Daily Archives: November 3, 2020

2020-11-03: News Headlines

Cooper Feste and Russell Wiley (2020-11-03). Dallas tenants stop an eviction, demand housing rights. liberationnews.org The tenants of Estelle Village apartments are calling for ceased evictions per the CDC moratorium.

MEE and agencies (2020-11-03). Bahrain approves use of experimental Covid-19 vaccine for frontline workers. middleeasteye.net Bahrain approves use of experimental Covid-19 vaccine for frontline workers | Bahrain's health minister said clinical trials showed the Chinese vaccine was 'safe and effective' | Tue, 11/03/2020 – 12: 13 | A volunteer disinfects a bed as Muslim Shia mourners give blood as part of Ashura commemorations, in Alnoaim village, a suburb of the Bahraini capital Manama (AFP) | Bahrain has approved…

_____ (2020-11-03). 'The Coming War On China' — Watch John Pilger's Powerfully Relevant Documentary. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | "The aim of this film is to break a silence: the United States and China may well be on the road to war, and nuclear war is no longer unthinkable," Pilger says in his 2016 documentary The Coming War on China, which "In a few years China has become the world's second-biggest economic power," Pilger's introduction continues. "The United States is the world's biggest military power, with bases and missiles and ships covering ever…

Jeremy Loffredo (2020-11-03). Same Story, Different Decade: How WHO's Definition of a Global Pandemic Benefits Big Pharma. globalresearch.ca When WHO broadened its definition of global pandemic in 2009, H1N1 vaccine makers profited at taxpayers' expense. COVID vaccine makers will likely reap even more benefits. | *** | In the years leading up to 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) worked …

Campbell TL. (2020-11-03). Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences—Reply. jamanetwork.com In Reply I agree with Dr Harris and with Dr Gordon and colleagues that screening for ACEs may reduce child abuse, improve the outcome of physical and mental disorders, and result in better public health, but this has yet to be proven. Where we primarily disagree is whether there are interventions that have been proven to improve health outcomes for children and adults who report high levels of ACEs on screening.

Meredith J, High KP, Freischlag J. (2020-11-03). Preserving Elective Surgeries in the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future. jamanetwork.com This Viewpoint describes the health burden imposed on patients and the logistical and financial burdens posed to health systems by the temporary halting of elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposes organizational and policy responses to maintain standards of quality and safety while sustaining the surgical services patients need.

Shachar C, Curfman G. (2020-11-03). Reconsidering Health Care Fraud and Abuse Laws. jamanetwork.com When financial incentives influence physicians' clinical decision-making, there may be cause for concern. Not all inducements aimed at affecting the utilization of medical services, however, are ill-intentioned. At a time when medical spending is stressing the US health care system, financial inducements aimed at encouraging cost controls or improving outcomes should be supported. To more accurately distinguish between public-minded vs detrimental financial inducements, the time has come to revisit the health care fraud and abuse laws that regulate these inducements.

Abbasi J. (2020-11-03). Large Meta-analysis Digs Into Obesity's COVID-19 Risks. jamanetwork.com This Medical News article is an interview with nutrition expert Barry Popkin, PhD, lead author of a new systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on coronavirus disease 2019 among individuals who are obese.

Baer HJ, Rozenblum R, De La Cruz BA, et al. (2020-11-03). Effect of an Online Weight Management Program With vs Without Individualized Management on Weight Change. jamanetwork.com This cluster randomized trial compares the effects of an online weight management program with vs without a health manager monitoring progress vs usual care on 12-month weight change among adults with overweight or obesity and a diagnosis of hypertension or type 2 diabetes.

Voelker R. (2020-11-03). New Center at FDA Will Advance Digital Health Innovation. jamanetwork.com The FDA is launching a Digital Health Center of Excellence within its Center for Devices and Radiological Health to advance technologies including wearable medical devices and mobile health devices.

Hampton T. (2020-11-03). Newly Discovered Cellular Protection Pathway Blocks Ebola, COVID-19 Viruses. jamanetwork.com Faced with the urgent need for new antiviral strategies, investigators recently uncovered a surprising pathway that host cells use to protect against diverse viruses, including those that cause Ebola and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The findings, published in Science, point to a potential novel treatment target.

