🌍 From mapping Guinea worm hotspots to predicting dengue spillover risks and identifying barriers to childhood vaccination, WorldPop researchers showcased how geospatial data and machine learning can strengthen public health interventions at #GEOMED2026 in Pamplona, Spain.
#GlobalHealth #GeospatialData #MachineLearning #PublicHealth #HealthEquity #Vaccination #DiseaseSurveillance #GuineaWormDisease 🗺️📊
New from CIDRAP:
"Updated COVID vaccines cut risk of hospital care, heart complications, new data reveal "
CDC data confirm 2,104 measles cases in 41 jurisdictions with 30 active outbreaks. The U.S. risks losing measles elimination status held since 2000. #measles #publichealth #vaccination
Posted into FLIPBOARD EXCHANGE FEED 🗞️ @flipboard-exchange-feed-Econopass
HPV jabs cut risk of dying from cervical cancer before 30 to almost zero
#HackerNews #HPV #Vaccination #CervicalCancer #HealthResearch #CancerPrevention #PublicHealth
ICYMI
These dumb 🤬
A major localized #flu #outbreak is currently affecting hundreds of new #MilitaryRecruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. The outbreak began after “Defense” Secretary Pete #Hegseth made flu #vaccines optional in April, causing #vaccination rates to plummet to around 40%.
#AntiVax #ConspiracyTheories #Trump #RFKJr #ItsAboutCovidOnTrumpsWatch #vanity #science #medicine #vaccines #law #military #USpol #VaccinesWork #idiocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/us/flu-outbreak-air-force-base.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
More #evidence that #COVID19 #vaccines are still effective. #vaccine #vaccination
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2850251
England began vaccinating school-age girls against HPV, the major cause of cervical cancer, in 2008. It's working. A new study shows that between 2020 and 2024, zero cervical cancer deaths were recorded in women aged 20 to 24 in England. Here's more from @BBCNews.
LLANELLI: More NHS services moving to Pentre Awel — here’s what’s relocating and when
A range of health services for patients in the Llanelli area are relocating to Canolfan Pentre Awel over the coming weeks, with Hywel Dda University Health Board bringing more care under one roof at the new community facility.
The centre, which opened to the public in October 2025, is the health hub of the wider £60m Pentre Awel development on the south Llanelli coast.
The health board says the move brings services closer to the community in a modern, purpose-built setting, with better accessibility, transport links and parking than the older sites being left behind.
Blood testing has already led the way. Phlebotomy services moved to Pentre Awel earlier this month, ending a period in which Llanelli patients had been shuffled between temporary homes — including the Dafen mass vaccination centre, which left those without cars struggling to get to appointments.
Now a much longer list of services is set to follow through June and July.
What’s moving, and when
From 22 June, COVID-19 and RSV clinics currently run from Dafen will move to Pentre Awel, along with cardiac rehabilitation nurse assessments currently based at Prince Philip Hospital.
From 29 June, a cluster of services currently delivered from Llwynhendy will relocate. These include the community heart failure clinic, catheter management and “trial without catheter” service, the district nursing continence service, the ear wax microsuction service, and the specialist continence service that forms part of the bowel and bladder advisory service.
Also from 29 June, the early intervention in psychosis service will move from MIND in Carmarthen, and a brand new IV clinic will open at the centre — where patients have a full assessment, key observations are checked and blood tests may be taken.
From 8 July, the liver disease clinic will move across too.
The health board says patients with existing appointments do not need to do anything. Anyone whose appointment is affected by the changes will be contacted directly, and appointment arrangements and contact details stay the same unless patients are told otherwise.
Hywel Dda services are located on the ground floor, at the rear right-hand side of the building.
Getting there
For patients travelling by bus, the L1 and L2 route connects Pentre Awel to Llanelli town centre, Parc Pemberton, Parc Trostre, Penyfan, Morfa, Swiss Valley, Prince Philip Hospital and Felinfoel, with a stop near the main door. The service runs roughly every 90 minutes.
The L11 route serves Kidwelly and the surrounding area at the start and end of each day.
Part of a flagship regeneration scheme
Pentre Awel is no ordinary health centre. The 83-acre site at Machynys is billed as the largest development of its kind in Wales, bringing together health, research, education, business and leisure on a single landscaped site overlooking the Loughor Estuary.
It is being delivered by Carmarthenshire County Council as part of the Swansea Bay City Deal, in partnership with Hywel Dda University Health Board, universities and colleges, with around £40m of City Deal funding behind it.
When work began on the scheme, it was projected to be worth £467m to the local economy over 15 years and to support up to 1,800 jobs once the whole site is operational.
Alongside the health and research facilities, the development includes a council-run leisure and aquatics centre, with assisted living accommodation, a care home, a hotel and housing planned for later phases.
Welcomed by the health board and council
Peter Skitt, clinical care group service director at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said bringing the services together would make access easier for the community.
“The facility provides a modern, welcoming environment for patients and improved working conditions for staff,” he said.
“By bringing teams together under one roof, we can strengthen collaboration across services and provide a more joined-up experience for people using our services. This move represents an important long-term investment in healthcare provision for the Llanelli community.”
Cllr Hazel Evans, Carmarthenshire County Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, leisure, culture and tourism, said the move was a significant step for the area.
“Patients, families and carers will now benefit from a modern, welcoming environment designed to support integrated care,” she said.
“This move represents an important milestone for Canolfan Pentre Awel and a significant step forward in delivering high-quality, community-focused healthcare for the region.”
Patients with enquiries can contact the health board’s Communications Hub on 0300 303 9642.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Pentre Awel City Deal project wins government approval
How the £40m City Deal-funded scheme was given the green light in Llanelli.
Llanelli patients moved again as services shift to £60m Pentre Awel
The background to the relocation of blood tests and other services to the new site.
Blood test services move to Pentre Awel
Phlebotomy was the first Hywel Dda service to make the move to the new centre.
Llanelli handed £20m regeneration lifeline
A wider drive to invest in some of the town’s most deprived communities.
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