(2020-10-18). Bill Gates: 'A Second Wave of (COVID) Vaccines Will Come Next Year' After the First. globalresearch.ca What Happened: Bill Gates
(2020-10-18). Playing Russian Roulette with a COVID-19 Vaccine. globalresearch.ca America, we need to have a conversation. It is a very serious and dire conversation that has been intentionally ignored and swept under the rug for far too long. It concerns a dialogue that our entire mainstream media, in its …
(2020-10-18). Newsom Administration approves 6 more fracking permits, bringing the total to 54 this year. indybay.org "Gov. Newsom sacrifices our health, food, water and climate while dodging criticism when he issues new fracking permits on a Friday night," said Alexandra Nagy, California Director of Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action. "Newsom's concern over climate change is a deceptive mirage as his actions reveal a strong adherence to the status quo.
(2020-10-18). Holy Prophet (S) Shrine reopened in Medina. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 18 (MNA) — After a hiatus that Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) Shrine had been closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus global pandemic, doors of the holy shrine were reopened as limited by fully observing of health protocols.
(2020-10-18). Iran registers 3,890 new COVID-19 infections, 252 deaths. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 18 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 3,890 COVID-19 infections and 252 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.
(2020-10-18). Nurses protest NSW wage freeze. greenleft.org.au Mental health nurses from the Waratah Mental Health Centre branch protested the NSW government's effective wage freeze outside their hospital, reports Niko Leka.
(2020-10-17). India gives go-ahead to domestic trial of Russia's pioneering 'Sputnik V' Covid-19 vaccine. rt.com 
India's vaccines regulator has given the green light for a clinical study of the Russia-developed Covid-19 vaccine. Similar trials of the formulation are underway in Russia itself and in some other nations. | The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), a department in India's drug regulator that is responsible for licensing vaccines, has given its approval for a domestic clinical study of the Russian candidate vaccine dubbed "Sputnik V," Indian and Russian partners have announced in a joint statement. The "multi-center and randomized controlled study" will be conducted by Dr Reddy's Laboratories, a Hyderabad…
(2020-10-17). 'American stupidity': Furious Italian governor imposes CURFEW on Halloween, blaming partygoers for Covid-19 spread. rt.com 
The governor of the south-western Campania region didn't mince his words as he lashed out at those defying social distancing rules to enjoy nightlife, and vowed to stop Halloween celebrations he called "American stupidity." | Vincenzo de Luca said he plans to "close everything at 22: 00" and impose a curfew from the last day of October — supposedly to prevent "uncivilized" Italians from throwing Halloween parties right in the middle of the Covid-19 epidemic. | And the official did not hide the fact he thinks nothing of the occasion itself. "Halloween weekend is … immense idiocy, immense American stupidit…
(2020-10-17). HHS Must Release Billion Dollar Coronavirus Vaccine Contracts, Public Citizen Lawsuit Says. globalresearch.ca Public Citizen today The suit, filed in the U.S. …
(2020-10-17). Alarming spike of COVID-19 infections in Michigan amid ruling class push for "herd immunity" wsws.org Several Republican state senators in the Michigan Senate held an online meeting last Saturday, where they discussed steps towards the lifting of mandates to wear masks indoors despite a clear resurgence of the disease.
(2020-10-17). UK's local lockdown system in disarray as COVID-19 cases surge out of control. wsws.org This dispute been the local Labour authorities and central government confirms that combating the spread of this deadly disease cannot be left in the hands of any faction of the ruling elite, and their political representatives.
(2020-10-17). Aaron Steichen Murder Inquiry. indybay.org Mandated reporters and first responders repeatedly and willfully fail to provide emergency mental health intervention for Aaron's schizophrenic brother, Jacob. The end result is the death of a loved one after a 5 week escalation spanning a speculated 8 calls to authorities.
(2020-10-17). Behavior and body in the sights of capital. indybay.org The proclamation of states of emergency in the spring of 2020, even if not in all countries, helped to consolidate a state crisis management system that overturned constitutions and now completely bypassed democratic decision-making processes. In the name of public health… the measures were presented as without alternative and divergent expert opinions were ignored or defamed.
