Daily Archives: October 10, 2020

2020-10-10: News Headlines

Philippe Charlier, Leandro Varison (2020-10-10). [Correspondence] Is COVID-19 being used as a weapon against Indigenous Peoples in Brazil? thelancet.com To corroborate the Editors'1 appeal for Indigenous Peoples' right to self-determination as fundamental to ensure their health, we wish to draw attention to the dire situation faced by Indigenous populations in the Amazon, and mainly in Brazil.

Alice Blukacz, Baltica Cabieses (2020-10-10). [Correspondence] COVID-19: leaving no one behind in Latin America. thelancet.com The pledge to leave no one behind has been essential in making the plight of refugees more visible1 and in highlighting the need to include migrants and refugees in national health-care systems.

news.un (2020-10-10). COVID-19 sparks increased demand for mental health services: UNFPA. news.un.org While the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been staggering, the full impact on health has been far greater, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The agency said fear, isolation, grief, economic stress and shuttered support services have taken a toll on the mental well-being of people around the world.

Labor Video Project (2020-10-10). Striking AHS SEIU 1021 & CNA Workers Hear Alameda Supervisors Promise To Fire AHS Bosses. indybay.org Hundreds of striking SEIU 1021 & CNA AHS workers rallied at the Alameda County Building to protest the union busting tactics of this group that runs the Alameda public health system. Two County supervisors promised to remove them from running the public healthcare system…

Brian Callender, Shirlene Obuobi, M K Czerwiec, Ian Williams (2020-10-10). [Perspectives] COVID-19, comics, and the visual culture of contagion. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic is inescapable. From curtailing our daily social and professional interactions, locking down or physically distancing our communities, and drawing our anxious attention to daily updates of international case and death statistics, the lived experience of the pandemic is at once personal, local, and global. It is also a shared experience that emphasises, through the pandemic's pervasive disruption, the social interactions and behaviours that define our shared world. One cultural response to the disruption and uncertainty during an infectious disease outbreak is the construction of what Priscil…

The Lancet (2020-10-10). [Editorial] Mental health: time to invest in quality. thelancet.com The theme of this year's World Mental Health Day, on Oct 10, is increased investment in mental health. Why invest, and why now? The answer is simple. At the best of times, good mental health is needed for a society to thrive. During a pandemic, good mental health is more important than ever. Without a focus on mental health, any response to COVID-19 will be deficient, reducing individual and societal resilience, and impeding social, economic, and cultural recovery.

Natalie S Shenker, Aleksandra Wesolowska, Johannes B van Goudoever, Sushma Nangia, Daniel Klotz (2020-10-10). [Correspondence] Undermining breastfeeding will not alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com Breastfeeding offers numerous immunological, developmental, and psychological advantages to the infant—mother dyad. The risks posed to infant and maternal health through any loss of support for breastfeeding mean that public health messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic should be careful. As academic leads of human milk banks, we are acutely aware of the importance of understanding the risks posed by novel infectious pathogens in human milk and the mitigation of risk to susceptible infants.

Richard Lane (2020-10-10). [Perspectives] Barbara Stoll: China Medical Board's charismatic new President. thelancet.com "Taking on a new adventure" is how Barbara Stoll views her recent appointment as President of the China Medical Board (CMB), a US-based philanthropic foundation for health development in China and southeast Asia. "I'm incredibly lucky to be given this opportunity, and will try my best to fill the large shoes of outgoing CMB President Lincoln Chen, who has done an extraordinary job over the past 14 years, building partnerships and extending CMB's reach", she says. It was Chen who helped open Stoll's eyes to the wider world of global health, encouraging her to pursue research opportunities in Bangladesh early in he…

Scott M. Alter, Dennis G. Maki, Suzanne LeBlang, Richard D. Shih, Charles H. Hennekens (2020-10-10). [Commentary] The menacing assaults on science, FDA, CDC, and health of the US public. thelancet.com While health authorities sounded early warnings concerning COVID-19 [1], the United States (US) government practised "pandemic politics" and escalated menacing assaults on science, including repeated denials of epidemic principles of mitigation and containment. The first on December 31, 2019 was that the virus would not enter the US. A second on January 20, 2020 following introduction of the first US case from Wuhan, China was that "the virus would not spread." A third on February 26 was that the 15 cases would "go away" when temperatures climbed [2].

Richard Horton (2020-10-10). [Comment] Offline: Reasons for hope. thelancet.com Fatigue. Despair. Misery. Cracks are beginning to appear in our mental resilience. 10 months of this calamity. How much more can we bear? It was always so. When the Bishop of Winchester died of plague in 1626, John Milton issued a searing cry of anguish in his Elegia Tertia. The great poet was just 17 years old, "sad…with no companion, and many sorrows clung to my soul". He sought to commemorate this "grim killing" of a revered literary figure, a "dreadful death, fearsome with her sepulchral torch".

