(2020-06-08). Dr Bouthaina Shaaban speaks to Vanessa Beeley, Damascus. thealtworld.com Dr Bouthaina Shaaban on the hybrid war strategy being waged by the West, Israel, Turkey, Gulf States against Syria and her allies. | We had a meeting, during which we discussed most aspects of the maximum pressure campaign the sado-barbaric US Coalition is imposing upon Syria and all the nations who would defend her or provide economic support, trade and military collaboration. | Covid19 was discussed and the deliberate westernization of this alleged "pandemic" to further tighten the screws on an already economically devastated country that has endured 10 years of war, plagued by the various terrorist gangs cr…
(2020-06-08). White coats for Black lives: Health care workers' solidarity with the uprising. liberationnews.org 
Healthcare workers are standing up to say they want systemic change to foster health and wellbeing by ending institutional racism and police violence.
(2020-06-08). White coats for Black lives: Healthcare workers' solidarity with the uprising. liberationnews.org Healthcare workers are standing up to say they want systemic change to foster health and wellbeing by ending institutional racism and police violence.
(2020-06-08). Conn. health workers demand PPE, honor their lost. peoplesworld.org 
NEW LONDON, Conn. — Over 200 health care workers, family members and supporters rallied across from Lawrence Memorial Hospital May 30, "for safety, protection and respect in the workplace and raising awareness of health care professionals' concerns that without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), communities are at risk." The rally, addressed by Teachers' President Randi …
(2020-06-07). Intel Drop, June 7, 2020, Never Go Back. thealtworld.com Right off, this is your chance. America is coming awake. | Don't be the same person, this was a lesson. 110,000 are dead, 85% over 60, us, our friends, for some parents and grandparents, lives cut short. | For healthcare workers, endless thousands sick, some extremely sick. For others, scars that will last a lifetime. | Time to be better people. No, this wasn't an accident, it wasn't natural and VT has been scrupulous in reporting. We stick by our first stories in March, Wuhan games, North Carolina. | Please, no attempts at "herd immunity." Also realize that your kids, no matter what you do, will probably see to…
(2020-06-07). Consumer Health: 6 steps to better sleep. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Getting at least seven hours of quality rest each night is essential for optimal health. Sleep provides the foundation for all of your daily habits and decisions. Sleep deprivation can significantly affect your mind and body. In addition to perpetuating serious health conditions, lack of sleep can negatively affect your mood and temperament, as well …
(2020-06-07). A Strategy for Global Democracy and Wealth Sharing. globalresearch.ca It is time for power to the people! | Global capitalist inequality contributes directly to health pandemics, environmental degradation, and mass poverty. Elite-corporate oligarchs control the governments and political parties. They use established militarized police states to protect their vast empires …
(2020-06-06). Workers in Detroit and across Michigan support anti-police violence protests. wsws.org Michigan workers, including 200 health care workers from Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, demonstrated against police violence this week.
(2020-06-06). [Editorial] Salient lessons from Russia's COVID-19 outbreak. thelancet.com Alexander Myasnikov, Russia's COVID-19 information chief, said in mid-April that it would be "impossible" for Russians to get the virus, estimating the probability of extensive spread in Russia at "0 ∑0%". This hubris has been sorely exposed. As of June 2, Russia has 423‚Äà186 cases, the third most in the world, while relatively few deaths from COVID-19 (5031) have been recorded. The rapid spread of the epidemic in Russia has highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the health system, and presents the traditionally strong Russian leadership with a new challenge.