(2020-10-17). Trump Admin Issues CDC Eviction Moratorium Guidance to Benefit Landlords over Renters. indybay.org Change's To Coronavirus Covid-19 CDC Eviction Moratorium:…
(2020-10-17). [Viewpoint] Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countries, from 1990 to 2019. Because GBD is highly standardised and comprehensive, spanning both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, and uses a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of hierarchical disease and injury causes, the study provides a powerful basis for de…
(2020-10-17). [Global Health Metrics] Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990—2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com Overall, the record for reducing exposure to harmful risks over the past three decades is poor. Success with reducing smoking and lead exposure through regulatory policy might point the way for a stronger role for public policy on other risks in addition to continued efforts to provide information on risk factor harm to the general public.
(2020-10-17). [Editorial] Global health: time for radical change? thelancet.com What strategies should governments adopt to improve the health of their citizens? Amid the COVID-19 syndemic it would be easy to focus attention on global health security—at a minimum, strong public health and health-care systems. WHO has based its global health strategy on three pillars: universal health coverage, health emergencies, and better health and wellbeing. The indispensable elements of robust public health and health care are well known and endlessly rehearsed—a capable health workforce; effective, safe, and high-quality service delivery; health information systems; access to essential medi…
(2020-10-17). [Global Health Metrics] Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990—2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and development investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identi…
(2020-10-17). [Global Health Metrics] Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950—2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com Over the past 20 years, fertility rates have been dropping steadily and life expectancy has been increasing, with few exceptions. Much of this change follows historical patterns linking social and economic determinants, such as those captured by the GBD Socio-demographic Index, with demographic outcomes. More recently, several countries have experienced a combination of low fertility and stagnating improvement in mortality rates, pushing more populations into the late stages of the demographic transition.
(2020-10-17). Iran Covid-19 update: 253 deaths in past 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (MNA) —The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 4,103 new COVID-19 infections and 253 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.
(2020-10-17). NY Health Officials Shutdown Giant 10,000 Person Wedding Amid COVID-19. sputniknews.com Health officials in New York City announced the ban a few days before the planned wedding, which is expected to draw 10,000 guests in Brooklyn, New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
(2020-10-17). Despite Warnings of Otherwise 'Preventable Deaths,' Trump Heads to Wisconsin for Super-Spreader Rally. commondreams.org As the Trump campaign continues to make attendees sign liability waivers in case they become infected, one public health expert said that "indicates they know the reality because if they weren't worried about it then they wouldn't bother." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-16). Deeply Troubling: Kristen Clarke on How Rush to Confirm Barrett Endangers Voting & Civil Rights. democracynow.org 
The Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett ended Thursday with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee scheduling a vote on her nomination for October 22, with a full Senate vote to follow shortly thereafter — less than two weeks before the presidential election, in which the Supreme Court could play a decisive role. The right-wing judge's confirmation looks all but assured, after four rushed days of questioning in which Barrett refused to state her position on abortion rights, gay marriage, the Affordable Care Act, voting rights, climate change, and even if…
(2020-10-16). Headlines for October 16, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Hospitalizations on the Rise Across U.S. as Confirmed Cases Hit 8 Million, French Police Raid Homes of Government Officials in Probe of Failed Coronavirus Response, WHO Finds Remdesivir Fails to Prevent COVID-19 Deaths, World Health Organization Warns Many Will Have to Wait Until 2022 for Vaccine, Senate on Track to Confirm Far-Right Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 26, Joe Biden Defends 1994 Crime Bill and Calls for More Police Funding, President Trump Refuses to Disavow Far-Right Anti-Semitic QAnon Conspiracy Theory, Trump Celebrates Apparent Extrajudicial Killing by U.S. Marshals Carryi…
(2020-10-16). Preserving Roe: West Virginia Mom Tells Abortion Story in Heartfelt Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett. democracynow.org 
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights. "If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be a fifth vote to eviscerate the important protections that have been afforded by Roe v. Wade," says Kristen Clarke, president…
