Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader strongly condemned alleged acts of corruption within the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa), stating that anyone who misappropriates public funds—particularly those for health—should face strict judicial consequences.

Abinader clarified that the government itself requested the ongoing investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, officially authorized in November 2024. In addition, the Chamber of Accounts, the Attorney General’s Office, the Anti-Fraud Office, and the Superintendency of Health and Occupational Risks (SISALRIL) have been conducting audits and investigations into SeNaSa for several months.

The president reiterated his commitment to transparency, emphasizing that the investigations were proactive and not prompted by recent news reports alleging corruption since 2020. Meanwhile, SeNaSa Executive Director Edward Guzmán highlighted the importance of strengthening accountability and ensuring that all procedures adhere to national and international auditing standards, aiming to optimize the institution’s operations.

• GSK supports seasonal flu immunization in Canada with domestic supply of Fluviral vaccine in advance of flu season

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario – GSK Canada (GlaxoSmithKline Inc.) announced it has started shipping doses of its trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine, Fluviral, to Canadian provinces in preparation for the 2025-26 flu season.

Fluviral is a trivalent vaccine for use in adults and children greater than 6 months of age to protect against influenza virus types A and B contained in the vaccine.

Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is estimated to cause over 12,000 hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths each year in Canada, ranking it among the 10 leading causes of death in the country.  According to Health Canada, annual vaccination is the most effective way to reduce the risk of flu and its potentially serious outcomes. The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends yearly vaccination for anyone aged six months or older who does not have contraindications, ideally before flu season starts.

Canada’s supply of Fluviral is being produced at our vaccines manufacturing facility in Ste-Foy, Quebec, which has been providing influenza vaccine for Canadians since 1997. The site currently produces the majority share of Canada’s seasonal influenza vaccine supply and, in the event of an influenza pandemic, is the primary supplier of the country’s pandemic flu vaccine.

Every year, different strains of flu circulate during the season. The World Health Organization (WHO) studies worldwide trends and recommends the strains to be included in the annual flu vaccine.

For egg-based influenza vaccines for the 2025-26 flu season in the Northern Hemisphere, the WHO has recommended including an A/Victoria/4897/2022 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus, an A/Croatia/10136RV/2023 (H3N2)-like virus and a B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus. The supply of Fluviral for the 2025-26 season complies with these recommendations.

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Santo Domingo.- The National Health Service (SNS) and the Organizing Committee of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 have signed an agreement designating the Public Health Services Network as the official provider of hospital medical services during the event. The agreement was signed by SNS executive director Dr. Mario Lama and Committee president José P. Monegro, in the presence of key health sector officials.

Dr. Lama emphasized that the entire hospital network, including doctors, specialists, support staff, and equipment, will be available to ensure the safety and well-being of athletes and participants. The Luis Eduardo Aybar Health City will serve as the main referral center, supported by the Ney Arias Lora and Darío Contreras trauma hospitals. The agreement also includes mobile dental units, a polyclinic in the Olympic Village, and coordinated medical services in all provinces hosting competitions.

The agreement, notarized by Dr. Lucía Collado, will remain in effect from July 1 to August 30, 2026, with the option of renewal.

Basel: Roche has announced that it has received the EU CE mark for its Port Delivery Platform containing Susvimo, which will now be known as Contivue in the EU. The device comprises the eye implant through which Susvimo is delivered, and four ancillary devices to initially fill, insert, refill, and remove the implant (if required).

Susvimo (ranibizumab injection) 100 mg/mL is currently under review with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration(nAMD. With immediate and predictable durability, Contivue with Susvimo provides continuous delivery of a customised formulation of ranibizumab directly to the eye.

“Susvimo offers people living with nAMD the opportunity to maintain their vision with as few as two treatments per year,” said Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “Moreover, this sustained delivery brings substantial long-term clinical benefits, as demonstrated by the seven years of follow-up data from the LADDER study.”

