(2020-10-17). [Global Health Metrics] Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990—2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and development investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identi…
(2020-10-17). [Viewpoint] Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countries, from 1990 to 2019. Because GBD is highly standardised and comprehensive, spanning both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, and uses a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of hierarchical disease and injury causes, the study provides a powerful basis for de…
(2020-10-17). [Global Health Metrics] Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990—2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com Overall, the record for reducing exposure to harmful risks over the past three decades is poor. Success with reducing smoking and lead exposure through regulatory policy might point the way for a stronger role for public policy on other risks in addition to continued efforts to provide information on risk factor harm to the general public.
(2020-10-17). [Editorial] Global health: time for radical change? thelancet.com What strategies should governments adopt to improve the health of their citizens? Amid the COVID-19 syndemic it would be easy to focus attention on global health security—at a minimum, strong public health and health-care systems. WHO has based its global health strategy on three pillars: universal health coverage, health emergencies, and better health and wellbeing. The indispensable elements of robust public health and health care are well known and endlessly rehearsed—a capable health workforce; effective, safe, and high-quality service delivery; health information systems; access to essential medi…
(2020-10-17). [Global Health Metrics] Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950—2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com Over the past 20 years, fertility rates have been dropping steadily and life expectancy has been increasing, with few exceptions. Much of this change follows historical patterns linking social and economic determinants, such as those captured by the GBD Socio-demographic Index, with demographic outcomes. More recently, several countries have experienced a combination of low fertility and stagnating improvement in mortality rates, pushing more populations into the late stages of the demographic transition.
(2020-10-16). Headlines for October 16, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Hospitalizations on the Rise Across U.S. as Confirmed Cases Hit 8 Million, French Police Raid Homes of Government Officials in Probe of Failed Coronavirus Response, WHO Finds Remdesivir Fails to Prevent COVID-19 Deaths, World Health Organization Warns Many Will Have to Wait Until 2022 for Vaccine, Senate on Track to Confirm Far-Right Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 26, Joe Biden Defends 1994 Crime Bill and Calls for More Police Funding, President Trump Refuses to Disavow Far-Right Anti-Semitic QAnon Conspiracy Theory, Trump Celebrates Apparent Extrajudicial Killing by U.S. Marshals Carryi…
(2020-10-16). Preserving Roe: West Virginia Mom Tells Abortion Story in Heartfelt Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett. democracynow.org 
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights. "If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be a fifth vote to eviscerate the important protections that have been afforded by Roe v. Wade," says Kristen Clarke, president…
(2020-10-16). Deeply Troubling: Kristen Clarke on How Rush to Confirm Barrett Endangers Voting & Civil Rights. democracynow.org 
The Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett ended Thursday with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee scheduling a vote on her nomination for October 22, with a full Senate vote to follow shortly thereafter — less than two weeks before the presidential election, in which the Supreme Court could play a decisive role. The right-wing judge's confirmation looks all but assured, after four rushed days of questioning in which Barrett refused to state her position on abortion rights, gay marriage, the Affordable Care Act, voting rights, climate change, and even if…
(2020-10-16). Trump's Labor Dept. probes Microsoft in search of 'reverse racism' in hiring. peoplesworld.org 
In the eyes of the Trump administration, workers, their families, their health, and their safety are not worth defending. Workers are expendable cogs in the vast capitalist machine. They serve only one purpose: background actors for the various television ads portraying Trump's failures as victories as he aims to win (steal) re-election. The U.S. Dept. …
(2020-10-16). Why Pray for the Renewed Health of a Tyrant Who will Merely Continue to Lie and Harm People? counterpunch.org 
Full disclosure: I am a non-sectarian humanist who does not engage in personal prayer. Still, as a hospital chaplain for almost 25 years, I prayed daily with patients, aware and appreciative of their particular Christian orientation and the important role of prayer in affirming, sustaining and comforting them and their loved ones. And recently, in
(2020-10-16). Election 2020: Trump and the 1% vs. the rest of us. peoplesworld.org 
White nationalism. Police killings of innocent unarmed Blacks. A mass crusade for economic, social, and racial justice. The coronavirus pandemic. The worst depression since the Great Depression, with the GOP-run Senate's refusal for the last six months to help the 26 million people without jobs. A big GOP threat to everyone's health care coverage. Lack …
(2020-10-16). How Trust in a Covid Vaccine Eroded. counterpunch.org 
The Trump regime has managed to scare most Americans off taking a covid vaccine, by convincing them it politicized the science to rush it to market. People have concluded it may not be safe. So much for Operation Warp Speed. It turned into Operation Warp Distrust. So what if it provides 300 million vaccine doses by early 2021 — if few people take it, that's a waste of time and effort.
