2020-06-21: News Headlines

Support HR 1384 Medicare for All (2020-06-21). Private Profit Kaiser v Protests. indybay.org Private profit Kaiser Permanente, a major medical provider in this backward country that still does not have socialized medicine unlike the rest of the industrialized world, sent an Email on June 20, 2020 at 1: 12 AM to its members telling us how to exercise our First Amendment right to protest. So that you know that this statement is not contrived, here is the outrageous blame-the-protest for failures of private profit medicine message:…

Vijay Prashad (2020-06-21). Ten-Point Agenda for the Global South after COVID-19. dissidentvoice.org Jorge González Morales (Mexico), Capitalism, 2020 Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly passed a New International Economic Order (NIEO), which was driven by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The resolution laid out a clear plan for the structural transformation of the world system, which …

news.un (2020-06-21). On International Yoga Day, UN spotlights power of ancient practice to help ease COVID stress. news.un.org The UN celebrates the sixth annual International Day of Yoga on 21 June, recognizing the ancient practice as a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, and a powerful tool for dealing with the myriad stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic…

Candice Bernd (2020-06-21). 911 Services That Dispatch Mental Health Counselors, Not Cops, Gain Traction. zcomm.org "Abolition of police in the current moment that we're talking about, around defunding the police, does not get rid of other systems of oppression that people face"

The Canary (2020-06-21). Doctors feeling increased levels of exhaustion, stress and concerns over NHS capacity. thecanary.co Doctors are feeling high levels of exhaustion and have little confidence they can manage the huge backlog of missed patient care, research shows. | A survey by the British Medical Association (BMA) of more than 7,000 doctors between June 16 and 18 showed an increase in stress levels among the workforce. | Many have little confidence in the NHS's ability to deal with the large backlog of missed, cancelled and postponed care, the union said. | Some also fear that the health service does not have the capacity to manage a second spike in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection levels. | There has been a slight increase in t…

yenisafak (2020-06-21). 'Difficult': Health workers on fatherhood in pandemic. yenisafak.com Balancing family life during the coronavirus pandemic is not easy. Yet some healthcare workers have been great role models to their children, and are also helping save the lives of COVID-19 patients.Dads in Turkey's southern Mersin province carry on with their devoted fight against the virus even on Father's Day.They continue to serve at the Mersin City Training and Research Hospital, and have to take extra care when meeting their families due to a possible risk of virus transmission. Mehmet Muku, 51, says it is hard to express the feeling of paternity, which he met in his later years.Responsible for the PCR lab…

yenisafak (2020-06-21). Virus death toll rises in Kuwait, Bahrain. yenisafak.com Kuwait confirmed six more fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Sunday, while Bahrain registered one death. | In a statement, the Kuwaiti Health Ministry said 505 more infections and 513 recoveries were recorded over the past 24 hours. | The country's toll now rose to 39,650 cases, including 326 deaths, and 31,240 recoveries. | In Bahrain, the Health Ministry said one patient had died from the disease. | The Gulf state's infections now stand at 21,331, including 61 deaths, and 15,790 recoveries. | Since originating in China last December, the pandemic has claimed over 464,500 lives in 188 countries and regio…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-21). Iran still experiencing first wave of COVID-19: Health Min. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 21 (MNA) —Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education, Saeed Namaki said that we are experiencing the first wave of coronavirus pointing to the increasing cases of patients in Iran.

Health Care Voter (2020-06-21). Thursday 6/25: Our Lives on the Line: Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act Under Attack. indybay.org Online via livestream…

Joanna Palmer (2020-06-20). [Comment] Framing health stories: Highlights 2020 photography competition open for submissions. thelancet.com The video and pictures of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, USA, as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck while he pleaded that he could not breathe, as well as photographs of subsequent anti-racism protests around the world, are some of the most powerful images this year. These pictures highlight the devastating impacts of structural racism and the deep inequities in our societies, and have given renewed urgency to the Black Lives Matter movement. This year has also brought moving and sometimes shocking photographs of health-care staff working in challenging conditions—too often…

Peter Baker, Alan White, Rosemary Morgan (2020-06-20). [Comment] Men's health: COVID-19 pandemic highlights need for overdue policy action. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a cruel light on the state of men's health globally. In 38 out of 43 countries for which provisional data were available, as of June 10, 2020, more men than women have died from COVID-19 despite a similar number of confirmed cases in each sex.1 In several countries, including the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, and Spain, about twice as many men as women have died from COVID-19.1 International Men's Health Week on June 15—21 is an opportune time to focus attention on this issue and the need for a new and systematic approach to improve the health of men generally.

