(2020-02-04). China tests Russian anti-viral drug which might treat coronavirus as Moscow warns of possible 'mass outbreak'. rt.com 
While health chiefs prepare for a potential pandemic, China is testing a Russian anti-viral drug in the hope that it might help control the new coronavirus. It comes as prospects of a vaccine look slim for the foreseeable future. | Triazavirin, developed at Yekaterinburg's Ural Federal University, was originally developed to combat 'Bird Flu' (H5N1), and, given that there are some similarities between the two infections, researchers feel it's worth a punt. The medicine is already known to be effective against 15 types of flu. | Russia's Deputy Health Minister Sergei Kraevoi confirmed the news on Tuesday. He al…
(2020-02-04). India's Kerala declares 'state calamity' over 3rd case of coronavirus, will treat China returnees dodging medics as 'criminals'. rt.com 
A regional health emergency has been declared in the Indian state of Kerala after a third case of a lethal virus gripping China was confirmed there, prompting officials to take harsher action against those evading screenings. | The "state calamity" was announced by Kerala's health minister KK Shailaja, who noted the designation was not meant to "trigger panic," but rather "to create more awareness" about the fast-moving contagion, which has claimed 427 lives and infected over 20,000 worldwide since December. | With three confirmed cases in the country, India has begun to take steps to contain the outbreak, but…
(2020-02-04). The War On Whistleblowers, Darrell Whitman & US Inspector General's Obstruction of Justice. indybay.org Former Federal OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program investigator and lawyer Darrell Whitman talks about the fight to protect Federal whistleblowers and private industry whistleblowers and the role of US Inspector Generals who have been allowed to operate without oversight. | He also discusses how this has affected the health and safety of workers and the public. He connects the Boeing 737 Max crashes and the failure to enforce regulations by the FAA and their own. inspector general. | He also talks about the criminal fraud at SF Hunters Point and Treasure Island and how these contaminated radioactive dumpsites a…
(2020-02-04). Oil prices plummet as coronavirus epidemic drastically curtails Chinese demand. wsws.org China is the world's top oil importer and uses over 10 million barrels per day.
(2020-02-04). Number of Confirmed Coronavirus Cases in South Korea Rises to 16 – Health Authorities. sputniknews.com SEOUL (Sputnik) – According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the sixteenth patient, a South Korean woman, 42, returned to the country on 19 January after visiting Thailand, and starting from 25 January she was suffering fever. On Monday, she was tested positive for the new coronavirus.
(2020-02-04). German Research Institute Says Coronavirus Cases Could Possibly Increase in Country. sputniknews.com BERLIN (Sputnik) – Individual cases of the new coronavirus could potentially increase in Germany, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German government's public health agency, said on Tuesday.
(2020-02-04). Russia preparing against mass spread of coronavirus. yenisafak.com Russia has been busy preparing against the mass spread of coronavirus in the country, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.Some preventive measures have been taken, despite a lack of information that would allow forecasts on the disease's spread, Deputy Health Minister Sergey Krayevoy told reporters in Moscow."We cannot yet predict how this infection may spread in our country, because we do not have enough data to put into our mathematical model. But this in no way forces us to feel reassured, we are preparing against a possible large-scale spread of infection," he said.Krayevoy added that three locations have been d…
(2020-02-03). Laurie Garrett on How Trump Has Sabotaged America's Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic. democracynow.org 
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, the United States has declared a public health emergency and is barring foreign nationals who have recently traveled to China from entering the country. So far, there are 11 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. The virus has claimed at least 361 lives in China. A 44-year-old man in the Philippines became the first casualty of the disease outside of China Saturday, and over the weekend the number of confirmed cases worldwide rose to at least 17,205 across more than two dozen countries, with most of those cases occurring in China. U.S. citizens who have visited H…
