Monthly Archives: July 2020

2020-07-03: News Headlines

Ophira Ginsburg, Richard Horton (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…

Terry McGovern (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…

Helena Hui Wang, Esther Lau, Richard Horton (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…

Andrew Harmer, Anja Leetz, Ben Eder, Remco van de Pas, Sophie Gepp (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…

Christopher J L Murray (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.

Jane Regan (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.

Richard Lane (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.

Catherine Anne Cluver, Philip Herbst, Stephanie Griffith-Richards, Muhammed Hassan, Brian Allwood (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.

Ping-I Lin, Stephen J Glatt, Ming T Tsuang (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).

The Lancet (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.

Desmond T Jumbam, Ché L Reddy, Emmanuel Makasa, Adeline A Boatin, Khama Rogo, Kathryn M Chu, Benetus Nangombe, Olufemi T Oladapo, John G Meara, Salome Maswime (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.

Christopher Kapp, David Feller-Kopman (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.

thelancet (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.

Peoples Dispatch (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…

Peoples Dispatch (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…

Nigel Lee, Yu Gao, Sally L. Collins, Lena B. Mà•rtensson, Wendy Randall, Toni-Marie Rowe, Sue Kildea (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.

Bill Willers (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 …

Pippa Bartolotti (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 . . . |

Sunil Freeman (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.

RT (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…

RT (2020-07-03). France to probe ex-PM & minister over handling of Covid-19 — prosecutors. rt.com France's former prime minister Edouard Philippe and its health officials will be the targets of a probe into the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, prosecutors say. | Health minister Olivier Véran and his predecessor Agnès Buzyn will be investigated, along with Philippe, the attorney general said. | The probe comes after nine complaints were found to be admissible by the Court of Justice of the Republic "on the sole count of abstention from fighting a disaster." | | Edouard Philippe arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace. © Reuters / Christian Hartmann | Philippe resi…

The Canary (2020-07-03). After thousands of coronavirus deaths in care homes, government announces regular testing programme for staff and residents. thecanary.co Staff and residents in care homes for people over 65 or with dementia will be regularly tested for coronavirus (Covid-19) from week beginning 6 July, the government has announced.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced a new social care testing strategy on 3 July. As part of the strategy, staff will be tested weekly, while residents will receive a test every 28 days. This is in addition to intensive testing in any care home facing an outbreak or at increased risk of a flare-up, the department added.The repeat testing programme will be rolled out over the next four weeks to all care homes for the…

Elizabeth Woodworth (2020-07-03). Remdesivir for Covid-19: $1.6 Billion for a "Modestly Beneficial" Drug? globalresearch.ca The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recently "bought" all of Gilead Science's Remdesivir for $1.6 billion. "500,000 doses at $3,200 per patient — to be available to American hospitals but not for other countries"[6] | That's $1.6 …

Rosemary Frei (2020-07-03). "No One Has Died from the Coronavirus" globalresearch.ca A high-profile European pathologist is reporting that he and his colleagues across Europe have not found any evidence of any deaths from the novel coronavirus on that continent. | Dr. Stoian Alexov called the World Health Organization (WHO) a "criminal medical …

Phil Miller (2020-07-03). Hundreds of Saudi and Gulf Military Personnel Trained in Britain as Yemen War Continues. globalresearch.ca New data shows Britain's Royal Air Force trained Saudi personnel in 2019 on fighter jets used to bomb civilians in Yemen — a country on the brink of famine — while UK soldiers coached other forces in the Saudi-led coalition …

Jon Rappoport (2020-07-03). Huge COVID Case-counting Deception at the CDC. globalresearch.ca For this piece, we have to enter the official world (of the insane)—where everyone is quite sure a new coronavirus was discovered in China and the worthless diagnostic tests mean something and the case numbers are real and meaningful. Once …

Newsclick (2020-07-03). US Buys Up Remdesivir: We Must Break Patents for Access to COVID-19 Drug. peoplesdispatch.org Newsclick's Prabir Purkayastha points out that countries must use the compulsory licence clause to make sure the drug is available to all. He also analyses how this might be a prelude to similar acts once a vaccine is available.

