Five years since COVID-19 brought the world into a health and economic crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) has done what many considered unlikely—a global agreement on a draft pandemic treaty. On Wednesday, after years of intricate talks and political upheaval, WHO member states reached a consensus on a historic document that will determine how the world responds to future pandemics. If endorsed at the next World Health Assembly in Geneva, the treaty would have the potential to be a turning point for global public health partnership and readiness.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus greeted the treaty as a badge of unity. "In our polarized world, countries can once again agree and unite for a common response," he said. The pact should bring revolutionary change to how nations prepare and react to health emergencies globally—without repeating the inequities, delays, and fragmented responses that characterized the response to COVID-19.

The global response to COVID-19 revealed systemic weaknesses in international health governance—ranging from vaccine hoarding and disinformation to less-than-generous support for poor countries. These shortcomings prompted WHO member states to create the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) in December 2021. Their task: to negotiate a strong international instrument centered on prevention, preparedness, and fair response to future pandemics.

Following these were 13 formal sessions, longer-than-usual sessions, and numerous informal discussions. Geopolitical splits and continuous withdrawals from the WHO by such leaders as past U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentina President Javier Milei could not stop the INB finalizing a draft agreement ahead of the official adoption in May 2025.

Key Provisions of the Pandemic Treaty

The suggested agreement has the purpose of establishing a global pandemic response playbook, based on solidarity, equity, and science. Among its most important elements:

Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing: The treaty requires that nations providing virus samples will enjoy assured access to derived diagnostics, medicines, and vaccines. For its enforcement, WHO will hold up to 20% of such products to guarantee equitable distribution, particularly to low-income countries.

One Health Approach: Acknowledging the interconnectivity of human, animal, and environmental well-being, the treaty promotes cooperation to avoid zoonotic outbreaks and emerging dangers.

Technology Transfer and Capacity Building: The pact ensures transfer of scientific information, manufacturing technology, and capability across countries to develop a geographically dispersed R&D base. This should eliminate geographical concentration of global health innovation and end reliance upon a handful of dominant nations.

Emergency Health Workforce and Supply Chains: States are urged to establish competent health emergency workforce teams and be part of a global supply chain and logistics network for swift response to future health emergencies.

Respect for Sovereignty: Notably, the draft treaty confirms that the WHO will not impose national health legislation or mandates like lockdowns, vaccination orders, or travel restrictions. National sovereignty is preserved, although cooperation is strongly urged.

What are the Controversies and Challenges Surrounding the Treaty?

Though the treaty is a milestone, it is not without controversy. The United States, having been sidelined in Trump's administration pullout from the WHO, is still far from the finalization of the treaty. Though U.S.-based R&D was key to creating effective COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, American officials are not likely to sign the agreement under present provisions.

Likewise, Argentina's recent withdrawal from the WHO is a sign of ongoing distrust among some leaders regarding the role and authority of international health organizations. Opponents claim that international treaties threaten national interests or overreach their limits in governing public health.

The pandemic treaty in draft form is an increasing recognition that no state, no matter how rich or resourceful, can tackle a global pandemic in isolation. It emphasizes the call for transparency, equity, and multilateralism during times of crisis. Adopted at the World Health Assembly in May, the treaty might transform the way the world prepares for and prepares against pandemics—making sure that scientific advancements and essential resources are available to everyone.

As the globe looks back at the tragic losses and bitter lessons of COVID-19, this treaty presents an opportunity to redefine global health in partnership, not rivalry. To future generations, it may signal the start of a more cohesive and resilient global response to common dangers.

The Uttar Pradesh Government today announced a partnership with Wadhwani AI to develop a roadmap for deploying a suite of AI-powered solutions across the state’s public health programs.

The partnership will advance the deployment of seven AI-powered solutions, such as:

• tuberculosis care and management

• telemedicine

• eye health

• maternal and child health

• equipping frontline health workers with data-driven tools

Wadhwani AI will serve as a technical partner to the state, supporting the deployment of AI-driven tools aligned with the government’s public health priorities.