The Lancet (2020-06-20). [Editorial] Global governance for COVID-19 vaccines. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered serious gaps in the health-care systems of many nations. In particular, it exposes a fragmented global governance system that does not have the structures to coordinate the pooling and sharing of resources needed to combat pandemics. Since the early days of the pandemic, medical protectionism has emerged as nations scrambled for their own stocks of personal protective equipment and ventilators. COVID-19 vaccines could be the next example. Already there is a danger of a vaccine bidding war, with governments competing for a limited number of doses, well before a vaccine even reac…

Daniel Marchalik, Dmitriy Petrov (2020-06-20). [Perspectives] Seeing COVID-19 through José Saramago's Blindness. thelancet.com Some 6 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the emotional devastation, socioeconomic impacts, and pressures on front-line health-care workers continue to shape our world. While words cannot always do justice to the extent of individual suffering from this disease, fiction can sometimes offer a way to process the present moment, and this feels particularly true of Portuguese writer José Saramago's Blindness (1995).

Annelies Wilder-Smith, Steven W Lindsay, Thomas W Scott, Eng Eong Ooi, Duane J Gubler, Pamela Das (2020-06-20). [Comment] The Lancet Commission on dengue and other Aedes-transmitted viral diseases. thelancet.com The past 50 years have seen the emergence of epidemic arboviral diseases transmitted by the urban mosquito, Aedes aegypti. More than 120 countries are affected by frequent and cyclical dengue epidemics that result in an estimated annual 400 million infections and 100 million symptomatic cases.1 Chikungunya virus re-emerged in 2004 from east Africa and spread to Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe.2,3 Zika virus spread from sub-Saharan Africa through Asia and the Pacific to the Americas, where it caused a major outbreak associated with severe birth defects and neurological complications.

Sharmila Devi (2020-06-20). [World Report] COVID-19 resurgence in Iran. thelancet.com Iran was one of the first countries to experience a COVID-19 epidemic, and began relaxing restrictions in April, but cases have since rebounded. Sharmila Devi reports.

Niall Boyce, Bianca Brandon, Gabriella Merry, Joanna Palmer, Jonathan Pimm, Maneet Virdi (2020-06-20). [Comment] Wakley Prize Essay 2020: medicine and plain truths in a pandemic year. thelancet.com "Sorrow and Truth, sit you on either side of me, whilst I am relieved of this deadly burden…Lend me art, without any counterfeit shadowing, to paint and delineate to the life the whole story of this mortal and pestiferous battle."1 When London-based Renaissance author Thomas Dekker came to write his account of the 1603 plague outbreak, he renounced the "silver-tongued muses", feeling that only plain words and plain truth could do justice to the moment. Four centuries on, the COVID-19 pandemic demands a similar response.

Jonathan P S Knisely, Sonia A Henry, Shahryar G Saba, Lindsay L Puckett (2020-06-20). [Correspondence] Cancer and cardiovascular disease. thelancet.com Helen Strongman and colleagues1 provide valuable information on cardiovascular consequences that affect adults surviving a wide range of common cancers. We are concerned that some important signals might be obscured by inadequate data on known risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Helen Strongman, Alexander R Lyon, Isabel dos Santos Silva, Liam Smeeth, Krishnan Bhaskaran (2020-06-20). [Correspondence] Cancer and cardiovascular disease — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Nasra Alam and colleagues and Jonathan Knisely and colleagues for their comments about our cohort study.1…

thelancet (2020-06-20). [Department of Error] Department of Error. thelancet.com Richardson P, Griffin I, Tucker C, et al. Baricitinib as potential treatment for 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease. Lancet 2020; 395: e30—31—In this Correspondence, the authors Michael Rawling and Edward Savory (BenevolentAI, London, UK) were mistakenly omitted. This correction has been made to the online version as of June 18, 2020.