_____ (2020-07-03). Black Immigrants On The Front Lines Of COVID-19. popularresistance.org As the country continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Black immigrants — immigrants who identify as Black regardless of country or region of birth — are playing an important role on the front lines in healthcare, food supply, education, and biomedical industries. Black immigrants make up a significant portion of healthcare workers. In 2018, there were more than 560,000 Black immigrant workers in the healthcare sector. These workers made up 3.4 percent of all healthcare workers, a share almost three times their share of the U.S. population. In the food industry at large, there are over 223,000 Black immigrant…

_____ (2020-07-03). Cuba's Two Pandemics: The Coronavirus And The US Embargo. popularresistance.org As soon as the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Cuba, our country mobilized all its resources to contain the spread of the virus. | Our healthcare workers go door to door checking people for possible symptoms. Those with symptoms are transferred to specially designated centers to receive treatment, mostly with medication developed by Cuba's own pharmaceutical and biotech industry. The medical examinations and treatments are all provided free of charge. | As of June 20, 85 people have died of COVID-19 in Cuba. Our mortality rate of 3.9 percent is very low compared to the rest of the world. We reached the p…

yenisafak (2020-07-03). EU grants conditional clearance to COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir. yenisafak.com The EU executive said the drug, produced by Gilead Sciences Inc, was the first medicine authorised in the European Union for treating COVID-19 following a "rolling review" begun by the European Medicines Agency at the end of April.The agency reviews data as they become available on a rolling basis, while development is still ongoing.The Commission said on Wednesday it was in negotiations with Gilead to obtain doses of remdesivir for the 27 European Union countries.However, that may prove difficult after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it had secured all of Gilead's projected production…

yenisafak (2020-07-03). China's COVID-19 complex to produce over 100M vaccine. yenisafak.com China has completed the construction of a research laboratory and workshop complex in the city of Wuhan for producing vaccines to combat COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic, the state-run media said on Friday.While the laboratory is capable to research and study pathogenic virus vaccines, the workshop will produce over 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine annually, reported Xinhua news agency, quoting the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm).The complex was earlier hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which first emerged in Wuhan city located in Central China's Hubei province last December.China National…

Craig Baldwin (2020-07-03). Friday 7/3: Plague-Time Play-Time. indybay.org ATA GALLERY, 992 Valencia Street…

ACLU (2020-07-02). Activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham on Building a Lasting Movement. aclu.org In the last month, protests have erupted across the country calling for justice for Black lives, a wholesale restructuring of policing, and a greater racial reckoning across all facets of American society. , , "All of these things are interconnected," Brittany Packnett Cunningham told At Liberty this week. "If we're gonna talk about police violence, we're gonna talk about health care … we're coming for the whole thing.", , Packnett Cunningham is an activist, educator, and writer who has been on the front lines of many of these conversations, most prominently since the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Cha…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-02). French health workers take to streets seeking higher wages, recruitment. peoplesdispatch.org The call for the mobilization was given by major trade unions, including the General Confederation of Labor (CGT)and health workers collectives like L'Inter-Urgences and Collectif Inter-Hà¥pitaux also joined the protests.

WSWS (2020-07-02). Riverside, California Nurses strike continues as ICU beds reach capacity. wsws.org Nurses are protesting unsafe working conditions while county health officials announced this week that ICU beds were at 99 percent capacity…

Associated Press, Kaiser Health News (2020-07-02). Already hollowed-out U.S. health system faces even more cuts. peoplesworld.org The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources to confront the worst health crisis in a century. Marshaled against a virus that has sickened at least 2.6 million in the U.S., killed more than 126,000 people and cost tens of millions of jobs and $3 trillion in federal rescue …

Stan Cox (2020-07-02). It's Not Just Meat: All Farm and Food Workers Are in Peril. counterpunch.org COVID-19 outbreaks are now reaching far beyond the meatpacking industry. Migrant farmworkers in fruit orchards and vegetable fields, long the targets of intense exploitation, are seeing their health put in even greater jeopardy as they're pushed to feed an increasingly voracious supply chain in pandemic-time.

