(2020-06-02). Independent Autopsy Concludes George Floyd's Death Was A Homicide. therealnews.com 
An independent autopsy released by Floyd's family raises serious questions about the previous findings, which implied underlying health issues were responsible for his death. Forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht says police should never place downward pressure on a person in a prone position…
(2020-06-01). The Supreme Court Is About to Make Seismic Rulings on Reproductive Rights. zcomm.org The rights of women to terminate their pregnancies and to receive free contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are on the chopping block…
(2020-06-01). Our Disaster: Why the United States Bears Responsibility for Yemen's Humanitarian Crisis. commondreams.org Sanaa, Yemen. 30th Apr, 2020. A health worker wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant on the hands of people at a market in the old city of Sanaa, amid concerns of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo: Hani Al-Ansi/dpa/Alamy Live News.) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-06-01). Our Disaster: Why the United States Bears Responsibility for Yemen's Humanitarian Crisis. counterpunch.org An entire generation of Yemeni children has suffered the traumas of war, many of them orphaned, maimed, malnourished, or displaced. The United Nations reports a death toll of 100,000 people in that nation's ongoing war, with an additional 131,000 people dying from hunger, disease, and a lack of medical care. A report from Save the Children, issued in November 2018, estimated
(2020-06-01). US Campaign Against Cuba's Medical Brigades Targets Healthcare, Not 'Forced Labor'. zcomm.org According to UNICEF figures, Cuba has since 2000 consistently maintained a lower child mortality rate than the US…
(2020-06-01). The Great COVID-19 Vaccines to the Rescue Hoax. "Making A Billion Dollars" vs. "Harmful Side Effects" globalresearch.ca Instead of serving the public interest by reporting truthfully on major issues, establishment media serve as press agents for powerful interests. | Their managed news misinformation and disinformation includes the myth of barbarians at the gates to support endless wars on …
(2020-06-01). Looking at healthcare workers only as heroes does them a disservice. peoplesdispatch.org There is a huge lacuna in ensuring adequate compensation for health workers who acquire the illness, despite a broad based demand from the international trade union movement…
(2020-06-01). Assessing Hospital Performance Agreement on 3 National Mortality Ratings for 2 Inpatient Conditions. jamanetwork.com This study assesses the agreement of the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare, Healthgrades, and US News & World Report Best Hospitals on hospital performance for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure.
(2020-06-01). COVID-19 disrupting services to treat non-communicable diseases, WHO survey finds. news.un.org The fight against COVID-19 has severely disrupted services to prevent and treat cancer, diabetes, hypertension and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which kill more than 40 million people each year, according to a new survey published on Monday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
(2020-06-01). WHO to support DR Congo as Ebola resurfaces in the northwest. news.un.org The World Health Organization (WHO) will assist the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as it confronts a new Ebola outbreak in the northwest amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and other challenges, agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
(2020-06-01). Public Health Interventions for Lowering Dietary Sodium Intake. jamanetwork.com The link between dietary sodium intake and hypertension has been well established, with reductions in dietary sodium intake being associated with decreases in blood pressure and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization recommends reducing sodium intake (limit sodium intake to <5 g [87 mmol] per day for adults) as one of the most cost-effective measures that countries can take to improve general population health outcomes.
(2020-06-01). Mayo Clinic surgeons perform during special tribute. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Mayo Clinic "singing surgeons" Dr. Elvis Francois and Dr. William Robinson performed an inspiring tribute to fellow frontline health care workers today before the "Indy 500 Special: Back Home Again" on NBC. "It was an honor to be part of this special broadcast," Dr. Francois said. "Seeing colleagues and frontline workers across the country come …
(2020-06-01). The Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19 and Physical Distancing. jamanetwork.com This Viewpoint emphasizes the importance of mitigating the mental health consequences of social distancing in the COVID-19 era.
(2020-06-01). Health and Human Services Secretary Azar tours Mayo Clinic, meets with leaders. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org (Left to right) Christina Zorn, J.D., CAO, Mayo Clinic in Florida, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Kent Thielen, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? As part of a visit to Florida on Friday, May 22, to discuss reopening the country's economy, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar …
(2020-06-01). Will Covid-19 Be a Turning Point in the Fight Against Racial Disparities in Health Care? thenation.com Will Covid-19 Be a Turning Point in the Fight Against Racial Disparities in Health Care?
