(2020-10-21). 'Exhausted, angry and worried sick!': French health workers protest. mronline.org 
French health and social care workers stage mass protests for better staffing, pay and conditions as a second wave of COVID-19 engulfs the country, writes Susan Ram…
(2020-10-21). Covid-19 patients FIVE TIMES more likely to die in hospital than those with flu, are at higher risk for 17 complications — CDC. rt.com 
The risk of dying from the coronavirus is five times higher than that of seasonal flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report, based on the records of 9,000 hospital patients. | "Compared with patients with influenza, those with COVID-19 had a more than five times higher risk for in-hospital death and approximately double the ICU admission risk and hospital length of stay, and were at higher risk for 17 acute respiratory, cardiovascular, hematologic, neurologic, renal and other complications," the CDC said in a new report released on Tuesday. | The study found that while 21 percent…
(2020-10-21). Masks Aren't Helpful in Beating COVID-19: Europe's Top Health Officials. globalresearch.ca This article was first crossposted in August. | Denmark boasts one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world. As of August 4, the Danes have suffered 616 COVID-19 deaths, That's less
(2020-10-21). Corona vaccine development – they prefer not to ask about risks and side effects. indybay.org Thousands or even millions could be vaccinated on the basis of "emergency approval." We will probably have to live with the virus. The current strategy of damaging measures until a vaccine is available is a bumpy path with incalculable risks, side effects and already visible collateral damage. Jens Berger and Tobias Riegel are German journalists who publish regularly on nachdenkseiten.de.
(2020-10-21). Coronavirus cases climb toward a new peak in Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (MNA) — The coronavirus outbreak has been worsening in Iran, as the number of infections, hospitalizations and fatalities due to the respiratory disease has been increasing in the past days.
(2020-10-21). Imperial and TUM launch joint PhD programme in AI, robotics and healthcare. imperial.ac.uk Imperial and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have launched a joint PhD programme that will initially focus on AI, robotics and healthcare.
(2020-10-21). Podcast: Pandemic mental health, hidden strengths and severe morning sickness. imperial.ac.uk In this edition: Exploring pandemic mental health, comparing spaceflight and frontline NHS work, and linking severe morning sickness with depression.
(2020-10-21). Medical staff struggle against coronavirus in Iran. yenisafak.com Healthcare workers in Iran are struggling against the novel coronavirus as the country has seen a rising trend in infections and deaths in October. | A total of 164 Iranian medical personnel have died due to COVID-19, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki said in a statement on Aug.22. | Since late August, a large number of health workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, while many others lost their lives due to the pandemic. | In Iran, especially in the capital Tehran, hospitals allocated to COVID-19 patients have reached their maximum capacity. Therefore, newly diagnosed patients are treated at their ho…
(2020-10-21). The Pandemic Sent Americans' Health Care Coverage Into Free Fall. thenation.com The Pandemic Sent Americans' Health Care Coverage Into Free Fall…
(2020-10-20). Trump Administration Is Paying Big Pharma Billions in Rush for Vaccine. zcomm.org His vaccine campaign is named "Operation Warp Speed" and there is a real danger that its speed will warp the results.
(2020-10-20). Amy Coney Barrett, Constitutional Precedent, and the Problem of Originalism. counterpunch.org 
Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett is a threat to many constitutional precedents, including Roe v. Wade (abortion rights), National Federation of Business v. Sebelius, (Obamacare), and Obergefell v. Hodges (marriage equality). It may not simply be her ideology or pre-judged opinions that pose the problem, it is her constitutional interpretive method of Originalism that is the issue.