(2020-02-03). UK funding to boost vaccine search as coronavirus death toll rises. thecanary.co 
Infectious disease experts will use £20 million of UK government funding to embark on an ambitious six-month plan to produce a coronavirus vaccine.Health secretary Matt Hancock on Monday said the government would plough fresh money into developing a vaccine to combat the deadly global disease.The news came as the death toll in China from the disease rose to 361, with one more fatality having been recorded in the Philippines.A further 2,829 new cases were confirmed by Chinese health authorities in the 24 hours to Monday morning, taking the total number of cases in the country to 17,205.Most cases have been r…
(2020-02-03). 'Cycle of panic & neglect'? US prepares for 'pandemic' as China coronavirus death toll reaches 427 with 20,000+ cases. rt.com 
The death toll from a fast moving viral outbreak sweeping China has risen to 427, with over 20,000 cases worldwide. WHO has urged for preparedness instead of panic, as the US called the spread "explosive and unprecedented." | Another 2,345 cases were confirmed in Hubei by Tuesday, as the novel coronavirus surpasses the scale of the SARS outbreak of the early 2000s and health authorities around the world continue to take aggressive steps to contain its spread. | Of the 427 confirmed fatalities, all but one have occurred in Mainland China, with an additional death in the Philippines involving a Chinese national…
(2020-02-03). Syria: UN health agency highlights 'critical health threats' facing Idlib civilians. news.un.org The World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alarm on Monday over critical health threats facing hundreds-of thousands of Syrians forced to flee due to intensified hostilities in Syria's northwest, where health facilities and workers have increasingly come under attack.
(2020-02-03). Tackle 'unacceptable inequalities' in cancer care, saving up to seven million lives, WHO urges. news.un.org Global cancer rates could rise by 60 per cent over the next 20 years unless cancer care is ramped up in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
(2020-02-03). Trump's Medicaid Block Grant Plan May Impact Millions of Low-Income People. truthout.org The Trump administration Medicaid, a federal-state health program that covers 1 in 5 Americans, has been an open-ended entitlem…
(2020-02-03). "A Nationwide Fracking Ban Would Be Invaluable for Human Health": Physicians for Social Responsibility Applauds First Proposed Nationwide Ban on Fracking. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-02-03). Eating red meat and processed meat 'linked to increased risk of heart disease'. thecanary.co Eating red meat and processed meat is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and death, new research suggests. | Eating two servings of red meat, processed meat or poultry per week was associated with a 3% to 7% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, the study found. | Consuming two servings of red meat or processed meat — but not poultry or fish — per week, meanwhile, was linked to a 3% higher risk of all causes of death. | Senior study author Norrina Allen, associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said: "It's a small difference, but it's…
(2020-02-03). With Medicare for All on the Table, Iowans Are Caucusing for Their Lives. truthout.org Democrats in Iowa are voting for their lives as they gather for the presidential caucuses today. Besides beating President Trump,
(2020-02-02). Marinette, WI: Workers at Aurora Medical Center Bay Area stand up to union busting. fightbacknews.org Marinette, WI – 300 workers at Aurora Medical Center Bay Area in Marinette, Wisconsin are fighting back against management's attacks on their right to organize. These attacks include using the expiration of their contract to cease dues check-off, offering poverty wages, and consistently extending bargaining by conveying misleading and inaccurate information to workers. These tactics are a vicious attack on working people and our ability to provide for our families. | AFSCME Local 3305 represents medical and professional support staff at the hospital, which was purchased by Aurora Health Care Inc. in 2019. Aurora…
(2020-02-01). US declares public health emergency over coronavirus, limits flights from China to 7 cities. rt.com 
The US has declared an ongoing coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency, limiting points of entry to incoming Chinese flights and banning from entry some foreign nationals who traveled to China in the last two weeks. | "I have today declared that coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, announcing the measure on Friday. He stressed that the move was to "complement the work of China and the World Health Organization" that declared a global health crisis on Thursday. | The death toll from the novel virus, which originated in C…
