(2020-07-05). Virus outbreak in Hebron 'out of control': Palestine. yenisafak.com Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila has described the coronavirus outbreak in the West Bank city of Hebron as "out of control".Speaking in an interview with Palestine TV, al-Kaila said 173 virus infections were registered in Hebron on Saturday.The health minister is set to visit the city on Sunday to check on the health situation there.According to the minister, 50 Palestinian medics have so far contracted the virus.As the cases continue to surge, al-Kaila expected that the Palestinian government would extend a lockdown imposed in the territories for five more days to stem the spread of the pandemic.On Wedne…
(2020-07-05). 'Completely Out of Control': China Says 'US Epidemic' Threat to Rest of the World. commondreams.org 'In the coming fall and winter, the US epidemic will likely run rampant, and more countries and regions will be forced to suffer because of the US.' | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-07-05). Break Gilead's patent since US has bought all stock of Remdesivir. peoplesdispatch.org Trump is trying to improve his waning electoral chances by reserving all of Gilead's stock of Remdesivir to cover up his disastrous handling of the Covid-19 epidemic so far…
(2020-07-05). COVID-19: virus strain dominant worldwide is different from original in Wuhan. peoplesdispatch.org According to a publication in Cell, the strain, which is named D614G, is a result of point mutation of the original strain. However, it is not associated with disease severity…
(2020-07-05). Iran records highest daily COVID-19 fatalities. yenisafak.com Iran on Sunday confirmed 163 more fatalities from coronavirus, the largest daily spike in the country since the outbreak, caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 11,571.A further of 2,560 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the overall count to 240,438, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.She added that 3,168 patients remain in critical condition in the country.Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the countries hardest hi…
(2020-07-05). Brazil reports 1,091 virus fatalities, 523 die in Mexico. yenisafak.com Brazil Sunday reported 1,091 COVID-19 fatalities, while 523 more patients died in Mexico over the past 24 hours.The death toll in Brazil reached 64,265, according to the data by the country's Health Ministry.A total of 37,923 new cases were reported in the Latin America country, pushing the total count to 1,577,004.Meanwhile, the death toll in Mexico rose to 30,366 with 523 more fatalities, the Health Ministry data showed.The number of cases surged to 252,165, with 6,914 additions over the past 24 hours.So far 152,309 patients have recovered from the virus in the country.Mexico confirmed its first COVID-19 case…
(2020-07-05). Coronavirus claims more lives in Oman, Sudan. yenisafak.com Health authorities in Oman and Sudan confirmed additional fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Sunday.In a statement, the Omani Health Ministry said ten people had died from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 213.A further 1,072 people tested positive for the virus, pushing the figure to 46,178, while 949 patients recovered, taking the overall recoveries to 27,917.In Sudan, the Health Ministry confirmed four fatalities due to the illness, while 117 new cases were recorded.Sudan's tally now stands at 9,767 cases, including 608 deaths, and 4,673 recoveries.Since originating…
(2020-07-05). Spain imposes second local coronavirus lockdown in two days. yenisafak.com People living in A Marina along Spain's northern coast in the region of Lugo will not be able to leave the area from midnight on Sunday until Friday, two days before regional elections in Galicia on July 12.The regional government said people will be allowed to move around A Marina but only those who need to travel for work will be allowed to leave or enter the area.Regional Health minister Jesus Vazquez Almuina told a news conference on Sunday that the biggest outbreaks were linked to several bars in the area. Regional health authorities said there were now 258 cases in Galicia, of which 117 were in Lugo.Capacit…
(2020-07-05). Iran records 2,560 new cases, 163 deaths on Sunday. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 05 (MNA) — The novel coronavirus disease has infected 2,560 people across Iran in the past 24 hours, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.
(2020-07-04). Trump gives fascistic rant at Mount Rushmore event held in defiance of health experts. wsws.org Trump sought to use recent attacks on monuments to leaders of the American Revolution and Civil War to brand protesters against police killings as "far-left fascists," while hailing the police and right-wing militia groups and pledging to crack down on opponents of his authoritarian and pro-corporate policies.