(2020-10-20). Spanish government eyes Covid-19 curfews, but needs opposition backing to extend state of alarm. rt.com 
The Spanish government is considering new curfews and other measures in a bid to curb rising Covid-19 infections as the country battles a second wave, with Health Minister Salvador Illa warning that "very tough weeks are coming." | Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Illa stressed that another state of alarm would need to be enacted for his government to bring in curfews across Spain, with a particular focus on the Community of Madrid. The region has been the worst affected in the country, with 281,388 confirmed Covid-19 cases as of Monday. | The Community of Madrid's President Isabel Díaz Ayuso…
(2020-10-20). Violence continues to threaten Afghan peace process. thecanary.co 2020 marked the beginning of what some have hailed as "historic" peace talks between Afghanistan's US-backed government and the Taliban. But despite the Qatar based negotiations, this week has seen renewed violence in the country. | The US special envoy to Afghanistan has warned that "distressingly high" levels of violence threaten to derail ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. | Zalmay Khalilzad's comments come as days of renewed fighting have plagued Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, a long-time Taliban stronghold. The US launched airstrikes in Helmand Province on 12 October…
(2020-10-20). Pandemic Accelerates the Threat of Global Hunger. jamanetwork.com Acute hunger is expected to affect 270 million people worldwide by this year's end—an 82% increase since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic began, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
(2020-10-20). Youth e-Cigarette Use Drops, More Warnings Issued. jamanetwork.com Youth e-cigarette use fell by a third after 2 years of increases, according to the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by researchers at the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(2020-10-20). Effect of Vericiguat on Quality of Life in Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF). jamanetwork.com This randomized trial compares the effect of the oral soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator vericiguat (15 vs 10 mg/d) vs placebo on change in disease-specific physical function at 24 weeks among patients with HFpEF.
(2020-10-20). US health insurance companies see profits soar while mounting medical bills bankrupt Americans. wsws.org Insurance companies saw their profit margins soar during the first half of this year, while millions of American families are being sent into bankruptcy under the weight of massive medical debts during the coronavirus pandemic.
(2020-10-20). $18 Billion COVID Vaccine Gold Rush Threatens Horseshoe Crabs, Ocean Ecosystem. globalresearch.ca The annual spring congregation of egg-laden horseshoe crabs on the east coast provide a vital food source for annual migrations of millions of shore birds. | The
(2020-10-20). Will 'Nones' Bring a Progressive Future? counterpunch.org Someday, the coronavirus tragedy will be gone, wiped out by scientific vaccines. And Donald Trump will be just an unpleasant memory, an absurd reminder of what can happen when bigotry contaminates democracy. This part of the 21st century will be remembered chiefly, I predict, as the era when supernatural religion died among intelligent western people. I think it
(2020-10-20). New York plastic bag ban to go into effect starting this week. nationofchange.org "New York's bag ban has already improved New York's health by cutting down on plastic pollution."
(2020-10-20). Patient Information: Palliative Care for Persons Living With Parkinson Disease. jamanetwork.com This JAMA Patient Page explains palliative care and its role in the care of people living with Parkinson disease.
(2020-10-20). New Insights on COVID-19's Hyperinflammation in Children. jamanetwork.com A rare, life-threatening hyperinflammatory syndrome that some children develop after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is distinct from Kawasaki disease, according to a collaboration among European scientists.
(2020-10-20). Medical Care of Adults With Down Syndrome—A Clinical Guideline. jamanetwork.com This combination evidence-based and consensus clinical guideline presents recommendations and statements of good practice for the medical care of adults with Down syndrome, including screening, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral health conditions, dementia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis, atlantoaxial instability, hypothyroidism, and celiac disease.
(2020-10-20). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Health care sector worker in Buenos Aires, Argentina march to the city government offices to press demands for nurses to attain permanent professional status, emergency raises and additional staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2020-10-20). What Are the Pharmaceutical Industry's Connections to Schools of Public Health? globalresearch.ca Dr. Eric Rubin, an adjunct professor at Harvard's
(2020-10-20). UK COVID-19 "alert" system overseen by UK spy chiefs. wsws.org The decision to invest in this secretive body, rather than the National Health Service, is part of the policy of herd immunity, while using the pandemic to restructure economic and social relations and strengthen the state apparatus.
(2020-10-20). Doxycycline and Growth of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms—Reply. jamanetwork.com In Reply Dr Sterpetti's concerns about statins and aspirin were considered as we designed and performed the Non-Invasive Treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Clinical Trial (N-TA3CT). As a matter of medical practice, the preponderance of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms in the US, Canada, and Europe can be expected to be prescribed aspirin or statins because of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; our findings do not support adding doxycycline to their regimens. In our clinical trial, a secondary interest was in whether doxycycline, compared with placebo, would reduce systemic levels of MMP-9; it di…
(2020-10-20). Maternal Antenatal Corticosteroid Treatment and Childhood Mental and Behavioral Disorders—Reply. jamanetwork.com In Reply Dr Gyamfi-Bannerman and colleagues stated that our primary outcome was a composite of billing codes and that only a few of the associations for secondary outcomes were statistically significant. In Finland, mandatory codes recorded in nationwide medical registers are International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes, not billing codes. We used any mental or behavioral disorder diagnosis as the primary outcome because the existing data do not allow disorder-specific hypotheses. This outcome also decreases inaccuracy of a specific diagnosis, decreases type I error, and…
(2020-10-20). Shipt Workers Demand Better Pay, Treatment. popularresistance.org Alabama – More than 20 Shipt workers demonstrated in front of the grocery delivery company's headquarters in downtown Birmingham Sunday afternoon. They were there to protest Shipt policies that some of the company's delivery people — known as Shipt Shoppers — say have led to decreased wages during a global pandemic and continue to leave them without health insurance coverage, paid sick time and other benefits. | Demetria Barlow has been a Shipt Shopper since 2016, two years after the company launched in Birmingham and one year before Target purchased the company for $550 million.