RT (2020-07-02). France ordered to pay up after epilepsy drug manufactured by coronavirus vaccine firm Sanofi caused birth defects. rt.com A French court has ordered the state to compensate three families whose children suffered birth defects due to the anti-epilepsy medication Dépakine. The drugmaker, Sanofi, is currently racing to certify a vaccine for Covid-19. | Dépakine is the brand name for sodium valproate, an ingredient used in the treatment of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and migraines. However, it is known to

WSWS (2020-07-02). Arizona Department of Health Services activates plan to ration healthcare for COVID-19 patients. wsws.org As the pandemic surges throughout Arizona, the governor is seeking emergency support from the federal government to supplement the beleaguered hospital staff in hard-hit counties.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-07-02). Mayo Clinic experts to help guide Delta Air Lines COVID-19 safety measures. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Industry leaders in health and travel formalize partnership to transform the future of safe flying ROCHESTER, Minn. — Delta Air Lines and Mayo Clinic, a global leader in serious and complex medical care, are deepening their relationship to provide additional safety and COVID-19 infection control measures for customers and employees. The collaboration is another significant …

Amanda Mills (2020-07-02). The USPS is the only organization that was forced to pre-pay for health benefits decades into the future. nationofchange.org "

Christina Jewett (2020-07-02). Health Workers Filed Over 4,000 Complaints With OSHA, Some Still Died. zcomm.org Federal officials rapidly closed many complaints without issuing citations, raising new questions over government inaction…

WSWS (2020-07-02). Workers in Germany express their solidarity with striking Fiat Chrysler workers. wsws.org The strikes at two Detroit Fiat Chrysler plants in Jefferson North and Sterling Heights against intolerable health and safety conditions for production workers have met with a powerful response from workers in Germany.

Matt Sedlar (2020-07-02). Counterpoint: Unemployment Benefits Should Depend on the Pandemic. cepr.net Tribune Content Agency, July 2, 2020 InsideSources, July 2, 2020 Bozeman Daily Chronicle, July 2, 2020 Killeen Daily Herald, July 2, 2020 Hoopeston Chronicle, July 2, 2020 See article on original site In recent weeks many members of Congress have been arguing against extending the $600 weekly supplement to unemployment insurance benefits that was put …

Fight Back (2020-07-02). Unemployment insurance claims show crisis continuing. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – The latest report by the Labor Department on Thursday, July 2 indicated new claims for aid for unemployed showed no improvement for the third week in a row. While new claims for the regular state unemployment insurance benefits did fall by 50,000 from last week's report, to 1.43 million, new claims for the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA actually rose by 110,000 from last week's report, to 840,000. Taken together, new claims for the two main programs to aid the unemployed totaled 2.27 million for the week ending June 27, slighting more than the previous week and the same as two week…

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-07-02). Herd immunity and COVID-19: What you need to know. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Curious as to whether herd immunity against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) might slow the spread of the disease? Understand how herd immunity works and what experts are saying about its potential impact on the COVID-19 pandemic. Why is herd immunity important? Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to …

Roger Stoll (2020-07-02). Cuban Spies Disguised as Doctors. dissidentvoice.org The European Union now excludes travelers from the COVID-ridden U.S., but welcomes those from the virtually COVID-free Cuba. Cuba, the country that sends doctors and infectious disease specialists around the world to fight the pandemic, the country the U.S. has held in contempt for 60 years, villified with every epithet and sanctioned and embargoed and …

yenisafak (2020-07-02). Germany tells Turkey travel warning will be regularly reviewed. yenisafak.com Germany will keep reviewing travel advice for Turkey, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday, saying any decisions were coordinated with the EU and based on reliable data on infections and the health situation.Turkey is disappointed that the EU has excluded it, along with the United States and others, from a list of countries recommended for non-essential travel and has called on it to correct its "mistake".Speaking to reporters after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Berlin, Maas said reviews of the situation took place every two weeks."Further steps will follo…

yenisafak (2020-07-02). India's 1st plasma bank at service of COVID-19 patients. yenisafak.com India on Thursday opened the country's first blood plasma bank in the capital Delhi to improve access to blood plasma required in the treatment of novel coronavirus patients."People were facing difficulty in acquiring blood plasma. This plasma bank will thus help in accessing it, but it will only work if people come forward to donate blood plasma," Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during bank inauguration.People who have recovered from COVID-19 develop antibodies against the disease in their blood, known as convalescent plasma. This can then be transfused into critical patients to boost their immune re…

yenisafak (2020-07-02). Israel registers highest daily rise in virus cases. yenisafak.com Israel on Thursday confirmed 966 new cases of the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day spike since the virus was first detected on Feb. 21, the country's Health Ministry said.The country reported two more deaths from the virus over the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement.Israeli authorities have so far reported 26,452 infections, including 324 deaths and 17,481 recoveries.The number of active cases, which dropped below 2,000 last month, rose to 8,647 after a spike in recent days.Israel lifted most of the COVID-19-related restrictions after the daily number of virus cases dropped below 20 last mon…