The collaboration aligns with the UP AI Mission -- a three-year initiative launched by the UP Government to build a state-led AI ecosystem and accelerate the use of AI across sectors, including governance, healthcare, and agriculture.

“AI offers a promising opportunity to further enhance efforts by supporting frontline health workers, improving early disease detection, and enabling more informed clinical decision-making,” said Amit Kumar Ghosh (IAS), Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Health, Family Welfare, and Medical Education in Uttar Pradesh.

“Through this partnership with Wadhwani AI, we look forward to adopting and deploying AI-driven tools across our health programs and progressively expanding the use of these solutions to further strengthen service delivery and improve health outcomes across the state,” Ghosh added.

The AI-powered Solutions

• In tuberculosis care, the Cough Against TB (CATB) mobile phone-based screening application will enable frontline healthcare workers to identify individuals with presumptive pulmonary TB by analyzing cough sounds and accompanying symptoms, enabling early detection even in community settings.

Vulnerability Mapping for Tuberculosis (VMTB) will use geospatial AI analytics to identify high-risk locations by analyzing TB program data alongside multiple environmental and health indicators, helping health authorities prioritize targeted interventions and active case-finding activities.

The Prediction of Adverse TB Outcomes (PATO), an AI-powered risk stratification tool, will help identify patients at higher risk of adverse outcomes at the onset of TB treatment and facilitate prompt, targeted, and effective interventions that, over time, will help lower mortality rates and prevent drug-resistant TB.

• In telemedicine, the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) will enable clinicians to access structured patient information and offer AI-assisted differential diagnosis recommendations during consultations, supporting the quality and consistency of care delivery across primary healthcare settings.

• The collaboration will also include the deployment of Health Vaani, a voice- and text-based knowledge assistant which will provide frontline health workers with instant access to government-approved health guidelines, enabling quicker decision-making and more consistent service delivery at the community level.

• To address the growing burden of diabetes-related vision complications, the partnership will also deploy MadhuNetrAI, an AI-enabled screening solution that will analyze retinal images to detect diabetic retinopathy and support early referral for specialist care, particularly in resource-constrained settings where specialist availability may be limited.

• In maternal and newborn health, Shishu Maapan, an AI-powered newborn anthropometry tool, will enable frontline health workers to capture accurate newborn measurements using a smartphone during home-based newborn care visits.

“The solutions being deployed span the continuum of health delivery from identifying high-risk communities to supporting ASHA workers during field visits, to enabling early disease detection through AI-assisted analysis,” said Dr. Neeraj Agrawal, Chief Program Officer, Wadhwani AI.

"As the partnership progresses, we look forward to expanding this work and supporting additional AI solutions that can further strengthen health systems and improve outcomes at scale," he added.

Antibiotics have long been considered lifesaving medicines, especially when it comes to treating serious bacterial infections. However, scientists have also known for years that these drugs can disturb the gut microbiome, the vast community of bacteria that live in our digestive system and play an important role in overall health. Now, new research suggests that the impact of some antibiotics on the gut may last far longer than previously believed.

A recent study has found that certain antibiotics may alter the gut microbiome in ways that persist for up to four to eight years after treatment. The findings were reported by scientists from Sweden and published in the journal Nature Medicine. According to the researchers, these long lasting changes may reduce the diversity of bacteria in the gut, which could potentially influence health over time.

Long term changes in gut bacteria

The gut microbiome contains hundreds of different species of bacteria that help regulate digestion, immunity, metabolism and even aspects of mental health. A healthy gut microbiome usually has a wide variety of bacterial species. When this diversity decreases, it may make the body more vulnerable to several health conditions.

Scientists have previously linked lower microbial diversity in the gut to problems such as obesity, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. Because antibiotics kill bacteria to fight infections, they may also eliminate beneficial microbes along with harmful ones. In some cases, this imbalance may take a long time to recover.