(2020-07-04). Danny Sjursen: Fourth Of July Musings. popularresistance.org Once again, this Fourth of July, Americans will celebrate — to the unwitting militarist racist tune that is the "Star Spangled Banner" — more than just the nation's Independence Day. Though most folks will, if at a reasonable social distance, focus more on the backyard beer and brats, U.S. jingoism and exceptionalism will invariably be on the menu. | That last sentiment, particularly amidst the COVID- and mass protest-exposing era of forever war at home and abroad, deserves a closer and critical look. For exceptionalism is truly a national disease that ravages American bodies and democratic institutio…
(2020-07-04). [Comment] A Lancet Commission on women and cancer. thelancet.com Over the past decade, the global health community has begun to acknowledge that cancer is an increasingly important public health and economic challenge in all countries.1 What is not acknowledged is the disproportionate impact of cancer on the lives and livelihoods of women, and the downstream impacts this creates for societies. In 104 countries, breast cancer has the highest age-standardised incidence rate of all cancers in both sexes combined; in 23 countries, it is cervical cancer.2 Of the 938‚Äà044 deaths from these two cancers in 2018, most were premature and preventable and occurred in a…
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China. thelancet.com We found the Article by Maigeng Zhou and colleagues1 intriguing. However, we have some concerns. Our major concern arises from mixing data from mainland China and Taiwan. These two regions have distinct health-care and social welfare systems; they also have different time trends of how socioeconomic conditions evolved during the past half century. Therefore, mixing the data from these two regions might lead to biased estimates, especially for the health outcomes shaped by health policies (eg, vaccination programmes as a prevention strategy).
(2020-07-04). [Perspectives] Salome Maswime: dynamic leader in global surgery. thelancet.com As Associate Professor and Head of Global Surgery at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, Salome Maswime is aware of the scale of the job in front of her. "For me the big problem is the disconnect between health systems and clinical care in low and middle income countries, especially concerning surgical care. Outcomes are often poor, there being not enough focus on the quality of surgery, and how it relates to integrated health care and overarching health systems performance", she explains.
(2020-07-04). [Comment] The Wakley—Wu Lien Teh Prize Essay 2020: Chinese health workers' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com "I feel deeply the burden of the honour placed upon me in being chairman of this Medical Conference, which is unique in our history, powerful in its representation, and which gives China a strong position amongst nations seeking the welfare of the people", wrote Wu Lien Teh in his first publication in The Lancet,1 on his inaugural address delivered at the International Plague Conference in Shenyang, China, in 1911. Wu was elected as the chair of the conference for his work in controlling the pneumonic plague epidemic outbreak in 1910—11 in northeastern China, which ultimately claimed about 60‚Ä&a…
(2020-07-04). [Clinical Picture] Coarctation of the aorta: a rare cause of severe hypertension in pregnancy. thelancet.com A 24-week pregnant 18-year-old woman was seen at her local health-care centre where she was found to have a respiratory rate of 38 breaths per min, a blood pressure of 250/90 mm Hg, and a heart rate of 39 beats per min. She collapsed and required intubation and ventilation. A chest x-ray showed bilateral infiltrates—pulmonary oedema—and she was treated with furosemide and nitroglycerin and transferred to our intensive care unit.
(2020-07-04). [World Report] Collaborating on kidneys: Haiti's transplantation ambitions. thelancet.com Haiti lacks health programmes and facilities for kidney disease. Jane Regan reports on an ambitious collaboration between Haitian and US doctors to make kidney transplantation widely available.
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China — Author's reply. thelancet.com The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017 provides comprehensive assessment of population health for 195 countries and territories and subnational units for selected countries, including all province-level administrative units in China. It is important to point out that, as the GBD uses a hierarchical analytical framework, data input from all GBD 2017 analytical units, national or subnational, are integrated into a single modelling process to provide a set of estimates for all locations that are internally consistent and comparable across locations and over time.
