidney transplantation celebrates its 60th anniversary in Spain. What was an experimental operation six decades ago is now a common, highly effective therapeutic technique that has evolved significantly but still faces challenges, such as increasing the number of living donors (https://diariomedico.com/medicina/trasplantes/trasplante-renal-cumple-60-anos-espana-reto-aumentar-donantes-vivos.html).

Companies

• International
  • GSK’s leukemia drug is reapproved by the European Union regulator (https://www.ft.com/content/a7be675a-7d07-45bb-a533-353ca48971db).
  • AstraZeneca’s plans in the USA boost pharmaceutical company investments by up to 252 billion euros. (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250726/planes-astrazeneca-eeuu-engordan-inversiones-grandes-farmaceuticas-millones/1003743861166_0.html)

• National
  • Almirall increases its profits by 72% in the first half of the year, up to 26.5 million (https://forbes.es/economia/771240/almirall-eleva-un-72-sus-ganancias-en-el-primer-semestre-hasta-265-millones/)

This post is also available in: Spanish