2020-07-02: News Headlines

John O'Kane (2020-07-02). Progressive Pulses Among the Ruins of Riot. counterpunch.org The violence that erupted from the mostly-peaceful demonstrations around the killing of George Floyd has subsided, though many businesses in Long Beach are now boarded up. In addition to the property damage itself—in many instances not covered by insurance because deemed "domestic terrorism"—these protective measures have a chilling effect on efforts to participate in the

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-02). French health workers take to streets seeking higher wages, recruitment. peoplesdispatch.org The call for the mobilization was given by major trade unions, including the General Confederation of Labor (CGT)and health workers collectives like L'Inter-Urgences and Collectif Inter-Hà¥pitaux also joined the protests.

Associated Press, Kaiser Health News (2020-07-02). Already hollowed-out U.S. health system faces even more cuts. peoplesworld.org The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources to confront the worst health crisis in a century. Marshaled against a virus that has sickened at least 2.6 million in the U.S., killed more than 126,000 people and cost tens of millions of jobs and $3 trillion in federal rescue …

Stan Cox (2020-07-02). It's Not Just Meat: All Farm and Food Workers Are in Peril. counterpunch.org COVID-19 outbreaks are now reaching far beyond the meatpacking industry. Migrant farmworkers in fruit orchards and vegetable fields, long the targets of intense exploitation, are seeing their health put in even greater jeopardy as they're pushed to feed an increasingly voracious supply chain in pandemic-time.

WSWS (2020-07-02). Workers in Germany express their solidarity with striking Fiat Chrysler workers. wsws.org The strikes at two Detroit Fiat Chrysler plants in Jefferson North and Sterling Heights against intolerable health and safety conditions for production workers have met with a powerful response from workers in Germany.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-07-02). Mayo Clinic experts to help guide Delta Air Lines COVID-19 safety measures. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Industry leaders in health and travel formalize partnership to transform the future of safe flying ROCHESTER, Minn. — Delta Air Lines and Mayo Clinic, a global leader in serious and complex medical care, are deepening their relationship to provide additional safety and COVID-19 infection control measures for customers and employees. The collaboration is another significant …

Christina Jewett (2020-07-02). Health Workers Filed Over 4,000 Complaints With OSHA, Some Still Died. zcomm.org Federal officials rapidly closed many complaints without issuing citations, raising new questions over government inaction…

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-07-02). Herd immunity and COVID-19: What you need to know. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Curious as to whether herd immunity against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) might slow the spread of the disease? Understand how herd immunity works and what experts are saying about its potential impact on the COVID-19 pandemic. Why is herd immunity important? Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to …

Roger Stoll (2020-07-02). Cuban Spies Disguised as Doctors. dissidentvoice.org The European Union now excludes travelers from the COVID-ridden U.S., but welcomes those from the virtually COVID-free Cuba. Cuba, the country that sends doctors and infectious disease specialists around the world to fight the pandemic, the country the U.S. has held in contempt for 60 years, villified with every epithet and sanctioned and embargoed and …

yenisafak (2020-07-02). Germany tells Turkey travel warning will be regularly reviewed. yenisafak.com Germany will keep reviewing travel advice for Turkey, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday, saying any decisions were coordinated with the EU and based on reliable data on infections and the health situation.Turkey is disappointed that the EU has excluded it, along with the United States and others, from a list of countries recommended for non-essential travel and has called on it to correct its "mistake".Speaking to reporters after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Berlin, Maas said reviews of the situation took place every two weeks."Further steps will follo…

yenisafak (2020-07-02). India's 1st plasma bank at service of COVID-19 patients. yenisafak.com India on Thursday opened the country's first blood plasma bank in the capital Delhi to improve access to blood plasma required in the treatment of novel coronavirus patients."People were facing difficulty in acquiring blood plasma. This plasma bank will thus help in accessing it, but it will only work if people come forward to donate blood plasma," Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during bank inauguration.People who have recovered from COVID-19 develop antibodies against the disease in their blood, known as convalescent plasma. This can then be transfused into critical patients to boost their immune re…