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] Time for WHO to declare climate breakdown a PHEIC? thelancet.com At the opening plenary of the World Health Assembly in May, 2019, Richard Horton urged member states and the Secretariat of WHO to recognise climate change as a planetary emergency. A few days later, during a side event on air pollution, climate change, oceans, and health sponsored by the Government of Sweden, the Minister of Health for the Seychelles Jean Paul Adam argued that climate change has to be recognised as a public health emergency at the international level. Johan Giesecke1 once stressed that as public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) evolve into more complex forms, it becomes neces…
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] US Global Gag Rule increases unsafe abortion. thelancet.com The Trump administration issued the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy in 2017. This policy is an expansion of the Global Gag Rule that blocks US global health assistance to foreign non-governmental organisations that provide, counsel on, refer to, or advocate for abortion services; even if they do so with their own funding and in countries where abortion is legal. Following an additional policy expansion in 2019, foreign organisations that comply with the policy must now attach it to all subgrants that they give to other foreign organisations, including those that do not involve US global health…
(2020-07-04). [Editorial] Zoonoses: beyond the human—animal—environment interface. thelancet.com World Zoonoses Day on July 6 marks the day, in 1885, when a young boy received the first vaccine against rabies—a zoonosis, a disease caused by a pathogen transmitted from animals to humans. Rarely is a World Zoonoses Day so relevant to consider these diseases and their disruption of societies.
(2020-07-04). [Department of Error] Department of Error. thelancet.com Zhou M, Wang H, Zeng X, et al. Mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces, 1990—2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet 2019; 394: 1145—58—The appendix of this Article has been corrected as of July 2, 2020.
(2020-07-04). [Comment] Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: when less is more. thelancet.com Spontaneous pneumothorax is a pneumothorax that occurs in the absence of trauma or iatrogenic injury, and occurs in about 20‚Äà000 people per year in the USA.1 Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is typically defined as a pneumothorax that occurs in patients without evidence of underlying lung disease, and is estimated to affect about 3000 people per year in the UK,2 whereas secondary pneumothorax occurs in patients with known lung disease such as emphysema, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome.
(2020-07-04). [Comment] Investing in surgery: a value proposition for African leaders. thelancet.com Globally, poor access to high-quality surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia care remains a main contributor to global disease burden accounting for about a third of deaths worldwide.1 The need for strengthening surgical care systems is especially urgent in sub-Saharan Africa, where access is strikingly limited, leading to the highest mortality and morbidity from surgically preventable and treatable conditions in the world.2,3 Approximately 93% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to safe, affordable, and timely surgical care, compared with less than 10% in high-income countries.
(2020-07-04). Vital: Canada crushed COVID while US flounders, Trump v. Trudeau is why (video, must see). thealtworld.com 
Here's how Canada controlled its Covid-19 cases as the US struggles. There's been no controversy over masks, plus "early and widespread testing, a free health care system still building surge capacity, longer shutdowns, slower reopenings, social distancing." | Here's how Canada controlled its Covid-19 cases as the US struggles. There's been no controversy over masks, plus "early and widespread testing, a free health care system still building surge capacity, longer shutdowns,…
(2020-07-04). 2010: Why the WHO Faked a Pandemic. anti-empire.com 
The World Health Organization has suddenly gone from crying "The sky is falling!" like a cackling Chicken Little to squealing like a stuck pig. The reason: charges that the agency deliberately fomented swine flu hysteria. "The world is going through a real pandemic. The description of it as a fake is wrong and irresponsible," the
(2020-07-04). Continued Unemployment Claims in the US Rise by Another 1 Million, Now at Eye-Watering 31.5 Million. anti-empire.com 
Normally, the jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is released on the first Friday of the month. And the unemployment claims report is released Thursday every week. But this month, the monthly jobs report was also released today because of the 4th of July weekend. And now we have this delicious situation of both reports on the same day, with the Labor Department's unemployment insurance data — people who are actually receiving unemployment benefits under state and federal programs — calling the Bureau of Labor Statistics' survey-based report a liar. And we'll go through them. | What the L…
(2020-07-04). The University Community As A Microcosm Of The National Economy. popularresistance.org In sum, MMT suggests that the printing of money can be calibrated to the fulfillment of short and long term needs. Money could and should be provided for health care for all, support for education (K through university), structural renovation, transitioning away from fossil fuels, the creation of jobs for all and universal basic income programs, and support for a Green New Deal. These programs were vitally needed before the pandemic and are even more essential since its onset. Of course, cutting military spending, pork-barrel legislation, and creating a progressive tax system helps. But the human needs articulate…
(2020-07-04). HPAE union betrays New Jersey nurses' fight for PPE and better pay. wsws.org New Jersey nurses must not allow their struggles to be strangled by the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union.