(2020-10-16). Biden won't rule out MANDATORY Covid-19 vaccination, but admits that enforcement would be nearly impossible. rt.com 
Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden said he might make a Covid-19 vaccine mandatory, depending on the "nature" of the drug, but then admitted that such a mandate probably couldn't be fully enforced. | Speaking on Thursday night at a town hall event hosted by ABC News, Biden said his decision on whether to make a Covid-19 vaccine compulsory for all Americans would depend on the "state" and "nature" of the vaccine, including whether it's seen as something that would positively affect 85 percent of the public or as a "golden key" to ending the pandemic. | Biden says you can't mandate masks and a COVID vacci…
(2020-10-16). 'Unethical & illegal': CDC warns against mandatory virus testing in K-12 schools, says parents must decide on 'voluntary basis'. rt.com 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that all coronavirus screening in public schools must be "voluntary," warning that compulsory testing is a violation of both ethics and the law. | In a new set of
(2020-10-16). Medical Doctors Seek Social and Political Solutions for COVID 19 Crisis. counterpunch.org 
It didn't seem to fit. The website of the Colombian Communist Party on October 5 published a medical doctor's reflections on recharacterizing a disease. Félix León Martínez MD quoted extensively from an editorial appearing in the famous British medical journal Lancet. He and Lancet editor Richard Horton MD claim that COVID 19 is not a
(2020-10-16). West Virginia Mom Tells Her Abortion Story in Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett. truthout.org The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights. "If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be a…
(2020-10-16). Barrett Is Poised to Become the Most Radical Right-Wing Member of Supreme Court. truthout.org During her Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Amy Coney Barrett refused to say that voter intimidation is illegal, that armed poll watchers are intimidating, that voter discrimination exists, whether the president could deny someone the right to vote based on race or that Congress has a constitutional duty to protect the right to vote. | She refused to affirm that Medicare is constitutional; that married couples should not lose their right to contrace…
(2020-10-16). Coronavirus: The Trojan Vaccine. A Challenge to Health, and Freedom. globalresearch.ca " A vaccine with those reaction rates could cause grave injuries in 1.5 billion humans if administered to "every person on earth". That is the threshold that Gates has established for ending the global lockdown." | . | . | — Robert …
(2020-10-16). WHO Europe Director Says Governments Should Stop Enforcing Lockdowns. globalresearch.ca The World Health Organization's Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge says governments should stop enforcing lockdowns, unless as a "last resort," because the impact on other areas of health and mental well-being is more damaging. | In an interview with Euro …
(2020-10-16). Smart Ass Cripple: Trump's Contempt for the Disabled. progressive.org One of the first things Trump and the Republicans tried doing to screw disabled people was obliterate the Affordable Care Act.
(2020-10-16). Unemployment insurance claims up more than 50,000 in one week. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, October 15, the U.S. Department of Labor reported the biggest one week increase in new claims for unemployment insurance since late July. The latest report for the week ending October 10 saw 898,000 new claims for regular state unemployment insurance, up 53,000 from the week before. | The broadest measure of unemployment insurance – which includes those actually being paid under the regular state UI, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the state Extended Benefits and the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – fell by 215,000 for the week ending Septembe…
(2020-10-16). Trump administration tipped off wealthy investors about coronavirus while it downplayed threat in public. wsws.org The revelations reveal the overriding concern of the US government was the protection of the financial aristocracy at the expense of the health and safety of the population.
(2020-10-16). Global surge in COVID-19 cases as governments abandon efforts to contain the pandemic. wsws.org The policy of "herd immunity," effectively allowing a killer disease to run rampant, threatens to overwhelm hospitals and lead to a rising tide of deaths and suffering.
(2020-10-16). Health workers protest in France amid new COVID-19 spike. peoplesdispatch.org In the wake of a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases, a state of health emergency has been declared in Paris. Health workers have demanded increased workforce and resources to fight the pandemic…
(2020-10-16). Waiting for a Vaccine and the Collaborative Research Alternative. cepr.net It seems increasingly likely that China will begin providing vaccines to its own people, as well as those in some other countries, by December, and possibly as early as next month. The prospect of a vaccine being available that soon has to look good to people here, now that the Trump administration's pandemic control efforts …
(2020-10-16). Behavior and body in the sights of capital. indybay.org The proclamation of states of emergency in the spring of 2020, even if not in all countries, helped to consolidate a state crisis management system that overturned constitutions and now completely bypassed democratic decision-making processes. In the name of public health… the measures were presented as without alternative and divergent expert opinions were ignored or defamed.