George Ochenski (2020-07-02). Trump's Contagion Road Show Heads West. counterpunch.org It's like a Stephen King horror novel where a nation is swept by a deadly and uncontrollable disease, sickening millions and killing over 100,000 citizens. Ignoring the advice of top infectious disease specialists who say, "Don't go to large-scale gatherings," a crazed president insists on holding rallies for the sole purpose of boosting his rapidly

yenisafak (2020-07-02). Israel registers highest daily rise in virus cases. yenisafak.com Israel on Thursday confirmed 966 new cases of the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day spike since the virus was first detected on Feb. 21, the country's Health Ministry said.The country reported two more deaths from the virus over the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement.Israeli authorities have so far reported 26,452 infections, including 324 deaths and 17,481 recoveries.The number of active cases, which dropped below 2,000 last month, rose to 8,647 after a spike in recent days.Israel lifted most of the COVID-19-related restrictions after the daily number of virus cases dropped below 20 last mon…

yenisafak (2020-07-02). Hungary not to open borders at EU's request, says PM. yenisafak.com "For now, we cannot support the EU's request because that would be against the health interests of the Hungarian people," Victor Orban said.Hungary, which joined the EU in 2004, opened its borders to Serbian citizens early June.This week the 27-member bloc added 14 states to the list of non-EU countries whose citizens can resume travel to the EU from July 1.The countries are Serbia, Montenegro, Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay. China is also on the register, but only on the condition of reciprocal action by the Chinese authorities…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-07-02). COVID-19 vaccine technology can be used for future pandemics, says expert. imperial.ac.uk The researcher developing a potential new coronavirus vaccine said the technology behind it could also be used for future pandemics, in a recent talk.

The Canary (2020-07-02). No further extension to furlough scheme, says Johnson. thecanary.co Boris Johnson has said there will be no further extension to the government's furlough scheme. His comments come despite a fresh wave of job losses across the country. | Ministers are facing calls to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), following the announcement this week of thousands of lay-offs in the retail and aviation sectors. CJRS has protected more than 9 million jobs during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. | But in an interview with the Evening Standard, Johnson insisted it was not "healthy" for either the economy or the employees concerned to extend the scheme: We've spent £120 b…

Workers Solidarity Action Network (2020-07-02). Thursday 7/2: Rally At Alameda County Health Department-No Protection For Workers At Tesla & In Alameda. indybay.org Alameda Department of Public Health | 1000 Broadway, Oakland…

Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab (2020-07-02). Sunday 7/19: Stranded: A Window into the Health of Marine Mammal Populations. indybay.org Online…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-01). French health workers stage another protest demanding resources to save hospitals. peoplesdispatch.org This was the second round of nationwide protests organized by health workers in the country since the start of a two-month consultation process initiated by the government on its proposed health sector reforms…

Staff (2020-07-01). Jamaal Bowman Calls for Rent Cancellations and Defunding the NYPD. truthout.org As a surge of progressive candidates of color see victories in Democratic primaries across the country, we speak with former Bronx middle school principal Jamaal Bowman about his upset victory over New York Congressmember Eliot Engel, the 16-term Foreign Affairs Committee chair. Bowman ran on a Green New Deal, Medicare for All platform and recently joined protests demanding an end to racism and police brutality. He says his upset over Engel came down to mobilizing people who are "disenfranchised and ignore…

Staff (2020-07-01). Jamaal Bowman on NY Primary Upset, Rent Strikes, Police Brutality & Opposing West Bank Annexation. democracynow.org As a surge of a progressive candidates of color see victories in Democratic primaries across the country, we speak with former Bronx middle school principal Jamaal Bowman about his upset victory over New York Congressmember Eliot Engel, the 16-term Foreign Affairs Committee chair. Bowman ran on a Green New Deal, Medicare for All platform and recently joined protests demanding an end to racism and police brutality. He says his upset over Engel came down to mobilizing people who are "disenfranchised and ignored" by the political establishment. "We didn't just target those who consistently vote in primaries. We targ…

Antonio Mastroianni, Sonia Greco, Giovanni Apuzzo, Salvatore De Santis, Carmela Oriolo, Alfredo Zanolini, Luciana Chidichimo, Valeria Vangeli (2020-07-01). Subcutaneous tocilizumab treatment in patients with severe COVID-19—related cytokine release syndrome: An observational cohort study. thelancet.com Tocilizumab administered subcutaneously to patients with COVID-19 and CRS is a promising treatment for reduction in disease activity and improvement in lung function. The effect of tocilizumab should be confirmed in a randomised controlled trial.

