(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Till Bugaj and colleagues and Helga Weisz and colleagues for their comments.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Organised crime: the missing link in drug policies. thelancet.com Illegal drugs and their effect on public health were discussed in a 2019 Lancet Series.1 However, the Series authors did not report how a global criminal enterprise, the drug—abuse industrial complex,2 is the origin of the problem. This global network of organised crime, corrupt politicians, money laundering, and distribution systems perpetuates this public health crisis. We have reason to believe the drug trade is now expanding under the guise of legal cannabis and cannabidiol, especially in North America, with outreach to other markets in South America, Europe, and Asia.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation. thelancet.com Nick Watts and colleagues' 2019 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change1 leaves no doubt that global warming will heavily affect every child born today. Young people—the generation that will have to live through the consequences of a warming world for the longest—are actively taking part in raising awareness for climate change. Inspired by the Fridays for Future movement, thousands of young people have been doing everything possible to bring about social change towards a sustainable ecological lifestyle.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Older-age opioid-related deaths in the UK. thelancet.com The Lancet Series on drug use1 began with a paper on global patterns of opioid dependence but insufficiently emphasised that the sequelae of these epidemics persist over decades. The risk of drug-related death increases with age in people who are opioid-dependent, and the advantage that young women users (<35 years) have of lower drug-related mortality risk diminishes as they get older.2...
(2020-07-11). [Obituary] Tomisaku Kawasaki. thelancet.com Paediatrician who identified what became known as Kawasaki disease. Born on Feb 7, 1925, in Tokyo, Japan, he died on June 5, 2020, in Tokyo, aged 95 years.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Differential effect of ticagrelor on irreversible harms in diabetes. thelancet.com We read with interest the Article by Deepak L Bhatt and colleagues1 on the incremental effect of ticagrelor to aspirin for patients with diabetes and stable coronary artery disease. The THEMIS trial suggested a reduction in ischaemic events but not irreversible harms in the overall population.2 The trial also hypothesised that patients with a history of previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) would show a favourable efficacy—safety tradeoff. The authors found a favourable net clinical benefit in patients with previous PCI but not in those without previous PCI (appendix).
(2020-07-11). [Perspectives] The art of survival. thelancet.com An artist can turn bad luck into good fortune. Texas-born author Katherine Anne Porter caught and nearly died from influenza in the 1918—19 pandemic, but the experience gave her the material for Pale Horse, Pale Rider—the title piece of this selection from Penguin Modern Classics—and not only the finest of her very fine short stories, but also the greatest literary account of the "Spanish" influenza. Very few writers besides Porter addressed the disease, effectively making her the laureate of a tragedy that no one much cared to remember until the parallels with COVID-19 recalled it to collective…
(2020-07-10). Scheer Intelligence: The Price Of Ignoring The Ferguson Uprising. popularresistance.org August 9 will mark six years since 18-year-old Michael Brown was murdered by policeman Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Miss. Since then, Wilson has walked free and the systemic issues that have plagued this nation throughout its history have gone unaddressed. That changed with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which so thoroughly shocked Americans and established that the lessons from Ferguson and the Black Lives Matter movement that rose from it never had been absorbed. | Now, at a moment of heightened awareness about racism, Black Lives Matter leaders and Black activists and artists such as t…
(2020-07-10). Latin America's Neoliberal Leaders Are Making the Coronavirus Pandemic Far Worse. mintpressnews.com Much of Latin America is in meltdown with coronavirus cases soaring, bodies piling up, and anger mounting as a new wave of neoliberal leaders who openly reject individualism amid collective public health crisis pour fuel on the fire.