(2020-07-04). UAW and General Motors downplay outbreaks of COVID-19 at US auto plants. wsws.org As the UAW and auto corporations to play down the health crisis, workers' anger is at breaking point as they demand the plants be shut down for their safety.
(2020-07-04). Riverside, California: HCA nurses strike continues as coronavirus takes its toll. wsws.org According to health officials, the confirmed active case count in Riverside bloated to 10,059 on Thursday, compared to 9,532 on Wednesday. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 stands at 465.
(2020-07-04). Trump holds Mount Rushmore event in defiance of health experts. wsws.org This criminally reckless action, virtually certain to result in a new eruption of infections and deaths, was carried out in defiance of warnings from members of Trump's coronavirus task force.
(2020-07-04). Tories resurrect cynical "Clap for Carers" on 72nd anniversary of the NHS. wsws.org Sunday's event insults the memory of hundreds of health and social care workers who died of COVID-19 trying to save the lives of others.
(2020-07-04). Barcelona's landmark Sagrada Familia reopens for key workers. yenisafak.com Barcelona's Sagrada Familia reopened on Saturday, giving frontline workers the chance to have the usually tourist-packed landmark to themselves in recognition of their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.People took photos and listened to audio guides after Archbishop of Barcelona Juan Jose Omella led representatives of healthcare workers into the church.The basilica, designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, closed almost four months ago. But for the next two weekends it will be open to essential workers, including those in healthcare, the police and NGOs, who will be able to explore without the usual crowds.The g…
(2020-07-04). Turkey issues arrest warrants over fireworks factory blasts in NW. yenisafak.com Turkey has issued arrest warrants over explosions at a fireworks factory on Friday that killed four people, according to judicial sources.Prosecutors in the northwestern Sakarya province issued warrants for the factory manager in charge and two foremen, said the sources on Saturday, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The investigation of the incident continues, the prosecutors reportedly said.The blasts took place at a factory in the province's Hendek district.A total of 114 people were taken to the hospital and nearly 100 were discharged, Turkey's health minister said Friday.T…
(2020-07-04). Turkey's presence in Libya to do whatever int'l law requires: DefMin. yenisafak.com Turkey's presence in Libya is to do whatever the international law and justice require, the Turkish defense minister said on Saturday."Turkey is together with the Libyan brothers. No one should doubt it, we will not give up on it," Hulusi Akar said.Akar and Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler, who are on an official visit to Libya, met Turkish security forces in the country. They later visited Tripoli's Mitiga Hospital, which was frequently targeted by the attacks of warlord Khalifa Haftar's militias, and met the Turkish health care staff at the hospital."Our task here [in Libya] is providing military trainin…
(2020-07-04). Erdogan says Turkey sent virus aid to 138 countries. yenisafak.com Turkey to date has sent medical aid to 138 countries to help them combat the coronavirus pandemic, said Turkey's president on Saturday."We have sent medical equipment and supplies to 138 countries, regardless of religion, language, race, or region," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the inauguration ceremony for a new state hospital in Istanbul.Telling how Turkey's exemplary efforts against the virus laid the groundwork for new opportunities in medical tourism, he added, "We're determined to make Turkey the health center of three continents," meaning Asia, Europe, and Africa, with Turkey at their hub."Thanks to the meas…
(2020-07-04). Trump Hosts Independence Day Celebrations Amid Fears of COVID-19 Pandemic – Video. sputniknews.com Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Independence Day celebrations will generally not see barbeque parties and massive gatherings to "ensure the health and safety of those attending".