Alan Macleod (2020-07-01). Public Outcry Follows Gilead Decision to Charge $3000 for COVID Drug that Costs Pennies to Produce. mintpressnews.com To make matter worse, Remdesivir is a drug that "has had its development costs paid for, in large part, by independent donors like governments and ministries of health in China, the WHO, and the US government."

RT (2020-07-01). Fears dozens of local lockdowns are 'days away' prompts dismay among Britons, as UK battles to contain coronavirus flare-ups. rt.com As many as 36 regions in England which are seeing a rise in newly confirmed cases of coronavirus could be "just days" away from being forced into local lockdowns, according to reports, leading many Britons to voice their alarm. | Sources in Public Health England (PHE) and the Department for Health have reportedly told Sky News they are "working collaboratively," with local authorities in England where spikes in cases of the deadly disease are cropping up. | As a result, local lockdowns — like the one in Leicester which will see some restrictions re-imposed, such as the closure of non-essential shops and t…

RT (2020-07-01). UK turns to Germany in bid to finally get its Covid-19 contact tracing app off the ground, ambassador says. rt.com Germany's ambassador to the UK says British health services have reached out to their German counterparts to find a solution to the UK's embarrassing predicament over its yet-to-be-launched coronavirus contact tracing app. | Diplomat Andreas Michaelis made the remark while speaking to BBC Radio 4's 'Today' show about the success of Germany's domestic contact tracing app, which relies on Apple and Google tech to trace people who may have contracted coronavirus because of their proximity to a confirmed case. "It works," Michaelis said. | This is in stark contrast to the UK's own app which, far from working, has…

RT (2020-07-01). 'For the 1st time in living memory': IMF expects Asian economy to shrink as it downgrades forecast. rt.com The coronavirus outbreak has been very costly to Asian economic development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said as it revised down its forecast for the region and warned of possible protracted recovery. | "For the first time in living memory, Asia's growth is expected to contract by 1.6 percent—a downgrade to the April projection of zero growth," Chang Yong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, wrote in a blog post. | Even the recent positive developments in the epidemic situation in some countries that allowed them to at least partly reopen have not helped to change the gloomy…

RT (2020-07-01). Russians vote in favor of changes to constitution potentially enabling Putin to remain as president until 2036 — exit polls. rt.com Exit polls after the Russian constitutional vote show 71 percent of the country supported the proposed amendments while just over 28 percent were opposed. The changes are major updates to Russia's most important legal document. | The tallies were conducted at 800 polling stations in 25 jurisdictions. They are based on questions asked of over 445,000 voters, 69.9 percent of which responded. | Wednesday marked the final day of in-person voting in the referendum, with turnout reaching 65 percent. The Central Elections Commission (CIK) has received reports of only four possible instances of irregularities, its hea…

The Canary (2020-07-01). Warning over Covid-19 'illusion' amid fears of more local lockdowns. thecanary.co It is an "illusion" that the UK is past the worst of the Covid-19 epidemic, a leading scientist has warned amid fears that other towns and cities could follow Leicester into lockdown.Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London — who quit as a government adviser after admitting breaking lockdown rules — said the UK should be braced for regional flare-ups.It comes amid criticism of the way Public Health England (PHE) and the government are handling data on coronavirus cases, with accusations of long delays in sharing figures with regional public health experts. | A PHE regional map for testing a…

Staff (2020-07-01). Ed Yong on the "Disgraceful" U.S. Pandemic Response & How Medicare for All Could Have Saved Lives. democracynow.org As the United States experiences the world's worst outbreak of COVID-19, we speak with Ed Yong, science writer for The Atlantic, who warned of the country's unpreparedness for a viral outbreak in 2018. Now he says "it's truly shocking and disgraceful" how badly the pandemic has been handled in the United States, and blames a lack of federal leadership for most of the damage. "A country with the resources that we have should not be in this state," he argues, and adds that Medicare for All could have saved lives.