(2020-10-20). Iranian COVID-19 vaccine to enter human phase in mid-Nov. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 20 (MNA) — Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that the Iranian coronavirus vaccine has passed animal test and will enter the human test phase in mid-November 2020.
(2020-10-20). Iran Covid-19 update: 322 deaths in past 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 20 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 5,039 new COVID-19 infections and 322 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.
(2020-10-20). US Mortality Data Indicates COVID-19 Death Toll Nearly Double Reported Toll. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The true death toll from COVID-19 likely exceeds 400,000, nearly twice the official tally, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based on an analysis of "excess deaths" in the first eight months of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
(2020-10-20). Seniors Found Prone to 'Brain Fog', Weakness, Emotional Turmoil After Surviving COVID-19. sputniknews.com Many older adults who've become critically ill from the COVID-19 coronavirus describe experiencing "brain fog" – or difficulty stringing together thoughts, problems concentrating and issues with short-term memory – after battling the disease.
(2020-10-20). The US Is Missing a Chance to Tackle Climate Crisis and Pandemic Relief Together. truthout.org The pandemic crisis has exacerbated existing inequalities and has been an abject lesson in what happens when nations don't prepare in advance for catastrophe. It has also led many to draw the comparison between this health crisis and the ongoing climate crisis — and the growing and urgent need to tackle climate change now before it spirals out of control. | The U.S., which continues to lead the world in COVID-19 infections, has taken the opposite approach — rolling back enviro…
(2020-10-20). 300,000 Excess Deaths This Year Suggest COVID Death Rate Is Higher Than Reported. truthout.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Tuesday that hundreds of thousands more Americans died this year than in previous years, likely owing to the coronavirus pandemic. |
(2020-10-20). Medicaid's Public Health Plan Options. jamanetwork.com The democratic nominee for president, former Vice President Joe Biden, has made the availability of a public option (a Medicarelike health plan operated by the federal government) a central component of his health care platform. One goal of this policy is to lower costs for consumers who purchase coverage in health insurance marketplaces. Biden would also increase population coverage by making his public option available at no cost to income-eligible adults in the 12 states that have still not expanded Medicaid as a part of the Affordable Care Act. In the states that have already expanded Medicaid to low-income a…
(2020-10-20). Coronavirus cases in Eurasia up by 7,376. yenisafak.com Coronavirus infections and deaths continued their upward trend across Eurasia and Central Asia on Tuesday.- UkraineUkraine's Health Minister Maksim Stepanov announced 5,469 new cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally on 309,107.The death toll in the country rose to 5,786 as 113 people died from COVID-19, while 3,044 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 126,489, Stepanov said.Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelenskiy met with religious leaders in his country and asked for their support amid the rising number of virus cases.Zelenskiy said that if the number of daily cases reach 9…
(2020-10-20). 'China's potential vaccines show no adverse reaction'. yenisafak.com China claimed on Tuesday that its experimental vaccines for protection against COVID-19 have shown "no adverse reaction." "So far, none of those who have received the 'emergency use' vaccine have shown severe adverse reactions," Zheng Zhongwei, a top official at China's National Health Commission, was quoted as saying by the state-run Global Times newspaper.Pharma giants in many countries have resisted the idea of taking a shortcut in rolling out an antigen for the novel virus.China and Russia, however, have started vaccinating a select group of people with experimental shots, prompting a debate on risks of admin…
(2020-10-20). Iran reports record 5,039 new daily COVID-19 cases. yenisafak.com Iran's health ministry on Tuesday reported 5,039 new coronavirus infections in the previous 24 hours, the highest ever daily tally, pushing the national total to 539,670.Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 322 people had died from the disease in the previous 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 31,034 in Iran, one of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East.