In the new study, researchers identified specific antibiotics that appeared to have the strongest and most lasting effects on gut bacteria. These included clindamycin, fluoroquinolones and flucloxacillin. The study’s lead investigator said that these medications were associated with significant changes in the overall composition of the gut microbiome.

Researchers observed that some bacterial species declined after antibiotic exposure while others increased. This shift altered the balance of the microbial community and was linked to reduced diversity.

Comparing antibiotic users and non users

To understand the relationship between antibiotics and gut bacteria, the research team analysed data from Sweden’s National Prescribed Drug Register. They then compared this information with gut microbiome samples from 14,979 adults living in Sweden.

The scientists examined the microbiome of people who had been prescribed different antibiotics and compared it with those who had not received any antibiotics during the same period.

Their analysis revealed that some antibiotics had stronger long term effects than others. For instance, penicillin V, one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics for infections outside hospitals in Sweden, appeared to cause shorter lasting changes in gut bacteria.

However, other antibiotics were linked to more persistent shifts in the microbial ecosystem.

Effects that last for years

One of the most striking findings of the study was how long the effects could remain visible. According to the researchers, antibiotic use from four to eight years earlier was still associated with differences in a person’s gut microbiome.

Even a single course of certain antibiotics appeared to leave detectable traces years later. While the exact biological mechanisms are still not fully understood, the researchers believe antibiotics may permanently reshape parts of the microbial community in some individuals.

What this means for future antibiotic use

The researchers believe their findings could help guide future decisions about prescribing antibiotics. If two antibiotics are equally effective against an infection, doctors may eventually consider choosing the one that has a weaker impact on the gut microbiome.

Such insights could help balance the need to treat infections while also protecting long term gut health.

To better understand how the microbiome recovers over time, the scientists are now collecting a second set of gut samples from nearly half of the participants involved in the study. This follow up analysis may reveal how quickly the microbiome can recover after antibiotic exposure and which individuals may be more vulnerable to long lasting disruptions.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee on Thursday voted to recommend a new strain of flu in its vaccines for fall. This viral strain of flu is called subclade k.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also suggested that the variant is likely one reason flu vaccines were less effective this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) noted that influenza vaccine effectiveness was 38 per cent to 41 per cent for preventing outpatient visits for children and adolescents and 41 per cent for preventing hospitalization.

For adults, the number was between 22 per cent to 34 per cent against influenza-associated outpatient visits and 30 per cent against influenza-associated hospitalization.

Although the figures were lower than those seen in recent flu seasons, the CDC emphasized that influenza vaccines still offer meaningful protection and continues to recommend vaccination. Last year alone, flu shots helped prevent around 5 million medical visits, 180,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 deaths.

According to CDC estimates, influenza caused at least 26 million illnesses, 340,000 hospitalizations, and 21,000 deaths between October 1 and February 28.

At the committee meeting, Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, a medical officer in the CDC’s Influenza Division, noted that subclade K is currently the dominant flu variant circulating in the Northern Hemisphere.

However, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy highlighted that flu viruses mutate frequently. This means there is no certainty that the strains chosen now will be the ones circulating in the next flu season. Since vaccine production takes roughly six months, scientists must finalize the formulation as early as February or March.

Arnold Monto, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan and acting chair of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, acknowledged the challenge, noting that selecting the right strains involves “a little bit of science and a little bit of luck,” according to Politico.

What Is Subclade K?

Known as the superfly, this is H3N2 'subclade K'. It is a type of seasonal influenza A virus and people have not encountered much of it in the recent years. This is why there is less immunity against it. However, the National Health Service (NHS), UK, has already sent out a 'flu jab SOS' to vulnerable people.

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said that the major concern is that H3N2 is associated with a more severe illness and superflu could be "a very nasty strain of flu". He said that UK could be experiencing a "tidal wave" of illness.

The main strain circulating this winter is a drifted H3N2 variant, which the UKHSA says has left the community with “less natural immunity.” H3N2 strains tend to cause more serious illness in older adults than H1N1 strains and are linked to higher hospitalizations and deaths. This pattern adds further strain to the NHS during the winter months.