US President Donald Trump's recent physical examination results were released by the White House on Sunday and it declared him "Fully Fit" to serve as Commander-in-Chief. the report also holds significance, not just because Trump is the oldest man to be ever elected to the presidency, but also because it has arrived in such a time and age when health as become a hot topic in American politics.

Here is what is physical examination says:

Doctor Says Fit For Duty

Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella who is Trump's physician conducted this medical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The report released was three-page-long, which declared Trump "fully fit to execute the duties of Commander-in-Chief and Head of State", and it also added that he remains in "excellent health". He has a "robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and general physical function."

Barbabella also noted that Trump's "active lifestyle", including golf games have contributed in his overall well-being. While this may come as a surprise to many, but playing golf indeed helps you burn calories. In a June 2023 article by Harvard Health Publishing, run by Harvard Medical School, Julie Corliss, their Executive Editor notes that "if you walk the course, playing 18 holes of golf may benefic your heart even more than an hour of either brisk or Nordic walking."

Weight Loss And Improved BMI

One of the noticeable changes in his report, especially from last presidency in 2020 is his weight. He now weighs 224 pounds, which has come down from 244. This also brought his Body Mass Index (BMI) to 28.0, which has placed him under the "overweight" category. Previously, his BMI was 30.5, which placed him as an obese man.

This drop in weight could be reflected from his healthy and active lifestyle as per his doctor.

The Vitals: Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Heart Health

Trump’s cholesterol levels have steadily improved over the years, thanks in part to medications like rosuvastatin and ezetimibe. His total cholesterol has decreased from 223 in 2018 to 140 today, which is well within the healthy range (below 200).

His blood pressure reads 128/74—slightly elevated but not in the hypertensive range. His resting heart rate is 62 beats per minute, indicating good cardiovascular health.

Trump also takes aspirin regularly, which helps lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

How Is Trump Doing Mentally?

Trump has also passed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which is a screening tool for various brain functions like memory and attention. He also boasted in 2018 about recalling a list of words from the test: "Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV."

In his latest checkup, he also underwent mental health screenings for depression and anxiety and scored within the normal limits.

Other Health Measures

The exam summary noted that Trump had previously undergone cataract surgery on both eyes, a routine procedure for aging individuals. He also had a colonoscopy in July 2024, which revealed a benign polyp and diverticulosis—a common age-related intestinal condition that’s usually harmless.

The exam also confirmed minor sun damage and benign skin lesions, along with scarring on his right ear from a July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federal constitutional right to abortion. This decision, made in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, gave individual states the power to regulate abortion laws. Since then, over a dozen states have enacted near-total abortion bans, leaving large swathes of the country with little to no legal access to the procedure.

Fewer People Are Traveling for Abortions

According to a new report by the Guttmacher Institute, about 155,000 people crossed state lines for abortion care in 2024. That’s a 9% drop from 2023. However, the overall number of abortions performed in states where the procedure is still legal remained stable — totaling 1,038,100 last year.

This decline in travel doesn't mean fewer abortions are happening. Rather, it highlights changing patterns in how people are accessing care.

Telehealth and Medication Abortions on the Rise

One of the biggest shifts has been the rise in telehealth abortion services. In states with shield laws that protect doctors from prosecution, more patients are turning to virtual consultations and receiving abortion pills by mail.

Data from the Society of Family Planning shows that the share of abortions via telemedicine rose from just 4% in April 2022 to 20% by June 2024. That’s more than 19,000 medication abortions happening each month. For many, this option is safer, faster, and more convenient than traveling to a clinic — especially when juggling work, school, or child care.

“They can still get safe, legal care from a licensed practitioner without having to make child-care arrangements or skip work or school,” said Julie Kay, executive director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.

ALSO READ: Amid Changing Health Laws In The US, Would Abortion Become Illegal?

Why Travel Is Becoming Harder

Traveling for abortion care remains essential for people in states with total bans, but it’s getting harder. Isaac Maddow-Zimet from the Guttmacher Institute explained that the cost isn’t the only barrier: people must navigate different laws, find a clinic with available appointments, arrange accommodation, and often secure child care.