Pam Long (2020-11-03). The US Military's 'Four Horsemen of Pharma': Destroying Veterans' Health? globalresearch.ca The

_____ (2020-11-03). UK Head of Vaccine Taskforce Shared UK Plans with Private Investors. truepublica.org.uk Just weeks after the government announced disgraced TalkTalk CEO Dido Harding was appointed as the head of the government's failed testing programme, it has been forced into making excuses to protect its latest decision over its choice of who should lead Britain's vaccine taskforce. The Times newspaper reported that — "The head of Britain's vaccine …

Annerieke Daniel (2020-11-03). Pandemic's Toll on Young Black Women. progressive.org Structural racism, discrimination, and poverty—which have historically left Black people out of the healthcare system — are leaving leave us more vulnerable to a serious and deadly virus.

Plott CF, Kachalia AB, Sharfstein JM. (2020-11-03). Unexpected Health Insurance Profits and the COVID-19 Crisis. jamanetwork.com The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed unprecedented financial stress on most of the US health care system, including physician practices, emergency medical service systems, and hospitals. But there is one notable exception: health insurance companies. Sharp declines in elective care during the pandemic have reduced health care expenditures and contributed to earnings that are twice as large as those earned last year. For example, the UnitedHealth Group's net income during the second quarter grew from $3.4 billion in 2019 to $6.7 billion in 2020 and Anthem Inc's net income increased from $1.1…

del Rio C, Collins LF, Malani P. (2020-11-03). Long-term Health Consequences of COVID-19. jamanetwork.com This Viewpoint discusses long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurologic, and mental health sequelae, and calls for an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to better characterize how post—acute phase disease manifests in organ systems and overall health.

Bill Sardi (2020-11-03). Pre-Vaccination Immunity Determines Effectiveness of Vaccines. globalresearch.ca Death due to influenza is over-reported. The Centers for Disease Control distributes a figure of 36,000 deaths a year from the flu. But data from the American Lung Association reveals flu-related deaths as low as a few hundred in a …

Deka R, Courtney P, Parsons J, et al. (2020-11-03). Association of African American Race and Outcomes in Low-Risk Prostate Cancer With Active Surveillance. jamanetwork.com This cohort study estimates 10-year risk for disease progression, surgery, metastasis, and cause-specific and all-cause mortality among African American men with low-risk prostate cancer managed with active surveillance.

Marshall DC, Tarras ES, Rosenzweig K, et al. (2020-11-03). Trends in Industry Payments to Physicians in the United States From 2014 to 2018. jamanetwork.com This study uses Medicare Open Payments data to characterize trends in the prevalence and value of physicians' interactions with industry overall and by specialty between January 2014 and December 2018 after implementation of the federal Open Payments transparency program in 2013.

news.un (2020-11-02). Protect children and relief workers caught up in conflict, urges UN rights envoy. news.un.org Indiscriminate attacks on education and health facilities during armed conflict is having a "dramatic impact" on children and humanitarian personnel, the UN envoy for Children and Armed Conflict said on Monday.

Liberation Staff (2020-11-02). Election Day live coverage. liberationnews.org Liberation News writers will be bringing you up-to-the-minute reporting on the election from a socialist perspective…

Dr. Gary G. Kohls (2020-11-02). The Flawed COVID-19 Vaccine Testing Programs. globalresearch.ca There doesn't appear to be much difference between the testing protocols of the dozens of pharmaceutical companies that are working on developing a vaccine for the elusive (and therefore dubious) SARS virus that has not actually yet been isolated in …

The Canary (2020-11-02). Bird flu outbreak at farm in Kent — 480 birds to be culled. thecanary.co Hundreds of birds at a farm in Kent will be culled following an outbreak of bird flu. | All 480 birds on the site near the town of Deal will be killed to limit the spread of the disease, the Government has confirmed. | The outbreak of the H5N2 avian influenza at the small commercial premises was confirmed on Monday. | A 1km restricted zone has been put in place around the site to limit the risk of the disease spreading, while urgent enquiries are underway for any evidence that it has spread further. | Public Health England (PHE) says the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agen…

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-02). Interior Min. hosts COVID-19 Combat, Prevention HQ's meeting. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 02 (MNA) — The meeting of National Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters was held at the venue of Interior Ministry on Monday in the presence of Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani fazli and Health Minister Saeed Namaki.

news.un (2020-11-02). 'If we invest in health systems, we can bring this virus under control' — WHO chief. news.un.org Health systems and global preparedness are not only an investment in the future but "the foundation of our response" to today's COVID-19 health crisis, the head of the UN's health agency said on Monday.