(2020-10-16). Trump Admin Issues CDC Eviction Moratorium Guidance to Benefit Landlords over Renters. indybay.org Change's To Coronavirus Covid-19 CDC Eviction Moratorium:…
(2020-10-16). Aaron Steichen Murder Inquiry. indybay.org Mandated reporters and first responders repeatedly and willfully fail to provide emergency mental health intervention for Aaron's schizophrenic brother, Jacob. The end result is the death of a loved one after a 5 week escalation spanning a speculated 8 calls to authorities.
(2020-10-16). Effectiveness of a novel mobile health (Peek) and education intervention on spectacle wear amongst children in India: Results from a randomized superiority trial in India. thelancet.com Spectacle wear was similar in both arms of the trial, one explanation being that health education for parents was not fully received. Health education messages to create behaviour change need to be targeted at the recipient and influencers in an appropriate, acceptable and accessible medium.
(2020-10-16). Imperial agree vaccine research and education collaboration with Indonesia. imperial.ac.uk Imperial has agreed a pioneering research and education collaboration with Indonesia to advance vaccine development and help tackle COVID-19.
(2020-10-15). Herd Immunity: Is It a More Compassionate Approach or Will It Lead to Death or Illness for Millions? democracynow.org 
As coronavirus cases increase across much of the United States, the Trump administration has reportedly adopted a policy of deliberately letting the virus infect much of the U.S. population in order to attain "herd immunity" — despite warnings from the World Health Organization against such an approach. We host a debate on the contentious issue of herd immunity and how best to confront the virus with two Harvard medical experts: epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, a professor of medicine at Harvard University and one of the lead signatories of the controversial Great Barrington Declaration arguing for an easin…
(2020-10-15). Venezuela Starts Clinical Trials of Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro informed his nation that 2,000 volunteers are already participating in the clinical trials of Sputnik, the Russian COVID-19 vaccine. | RELATED: | "The Russian vaccine is here and the tests have already begun… In addition, thousands of Chinese vaccines will come to the country," Maduro said during a program broadcast by Venezolana de Television on Wednesday. | In the first half of 2…
(2020-10-15). Venezuela's Maduro Vows to Train More Doctors as Covid Numbers Recede. venezuelanalysis.com A Chinese Covid-19 vaccine will soon arrive in the nation for clinical trials.
(2020-10-15). To Oppose Trump Politicizing of Covid-19, DC Rally to Demand "People's Vaccine" Be Free and Accessible to All. commondreams.org "Our best chance of staying safe is to ensure a Covid-19 vaccine is available for all as a common good." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-15). Gulf states using coronavirus pandemic to crackdown on dissent: Amnesty. middleeasteye.net 
Gulf states using coronavirus pandemic to crackdown on dissent: Amnesty | Rights group accuses Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman of suppressing expression on social media | Thu, 10/15/2020 – 22: 08 | Amnesty says social media restrictions imposed by Gulf states not necessary to protect public health (AFP/File photo) | Gulf states are using the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext to crack down on free s…
(2020-10-15). How the Christian Right Won the Culture Wars. counterpunch.org 
The likely appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court may mark the end of this round of the culture wars. For half-a-century, the U.S. has been a battleground over "moral" and sexual values. Key issues like abortion, health care (i.e., the ADA), gay rights and the meaning of "family" have been contested. With Barrett's appointment,
(2020-10-15). EU Commission chief von der Leyen leaves Brussels summit for 2nd Covid quarantine in a month. rt.com 
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, left the EU summit in Brussels suddenly on Thursday, after it transpired a member of her office had tested positive for the virus. | The Commission chief left the summit less than an hour after it began, saying she was going into quarantine, in line with coronavirus health rules. | "I have just been informed that a member of my front office has tested positive to Covid-19 this morning. I, myself, have tested negative," she tweeted. "However, as a precaution, I am immediately leaving the European Council to go into self-isolation." | This is the se…
(2020-10-15). Scientists in Crimea present potential Covid-19 vaccine inhaled through the nose, hoping to offer alternative to injected formulas. rt.com 
Virologists from Russia's Crimean Federal University claim to have developed an alternative Covid-19 vaccine, using DNA, which can be inhaled through the nose. They are now want to launch trials, if they can secure funding. | Vladimir Oberemok, the head of the university's DNA drugs lab, explained to Moscow news agency Interfax that the vaccine consists of a single fragment of genetic code, which carries an activator of immunity to Covid-19, as well as a small portion of the virus' genome. When inside the patient, the vaccine is identified by the human body, and it begins to produce antibodies. | The vaccine h…
(2020-10-15). Lockdowns should be LAST RESORT, but masks & social distancing could save 300K lives across continent, WHO European director says. rt.com 
The European director of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against using lockdowns to combat the novel coronavirus, arguing the policy is so bad for public health, it should be used only when "absolutely necessary." | During a Thursday briefing, Hans Kluge, European director of the WHO, urged governments to enact "proportional" responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He stressed that authorities should be cautious when it came to heavy-handed policies such as lockdowns. While there was certainly cause for "concern," with cases having surged in several European countries that previously appeared to hav…
(2020-10-15). Amy Coney Barrett Is Not Pro-Life. progressive.org Trump's Supreme Court nominee has no regard for Americans protected by the Affordable Care Act.