(2020-06-01). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Health and Human Services plays key role in supporting Americans amid COVID-19 crisis. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The COVID-19 pandemic has been a unique situation that has required work across federal and state agencies to support communities and frontline workers during this challenging time. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has played a key role by providing effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health …
(2020-06-01). Distracted and looking the other way: 30 days to the next crisis. truepublica.org.uk TruePublica Editor: While the pandemic swirls throughout society and wreaks havoc to public health and then the economy, the general public are largely unaware that Tuesday, June 30th is one of the most important days in the history of Great Britain. As if the pandemic is not enough cover for this huge event, the remaining …
(2020-06-01). Central and South America now 'intense zones' for COVID-19 transmission. news.un.org Greater solidarity must be shown to Central and South American countries which have become "the intense zones" for COVID-19 transmission, a top official with the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
(2020-06-01). Care Partners and Patient Portals—Faulty Access, Threats to Privacy, and Ample Opportunity. jamanetwork.com Millions of people manage their health and illness with the help of family members and friends. These informal care partners (or caregivers) take responsibility, sometimes at a cost to their own health, for a wide variety of tasks, including arranging and attending medical appointments, participating in decision-making, coordinating services, and addressing various patient needs. Despite the vital role played by care partners, particularly in serious advancing illness and at the end of life, they are often unable to access health information in the electronic health record (EHR) that is necessary to coordinate an…
(2020-06-01). UK failure to support Covid-19 vaccine collaboration is 'shameful' on global stage. truepublica.org.uk TruePublica Editor: As the UK prepares itself to crash out of the European Union and sign a trade deal with America — Downing Street continues to side with Donald Trump, if not overtly — more indirectly. It has been known for a few months now that Donald Trump, in his odd quest to weaken America's …
(2020-06-01). Geriatrics and Palliative Care Principles for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. jamanetwork.com This Viewpoint proposes that clinicians who routinely care for older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease should proactively integrate geriatrics and palliative care principles into their daily practice.
(2020-06-01). 'The Tragic Cause of This Death Is Incredibly Clear': Independent Autopsy Finds George Floyd Death Result of 'Sustained Forceful Pressure'. commondreams.org "What we found is consistent with what people saw. There is no other health issue that could cause or contribute to the death." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-06-01). "America's Moment of Reckoning": Cornel West Says Nationwide Uprising Is Sign of "Empire Imploding" democracynow.org 
As thousands from coast to coast took to the streets this weekend to protest the state-sanctioned killing of Black people, and the nation faces its largest public health crisis in generations and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, professor Cornel West calls the U.S. a "predatory capitalist civilization obsessed with money, money, money." He also makes the connections between U.S. violence abroad and at home. "There is a connection between the seeds that you sow of violence externally and internally."
(2020-06-01). Minister insists lockdown easing 'is not a dash' as health officials voice fears. thecanary.co 
A Cabinet minister has insisted the lockdown is being eased in a "very cautious" way as children in England begin returning to school, despite public health officials warning against the relaxation.Business secretary Alok Sharma said he understands parents' concerns over sending their children back to class on Monday, but added that the government had not undertaken a "dash" to re-start the economy.The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) warned that experts were "increasingly concerned" that ministers are making the wrong judgment by easing restrictions too quickly.Alok Sharma (Aaron Chown/PA)Parents…
(2020-06-01). WHO's chief wants good ties with US to continue, as Trump announces exit. rt.com 
World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a briefing on Monday, praised the United States' "immense" contribution to global health. He also urged a continuation of good ties despite President Donald Trump's move to quit the UN body. | Trump announced on Friday he would cut ties with the WHO, accusing it of becoming a puppet of China during the global coronavirus crisis. | Another WHO official, epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove, was asked at the same briefing about health risks during protests in the US. Close contact could heighten the risk of spreading the Covid-19 virus, Reuters quo…
(2020-06-02). Social distancing in Tehran Bazaar. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 02 (MNA) — Iranian Headquarter for the battle against CIVID-19 declared home quarantine as a way to prevent the spread of the disease at the beginning of the pandemic. Currently, with limitations lifted, it is necessary to observe social distancing in crowded places such a Tehran Bazaar.