ahtribune (2020-06-20). How Did Syria Control the Pandemic So Well? ahtribune.com How is it that Syria, targeted by war and economic siege, has had such striking success in controlling the COVID19 pandemic? With epidemics raging on either side — across Europe and all around the Persian Gulf — how did the embattled Syrian Arab Republic emerge (by mid-June) with so little damage, and indeed with the lowest number of cases and deaths in the entire Middle East region? | This was not due to luck, nor to a laissez-faire Swedish style practice, as some pandemic denier friends of Syria have reported. On the contrary, the Syrian government: (1) took the virus threat seriously, communicat…

_____ (2020-06-20). US Lawmakers, Top Official Clash On China's Involvement In COVID-19 Vaccine. popularresistance.org US lawmakers and a top official leading the White House's efforts to produce a coronavirus vaccine clashed on Thursday over whether American health authorities should be working with China to speed up the process. | At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to confirm General Gustave Perna to co-lead "Operation Warp Speed", the Trump administration's initiative to develop a coronavirus vaccine and therapeutics, several lawmakers asked whether the United States is committed to working with China on research. | Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat representing Connecticut, raised the concerns "that the adminis…

WSWS (2020-06-20). Global outrage over violent police arrest of 50-year-old French nurse Farida. wsws.org The response of the French ruling class to health care workers' demands for increased resources to combat the pandemic in decent and safe conditions is naked repression.

Abdul Rahman (2020-06-20). Imperialist occupation and wars are the driving force behind the displacement of people. peoplesdispatch.org In its annual "Global Trends" report released on June 18, Thursday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that the total number of displaced persons globally rose by a record 9 million in 2019. Though most of them are internally displaced, the number of people forced out of their countries, or international refugees, is also increasing. | The spread of COVID-19 globally has caused renewed concern about the safety and well-being of the world's refugee population, most of whom are living in unsafe conditions. While health infrastructure in refugee camps, particularly in third world countri…

teleSUR (2020-06-20). Bolivia Reaches New Infection Record as Health System Collapses. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Health Ministry reported 977 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 22,476 in a country whose death toll has reached 715 so far. | RELATED: | The situation is especially worrying in Santa Cruz, the most populated region of Bolivia with just over three million inhabitants, which concentrates the majority of cases (13,539) and the highest number of deaths (319). | The epidemiologic…

_____ (2020-06-20). Global Experts Alarmed At Signs US Has 'Given Up' Fight To Stop COVID-19. popularresistance.org Global public health experts are looking on in "alarm and disbelief" as the U.S. economy reopens even as Covid-19 case numbers continue to rise in a number of states, with President Donald Trump signaling he has no intention of calling for more economic shutdowns regardless of the outcome. | As The Washington Post reported Friday, newspapers across Europe have recently published articles and editorials expressing shock at the Trump administration's approach to the pandemic. | "U.S. Increasingly Accepts Rising Covid-19 Numbers," read a headline this week in the Swiss paper Neue Zàºrcher Zeitung. | While image…

Staff (2020-06-20). Global Health Experts Alarmed at Signs US Has "Given Up" Fight Against COVID-19. truthout.org Global public health experts are looking on in "alarm and disbelief" as the U.S. economy reopens even as Covid-19 case numbers continue to rise in a number of states, with President Donald Trump signaling he has no intention of calling for more economic shutdowns regardless of the outcome. | As The Washington Post

Santa Cruz Police News (2020-06-20). "I Can't Breathe": Remembering David Cross, Killed by Corrections Officers in Santa Cruz County Jail. indybay.org David Cross, a 44-year-old local plumber, was killed on September 18, 2005 in Santa Cruz County Jail while experiencing a mental health crisis. Corrections officers who responded that day to address his health issues decided Cross needed to be restrained, so they sat on his back as he lay on his stomach and "hog tied" him on the floor of the jail. Cross screamed, "I can't breathe," "I'm going to die," and "Please get off me," before his body went limp after 3 1/2 minutes of being restrained. Fast forward to 2020, and it is likely that many will see the killing of David Cross in a new light. The world is currently…

Fight Back (2020-06-19). March set for RNC in Jacksonville: 'We can't breathe'. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL — The Coalition to March on the RNC applied for permits from the city of Jacksonville, June 17, to hold a rally and march opposed to Donald Trump and the Republican National Convention. | The main slogan of the event will be "We Can't Breathe — Defeat Donald Trump." The Coalition to March on the RNC will seek to emphasize the Black-led struggle against police brutality under the past four years of Trump in office. The Coalition also stands for a people's agenda — money for living-wage jobs, education, universal healthcare, peace and equality. | The Coalition to March on the RNC…