(2020-10-16). Election 2020: Trump and the 1% vs. the rest of us. peoplesworld.org 
White nationalism. Police killings of innocent unarmed Blacks. A mass crusade for economic, social, and racial justice. The coronavirus pandemic. The worst depression since the Great Depression, with the GOP-run Senate's refusal for the last six months to help the 26 million people without jobs. A big GOP threat to everyone's health care coverage. Lack …
(2020-10-16). Trump's Labor Dept. probes Microsoft in search of 'reverse racism' in hiring. peoplesworld.org 
In the eyes of the Trump administration, workers, their families, their health, and their safety are not worth defending. Workers are expendable cogs in the vast capitalist machine. They serve only one purpose: background actors for the various television ads portraying Trump's failures as victories as he aims to win (steal) re-election. The U.S. Dept. …
(2020-10-16). Why Pray for the Renewed Health of a Tyrant Who will Merely Continue to Lie and Harm People? counterpunch.org 
Full disclosure: I am a non-sectarian humanist who does not engage in personal prayer. Still, as a hospital chaplain for almost 25 years, I prayed daily with patients, aware and appreciative of their particular Christian orientation and the important role of prayer in affirming, sustaining and comforting them and their loved ones. And recently, in
(2020-10-16). How Trust in a Covid Vaccine Eroded. counterpunch.org 
The Trump regime has managed to scare most Americans off taking a covid vaccine, by convincing them it politicized the science to rush it to market. People have concluded it may not be safe. So much for Operation Warp Speed. It turned into Operation Warp Distrust. So what if it provides 300 million vaccine doses by early 2021 — if few people take it, that's a waste of time and effort.
(2020-10-16). Biden won't rule out MANDATORY Covid-19 vaccination, but admits that enforcement would be nearly impossible. rt.com 
Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden said he might make a Covid-19 vaccine mandatory, depending on the "nature" of the drug, but then admitted that such a mandate probably couldn't be fully enforced. | Speaking on Thursday night at a town hall event hosted by ABC News, Biden said his decision on whether to make a Covid-19 vaccine compulsory for all Americans would depend on the "state" and "nature" of the vaccine, including whether it's seen as something that would positively affect 85 percent of the public or as a "golden key" to ending the pandemic. | Biden says you can't mandate masks and a COVID vacci…
(2020-10-16). 'Unethical & illegal': CDC warns against mandatory virus testing in K-12 schools, says parents must decide on 'voluntary basis'. rt.com 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that all coronavirus screening in public schools must be "voluntary," warning that compulsory testing is a violation of both ethics and the law. | In a new set of
(2020-10-16). Medical Doctors Seek Social and Political Solutions for COVID 19 Crisis. counterpunch.org 
It didn't seem to fit. The website of the Colombian Communist Party on October 5 published a medical doctor's reflections on recharacterizing a disease. Félix León Martínez MD quoted extensively from an editorial appearing in the famous British medical journal Lancet. He and Lancet editor Richard Horton MD claim that COVID 19 is not a
(2020-10-16). West Virginia Mom Tells Her Abortion Story in Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett. truthout.org The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights. "If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be a…
(2020-10-16). Barrett Is Poised to Become the Most Radical Right-Wing Member of Supreme Court. truthout.org During her Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Amy Coney Barrett refused to say that voter intimidation is illegal, that armed poll watchers are intimidating, that voter discrimination exists, whether the president could deny someone the right to vote based on race or that Congress has a constitutional duty to protect the right to vote. | She refused to affirm that Medicare is constitutional; that married couples should not lose their right to contrace…
(2020-10-16). Structural Racism in Liberal Armor: Newsome's Veto Domestic Workers' Rights Bill. counterpunch.org On Thursday October 1st, self-professed Liberal Governor Gavon Newsome vetoed SB 1257, the Health and Safety for All Workers Act. The governor's action, say advocates for the three-hundred thousand domestic workers directly impacted by the veto, is reckless and racist at its very core. The workers are overwhelming women of color, already living at the
(2020-10-16). Waiting for a Vaccine and the Collaborative Research Alternative. cepr.net It seems increasingly likely that China will begin providing vaccines to its own people, as well as those in some other countries, by December, and possibly as early as next month. The prospect of a vaccine being available that soon has to look good to people here, now that the Trump administration's pandemic control efforts …
(2020-10-16). Trump administration tipped off wealthy investors about coronavirus while it downplayed threat in public. wsws.org The revelations reveal the overriding concern of the US government was the protection of the financial aristocracy at the expense of the health and safety of the population.