(2020-07-04). WHO Halts Trials of Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir/Ritonavir for COVID-19 Treatment. sputniknews.com GENEVA (Sputnik) – The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Saturday that it was discontinuing trials of hydroxychloroquine and the combination of lopinavir/ritonavir for treatment, as part of its tests to find efficient remedies against the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
(2020-07-04). Iran confirms 2,449 infections,148 deaths in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 04 (MNA) — Iran's Health Ministry announced that 2,449 new cases of infections with the novel coronavirus disease have been confirmed in the past 24 hours.
(2020-07-04). Friday 7/3: Plague-Time Play-Time. indybay.org ATA GALLERY, 992 Valencia Street…
(2020-07-03). Over 800 Afghan civilians have lost their lives in six months: UN Assistance Mission. peoplesdispatch.org In a recent spate of at least 56 violent incidents, members of Afghanistan's civil society, religious leaders, healthcare workers, members of the judiciary, civil society activists, non-governmental organizations and journalists have been deliberately attacked…
(2020-07-03). Chileans carry out a two-day national protest against Piñera's government. peoplesdispatch.org The national strike has been called in rejection of the national government, its mishandling of the health and economic emergencies and the lack of food and aid for vulnerable population…
(2020-07-03). Caesarean delivery rates and analgesia effectiveness following injections of sterile water for back pain in labour: A multicentre, randomised placebo controlled trial. thelancet.com Compared to placebo, injections of sterile water did not reduce rates of caesarean delivery. For the main secondary outcome of pain relief the intervention did result in significantly more women reporting at least 30% and 50% reduction in pain for up to 90 min. Water injections have no effect on birth outcomes though can be an effective treatment for the relief of labour-related back pain.Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
(2020-07-03). The Mask as a Symbol of Subjugation. dissidentvoice.org 
We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. — The New England Journal of Medicine, May 21, 2020 (T)hey told us exactly what was coming, and advised us to shut up and follow orders. Tragically, most people have done just that. — CJ Hopkins, 2020 It's …
(2020-07-03). 'Help raise our voice': Dialogue with Dr. Medhat Abbas, Gaza. workers.org 
Dr. Medhat Abbas has been director general of primary health care in Shifa Hospital and Al Aqsa in Gaza. He spent time in the Ministry of Health International Relations Department and has extensive experience in Health Services Management. Dr. Abbas is at the forefront of community health services and management . . . |
(2020-07-03). What do 6 months of COVID-19 pandemic tell us about USA? liberationnews.org 
Given the government's catastrophic profit-driven response and the lack of a vaccine, it's possible this pandemic is only in its early stages.
(2020-07-03). People tested for Covid-19 in England NOT asked to give addresses during peak of pandemic, complaints of 'incomplete' data. rt.com 
People in England tested for Covid-19 during the height of the pandemic were not being asked to provide address details, it has emerged. Local authorities have hit out at the "poor and incomplete" data they've received. | Read more | | According to the BBC, the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed users of the government's testing service only had to provide their postcode from April 23, as the country…
(2020-07-03). US govt providing unsterile Covid-19 screening supplies amid surge in testing demand, claims Washington state. rt.com 
Medical supplies sent by the federal government to help with coronavirus testing have been too slow to arrive and have failed quality control checks, according to Washington state's top health official. | A US government program aimed at supporting nationwide testing efforts has been "beset by logistical problems that impede our pandemic response and undermine our shared goals," Washington state Secretary of Health John Wiesman wrote in a letter to US Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir. | Wiesman claimed that his state had received around 250,000 bulk-packaged swabs from the federal government…
(2020-07-03). First Russian coronavirus vaccine volunteers report no adverse side-effects. Hopes now high for mass immunization in fall. rt.com 
There may finally be an end in sight. Two weeks after Russia's home-grown Covid-19 vaccine was administered to a group of volunteers, there have been no negative side-effects, raising hopes that mass immunization may be possible. | Read more | | "Volunteers from the first group…feel good and have no complaints about their health," said a Ministry of Defense press release. "Over the past two weeks, there have been no ser…