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-06-19). Minnesota mass gathering participants eligible for COVID-19 testing. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz recently announced that any Minnesota resident who participated in a protest, vigil, or other mass gathering, including first responders, are eligible to receive a COVID-19 test. Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Health System sites in Minnesota are helping to support public health departments in local communities and have …

Ralph Nader (2020-06-19). From the Covid-19 Battle Can Come Unstoppable Citizen Power to Propel "Full Medicare for All" Through Congress. counterpunch.org Frontline healthcare, transit, and grocery clerk workers are too busy risking their lives helping and saving people exposed to the deadly Covid-19 pandemic to see themselves emerging as the force that can overcome decades of commercial obstruction to full Medicare for All. These heroic, courageous, and selfless people are getting the job done, often without

The Canary (2020-06-19). Missed targets, blunders and U-turns mark the Tory government's response to pandemic. thecanary.co This week saw the government perform U-turns on free school meals and plans for its own contact tracing app.Here, the PA news agency looks at where the government has missed targets and backtracked during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.Coronavirus testing target: On 2 April, health secretary Matt Hancock set a goal of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month.At the government's daily briefing on 1 May, Hancock said testing figures had hit 122,347 on 30 April.However, the figures included the number of home tests (27,497) that had been sent out as well as the number of tests sent out to…

The Canary (2020-06-19). Government spent more than £11m on tracing app contracts, figures show. thecanary.co The government awarded contracts worth more than £11m to companies to help develop its contact tracing app before its U-turn to work with Apple and Google, figures indicate.According to government records published online so far, 11 contracts have been awarded to private firms aiding the app's development totalling £11,297,811.The records indicate that software firm Zuhlke Engineering was awarded more than £5m across two contracts for development and support on the app.(PA Graphics)The Department of Health and Social Care also awarded more than £4.8m to developer VMware and its subsidiary…

_____ (2020-06-19). Hancock promises shielding announcement imminent — leak confirms end July. truepublica.org.uk An announcement on a possible end to the coronavirus shielding programme in England will come "very soon", the UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, said Tuesday 17th June, after healthcare charities called for clarity on the government's plans. The scheme affects roughly 2.2 million "clinically extremely vulnerable" people, a category that includes those who have had transplants, are having …

teleSUR (2020-06-19). Caribbean States to Discuss Policies for the COVID-19 Crisis. telesurenglish.net The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) members Friday will discuss virtually how the region's countries can cooperate to recover from the health, economic, and social crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | The discussion will take place during the 25th Ordinary Meeting of the ACS Ministerial Council which will be held virtually due to the current health emergency. | ACV representatives will als…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-19). Pakistan struggles with rising number of COVID-19 cases. peoplesdispatch.org Pakistan has the second highest number of cases in south Asia after India. The World Health Organization had earlier recommended the re-imposition of restrictions that had been lifted by the government of Pakistan.

WSWS (2020-06-19). Johnson government reneges on waiving health surcharges on NHS workers from overseas. wsws.org What is being demanded by migrant NHS workers is not preferential treatment, but rights that should be extended to all overseas workers.

teleSUR (2020-06-19). China Confirms Strain Found in Market Came From Europe. telesurenglish.net China's health authorities Friday confirmed that the coronavirus' strain identified at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing came from Europe after it was likely imported in frozen foods. | RELATED: | Although the results are still preliminary, experts have found that the virus was circulating in the city's main wholesale market long before it was detected. | "If it had arrived in the city recently, so many posit…

teleSUR (2020-06-19). COVID-19 Is Still A Dangerous Threat, WHO Warns. telesurenglish.net The world has entered a new and dangerous phase of the coronavirus pandemic, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Friday. | RELATED: | During a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva, the director warned that the virus contagion rate is increasing in an accelerated manner, with the Americas as the epicenter of the upsurge. | "The virus is still spreading fast, it is still…

teleSUR (2020-06-19). 22 Children Get COVID-19 at El Salvador's Public Centers. telesurenglish.net The El Salvador University's Institute of Human Rights (DHUES) Thursday denounced that 22 minors became ill with COVID-19 while they were in the custody of public institutions. | RELATED: | "Twenty-two children and adolescents from the Social Integration Complex for Children and Adolescents (CISNA) had tested positive for COVID-19," the DHUES reported. | "We call on the President, the Health Health, and the National…

teleSUR (2020-06-19). Brazil: Virus Unleashes, Contagion Tally Surpasses One Million. telesurenglish.net Brazil registered a new record daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and passed 1 million, the Ministry of Health said on Friday. | RELATED: | In the last 24 hours, this South American country recorded 54,771 new infections and reached a figure of 1,032,913. This way, only the U.S tally is higher with 2.2 million. | The number of deaths reached 48,954. Brazil has exceeded 1,000 deaths per day since Thursday, accordi…