(2020-02-01). Western Imperialism Stokes Resistance. dissidentvoice.org 
Tim Anderson's Axis of Resistance: Towards an Independent Middle East takes on the leftist position of 'a plague on all your houses'. Yassin Al-Haj Saleh, 'the intellectual voice of the Syrian revolution' (for westerners), presents a bleak portrait of "three monsters … treading on Syria's corpse": (1) the Assad regime and its allies, (2) DAESH/ISIS …
(2020-01-31). Headlines for January 31, 2020. democracynow.org Senate Poised to Acquit President Trump in Impeachment Trial, World Health Organization Declares International Public Health Emergency, U.S. Special Envoy Warns of International Crisis in Idlib, Syria, Britain Formally Withdrawing from European Union Tonight, Pentagon Deploys 1st Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead-Armed Submarine, Trump Admin Poised to Loosen Restrictions on Use of Landmines, Human Rights Groups Condemn Mexico for Crackdown on Central American Migrants, Mexican Butterfly Conservationist Found Dead, Bolivia's Movement for Socialism Candidate Luis Arce Returns to Bolivia, U.S. Pushes EU to End Ban on Chemic…
(2020-01-31). Chinese Resilience and Silent, Simple and Steady Resistance: a Model for Mankind. dissidentvoice.org In a positive appeal to the Chinese people last Saturday, President Xi Jinping has called on the nation's courage to defeat the deadly epidemic which has already claimed more than 80 lives and more than 2,000 infected worldwide, the vast majority in China. These figures are changing fast, as the spread of the epidemic is …
(2020-01-30). Cuba is Testing Products Against Cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. mintpressnews.com While demonized in the United States, the Cuban government has built a comprehensive nationalized healthcare system based on preventative medicine, rather than the curative model the U.S. employs…
(2020-01-30). Coronavirus spread now a global emergency declares World Health Organization. news.un.org The rise in new coronavirus cases outside China, now constitutes a global health emergency, the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee declared on Thursday, calling on all countries to take urgent measures to contain the respiratory disease.
(2020-01-29). South Dakota May Criminalize Lifesaving Healthcare for Trans Youth in Latest Attack on LGBTQ Rights. democracynow.org 
The South Dakota Legislature is expected to debate a bill today that would criminalize gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth. If passed, House Bill 1057 would make it a felony for doctors to provide anyone under the age of 16 with puberty blockers, hormones and other transition-related healthcare. Medical professionals who provide this care could face up to 10 years in prison under the terms of the Republican-backed bill, which was passed in committee last week. On Tuesday, South Dakota introduced another anti-trans bill that would authorize parents to deny gender-affirming treatment to their children. I…
(2020-01-28). What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus Outbreak: A Civil Liberties Perspective. aclu.org The world is watching anxiously to see what happens with the | coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. As scientists and public health | officials in the United States learn more about the virus, and as we all see | how bad the outbreak turns out to be, it is important that public policymaking | remain firmly centered around science. | Unfortunately, our history of reactions to infectious | disease outbreaks suggests that if this outbreak becomes severe, we're likely | to see strong pressure to the contrary. In particular, we can expect three | things: | We can expect some to | panic.: | Unfortu…
(2020-01-27). Headlines for January 27, 2020. democracynow.org Impeachment Trial Resumes as Leaked Bolton Manuscript Bolsters Democrats' Case, Coronavirus Death Toll Reaches 81 in China as Disease Spreads Around the World, Pentagon: 34 U.S. Troops Have Brain Injuries After Iranian Attack on Iraqi Airbase, Deadly Crackdown on Iraqi Protests Continue as 100,000s March Against U.S. Military Presence, Turkey Earthquake Kills 38; At Least 1,600 Hospitalized, Ugandan Activist Vanessa Nakate Slams Racist Media After Being Cropped from Photo with White Activists, Trump Attends Anti-Abortion "March for Life" as Admin Continues Assault on Reproductive Rights, High-Ranking Pharma Exec…