(2020-06-01). Relatives queue to cremate coronavirus dead in India's capital. yenisafak.com A queue of ambulances formed outside the main crematorium in India's capital New Delhi on Monday, as the number of deaths from the novel coronavirus continues to rise.Cases in the country crossed 190,000, the health ministry said on Monday, overtaking France to become seventh highest in the world, as the government eases back on most curbs after a two-month lockdown that left millions without work. There have been more than 5,000 deaths.At Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna River, relatives and staff said a shortage of medical professionals trained in handling the bodies of victims was leading to delays.As…
(2020-06-01). Even Now, Our Leaders Are Still Putting Their Faith in the Rich. commondreams.org Health care workers, students, child care givers, food service workers, big box store employees, delivery drivers, mail carriers, and others are taking action to call out gross inequities and organize our society differently. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-06-01). Ethics Groups Call On Coronavirus 'Vaccine Czar' To Disclose Potential Conflicts. popularresistance.org The Trump administration's decision to hire its new "vaccine czar" as a private contractor, rather than a government employee, has alarmed some ethics experts who say the designation will involve him in programs that could channel millions of federal dollars into the development of coronavirus vaccine and treatments without requiring he disclose financial holdings or potential conflicts. | When it was announced two weeks ago that Moncef Slaoui would head up "Operation Warp Speed" to find and distribute a vaccine, the administration described him as "chief advisor," but did not explicitly say he would not be a for…
(2020-06-01). Some Countries Have Brought New Cases Down To Nearly Zero. popularresistance.org Perhaps the greatest success story is New Zealand, which has stopped local transmission and has a plan to completely eliminate the virus from its territory. | "The lesson is that it can be done," says Siouxsie Wiles, an associate professor of microbiology in New Zealand. "Obviously, the longer you leave it, and the more cases there are, the harder it becomes. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try." | Wiles heads up the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland. Much of her work focuses on antibiotic resistance and infectious diseases. When the coronavirus hit, she got involved in communicat…
(2020-05-31). Racism & police repression are the symptoms, capitalism is the disease, socialism is the cure. liberationnews.org 
The Party for Socialism and Liberation condemns the lynching murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department.
(2020-05-30). Capitalism = Death: U.S. government response to COVID-19 mirrors ineptitude and malfeasance of response to HIV epidemic. liberationnews.org 
To compare the early years of the HIV epidemic to the COVID-19 pandemic is to relive a nightmare…
(2020-05-30). The Monster Enters: COVID-19, Avian Flu and the Plagues of Capitalism — book review. mronline.org 
Mike Davis' The Monster Enters updates his earlier book on capitalism and pandemic disease to reflect on the current failure of the neoliberal state, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh…
(2020-05-30). The Heat: U.S.-China tensions. america.cgtn.com 
United States President Donald Trump lashes out at China and says the U-S is pulling out of the World Health Organization.
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] Time for global health diplomacy. thelancet.com 2019 was The Lancet's Year for Nutrition. Highlights included reports from the EAT-Lancet Commission1 and The Global Syndemic Commission,2 both emphasising that global trade systems must be transformed to ensure healthy and sustainable diets. But what developments can be expected following these reports? We might get an indication by considering what has happened since The Lancet's 2009 Trade and Health Series. This Series criticised the trade agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for being detrimental to global health, among other things, by facilitating unhealthy diets.
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] Towards more balanced representation in Lancet Commissions. thelancet.com Enthusiastically, Richard Horton1 reports on the foundation of the Italian Institute of Planetary Health at a time when youth strikes, an emerging pandemic of a new coronavirus, and burning forests remind us of our planet being in jeopardy. We agree that something must change so that the undoubtable advances in science and medicine that were made since the time of Lucretius translate into a better life for all humans, no matter who they are, where they were born, and where they live and work.1 Yet, the lamented crisis of trust in science and medicine cannot be overcome by concepts of global health or planetary he…
(2020-05-30). [World Report] Fears of "highly catastrophic" COVID-19 spread in Yemen. thelancet.com Yemen's health system has been devastated by years of conflict and COVID-19 deaths are reported to be surging in Aden. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2020-05-30). [Comment] Justice and health: The Lancet—Health Equity and Policy Lab Commission. thelancet.com Justice forms the foundation for what we owe each other and what fairness among human beings and institutions involves. Globally, there are large inequalities in health outcomes and opportunities for health. Not only is the global burden of disease distributed unevenly but capabilities to prevent and treat disease are also asymmetrical; those in greatest need often have the least access to human, physical, and financial resources for health. Global health justice provides an account of what justice across our planet embodies, offers solutions to global health problems, and identifies who has responsibilities and…
(2020-05-30). [World Report] COVID-19 strains remote regions of Peru. thelancet.com The health system in Iquitos is stretched and the true number of COVID-19 cases and deaths is unclear. Barbara Fraser reports from Lima.