(2020-07-10). Brenda Choresi Carter on the Power of Sheriffs, Gordon Mosser on Medicare for All & Covid-19. fair.org 
Media…
(2020-07-10). House Labor-Health-Education bill could set off social issue uproars. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The mammoth, and often controversial, House money bill for federal labor, health and education spending adds billions of dollars for schools and health programs, but could also set off several social issue uproars when it hits the House floor later this month. The measure doles out and increases funds for the departments of Labor, Health …
(2020-07-10). Teachers on re-opening schools: "Not without protecting kids" peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—When the issue comes down to reopening the nation's schools as the coronavirus plague continues, GOP President Donald Trump says "yes," but leaders of teachers unions say "no"—or at any rate, not until you can truly protect the kids. The uproar started with a Trump dog-and-pony show with his Education Secretary, Elizabeth "Betsy" DeVos, and …
(2020-07-10). COVID-19 pandemic sweeps California prisons, San Quentin hit hardest. peoplesworld.org 
OAKLAND, Calif.—One of COVID-19's most dramatic consequences in California has been its impact on the state's prison population. As of July 8, nearly 2,300 of the 115,000 people incarcerated in the state's historically overcrowded prison system had tested positive for the disease, and at least 31 had died. Over 600 prison workers have also tested …
(2020-07-10). Phoenix, Arizona hospital runs out of morgue space, requests REFRIGERATOR TRUCKS as Covid-19 fatalities mount. rt.com 
One hospital in Phoenix, Arizona has reportedly requested refrigerated trucks to augment its morgue capacity, amid a spike in both temperatures and coronavirus deaths in that southwest US state. | Maricopa County "just announced they are going to be getting refrigerated trucks because the Abrazo health care system has run out of morgue beds," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told MSNBC on Friday. | Gallego, a Democrat, demanded a statewide mask mandate from Republican Governor Doug Ducey. | | Phoenix Mayor Gallego says Maricopa Co. has requested re…
(2020-07-10). World Health Organisation experts visit China to discuss coronavirus probe. thecanary.co 
Two World Health Organisation (WHO) experts will spend 11-12 July in Beijing to lay the groundwork for a larger mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.One animal health expert and one epidemiologist will work to fix the "scope and terms of reference" for the future mission. It will be aimed at learning how the virus jumped from animals to humans, WHO's statement said on 10 July.Origins: Scientists believe the virus may have originated in bats. It was then transmitted through another mammal such as a civet cat or pangolin before being passed on to people at a fresh food ma…
(2020-07-10). Brazilian Epidemiologist Slams Bolsonaro's COVID Response as Far-Right President Tests Positive. democracynow.org 
As Brazil faces the world's second-worst COVID-19 outbreak after the United States, Trump ally and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive, after months of downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has gone almost two months with no health minister. "Bad political leadership is a major risk factor for the spread of the pandemic," says leading Brazilian epidemiologist Cesar Victora, who coordinates the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas.
(2020-07-10). The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights. thenation.com The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights…
(2020-07-10). 'I Could Live With That': How the CIA Made Afghanistan Safe for the Opium Trade. strategic-culture.org Jeffrey ST. CLAIR | "I decided I could live with that." | — Stansfield Turner, Jimmy Carter's CIA director, on the extreme level of civilian casualties in the CIA's covert war in Afghanistan. | The first indelible image of the war in Afghanistan for many Americans was probably that of CBS anchorman Dan Rather, wrapped in the voluminous drapery of a mujahedin fighter, looking like a healthy relative of Lawrence of Arabia (albeit with hair that seemed freshly blow-dried, as some viewers were quick to point out). From his secret mountainside "somewhere in the Hindu Kush," Rather unloaded on his audience a barr…
(2020-07-10). Forced Vaccination Plan Unveiled. globalresearch.ca Stanford University Legal & Medical Authorities Join Forces To Fashion An Indiscriminate Mandated Mass-Vaccination Plan That Would Frighten The Public, Disregard Lawful Protections Of Informed Consent And Result In Needless Deaths. | *** | Our health overlords propose a dangerous infectious disease …
(2020-07-10). Waiting to declare famine 'will be too late for Yemenis on brink of starvation'. news.un.org In Yemen, fears of famine have resurfaced as UN humanitarians also warned on Friday that 360,000 severely malnourished children could die unless they continue to get treatment and aid is stepped up. In an urgent appeal for funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it needs $200 million per month to maintain assistance in the war-torn country.
(2020-07-10). Africa to Become Testing Ground for "Trust Stamp" Vaccine Record and Payment System. mintpressnews.com A new biometric identity platform partnered with the Gates-funded GAVI vaccine alliance and Mastercard will launch in West Africa and combine COVID-19 vaccinations, cashless payments, and potential law enforcement applications.