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-10). Iran registers 3,875 new COVID-19 infections, 195 deaths. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 10 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 3,875 COVID-19 infections and 195 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.

Graham Peebles (2020-10-10). Anxiety Mindfulness and the Natural Unity of Life. dissidentvoice.org Depression and anxiety are commonplace in contemporary societies, part of everyday life; celebrities and public figures, British Royalty even, talk openly about their struggles with conditions that were hidden and dismissed just a few years ago. Most of us either suffer from one of these debilitating diseases or know someone who does; for huge numbers …

Staff (2020-10-09). Headlines for October 9, 2020. democracynow.org 13 Charged in Far-Right Terror Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor & Attack State Capitol, Sickened with COVID-19, Trump Rejects Remote Debate and Plans New Rallies, Trump's Erratic Behavior Sparks Fears over His Physical and Mental Health, House Speaker Pelosi Questions Trump's Fitness as Vice President Pence Returns to D.C., North Dakota Hospitals Fill to Capacity as Coronavirus Cases Surge Nationwide, White House Superspreader Event May Have Exposed Thousands to Coronavirus, Whistleblowing Vaccine Specialist Calls Out Trump's "Reckless and Deadly" Misinformation, Trump Received COVID-19 Drugs Developed Using Huma…

Joshua Cho (2020-10-09). Evidence-free 'lab leak' speculation boosts Trump's Xenophobic approach to Coronavirus. mronline.org Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China has been the target of relentless hostile and racist media coverage, depicting the country as a uniquely nefarious source of disease (FAIR.org, 3/24/20, 5/7/20).

ACLU (2020-10-09). Mental Health Treatment is on the Ballot: Cast an Informed Vote for Montana Governor. aclu.org More than 90 percent of Montanans with substance use disorders

sputniknews (2020-10-09). 'Data Speaks': Dr Fauci Calls Supreme Court Nomination Event at White House COVID-19 'Superspreader'. sputniknews.com On 2 October, US President Donald Trump announced that just a few days following a White House event where the president revealed his Supreme Court nominee, he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had contracted the coronavirus disease. At least 37 White House staffers and "other contacts" have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

Timothy Alexander Guzman (2020-10-09). Video: "Contact Tracing", A Certified Contact Tracer Exposes the Truth. globalresearch.ca On July 2nd, 2008, former US President Barack Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd in Colorado Springs, Colorado about expanding a "civilian national security force" to meet national security goals in areas from education, healthcare to saving the environment. | He …

Yanis Iqbal (2020-10-09). Colombia Covid Lockdown: Collapse of Healthcare, Social Crisis, Poverty. globalresearch.ca As the confirmed Coronavirus cases in Colombia

WSWS (2020-10-09). One-day nationwide strike against South African ANC government. wsws.org The mass walkout is part of a broader wave of struggles by workers in recent months that have seen repeated actions by healthcare workers, municipal workers, bus drivers, teachers and workers in meat processing plants, steel works and warehouses.

Dennis J Bernstein (2020-10-09). Gavin Newsom Just Vetoed a Bill That Would Protect Domestic Workers. progressive.org By spiking the health and safety bill, the California governor has left 300,000 workers in the lurch.

Editor (2020-10-09). Shocking Link Found Between Air Pollution and Alzheimer's. scheerpost.com sanpani / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] Environmental Research has published a new study carried out Lilian Calderón-Garcidueña at the University of Montana and a team of international researchers that sheds light on the possible damage dirty air can have on our brains. The researchers found copious amounts of nanoparticles linked to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's… |

ACLU (2020-10-09). Why Are Police the Wrong Response to Mental Health Crises? aclu.org Over the last months on our podcast, At Liberty, we've explored different conversations on the subject of policing: abolition, violence and accountability, protest, and activism. This week, we dug into a topic that has gained more attention in the wake of Daniel Prude's death in March at the hands of the Rochester Police Department: the startling connection between mental health-related 911 calls and police brutality. , , Studies show that nearly 50 percent of victims of police brutality are living with a disability, predominantly a mental health disability. In many ways, 911 has become the only option for peo…

Prof. Bill Willers (2020-10-09). Evidence that the Face Mask does not Impede Viral Transmission. globalresearch.ca Dr. Redfield: | I made it a point to watch you after seeing Wisconsin's Chief Medical Officer and Epidemiologist, Dr. Ryan Westergaard, "Now the science is in. [Because of] recent studies with large numbers …

news.un (2020-10-09). China joins global effort to ensure COVID vaccine access for all. news.un.org China is among three additional countries to have signed on to a global initiative that aims to ensure fair and equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine once developed, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday.