Staff (2020-07-01). Headlines for July 1, 2020. democracynow.org Dr. Anthony Fauci Warns U.S. Could Soon Record 100,000 Coronavirus Cases a Day, Dozens of Healthcare Workers Died of COVID-19 After OSHA Dismissed Pleas for PPE, 627,000 in Western Hemisphere Will Die of Coronavirus by October, Warns WHO, Hickenlooper Wins CO Senate Primary; Oklahoma Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion, Amy McGrath Narrowly Defeats Charles Booker in Kentucky Democratic Senate Primary, Oglala Sioux President Says Trump "Doesn't Have Permission" to Visit Mt. Rushmore, Top Republicans Break from Trump, Recommend Masks to Slow Coronavirus, New York Court Blocks Publication of Tell-All Book by Donald Tr…

news.un (2020-07-01). 'Long, hard road ahead' for countries taking piecemeal approach to COVID. news.un.org The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that some nations battling the COVID-19 pandemic who have been taking a "fragmented approach" to suppressing the deadly virus, "face a long, hard road ahead."

Cesar Chelala (2020-07-01). Attorney General William Barr's Insomnia. counterpunch.org So far it's only a rumor. But the word all over Washington, D.C. is that Attorney General William Barr has insomnia. No one should take it lightly, because insomnia is a medical condition with devastating effects on a person's health, quality of life, and ability to make rational decisions. Several medical conditions may cause it,

William rivers Pitt (2020-07-01). New COVID Infections Surge as Trump Fixates on His Election. zcomm.org It is abundantly clear that, for this president, the health and survival of the people also come a distant second to his electioneering…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-01). Chileans demand protection for mine workers in the face of COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org The Social Green Regionalist Federation (FREVS), a progressive political party in Chile, on June 30, demanded that the national government take immediate measures to protect the life and health of mine workers, their families and neighbors in the face of the surge in COVID-19 cases in the northern mining regions. | "We demand that, for the next two weeks at least, all activities in large public and private mining companies be suspended. The business logic of maintaining operations at any cost is irresponsible and short-sighted," said the FREVS in a statement. | Patricio Elgueta, the president of the Copper Worker…

Jeremy R. Hammond (2020-07-01). Children's Health Defense Responds to Accusation of Spreading "Misinformation" on Facebook. globalresearch.ca In November 2019, the Washington Post and other major news media accused Children's Health Defense (CHD) of using Facebook advertisements to spread "misinformation" about vaccines. The basis for these accusations, which have since continued, is a study published in the …

Mandy Smithberger (2020-07-01). COVID-19 Means Good Times for the Pentagon. counterpunch.org In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Washington has initiated its largest spending binge in history. In the process, you might assume that the unparalleled spread of the disease would have led to a little rethinking when it came to all the trillions of dollars Congress has given the Pentagon in these years that have in

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-07-01). Unusual coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms: What are they? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause a wide range of signs and symptoms. The most common are fever, dry cough and tiredness. Other symptoms include shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle aches, chills, sore throat, headache, or chest pain. But COVID-19 can also cause symptoms you might not expect, including: Gastrointestinal symptoms. COVID-19 might cause mild gastrointestinal symptoms, …

WSWS (2020-07-01). Food processing plants in Ohio and New York hit with outbreaks. wsws.org Outbreaks at salad and fruit processing plants in Springfield, Ohio, and Oswego, New York, show the vulnerability of food workers to the deadly disease.

WSWS (2020-07-01). Hands off Fiat Chrysler workers fighting the COVID-19 disease! wsws.org This joint statement was issued by the rank-and-file safety committees set up by Detroit-area Fiat Chrysler workers to fight for safe conditions during the pandemic.

_____ (2020-07-01). COVID19 Brings American Decline Out In The Open. popularresistance.org The U.S.'s decline started with little things that people got used to. Americans drove past empty construction sites and didn't even think about why the workers weren't working, then wondered why roads and buildings took so long to finish. They got used to avoiding hospitals because of the unpredictable and enormous bills they'd receive. They paid 6% real-estate commissions, never realizing that Australians were paying 2%. They grumbled about high taxes and high health-insurance premiums and potholed roads, but rarely imagined what it would be like to live in a system that worked better. | When writers speak of A…