(2020-10-16). Unemployment insurance claims up more than 50,000 in one week. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, October 15, the U.S. Department of Labor reported the biggest one week increase in new claims for unemployment insurance since late July. The latest report for the week ending October 10 saw 898,000 new claims for regular state unemployment insurance, up 53,000 from the week before. | The broadest measure of unemployment insurance – which includes those actually being paid under the regular state UI, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the state Extended Benefits and the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – fell by 215,000 for the week ending Septembe…
(2020-10-16). Smart Ass Cripple: Trump's Contempt for the Disabled. progressive.org One of the first things Trump and the Republicans tried doing to screw disabled people was obliterate the Affordable Care Act.
(2020-10-16). WHO Europe Director Says Governments Should Stop Enforcing Lockdowns. globalresearch.ca The World Health Organization's Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge says governments should stop enforcing lockdowns, unless as a "last resort," because the impact on other areas of health and mental well-being is more damaging. | In an interview with Euro …
(2020-10-16). Global surge in COVID-19 cases as governments abandon efforts to contain the pandemic. wsws.org The policy of "herd immunity," effectively allowing a killer disease to run rampant, threatens to overwhelm hospitals and lead to a rising tide of deaths and suffering.
(2020-10-16). Health workers protest in France amid new COVID-19 spike. peoplesdispatch.org In the wake of a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases, a state of health emergency has been declared in Paris. Health workers have demanded increased workforce and resources to fight the pandemic…
(2020-10-16). Coronavirus: The Trojan Vaccine. A Challenge to Health, and Freedom. globalresearch.ca " A vaccine with those reaction rates could cause grave injuries in 1.5 billion humans if administered to "every person on earth". That is the threshold that Gates has established for ending the global lockdown." | . | . | — Robert …
(2020-10-16). Effectiveness of a novel mobile health (Peek) and education intervention on spectacle wear amongst children in India: Results from a randomized superiority trial in India. thelancet.com Spectacle wear was similar in both arms of the trial, one explanation being that health education for parents was not fully received. Health education messages to create behaviour change need to be targeted at the recipient and influencers in an appropriate, acceptable and accessible medium.
(2020-10-16). Imperial agree vaccine research and education collaboration with Indonesia. imperial.ac.uk Imperial has agreed a pioneering research and education collaboration with Indonesia to advance vaccine development and help tackle COVID-19.
(2020-10-16). Democracy Dies in the Light. commondreams.org The president has repeatedly made baseless allegations of voter fraud, urged his followers to intimidate voters at the polls, and overruled FDA vaccine safety guidelines in an attempt to push out a Covid vaccine before the election, against the advice of scientific experts. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-16). Town of Great Barrington Joins Health Experts in Condemning 'Herd Immunity' Death Cult That Bears Its Name. commondreams.org "Many town leaders believe herd immunity is a dangerous Covid-19 strategy… Please wear a mask." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-15). Herd Immunity: Is It a More Compassionate Approach or Will It Lead to Death or Illness for Millions? democracynow.org 
As coronavirus cases increase across much of the United States, the Trump administration has reportedly adopted a policy of deliberately letting the virus infect much of the U.S. population in order to attain "herd immunity" — despite warnings from the World Health Organization against such an approach. We host a debate on the contentious issue of herd immunity and how best to confront the virus with two Harvard medical experts: epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, a professor of medicine at Harvard University and one of the lead signatories of the controversial Great Barrington Declaration arguing for an easin…
(2020-10-15). Venezuela's Maduro Vows to Train More Doctors as Covid Numbers Recede. venezuelanalysis.com A Chinese Covid-19 vaccine will soon arrive in the nation for clinical trials.
(2020-10-15). Venezuela Starts Clinical Trials of Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro informed his nation that 2,000 volunteers are already participating in the clinical trials of Sputnik, the Russian COVID-19 vaccine. | RELATED: | "The Russian vaccine is here and the tests have already begun… In addition, thousands of Chinese vaccines will come to the country," Maduro said during a program broadcast by Venezolana de Television on Wednesday. | In the first half of 2…