(2020-06-06). [Department of Error] Department of Error. thelancet.com Watts N, Amann M, Arnell N, et al. The 2018 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come. Lancet 2018; 392: 2479—514—In this Review, the methodology for indicator 5.1 (figure 25) has been updated to address concerns regarding the use of relying on the same search string in multiple databases to produce this data. Newspaper databases interpret search strings differently and use different algorithms to search and return articles. The updated methodology ensures that the searches are more uniformly interpreted across databases and remove…
(2020-06-07). They Don't Care About the Data, and They Never Have. strategic-culture.org Allan STEVO | The number of viruses in you, or any other perfectly healthy human, at this moment Data Is Readily Available Today Like Never Before | We live in the age of the Internet. That means with a few clicks, viewpoints that used to take hours of librar…
(2020-06-08). Couldn't Bury Your Father Because of Lockdown? Public Health Experts Have a New Exciting Message for You: "ACAB!" anti-empire.com 
For months, public health experts have urged Americans to take every precaution to stop the spread of Covid-19—stay at home, steer clear of friends and extended family, and absolutely avoid large gatherings. | Now some of those experts are broadcasting a new message: It's time to get out of the house and join the mass protests against racism. | "We should always evaluate the risks and benefits of efforts to control the virus," Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, tweeted on Tuesday. "In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the ha…
(2020-06-08). Syria: Will the Great Middle Eastern War Begin in the Levant? ahtribune.com 
The world is in turmoil. 2020 has already brought major multiple crises, with the Iranian-American clash in Iraq which followed the US assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, and the COVID-19 health pandemic and economic disaster that struck all continents and stole the lives of over 400 thousand people around the world, costing tens of millions of jobs. None of this, however, prevented America from imposing even more sanctions on Iran, Syria and Venezuela. Iran — already under maximum sanctions since 1979 — sent five tankers to Venezuela to break the embargo on components and spare parts…
(2020-06-08). COVID-19, Antifa, and Black Lives Matter: The Battle for Control of the Internet. ahtribune.com 
Many observers have noted that the time through which we are living now seems unprecedented. We are all experiencing an amazing convergence of so many monumental developments that combine into a fast-moving narrative. In recent days the focus suddenly shifted from COVID-19 and compulsory vaccines to insurrection and anarchy from within. Suddenly the vaccine czar, Bill Gates, has been swept from the center stage of current events. Suddenly multi-billionaire Gates has been upstaged by multi-billionaire George Soros. | What is going on? What are the themes of continuity and disjuncture that characterize the stran…
(2020-06-08). Tuesday 6/9: No More Anti-Health Care Judges Digital Rally. indybay.org Online event…
(2020-06-08). New Zealand eradicates coronavirus. thecanary.co 
New Zealand has eradicated the coronavirus from its shores after health officials reported on Monday that the final person known to have been infected had recovered.The news swiftly led to the country's government announcing all forms of public events can again take place without limitations or social distancing guidelines.It has been 17 days since the last new case was reported in New Zealand, and Monday also marked the first time since late February there had been no active cases.Health officials caution that new cases could be imported into the country, which has closed its borders to everybody but citizens an…
(2020-06-07). Imperial social enterprise to accelerate low-cost COVID-19 vaccine. imperial.ac.uk Imperial College London has formed a new social enterprise VacEquity Global Health (VGH) to bring its COVID-19 vaccine to the world.
(2020-06-07). China's Covid-19 statistics are accurate, while lockdown makes little difference — Nobel laureate biophysicist Levitt tells RT. rt.com 
Challenging the widespread belief that the worldwide anti-coronavirus lockdown has helped in slowing down the disease spread, Stanford Professor Michael Levitt believes that it's actually made very little difference. | Speaking to RT's Going Underground, Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist Levitt said that there was no reason to doubt China's official coronavirus figures, since its statistics are corresponding with the dynamics observed elsewhere. | "What happened in China outside of Hubei is exactly the same dynamics of the curve as what happened in New Zealand," Levitt stated. "If China is forging statistics, t…
(2020-06-06). WHO's next? Quitting UN health body is an option unless it stops being 'partisan' & 'political', Brazil's Bolsonaro says. rt.com 
Shortly after the WHO warned Latin America that lifting lockdowns would be premature, President Bolsonaro threatened to consider quitting the "partisan" entity. It comes as Brazil's Covid-19 cases surges past 600,000. | "I'm telling you right now, the United States left the [World Health Organization], and we're studying that [possibility], in the future," Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
(2020-06-08). 2,043 new coronavirus infections confirmed in Iran: spokseman. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 08 (MNA) — According to Iranian Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour, 2,043 new coronavirus cases and 70 deaths have been confirmed in Iran during the past 24 hours.