_____ (2020-07-01). As COVID19 Spikes, Blackfeet Leaders Close Entrances To Glacier Park. popularresistance.org Blackfeet Nation leaders, citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, have decided to keep the eastern entrances to Glacier National Park closed for the rest of the tourism season. | The Blackfeet Reservation borders the east side of the park. The tribe's Business Council passed an ordinance on Thursday closing the entrances, saying the move was necessary to protect residents of the reservation — where tribal citizens suffer from higher rates of existing health conditions that put them at higher risk of serious complications of COVID-19 — as case numbers continue their recent rise statewide. | The closur…

_____ (2020-07-01). Doctors, Not Bombs, Needed For Humanity To Save Itself. popularresistance.org At a time when the world is hit by one of the most dangerous pandemics in human history, the United States is arming itself for war. It allocates millions of resources to this sector, over and above basic services such as health, in the country with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the planet. | "With nearly three million troops in service, 4,800 defense sites on every continent, and an annual budget of more than $700 billion, the U.S. military is considered the world's leading fighting force," according to CNN. | In the midst of the crisis generated by the new coronavirus, Washington is rapidly modernizin…

Alex Lawson (2020-07-01). Blood on His Hands: The Nursing Home Covid-19 Crisis is Donald Trump's Fault. commondreams.org Emergency Medical Service workers unload a patient out of their ambulance at the Cobble Hill Health Center on April 18, 2020 in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo: Justin Heiman/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

yenisafak (2020-07-01). Israel records highest daily coronavirus count. yenisafak.com Israel on Wednesday confirmed 859 new coronavirus infections, the highest daily number of cases since the virus was first detected on Feb. 21, the country's health ministry said.Israeli authorities have so far reported 25,547 infections, including 320 deaths and 17,389 recoveries.Israel lifted most of the COVID-19 measures after the daily number of virus cases dropped below 20 last month.The Israeli government has relaxed a lockdown imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus, reopening schools, universities, shopping malls and restaurants.Nevertheless, the country's Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Sunday that…

yenisafak (2020-07-01). Iran reports 141 more fatalities from coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Wednesday confirmed 141 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 10,958.A further 2,549 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 230,211, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.She added that a total of 191,487 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, adding that 3,081 patients remain in critical condition.Over 1.69 million tests have been conducted in the country to date, Lari noted.Iran sees an upward trend in daily infections in many provinces as Khuzestan, Razavi Khorasan, West and East Azerbaijan, Kurd…

yenisafak (2020-07-01). Turkey catches suspected Daesh terrorist. yenisafak.com A suspected Daesh terrorist was captured in central Turkey, security sources said on Wednesday.The suspect was apprehended in an operation by provincial gendarmerie forces in the Kayseri province, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.After a health check, the suspect was sent to the local courthouse.Turkey, in 2013, was among the first countries to list Daesh as a terror group.The country has since been hit by the group numerous times in at least 10 suicide attacks, seven bombings, and four armed attacks, in which 315 people have been killed and hundreds others…

yenisafak (2020-07-01). Oxford University has seen 'right sort of immune response' in potential COVID-19 vaccine trial. yenisafak.com A leading scientist behind the University of Oxford's potential COVID-19 vaccine said on Wednesday the team has seen the right sort of immune response in trials, which have entered the Phase III clinical stage.Speaking at a parliamentary hearing, Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the university, said the trial has enrolled 8,000 volunteers for the Phase III of its trial into the vaccine, AZD1222, which was licensed to AstraZeneca.She said she couldn't give a timeline for when the vaccine might be ready as it depends on the results of the trial.

sputniknews (2020-07-01). New Zealand Health Minister Resigns Amid Calls to Step Down Over COVID-19 Response. sputniknews.com David Clark stepped down as Health Minister after facing a backlash for his breaching of Level 4 quarantine rules. Recently he had been pressured to resign, as over 2,000 New Zealanders signed a petition calling for him to be sacked.

sputniknews (2020-07-01). As New COVID-19 Cases Spike 82% in US, Officials Beg Americans to Stay Home for July 4 Holiday. sputniknews.com On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist. She's on the faculty at the Milken School of Public Health at George Washington University and has a telemedicine practice called Ask Dr. Yola.

sputniknews (2020-07-01). Apple to Temporarily Close 30 More US Stores as Coronavirus Cases Continue to Surge. sputniknews.com Recent surges in COVID-19 coronavirus cases have forced several southern and western US states to pause reopening plans. The country's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has warned that infections could rise to 100,000 new daily cases if the outbreak is not quickly contained.