Three clinical studies contribute to the EMA’s evaluation of efficacy and safety of Contivue with Susvimo in nAMD: one pivotal Phase III study, Archway, and two supportive studies, the Phase II LADDER study and the open-label long-term extension study Portal. Data from Archway showed patients treated with Contivue with Susvimo achieved and maintained vision outcomes equivalent to monthly intravitreal (IVT) ranibizumab injections.

New long-term data from the LADDER study, presented at the 25th EURETINA Congress in Paris, France, shows that Contivue with Susvimo provides good visual outcomes with stable retinal anatomy over the longer term. In the 59 patients continuously treated with Contivue with Susvimo over seven years, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 70.4 letters at baseline and 63.2 letters at seven years, an average decline of only seven letters approximately over that time for patients who were at or near peak levels at the time of enrolment after receiving three intravitreal injections of standard of care. Half of all patients had approximately 20/40 vision at seven years (Snellen visual acuity test). Contivue with Susvimo durability was maintained in approximately 95% of patients.

“The seven-year results from the LADDER study powerfully demonstrate the long-term outcomes delivered by Contivue with Susvimo,” said study investigator Carl C. Awh, MD, FASR, Tennessee Retina, Nashville, TN, USA . “For patients with nAMD, the sustained drug delivery of Contivue with Susvimo may provide superior visual outcomes compared to the well-demonstrated average decline in vision associated with long-term intravitreal injections.’’

The port delivery platform devices have been specifically engineered for use with a customized formulation of ranibizumab that is gradually released over time. Roche has several molecules in the pipeline with potential for use with the port delivery platform for continued growth and expansion.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition that affects the part of the eye that provides sharp, central vision needed for activities like reading. Neovascular or ‘wet’ AMD (nAMD) is an advanced form of the disease that can cause rapid and severe vision loss if left untreated. It develops when new and abnormal blood vessels grow uncontrolled under the macula, causing swelling, bleeding and/or fibrosis. Worldwide, around 20 million people are living with nAMD – the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 60 – and the condition will affect even more people around the world as the global population ages.

Well-known Guyanese artiste, model and businesswoman Lolita “Lola Doll” Callender was shot several times on Saturday night outside her residence in Texas Square, East Ruimveldt, police sources said. The 33-year-old woman was shot eight times to her right leg, hands, face, and neck while she was sitting in her motorcar. Ms Callender was rushed to ...

Berhampur: In an unfortunate incident, an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Ganjam district passed away due to a heart attack at the age of just 45.  

The doctor, identified as Dr. Sangram Sabat, had been complaining of chest pain and was taken to the medical college on Friday morning. However, despite immediate medical attention, he could not be saved.

Also read- 39-year-old Cardiac Surgeon dies of cardiac arrest while on duty

MKCG Superintendent Durga Madhab Satapathy told TOI that Dr. Sabat had already passed away by the time he reached the hospital.

Notably, doctors between the ages of 30–45 are increasingly becoming vulnerable to heart-related issues. Factors like long working hours, immense pressure, sedentary lifestyles, and poor eating habits contribute to conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which in turn raise the risk of heart attacks and cardiac arrests. 

This marks the fifth such case in the past week of doctors succumbing to cardiovascular complications.

Medical Dialogues recently reported a series of tragic incidents involving the sudden deaths of four doctors. Dr Gradlin Roy, a 39-year-old consultant cardiac surgeon at Saveetha Medical College, died from massive cardiac arrest while on duty rounds. Similarly, 40-year-old Dr. Prakash Gupta, an anaesthesia specialist at Goyal Hospitals in Jodhpur, also succumbed to cardiac arrest. A 39-year-old Dr Gaurav Mittal, a critical care specialist and Dr Devan, a 42-year-old associate professor from the cardiology department at Manakula Vinayaga Medical College, both passed away following massive heart attacks.

Also read- Fourth doctor lost in a week: Chennai Cardiologist dies of cardiac arrest