(2020-07-10). Venice tests long-delayed flood barrier months after waters swamped city. yenisafak.com Venice tested its long-delayed flood barriers on Friday, in a public demonstration of the strength of the defences months after rising tidal waters swamped its historic canals, squares and palaces.The multi-billion-euro Mose scheme – designed in 1984 but still incomplete a decade after it was due to come into service – has been plagued by corruption and cost overruns.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attended the test and started the computerised system that sent all 78 giant yellow sluice gates rising simultaneously above the water for the first time."We are here for a test, not a parade," Conte said, as crowds prot…
(2020-07-10). Pakistan: 2 provinces bearing brunt of pandemic. yenisafak.com Pakistan's two most populous provinces account for more than 75% of the country's COVID-19 cases and over 72% of its virus-related fatalities, according to official data released on Friday.The South Asian country's overall case count increased to 243,599, with 2,751 infections recorded over the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose by 75 to reach 5,058, the Health Ministry reported.With 100,900 confirmed infections, the southern Sindh province leads in the number of cases, followed by northeastern Punjab, the most populous province, with 85,261 cases.Together they make up over 76% of Pakistan's nationwide case…
(2020-07-10). China reports 4 new coronavirus cases in mainland. yenisafak.com China reported four new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 9, down from nine a day earlier, the health authority said on Friday.All four of the new infections were imported cases, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.China also reported three new asymptomatic patients, compared with six such cases a day earlier.
(2020-07-10). Mexico posts record 7,280 new coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Mexico on Thursday posted a fresh record for new coronavirus cases reported on a single day, with 7,280 cases, bringing its overall tally of infections to 282,283, health ministry data showed.The country also recorded 730 additional fatalities, bringing its overall death toll to 33,526.Mexico's previous one-day record was posted a day earlier on Wednesday, when 6,995 new cases were registered.
(2020-07-10). Iran reports 142 more deaths due to coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Friday confirmed 142 more fatalities caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 12,447.A further of 2,262 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 252,720, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.A total of 215,176 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 3,319 patients remain in critical condition, the official said.Across the world, COVID-19 has claimed over 555,500 lives in 188 countries and regions since emerging in China last December.Nearly 12.3 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the US, Brazil,…
(2020-07-10). Fujifilm's Avigan inconclusive in COVID-19 patients in Japan trial. yenisafak.com A clinical trial of Fujifilm Holdings Corp's Avigan drug yielded inconclusive results as a treatment of COVID-19, Japanese researchers said on Friday.Although patients given the drug early in the trial showed more improvement than those who got delayed doses, the results did not reach statistical significance, Fujita Health University researcher Yohei Doi said.The results, announced at a news conference on Friday, followed the completion of a clinical trial conducted between March and May on 89 patients across Japan.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said he hoped the drug would be approved as a COVID-19 trea…
(2020-07-10). Wednesday 7/15: LaborFest 2020: US Public Health System, COVID, Racism & Capitalism. indybay.org This is a free Zoom based event. You can be anywhere to view and participant. Please visit the LaborFest 2020 website URL to register and to receive a Zoom invitation to the event.
(2020-07-09). WHO Sets Independent Panel to Review Its Fight Against COVID-19. telesurenglish.net The World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Thursday announced the creation of an independent commission to review the performance of his institution in the current pandemic. | RELATED: | The panel will be chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. | "It is time to reflect on what we have done and look for…
(2020-07-09). Why the Bill Gates global health empire promises more empire and less public health. thegrayzone.com Behind a veil of corporate media PR, the Gates Foundation has served as a vehicle for Western capital while exploiting…
(2020-07-09). Bolsonaro Will Politicize His "Alleged" Coronavirus Infection to Regain Lost Popularity. globalresearch.ca It is only natural for many people to think Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro testing positive for COVID-19 is a karma for his insistence on minimizing the risks of the disease and a near non-existent management of the pandemic that has …
(2020-07-09). Looming Eviction Crisis Will Endanger Public Health And Economic Recovery. therealnews.com 
Last week, Baltimore housing advocates held a "Truth Commission" in front of Baltimore City Hall, declaring that elected officials had failed to protect residents from a housing crisis worsened by COVID-19. The group, which included members of Fair Development Roundtable, Housing Our Neighbors, and United Workers, warned of a looming eviction catastrophe if a city moratorium on evictions is allowed to expire on July 25 as currently planned. | Community members said they were putting the housing system on trial, and highlighting how official policy had failed to protect renters and the homeless. | "We're going to…
(2020-07-09). Firm Linked to HHS' Robert Kadlec Poised to Become Exclusive Manufacture of COVID-19 Vaccines. mintpressnews.com 
A pharmaceutical firm with a dark history and questionable ties to serving ASPR Robert Kadlec is poised to become the exclusive manufacturer of the COVID-19 vaccines now being funded through Trump's Operation Warp Speed.