_____ (2020-10-09). Insulin Copay Caps Fall Short, Fuel Underground Exchanges. popularresistance.org Denver – D.j. Mattern had her Type 1 diabetes under control until COVID's economic upheaval cost her husband his hotel maintenance job and their health coverage. The 42-year-old Denver woman suddenly faced insulin's exorbitant list price — anywhere from $125 to $450 per vial — just as their household income shrank. | She scrounged extra insulin from friends, and her doctor gave her a couple of samples. But as she rationed her supplies, her blood sugar rose so high her glucose monitor couldn't even register a number. In June, she was hospitalized.

_____ (2020-10-09). Pandemic Could Push Up To 150 Million Into 'Extreme Poverty' By 2021. popularresistance.org Amid findings that the combined wealth of the planet's billionaires skyrocketed to $10.2 trillion during the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank warned Wednesday that the public health crisis could cause global extreme poverty to rise for the first time in over two decades and push tens of millions of people into that category by next year. | "Between 88 million and 115 million people could fall back into extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic, with an additional increase of between 23 million and 35 million in 2021, potentially bringing the total number of new people living in extreme poverty to between 11…

Rosita Zakeri, Rebecca Bendayan, Mark Ashworth, Daniel M. Bean, Hiten Dodhia, Stevo Durbaba, Kevin O'Gallagher, Claire Palmer, Vasa Curcin, Elizabeth Aitken, William Bernal, Richard D. Barker, Sam Norton, Martin Gulliford, James T.H. Teo, James Galloway, Richard J.B. Dobson, Ajay M. Shah (2020-10-09). A case-control and cohort study to determine the relationship between ethnic background and severe COVID-19. thelancet.com Black and Mixed ethnicity are independently associated with greater admission risk with COVID-19 and may be risk factors for development of severe disease, but do not affect in-hospital mortality risk. Comorbidities and socioeconomic factors only partly account for this and additional ethnicity-related factors may play a large role. The impact of COVID-19 may be different in Asians.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-09). Iran COVID-19 update: 210 deaths, 4,142 cases in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 09 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 4,142 COVID-19 infections and 210 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-09). Imperial scientists help artists re-imagine 'Albertopolis'. imperial.ac.uk The Imperial led Great Exhibition Road Festival, and Kensington & Chelsea Art Week have launched a new exhibition to mark World Mental Health Day…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-09). Tackling mental health and non-communicable disease to build a healthier society. imperial.ac.uk Imperial researchers are helping policymakers and industry build a healthier society with the support of the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-09). Imperial scientists inspire artists re-imaginings of 'Albertopolis'. imperial.ac.uk The Imperial led Great Exhibition Road Festival, and Kensington & Chelsea Art Week have launched a new exhibition to mark World Mental Health Day…

Staff (2020-10-09). Trump Plans to Raid Medicare to Pay for Drug Discount Cards Bearing His Name. truthout.org Less than a month away from the November election, Trump administration officials are

Staff (2020-10-09). One-Third of Americans Can't Pay Their Bills as Stimulus Talks Stall. truthout.org Emily Brockman is a recently unemployed mother, but that didn't stop her landlord from attempting to kick Brockman and her 5-month-old child out of their home in Lexington, Kentucky. Like millions of people across the United States, Brockman is struggling to pay rent and bills as talks over pandemic relief stall on Capitol Hill and stimulus checks fail to reach society's most vulnerable. Despite a "moratorium" on evictions put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-10-09). Omnibus Collisions: Coronavirus Policing and Overreach in Victoria. dissidentvoice.org In her September 17 speech to parliament, the Attorney General of the Australian state of Victoria, Jill Hennessy, explained various provisions of the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill. Of most interest was the proposal that would dramatically inflate the scope of public health power in ostensibly preventing a spread of COVID-19. …

Dana Brown (2020-10-09). Primary Health Care Is in Critical Condition. Making Primary Care Public Will Restore Its Health—and Protect Ours. commondreams.org In the struggle to survive this pandemic and to begin to knit together a society that has been increasingly divided in order to serve the needs of the market, we can ill afford to allow health inequities to get even worse. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-10-09). 'Blatant Hypocrisy': Trump Heralds Covid-19 Drugs He Took Made Possible by Fetal Cell Research His GOP Actively Works to Ban. commondreams.org The use of fetal cells "has led to immense medical breakthroughs, including the development of vaccines for polio, measles, and rubella," and critical understanding of other diseases, said one leading researcher. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Media Lens (2020-10-08). 'None of It Reported': How Corporate Media Buried the Assange Trial. globalresearch.ca One of the most imposing features of state-corporate propaganda is its incessant, repetitive nature. Over and over again, the 'mainstream' media have to convince the public that 'our' government prioritises the health, welfare and livelihoods of the general population, rather …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-10-08). What is Covid-19, SARS-2. How is it Tested? How is It Measured? The Fear Campaign Has No Scientific Basis. globalresearch.ca The data and concepts have been manipulated with a view to sustaining the fear campaign. The estimates are meaningless. The figures have been hyped to justify the closure of the national economy. Covid-19 is a public health concern but it is NOT a dangerous virus.