(2020-10-15). Former Chilean Health Minister charged with falsifying COVID-19 figures. wsws.org The ultra-right government of billionaire President Piñera criminally mishandled the pandemic, inflicting suffering upon the most oppressed layers of the population.
(2020-10-15). Health workers across Delhi strike against unpaid wages. peoplesdispatch.org Protests have been breaking out in various hospitals in New Delhi, India. Health workers of various hospitals across the city are going on indefinite strikes because of unpaid salaries.
(2020-10-15). Head of Oxford University Vaccine Team Says Face Masks, Social Distancing Will Continue Until Next Summer. globalresearch.ca The leader of the coronavirus vaccine team at Oxford University Professor Andrew Pollard said that face masks and social distancing rules are not going …
(2020-10-15). Africa Battles COVID-19 Pandemic Effectively. globalresearch.ca During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic there was much concern about the impact the virus would have on the African continent. | Predictions focused on the underdeveloped healthcare, transportation and educational sectors of the African Union (AU) member-states stemming …
(2020-10-15). WHO: Young People Might Get a Vaccine by 2022. telesurenglish.net World Health Organization ¥s Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan explained on Thursday that young people wouldn't be able to get a vaccine until 2022 as front line workers and people at higher risk are the priority. | RELATED: | "There will be a lot of guidance coming out, but I think an average person, a healthy young person, might have to wait until 2022 to get a vaccine," the official said. | "Most people agree, it's starting wit…
(2020-10-15). At the Polls, Episode 5: Why is Voting so Inaccessible to People with Disabilities? aclu.org Voters with disabilities make up the largest minority voting bloc in the country, but too often, voting is inaccessible. It's a bigger problem than it may seem: One in four American adults has a disability and 45 percent have a chronic illness, including health conditions that impact their ability to vote safely during a global pandemic. , , In this week's episode of
(2020-10-15). COVID-19 rise in Europe a great concern, says WHO regional chief. news.un.org COVID-19 is now the fifth leading cause of death in Europe, where nearly 700,000 cases were reported this week: the highest weekly incidence since the pandemic began in March, the regional head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) told journalists on Thursday.
(2020-10-15). Social protection coverage in Asia and the Pacific 'riddled with gaps'. news.un.org More than half the population of the vast Asia and Pacific region lack any social protection coverage, leaving populations vulnerable to ill-health, poverty, inequality and social exclusion, a new UN report has found.
(2020-10-15). Workers Tried To Blow The Whistle On COVID19 Hazards. popularresistance.org As soon as the coronavirus pandemic began, workers across the country flooded federal and state offices with complaints that their employers weren't protecting them from the health threat. The concerns have continued to pour into workplace safety agencies for seven months, totaling nearly 40,000 as of Thursday. | It turns out the allegations have been a flashing warning sign all along, according to a new working paper published by the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. The analysis of data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows that a rise in workers' safety complaints ha…
(2020-10-15). The effects of prenatal cigarette and e-cigarette exposure on infant neurobehaviour: A comparison to a control group. thelancet.com To our knowledge, this is the first research study assessing a neurological outcome as a result of e-cigarette exposure. Findings of this have potentially important implications for public health policies regarding the safety and use of e-cigarettes throughout pregnancy.