(2020-07-09). 'Much higher' death rate than Covid-19: Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan warns of dangerous local pneumonia. rt.com 
The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan has warned its citizens in the Central Asian country to exercise caution amid a large outbreak of viral pneumonia, which appears to be deadlier than the new coronavirus. | Between Covid-19 and the pneumonia outbreak, the diplomats described the health situation in Kazakhstan as "very grim." Since the start of the year, 1,772 people have died of pneumonia in the country. In June alone, there were 628 fatalities, including Chinese citizens, a statement on the embassy's website reads. | "The mortality rate of the disease is much higher than that of the new coronavirus pneumonia,"
(2020-07-09). 'Liberating 5th Avenue': New York mayor paints BLACK LIVES MATTER outside Trump Tower. rt.com 
Signaling where his priorities lie amid an epidemic of coronavirus and violence, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a stretch of 5th Avenue outside Trump Tower to be painted with the words 'Black Lives Matter'. | City workers closed off the street on Thursday morning and began painting the mural, as De Blasio boasted about "liberating 5th Avenue" and finally giving credit to African-Americans for building New York and the US. | | "We are not denigrating anything, we are liberating Fifth Avenue." | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasi…
(2020-07-09). Lab worker killed by brain-destroying disease 7 YEARS after accidental jab. rt.com 
A new study has shed light on why a woman developed a fatal brain disease linked to mad cow disease several years after piercing her skin with contaminated laboratory equipment. | A woman in France who developed a rare and fatal brain disease did so via accidental lab exposure to the proteins that cause mad cow disease, a new study has The initial exposure happened in May 2010, as the then-24-year-old technician "handled frozen sections of brain of transgenic mice that overexpressed the human prion pro…
(2020-07-09). South African province prepares graves as coronavirus hits 'full speed'. thecanary.co 
The coronavirus pandemic in Africa is reaching "full speed" and it is good to prepare for the worst-case scenario, the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention has said.It comes after a South African official said a single province is preparing 1.5m graves.The number of confirmed virus cases across Africa surpassed the half-million milestone on 8 July, with more than 12,000 deaths.With testing levels low, the real numbers are unknown.South Africa has the most confirmed cases with more than 224,000. | For the first time, Gauteng province — home to Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria — h…
(2020-07-09). India records almost 25,000 new coronavirus cases. thecanary.co 
India has reported nearly 25,000 new coronavirus infections as the disease continues to spread through the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people.The virus is showing no signs of slowing in the worst-affected countries — the United States, Brazil and India.The three nations account for more than 60% of new cases, according to recent tallies from Johns Hopkins University.The US reported nearly 59,000 new daily cases, just short of the record 60,000 cases set a day earlier, as president Donald Trump insisted that schools reopen in the autumn.President Donald Trump said schools should reopen in the autumn (Evan Vu…
(2020-07-09). How to Stop the Next Pandemic: U.N. Report Links Outbreaks to Climate Crisis & Industrial Farming. democracynow.org 
As the unprecedented global health emergency continues to unfold, a new United Nations report says humans must lower stress on the natural environment to prevent the next pandemic. COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has a zoonotic origin, meaning it jumped from animals to humans, and the U.N. report finds that such diseases are spreading with greater frequency due to human activity, including industrial farming and the climate crisis. "Rather than focusing on the symptoms, we were looking at the causes," says Delia Grace, lead author of the report, veterinary epidemiologist at the Internationa…
(2020-07-09). Viagra? Yes. Birth Control? No. SCOTUS Sides with Trump & Limits Free Contraception Under Obamacare. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to reproductive rights when it sided with the Trump administration in letting employers deny people access to free birth control based on religious or moral grounds, hollowing out a mandate under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to provide cost-free birth control. "It's a really deeply disappointing ruling," says Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. "These individuals are effectively on their own to find and pay for their contraception."