(2020-06-07). UK Pharma Giant AstraZeneca Seeking Biggest Merger in Industry History With US Rival Gilead. sputniknews.com Drug companies across the world are racing to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Many have entered into profitably appealing corporate mergers to collaborate to meet the urgent global demand for an inoculation against the virus.
(2020-06-08). Turkey introduces new regulations amid normalization. yenisafak.com Turkey revised Monday coronavirus measures for the normalization from the outbreak.An official letter by the Health Ministry, which was sent to governors' offices in 81 provinces as well as all health institutions of Turkey, said that some of the restrictions that had been implemented due to the outbreak are partially or totally lifted.According to the new rules, patient visits will be allowed for one person to meet the needs of the inpatient and the visit will be paid after working hours. Visits are not allowed in intensive and palliative care units.On condition of complying with the rules set up by the ministry…
(2020-06-08). Iran's death toll from coronavirus surpasses 8,350. yenisafak.com Iran on Monday confirmed 70 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,351. | A further 2,043 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 173,832, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. | According to the spokesman, 136,360 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 2,619 patients remain in critical condition. | Some 1.1 million tests have been conducted in the country so far, according to the spokesman. | Iran sees an upward trend in daily infections in many provinces, especially in the s…
(2020-06-08). UK reports lowest daily COVID-19 deaths. yenisafak.com Britain on Monday reported 55 new coronavirus-related deaths, the lowest since the lockdown that started on March 23. The death toll rose to 40,597.The official figures released by the Department of Health and Social Care show a total of 287,399 people have tested positive so far.The country has now reported less than 100 deaths for a second day; however, the official reported numbers have been smaller during the outbreak due to lower reporting at weekends.No new deaths have been reported at London hospitals on Monday, according to the National Health Service England.- Mandatory self-isolationThe UK began imposin…
(2020-06-08). Turkey exported 2,000 respirators during virus pandemic. yenisafak.com During medical supply shortages in many countries worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic, Turkey managed to manufacture and export some 2,000 life-saving mechanical ventilators around the globe, including 1,500 to Brazil, said Turkey's technology and industry minister on Monday.Turkey also developed methods to produce two different medicines which it had previously imported, Mustafa Varank told an online meeting on COVID-19 vaccine and medicine projects.With severe shortness of breath a hallmark of the novel coronavirus, ventilators have been a critical need amid the global pandemic.Numerous countries faced diff…
(2020-06-07). Iran coronavirus deaths rise by 72 to 8,291. yenisafak.com Iran on Sunday confirmed 72 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,291.A further 2,364 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 171,789, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said.According to the spokesman, 134,349 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 2,596 patients remain in critical condition.Iran's daily number of COVID-19 cases dropped to around 800 in early May, but daily figures show an upward trend in recent days after authorities took measures to ease restrictions.Despite…
(2020-06-07). US senator Scott says China trying to sabotage vaccine development. yenisafak.com The United States has evidence China is trying to slow down or sabotage the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by Western countries, Republican senator Rick Scott said on Sunday."We have got to get this vaccine done. Unfortunately we have evidence that communist China is trying to sabotage us or slow it down," he said during an interview on BBC TV."China does not want us … to do it first, they have decided to be an adversary to Americans and I think to democracy around the world."Asked what evidence the United States had, Scott declined to give details but said it had come through the intelligence community."Thi…
(2020-06-08). US Veterans, Including Active Duty, Reject Militarization Against Demonstrators. popularresistance.org The United States is in the midst of a mass uprising against police violence, but also a whole list of grievances such as the lack of jobs, health care, education and more. Sustained protests have been going on for two weeks defying curfews and severe repression by police. The national guard has been deployed to 23 states and President Trump threatened to deploy the military against people expressing their First Amendment rights. We speak with Danny Sjursen, a retired Major and spokesperson for About Face: Veterans Against the War, about how members of the military are responding to current events. Veterans have…