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] Cost-effectiveness of transitional US plans for universal health care. thelancet.com The USA stands alone as the only high-income country not to provide health care as a human right, leaving almost 80 million of its citizens without adequate insurance.1—3 In a 2020 study, we found that securing quality health care for the entire country would save 68‚Äà000 lives and 1 ∑73 million life-years annually.4…
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] The health-related determinants of politics. thelancet.com I was pleased to read Richard Horton's Comment about populist politics.1 However, the problem of political populism and solution that he charts out seem somewhat non-sequitur.
(2020-05-30). [Editorial] COVID-19 in Africa: no room for complacency. thelancet.com Despite over 100‚Äà000 confirmed cases and infections in every country, the passage of COVID-19 through the African continent remains somewhat enigmatic. High numbers of deaths were expected in the region due to fragile health systems, lack of access to preventive measures, barriers to testing, and potentially vulnerable populations. But, according to WHO, Africa is the least affected region globally, with 1 ∑5% of the world's reported COVID-19 cases and 0 ∑1% of the world's deaths. Although comparisons are inaccurate, mortality rates have been lower compared with outbreaks of similar si…
(2020-05-30). [Comment] Offline: After COVID-19—is an "alternate society" possible? thelancet.com How do we make sense of this pandemic? The first interpretations are now appearing. Slavoj ≈Ωi≈æek is a prolific philosopher and cultural theorist. He is the first to produce a volume of reflections—Pandemic! COVID-19 Shakes the World (Polity, 2020). ≈Ωi≈æek doubts the epidemic will make us wiser: he insists that "we should resist the temptation to treat the ongoing epidemic as something that has a deeper meaning". Despite these cautions, we still have an important question to answer: "What is wrong with our system that we were caught unprepared by the catastr…
(2020-05-30). [Perspectives] A call for food system change. thelancet.com In shutting down entire societies, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fundamental inequities and inadequacies of market-driven economies that prioritise profits over human welfare. Inequities show up in businesses that furlough employees while paying high salaries and bonuses to executives. They are also revealed by the dependence of food systems on poorly paid workers and cheap global supply chains. The COVID-19 crisis demonstrates how current food systems fail to protect populations from hunger and diet-influenced non-communicable diseases and why the poor, disenfranchised, discriminated against, and chronic…
(2020-05-30). Life and death for Yemen's women and girls, as funding evaporates. news.un.org In mid-May, just as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Yemen, funding for UNFPA's life-saving reproductive health services dried up. The agency has been forced to suspend the provision of reproductive healthcare in 140 out of the 180 health facilities, it supports, meaning only 40 now remain.
(2020-05-29). What's NATO Up to These Days? Provoking Russia, Draining Healthcare Budgets and Protecting Its Own from COVID. counterpunch.org 
In November 2019, as experts warned that a novel coronavirus was likely to develop in the near-future, NATO boasted that its European Allies, including the UK, as well as Canada, were boosting their military budgets by an average of 4.6 percent, or an additional $130bn since 2016. The implication is that this increase in military spending is at the expense of healthcare, which is being privatized worldwide.
(2020-05-29). Millions jobless, benefits hard to get — We need a federal unemployment system. peoplesworld.org 
The current federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) system in the United States was a disaster waiting to happen. And when COVID-19 forced large parts of the economy to shut down in recent months, the disaster proved to be even worse than feared. With the number of newly unemployed people now officially passing 40 million (with millions more uncounted), …
(2020-05-29). Nine in 10 smokers start before they are 18 years old, warns WHO. news.un.org Tobacco products continue to kill eight million people a year who get hooked via a $9 billion a year marketing strategy. That's the warning from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, which has said that even during a global pandemic, the tobacco and nicotine industry has continued to promote products that limit people's ability to fight new coronavirus and recover from the disease.
(2020-05-29). Bill Gates' Web of Dark Money and Influence — Part 3: Health Surveillance, Event 201 and the Rockefeller Connection. thelastamericanvagabond.com Lockdowns, Contact Tracing, Digital Certificates, and Vaccines Over the last four months Bill Gates has made dozens of media appearances where he has called for several controversial "solutions" to COVID-19. Gates says these proposals must be implemented before society can go back to "normal." From calling for extended lock downs, health surveillance (aka contact tracing) …
(2020-05-29). Maine's ISP Privacy Law Does Not Violate the First Amendment, Much as ISPs Would Like for It To. aclu.org Without many of us even realizing it, our use of the Internet reveals deeply private information about us, ranging from the contents of our communications to details about our finances, health, and exact location. This information — especially when aggregated — provides an intimate window into our personal lives and can reveal a great deal of personal, private information about us, like our health care needs and personal or political beliefs., , For each of us, there's at least one entity that can see perfectly through that window: our "broadband information access service" provider, more commonly…