Adding to the difficulty is a drop in donations. Many nonprofit groups and abortion funds saw a surge in contributions immediately after Roe was overturned, but those funds have since declined — even as more people need support.

States Taking the Lead — On Both Sides

Some states, like New Mexico, Illinois, Kansas, and North Carolina, have become hubs for abortion care. In New Mexico, nearly 70% of abortions in 2024 were for patients from other states — mostly Texas and Oklahoma.

Virginia also saw a rise in out-of-state patients, likely due to Florida’s new six-week ban, which took effect in May 2024 and is now one of the strictest laws in the country.

On the flip side, states like Idaho and Tennessee have criminalized helping minors travel for abortions without parental consent. However, federal courts have pushed back. In Alabama, a judge ruled that the state cannot prosecute those helping people travel across state lines for abortion, citing the fundamental right to interstate travel.

In a landmark development, the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) have forged a draft agreement aimed at enhancing global cooperation on future pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The agreement is set to be present formally in the World Health Assembly in May. It is then when the formal approval will be initiated. The goal is to create a framework that could be collaborative for all the member states and so it could further strengthen the global health systems to better handle pandemics in future.

Before getting into what this agreement proposes, let's first understand what are pandemics?

What Are Pandemics?

It is an outbreak of a disease that spreads across multiple countries or continent. It also affects large number of people. However, unlike localized outbreak, pandemics could disrupt economies, societies, and healthcare systems, worldwide.

In history, we have had some of the most devastating pandemics, including the Spanish Flu in 1918, which caused an estimated 50 million deaths. HIV/AIDS pandemic too began in 1980s and continues to affect millions today.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, serves as a stark reminder of the global vulnerabilities exposed by pandemics. With over 600 million cases and nearly 7 million deaths globally by the end of 2021, COVID-19 showcased the urgency of enhancing international collaboration in pandemic preparedness.

What Are The Key Features Of The Draft Agreement?

Knowledge-Sharing Systems: The agreement proposes the establishment of robust knowledge-sharing systems to ensure that information related to disease outbreaks, research findings, and best practices are disseminated quickly and efficiently across countries.

Pandemic Prevention Measures: One of the core objectives is to implement measures that prevent pandemics from emerging. This includes addressing environmental factors, improving surveillance systems, and strengthening international regulations for disease control.

Geographically Diverse Research: The agreement stresses the importance of building geographically diverse research capacities. This means creating research centers around the world that can focus on pandemic-related research and respond swiftly to health threats.

Global Health Workforce: A skilled, trained, and multidisciplinary workforce is essential for dealing with pandemics. The draft calls for the development of a global health emergency workforce that can be deployed at short notice during health crises.

Coordinating Financial Mechanisms: Another aspect of the agreement is the creation of a financial mechanism to fund pandemic preparedness and response efforts. This includes developing a global supply chain and logistics network to ensure that essential medicines, vaccines, and medical supplies reach areas in need.

Strengthening Health Systems: The proposal emphasizes the need for countries to strengthen their health systems to increase resilience and ensure readiness for future health emergencies. This includes upgrading hospitals, improving healthcare infrastructure, and ensuring sufficient stockpiles of medical supplies.

ALSO READ: WHO Nations Agree To Sign Off On Treaty To Prevent Repeating COVID-19 Failures- 5 Key Facts

WHO's Role in Pandemic Response

While the goals are ambitious, the WHO's role here remains advisory that ensures coordination among nations rather than imposing mandatory measures. The agreement also confirms that countries retain their sovereignty over public health decision. This means that no country will be forced to accept or implement WHO directives which could be related to travel bans, vaccinations, treatments, or lockdown. WHO's goals would be limited to providing guidance, support, and facilitate international cooperation without overriding national laws or policies.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's Director-General, hailed the draft agreement as a historic moment, underscoring that multilateralism remains a vital force in addressing shared global health threats. The consensus reached by nations signifies a collective commitment to making the world safer from future pandemics.

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.