(2020-06-07). Medical Workers Die-In To Protest Police Brutality. popularresistance.org New York – Hundreds of medical workers at SUNY Downstate staged a die-in on Thursday to protest police brutality and the health disparities that affect black Americans. | Emergency medical residents and other hospital staff kneeled or lay on the ground for eight minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of 46-year-old George Floyd, killing him. | "I can stand here as a brown, female, immigrant physician with a loud voice — and I can do this because of the sacrifices made by black people a long time ago," said Dr. Smruti Desai, an emer…
(2020-06-07). Ten Action Ideas For Building A Police-Free Future. popularresistance.org What makes a community healthy and safe? This document doesn't have all the answers, but it acknowledges that for many of us, police are not part of the solution. Patterns of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and bullying are too common. When someone is having a mental health crisis, or when neighbors are concerned about a fellow neighbor, or when we feel unsafe— are the police our only option? Of course, different communities have different needs. Vibrant, dynamic, and police-free communities aren't going to be created by outside groups— they're going to bloom from the soil that already exists…
(2020-06-06). [Comment] Healthier societies for healthy populations. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic makes the importance of health and wellbeing clear. The pandemic's implications for societies are far reaching. Yet the response to this pandemic and the creation and promotion of health and wellbeing require action beyond the health sector—and beyond the usual ways of working in global health. Governments are not adequately tackling inequality, ongoing economic crises, or continuing environmental damage, which undermines the health of current and future generations. For example, tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diets, air pollution, and insufficient physical exercise contribute to m…
(2020-06-06). The association between exposure to childhood maltreatment and the subsequent development of functional somatic and visceral pain syndromes. thelancet.com Background: Childhood maltreatment is a global public health issue linked to a vast mortality and morbidity burden. This study builds on current literature to explore the risk of developing central sensitivity syndromes (CSS) (consisting of somatic and visceral pain syndromes) subsequent to childhood maltreatment exposure.Methods: A retrospective population based open cohort study using the UK primary care database, 'The Health Improvement Network,' between 1st January 1995-31st December 2018. 80,657 adult patients who had experienced childhood maltreatment or maltreatment related concerns (exposed patients) were…
(2020-06-06). [Perspectives] Indigenous populations: left behind in the COVID-19 response. thelancet.com Scholar Annie Belcourt described Native American populations in the USA as having lives that are "challenging and short". Globally, across countries and populations, Indigenous peoples face a greater burden of disease than non-Indigenous peoples, including cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and have higher infant and maternal mortality and lower life expectancy. Their health is impacted by epigenetic stressors of generational oppression and violence, including disproportionate numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women, lower educational attainment, and persistent poverty.
(2020-06-06). [Perspectives] Journal of a plague year. thelancet.com Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year is one of the best single accounts of an epidemic written in English. Published anonymously in 1722 as a contribution to public debates about the prospect of plague reaching Britain from the French port of Marseilles, it takes the form of the literary memoir by "H.F." during London's "great plague" of 1665. The sources for the memoir and its status as fact or fiction are complicated. Defoe clearly had strong opinions, informed by continental initiatives, about how societies and people should respond to plague and he used Restoration London as a place to rehearse them.
(2020-06-06). [World Report] COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline gears up. thelancet.com Vaccine makers are racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines, and have advanced ten candidates into clinical trials. But challenges remain. Asher Mullard reports.
(2020-06-06). [Obituary] Fernando Morales. thelancet.com Infectious disease specialist focusing on HIV prevention and treatment. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Aug 15, 1970, he died from suspected complications of COVID-19 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on May 5, 2020, aged 49 years.
(2020-06-06). [Comment] Regenerative medicine: challenges and opportunities. thelancet.com In 2018, the Lancet Commission on stem cells and regenerative medicine1 reported how, despite an exponential growth in experimental therapies, there had been limited clinical uptake. Regenerative medicine comprises various novel approaches such as cell and gene therapy that have produced life-saving therapies for a few genetic diseases affecting blood or skin. Enthusiasm about the broad potential of regenerative medicine led to a gap between expectations and the realities of translating technologies into clinical practice.