Graham Peebles (2020-11-02). Saving Our Planet Is Our Responsibility. counterpunch.org Destructive human behavior based on selfishness, greed and ignorance has created the interrelated environmental emergency. A global crisis of unprecedented scale that threatens the survival of over a million plant and animal species, the security of tens of millions of people and the health of the planet. Unlimited irresponsible consumption of goods, services and animal

Raul Diego (2020-11-02). New COVID-19 Security Measures Will Make Health a Prerequisite for Travel. globalresearch.ca As the multi-sector, global response to the coronavirus tightens the noose around civil liberties, CommonPass stands out as one of the most appalling and dangerous attacks on basic human rights in the name of public health. | *** | Imagine standing …

sputniknews (2020-11-02). Argentina to Receive 25Mln Doses of Sputnik V Vaccine From Russia, President Says. sputniknews.com BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – Argentina will receive 25 million doses of Russian vaccine against coronavirus Sputnik V in December and January, President Alberto Fernandez said in an interview with Sputnik.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-02). Portuguese communists call to strengthen National Health Service to fight fresh spike in COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org The Portuguese government has announced new lockdown restrictions in 121 municipalities across the country in the wake of a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases. A record number of 4,656 COVID-19 cases were reported on October 30…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-01). Coronavirus: Iran hits record daily death toll, true count 'could be three times higher'. middleeasteye.net Coronavirus: Iran hits record daily death toll, true count 'could be three times higher' | As Tehran faces two-week lockdown, new curbs to be imposed in most of country as total death toll hits 35,298 | Sun, 11/01/2020 – 15: 53 | Iranians on their way to shop in Tajrish Square, Tehran, pass a sign advising people to wear masks (AFP) | Iran's coronavirus daily death toll has hit a new recor…

RT (2020-11-01). Scientists discover 'devastating' NEW genetic disease that's killed 40% of known patients by attacking lungs and immune system. rt.com The new condition, which is caused by genetic mutations, has shown a particularly high death rate, as patients were not responding to any currently available treatments, the researchers said. | The disease — 'vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory and somatic syndrome' — has been dubbed VEXAS. It causes symptoms that include blood clots in veins, recurrent fevers, abnormalities in the lungs, and vacuoles — unusual cavity-like structures — in the myeloid cells, which play a crucial part in the human immune system. | Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) came acro…

Dr. Pascal Sacré (2020-11-01). What is COVID-19? Seven Key Points for Understanding SARS-CoV-2 and Testing. globalresearch.ca Introduction | COVID-19 appeared in Europe and the Americas in 2020, following the emergence of a new virus from China in 2019. | This new virus belongs to the well-known family of coronaviruses that has already produced two particularly severe epidemics in …

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-01). Iran registers 7,719 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 01 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 7,719 COVID-19 infections and 434 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.

sputniknews (2020-11-01). 2020, It's Not Funny Anymore! Scientists Discover Deadly New Genetic Disease. sputniknews.com Female readers can breathe a sigh of relief as it appears the illness only affects men, who have only one X chromosome. Scientists posit that the additional X chromosome in women protects a certain gene from mutation.

Fight Back (2020-10-31). The riot in Naples and the choice between health and work. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Italian Marxist- Leninist organization Fronte Popolare. | "Health is first and foremost, but without money no masses are sung": so, we read on one of the many banners laid out during the spontaneous protest marches in Naples in these hours. The contrast between health and work, between physical well-being and economic well-being is a choice that in a real democracy we should not even imagine to make. Yet this is the choice put in front of us, in the South as well as in the North, throughout the all country. While the North — and especially…

The Canary (2020-10-31). Unions call for more measures to protect jobs as furlough scheme ends. thecanary.co Fears have been raised that people will be pushed into in hardship as government coronavirus support schemes end.Unions are calling for more measures to protect jobs as the furlough scheme ends, saying the new support plans are "not adequate", while poverty campaigners have concerns about the end of mortgage holidays.With no certainty about whether Covid-19 can be brought under control in the near future and millions of UK people living under further restrictions, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey called on the Government to bring forward clear plans for the protection of health, jobs and incomes.Mr McCluskey…

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-31). Iran COVID-19 update: 386 deaths, 7,820 cases in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 31 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 7,820 COVID-19 infections and 386 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.

Ankit Agarwal, Trevor J Royce (2020-10-31). [Correspondence] The effect of Medicare for All on rural hospitals. thelancet.com Alison Galvani and colleagues1 robustly modelled the effect of the Medicare for All Act on US national health expenditures and outcomes. Spending on hospital care and physician or clinical services accounts for 53% of total spending. Their model assumes that Medicare rates are uniformly 22% lower than are private-payer rates and that, by switching all fees to Medicare rates, overall reimbursements will be 6% lower for hospitals and 7% lower for physicians.