(2020-07-09). Headlines for July 9, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Posts Another Record Daily High in New Coronavirus Cases, Anthony Fauci Absent from Coronavirus Task Force Briefing After Drawing Criticism from Trump, Trump Attacks CDC Guidance on School Reopenings During Pandemic, Hundreds Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona For-Profit Immigration Jail, Tulsa, OK Health Official Links Explosion of Coronavirus Cases to Trump Rally, HHS Secretary Claims Medical Workers "Don't Get Infected" After 95,000 Test Positive for Coronavirus, COVID-19 Cases Spike in Africa, While Melbourne, Australia, Is Placed Back on Lockdown, Bolivians Buried in Mass Graves as Hospitals "Collaps…
(2020-07-09). South Africa: Health Minister Warns on COVID-19 Cases Increase. telesurenglish.net South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warned about a hospital occupancy increase despite the optimistic outlook on COVID-19 development. | RELATED: | South Africa's government enforced a strict lockdown and virus outbreak tracing through extensive screening as precautionary measures. Nevertheless, tests and supplies scarcity limits cases detention. | With a 58 million population, then daily new cases average went from 1,0…
(2020-07-09). What is behind the New Zealand health minister's resignation? wsws.org The resignation of David Clark just months before an election, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, points to political instability in the Labour Party-led government.
(2020-07-09). Global COVID-19 pandemic takes a new upward leap. wsws.org Airborne transmission would have broad implications for workers who have been forced back to their jobs facing inadequate measures to protect their health and life.
(2020-07-09). Bolivia: Interim President àÅñez Tests Positive for COVID-19. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's de facto president Jeanine àÅñez Thursday announced via her Twitter account that she had tested positive to COVID-19 while other members of her team are infected as well. | RELATED: | "I feel well, I feel strong, I am going to keep working remotely from my isolation, and I want to thank all the Bolivians who are working to help us in this health crisis," àÅñez said as COVID-19 cases have spiked in the…
(2020-07-09). Israeli Soldiers Kill A Palestinian, Injure Another, Near Salfit. imemc.org The Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed, on Thursday at night, the death of a Palestinian man who was shot by Israeli soldiers near the main intersection of Kifl Hares town, north of Salfit in central West Bank, and added that the soldiers injured Palestinian teen. The Ministry stated that the …
(2020-07-09). Is it Impossible to Envision a World Without Patent Monopolies? counterpunch.org Apparently, at the New York Times, the answer is no. Elisabeth Rosenthal, who is a very insightful writer on health care issues, had a column this morning warning that we may face very high prices for a coronavirus vaccine. She points out that this is in spite of the fact that the government is paying
(2020-07-09). Italy Bans 13 Countries From Entry, 5 in Latin America. telesurenglish.net Italy is banning the arrival of citizens from 13 countries that it considers potentially dangerous of COVID-19 infections the Ministry of Health announced Thursday. | RELATED: | "In the world, the pandemic is in its most acute phase. We cannot nullify the sacrifices made by Italians in these months. This is why we have chosen the line of utmost prudence," said Minister of Health Roberto Speranza in a statement after signing the or…
(2020-07-09). The Dangers of Persecuting Doctors. counterpunch.org The detention in Egypt of nine doctors and paramedical personnel is only the latest attack on doctors dealing with the corona virus pandemic. The doctors were denouncing the deaths of front-line health care workers, as the country is struggling to control the pandemic and energize the economy with limited resources. The doctors were also critical
(2020-07-09). Police in Schools Continue to Target Black, Brown, and Indigenous Students with Disabilities. The Trump Administration Has Data That's Likely to Prove It. aclu.org Across the country, communities are pushing their schools to divest funding from police and reinvest those funds in student mental health care and other supportive services. But in making their case to their respective school boards, these parents, students, and advocates have run into one significant barrier — outdated data on policing in schools. , , Every other year, the Department of Education collects and eventually releases to the public data that shows the number of student referrals and arrests made by police (including school resource officers (SROs)) in public schools, and which students are m…