(2020-06-06). [Review] Quality of primary health care in China: challenges and recommendations. thelancet.com China has substantially increased financial investment and introduced favourable policies for strengthening its primary health care system with core responsibilities in preventing and managing chronic diseases such as hypertension and emerging infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, widespread gaps in the quality of primary health care still exist. In this Review, we aim to identify the causes for this poor quality, and provide policy recommendations. System challenges include: the suboptimal education and training of primary health-care practitioners, a fee-for-service payment s…
(2020-06-06). Politics and Corruption at the World Health Organization (WHO). globalresearch.ca This article, translated from French, was written prior to the Wuhan Coronavirus epidemic outbreak | *** | The WHO [OMS in French] is the World Health Organisation. 'WHO' in English — and that's much more appropriate. WHO: who is it really? | Would …
(2020-06-06). Racial inequalities contribute to higher unemployment rates in black communities, new research reveals. nationofchange.org The "devastating effects of COVID-19 on the economic and physical well-being of black Americans were entirely predictable given persistent economic and health disparities."
(2020-06-06). Don't believe the hype: Unemployment increased in May. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – Corporate-owned media is blaring that the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in May to 13.3%, from 14.7% in April. This was far better than even the most optimistic economist expected and even led to at least one to declare that "the recession is over." Well, when something is too good to be true, it usually isn't true. | This report flies in the face of all the other reports on the job market in May. The Labor Department's own report on continuing unemployment insurance claims, including regular state unemployment insurance, the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), the federal Pandemic…
(2020-06-06). How to travel safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Are you considering rescheduling travel that you put off because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? Maybe you have work or family obligations that require you to travel. Yet worries about safe travel and lodging are holding you back. Get the facts about your travel options and learn how to protect yourself if you must travel. …
(2020-06-06). How to safely go to your doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Are you wondering if it's time to schedule those doctor appointments you've been putting off? Restrictions related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are easing in many places, but you may still have concerns about COVID-19. Learn how to stay safe from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) while getting the care you need. Do your homework Before you …
(2020-06-06). Plummeting vaccinations in the US and globally put millions of children at risk. wsws.org WHO experts warn that at least 80 million of the world's children under the age of one are at risk of diseases such as diphtheria, measles and polio due to a massive decrease in routine immunizations.
(2020-06-06). Iran registers 2269 new COVID-19 infections, 75 deaths. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 06 (MNA) — According to the Iranian Health Ministry, 2,269 new cases of COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in the country during the past 24 hours.
(2020-06-06). Michael White expelled due to disease exacerbation, human rights considerations: Iranian official. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 06 (MNA) — Director General of Counterintelligence of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence said on Saturday that the US citizen, Michael White, who had been imprisoned on security charges in Iran, has been deported to the US due to disease exacerbation, human rights reasons.
(2020-06-06). Iran's death toll from pandemic surpasses 8,200. yenisafak.com Iran on Saturday confirmed 75 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,209. | A further 2,269 people tested positive for the virus, raising the overall count to 169,425, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. | Jahanpour said 130,300 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 2,578 patients remain in critical condition. | Some 1.06 million tests have been conducted in the country so far, according to the spokesman. | The country continued seeing an upward trend in daily infections in many provinces, especia…
(2020-06-06). Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 407 to 183,678. yenisafak.com The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 407 to 183,678, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.The reported death toll rose by 33 to 8,646, the tally showed.
(2020-06-06). Police Unions: It's Time To Change The Law And End The Abuse. popularresistance.org Collective action is the source of working people's power. It is the source of the labor movement's power. It is the source of power that has enabled workers to secure — through unionization and collective bargaining — fairness and dignity at work, living wages, protection against discrimination and harassment, and safe and healthy working conditions. It is the source of power that has allowed working people to demand progressive legislation, to push the nation forward on questions of civil rights, political rights and economic rights. In recent years, it has enabled teachers to win funding for their…
(2020-06-05). Male hormones behind BALDNESS could be cause of higher Covid-19 FATALITIES in MEN — research. rt.com 
Scientists now believe that androgens, the group of male hormones that also cause baldness, actually help the coronavirus to attack cells and could be a major factor in the higher number of male Covid-19 deaths worldwide. | Researchers in Madrid are investigating the interaction between these male sex hormones — such as testosterone — and the coronavirus in Covid-19 patients, with multiple studies already finding that bald men suffer worse cases of the disease than others. | "We think androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells," said Professor Carlos Wambie…