WSWS (2020-06-19). Risking COVID-19 spread, the state makes Turkish students take mass exams. wsws.org The Turkish government is risking millions of students' health and life by forcing them to congregate for mass high school and university entrance exams.

news.un (2020-06-19). COVID-19: UN health agency warns of 'new and dangerous phase' as cases mount. news.un.org The world is entering "a new and dangerous phase" of the COVID-19 pandemic, as infection rates continue to climb, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

teleSUR (2020-06-19). New York Will Enter Phase Two Of Reopening From Monday. telesurenglish.net New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo Friday said that the city will enter phase two of reopening from Monday after global public health experts have cleared the city to start lifting restrictions. | RELATED: | "I am so incredibly proud of what we all did together and as a community. We reopened the economy and saved lives because it was never a choice between one or the other, it was always right to do both," Govern…

Helen Buyniski (2020-06-19). VIDEO: The "Lock Step" Simulation Scenario: "A Coronavirus-like Pandemic that Becomes Trigger for Police State Controls" globalresearch.ca First published on February 5, 2020. In-depth analysis of the Simulation of a pandemic conducted in 2010 under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation. | By now, those following the novel coronavirus epidemic are familiar with Event 201, the pandemic

Fight Back (2020-06-19). July 31 cutoff looms for unemployed. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – In six weeks, tens of millions of unemployed people face the end of the additional $600 a week in unemployment insurance benefits. This additional benefit that helps low income workers the most is set to expire due to its being opposed by the Republican-controlled Senate. These same workers were hardest hit by the pandemic recession, and many face the prospect of their jobs not coming back. This is just another example of how the economic relief has helped large corporations, which can aided by the Federal Reserve, while low-income workers are subject to punishment by republicans who see the aid as…

WSWS (2020-06-19). UK nurses from overseas demand permanent residence after battling COVID-19. wsws.org The SEP was contacted by an overseas nurse from the south of England, urging support for a petition demanding permanent residence for non-EU National Health Service migrant workers.

yenisafak (2020-06-19). India reports record rise in coronavirus cases as major city locks down. yenisafak.com India reported a record daily jump in the number of novel coronavirus cases on Friday as the southern city of Chennai locked down following fresh outbreaks there.Given India's high population density, experts have long worried that a sustained COVID-19 outbreak would lead to pressure on its stretched healthcare system.Prime Minister Narendra Modi lifted most restrictions that were part of a nearly three-month nationwide lockdown on June 8, despite the continuing rise in cases.Data from India's federal health ministry on Friday showed an additional 13,500 cases over the previous 24 hours, with over 300 deaths.Indi…

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Philippines reports 661 new COVID-19 cases. yenisafak.com The Philippines on Friday reported 661 new COVID-19 cases taking country's tally past 28,000.The Philippines Department of Health reported in a statement 460 more infections, with tests results released within three days, whereas test results of additional 201 cases were released after more than four days.It added that 14 more people died due to the disease.In total, 1,130 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 so far in the island state, while 7,378 patients have recovered and released from the health facilities.The Philippines has also reported 28,459 confirmed cases.After originating in China last December,…

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Spain increases coronavirus death toll to over 28,000. yenisafak.com Spain reported on Friday a total of 28,313 coronavirus deaths as of Thursday, after adjusting its database to avoid duplications and errors, a health ministry official said.The death toll series had not been updated since June 7, when Spain reported 27,136 deaths, while the country was implementing a new methodology for logging deaths and cases.

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Iran reports 120 more deaths related to coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Friday confirmed 120 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,392.Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari said a further 2,615 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 200,262.A total of 159,192 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, he said, adding that 2,833 remain at hospitals in critical conditions.Over 1.37 million tests have been conducted in the country to date, Lari said.Iran sees an upward trend in daily infections in many provinces, especially in the southwestern Khuzestan provi…