(2020-10-20). India: 20 Muslims cleared of flouting virus rules. yenisafak.com A court in western on India Tuesday acquitted 20 members of a Muslim group who had been charged with violating the nationwide lockdown in April.The members of the Tablighi Jamaat, including 10 from Kyrgyzstan and 10 from Indonesia, were booked in the state of Maharashtra for attempted murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.The police also charged them under laws against spreading diseases and preventing disasters.Ruling in the case, Metropolitan Magistrate RR Khan said: "There was no iota of evidence with prosecution to show any contravention of order by accused persons beyond all shadow of doubt. D…
(2020-10-20). COVID-19 Halts Reproductive Care for Millions of Women. jamanetwork.com Since coronavirus disease 2019 ushered in lockdowns and limited movement, London-based Marie Stopes International reported that roughly 2 million fewer women have received reproductive care services through its programs in 37 countries. The result could be 1.5 million additional unsafe abortions, 900‚ÄØ000 unintended pregnancies, and 3100 additional deaths, according to the nonprofit organization that provides contraception and safe abortion.
(2020-10-20). Epidemiological Evidence: The "Pandemic" is Over. No "Second Wave" will Follow. globalresearch.ca October 2020 | Dr. Bonnie Henry, | British Columbia Provincial Health Officer, | Ministry of Health, | Victoria, BC V8W 3C9 | Dear Dr. Henry, | I am a physician who has been in family medical practice in BC for more than 40 years and …
(2020-10-20). Investing $2 Trillion in US Clean Energy and Infrastructure Could Create Millions of 'Good Jobs,' Analysis Finds. commondreams.org "We don't have to choose between a strong economy or a healthy environment—we can have both," says an EPI data analyst. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-20). Amid Trump's Politicization of FDA, California Joins New York in Vowing to Independently Review Coronavirus Vaccines. commondreams.org California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced that he'll assemble a panel of experts to independently verify that any coronavirus vaccine is suitable for public use. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-20). Proposal by Katie Porter, House Dems Would Fund Mental Health First Responders to Reduce Police Violence. commondreams.org The co-sponsors cited research showing people with mental illnesses are 16 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement officers. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-20). Global Reproductive Health on the Ballot this November. commondreams.org 2020 has the chance to be a historic year for international reproductive rights. (Photo: Tami Chappell/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-19). Burkina Faso 'one step short of famine', warns UN food relief agency. news.un.org Unless access is urgently granted to humanitarian organizations, thousands in the Central Sahel will be "pushed into further destitution", the UN emergency food relief agency warned on Monday.
(2020-10-19). Patients before profits: Connecticut Backus Hospital nurses' strike wins tentative contract. peoplesworld.org 
NORWICH, Conn.—Three days after over 400 unionized nurses at Backus Hospital carried out a two-day strike, a tentative four-year contract was reached with the nurses gaining improvements in staffing levels and wages. The Oct. 13-15 strike was protesting unfair labor practices by Hartford HealthCare bosses, which included intimidating and threatening nurses for union activities and …
(2020-10-19). They love Big Brother? Majority of Russians support using facial recognition cameras to identify those in contact with Covid-19. rt.com 
The majority of Russians are happy to give up their personal data to combat Coronavirus, with over three-quarters supporting the use of facial recognition tech to identify who came in contact with those infected by the disease. | According to a joint study by the Russian Venture Company and the Institute of National Projects, 54 percent of Russians think it is acceptable for the government to collect personal data for issuing passes for freedom to move around. Furthermore, 66 percent of respondents consider it acceptable for the state to collect information about who people have spent time with, in order to id…
(2020-10-19). Gym seeks to dodge Poland's new Covid-19 lockdown by rebranding as 'Church of the Healthy Body'. rt.com 
With the government in Warsaw imposing strict lockdown measures on almost 70 percent of Poland's population, a gym in Krakow has found a way to operate, albeit in a severely limited capacity — by declaring itself a church. | "Since fitness classes cannot function, starting today our club will start hosting religious gatherings of the 'Church of the Healthy Body'," Marta Jamroz, manager of the Atlantic Sports Fitness in Poland's second-largest city, Hard to believe?