Staff (2020-10-08). Headlines for October 8, 2020. democracynow.org Kamala Harris and Mike Pence Face Off in VP Debate Separated by Plexiglass Barriers, Contagious with COVID-19, President Trump Returns to Oval Office, Trump Calls COVID-19 Diagnosis a "Blessing from God", Top Security Official "Gravely Ill" with COVID-19 as White House Coronavirus Cluster Grows to 34, White House Quietly Told Gold Star Families They May Have Been Exposed to Coronavirus, Wisconsin Restricts Indoor Gatherings Amid Record Spike in Coronavirus Cases, New England Journal of Medicine Calls on Voters to Vote Against Trump in First-Ever Endorsement, Ex-CDC Director Calls on Robert Redfield to Expose "Col…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-10-08). Former CDC head: Trump policy resulted in coronavirus 'slaughter'. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The former head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. William Foege, is telling the current CDC chief, Dr. Robert Redfield, to resign in protest over the GOP Trump regime's politicization of the agency on how to combat the coronavirus pandemic—and tell the country why in an open letter to CDC's workers. …

Whitney Webb (2020-10-08). Secretive HHS AI Platform to Predict US Covid-19 Outbreaks Weeks in Advance. thealtworld.com A new AI-powered module known as HHS Vision has been added to the controversial and secretive HHS Protect system for amassing data related to Covid-19. By year's end, this opaque, yet increasingly influential, system is set to predict Covid-19 outbreaks without traditional testing. | Two weeks ago, on September 24, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Bianca Valle (2020-10-08). 'Poder Popular' builds power with Queens, NY, working class. liberationnews.org PSL members safely provide free direct services to the people of Queens, including: dance and self- defense classes, healthy food, bags of school supplies, personal protective equipment, and also connect participants to political struggles such as the recent fight against unsafe school reopenings.

RT (2020-10-08). British health officials voice concerns as UK's Covid cases SURGE to over 17,500 in ONE DAY. rt.com The UK has recorded 17,540 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The new figure is an increase of 3,300 above those reported on Wednesday, and smashes the country's previous record for cases registered in a single day. | A further 77 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were also reported by UK health officials on Thursday. The latest data means that a total of 561,815 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK since the start of the pandemic, and 42,592 have died within 28 days of a test. | The alarming numbers come just days after it was revealed that almost 16,000 cases of the virus had be…

RT (2020-10-08). 'Sputnik V' worthy of Nobel Prize? Two Russian MPs think developers of world's first Covid-19 vaccine should be recognised in 2021. rt.com The developers of Russia's pioneering vaccine against coronavirus should be nominated for the 2021 Nobel Prize in Science, according to two Russian politicians. Named Sputnik V, it is the first to be registered in the world. | The creators of the formula, from Moscow's Gamaleya Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, were the first to complete a vaccine against the virus that has devastated the globe, and continues to have a dramatic effect on the world economy. Parliamentarian Leonid Ogul believes the discovery will benefit everyone around the world, and they should therefore be rewarded. | "The invention…

WSWS (2020-10-08). Appalachian State University faculty and students demand action after death of healthy student from COVID-19. wsws.org Following the death of 19-year-old Chad Dorrill, students and professors have spoken out against the poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic by the university's administration.

Thomas Magstadt (2020-10-08). An infected president, a disease of the heart, an imperiled republic. nationofchange.org It's a supreme irony that President Trump has chosen to call Covid-19 "the China virus".

news.un (2020-10-08). Universal Health Coverage 'more urgent than ever' — UN chief. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that "our health systems are inadequate", the UN chief told a ministerial meeting on Thursday, citing weak structures and unequal access to healthcare as "major reasons" why the coronavirus has killed one million people and infected more than 30 times that, globally.

Labor Video Project (2020-10-08). SEIU1021 AHS Highland Hospital Workers Strike for PPE/To Stop Contracting Out & Privatization. indybay.org Over 3500 workers from SEIU 1021 and CNA struck the Alameda Heath System on October 7, 2020. This agency set up by the Alameda Board Of Supervisors has been attacking health and safety conditions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, contracting out and union busting. Workers discussed the destruction of the healthcare system and demanded that this company be removed from management of public health in Alameda County.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-08). COVID-19 infects 4,392, kills 239 people in Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 08 (MNA) — The daily count of COVID-19 infections in Iran reached 4,392 on Thursday, bringing the total cases to 488,236, according to the Health Ministry.

Staff (2020-10-08). Bernie Sanders Says Medicare Should Be Expanded Out of an "Abundance of Caution" truthout.org Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday said the U.S. federal government should expand Medicare to everyone in the nation "out of an abundance of caution" — repurposing a phrase White House officials