Sayed Meelad Habib, Maarten H Vermeer (2020-10-31). [Clinical Picture] A baby with red plaques on the face and a first-degree heart block: neonatal lupus. thelancet.com A 3-month-old boy was brought by his mother to our clinic who had noticed that her child had developed several round red lesions on his face (figure). She said that the problem had begun 3 weeks post partum. The baby had been born at full term following an uncomplicated pregnancy. The patient's mother was fit and well with no medical history of note—specifically she did not report any previous infections, or dermatological or autoimmune diseases.

Pamela Das (2020-10-31). [Perspectives] Kevin Fenton: pursuing equity and equality in public health. thelancet.com Kevin Fenton is a public health polymath. He's worked successfully in health prevention and health improvement for more than three decades and is currently the Regional Director of Public Health England (PHE) London and the Regional Director of Public Health for NHS London. "I have a passion for learning and throughout my career it is about looking for the next set of opportunities to make a difference to the people who I have been called to serve", he says.

Christian Gortázar, Francisco J Rodríguez del-Río, Lucas Domínguez, José de la Fuente (2020-10-31). [Correspondence] Host or pathogen-related factors in COVID-19 severity? thelancet.com Lucy Okell and colleagues1 observed that the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently in marked decline in many countries. Okell and colleagues suggest two possible explanations for this decline, namely the effect of lockdowns, physical distancing, and other interventions; or, alternatively, herd immunity. After analysing trends in cumulative deaths over time in many European countries that went into lockdown at different stages of their epidemic, and data obtained from serology studies on the proportion of the population that had the infection previously, Okell an…

Thomas A Treibel, Charlotte Manisty, Mervyn Andiapen, Corinna Pade, Melanie Jensen, Marianna Fontana, Xosé Couto-Parada, Teresa Cutino-Moguel, Mahdad Noursadeghi, James C Moon (2020-10-31). [Correspondence] Asymptomatic health-care worker screening during the COVID-19 pandemic — Authors' reply. thelancet.com Kevin Fennelly and Christopher Whalen emphasise that health-care workers (HCWs) are at a higher risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection than are the general population. Angela Chow and colleagues describe their experience in Singapore of very low rates of HCW infections and nosocomial transmission when effective personal protective equipment is implemented. We agree with both perspectives, and our Correspondence1 did not contradict either of these viewpoints.

Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi (2020-10-31). Video: The Corona Virus and the Health Impacts of the Lockdown: Interview with Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi. globalresearch.ca Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi is an award winning medical doctor specialised in the fields of immunology, bacteriology, virology, and parasitology. | This is not a killer virus comparable to the Spanish Flu. | . | . …

Meagan C Fitzpatrick, Alison P Galvani (2020-10-31). [Correspondence] The effect of Medicare for All on rural hospitals — Authors' reply. thelancet.com The USA's rural hospitals are a lifeline for the communities that they serve, as evidenced by the catastrophic effects of their closures. Subsequent to the closure of a rural hospital, mortality rises by 5 ∑9% among residents of the service area.1…

Jeyaraj D Pandian, Yogeshwar Kalkonde, Ivy Anne Sebastian, Cynthia Felix, Gerard Urimubenshi, Jackie Bosch (2020-10-31). [Series] Stroke systems of care in low-income and middle-income countries: challenges and opportunities. thelancet.com The burden of stroke is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) than in high-income countries and is rising. Even though there are global policies and guidelines for implementing stroke care, there are many challenges in setting up stroke services in LMICs. Despite these challenges, there are many models of stroke care available in LMICs—eg, multidisciplinary team care led by a stroke neurologist, specialist-led care by neurologists, physician-led care, hub and spoke models incorporating stroke telemedicine (ie, telestroke), and task sharing involving community health workers.

Susan Jaffe (2020-10-31). [World Report] US election 2020: the future of the Affordable Care Act. thelancet.com President Donald Trump pledges to replace the Affordable Care Act while his Democratic opponent Joe Biden offers detailed proposals to improve it. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.

WSWS (2020-10-31). For a European-wide school strike against the pandemic. wsws.org If non-essential businesses, schools, and day-care centres are not immediately closed, the overloading of health care systems and the premature death of millions of people is inevitable.

Kevin Fennelly, Christopher C Whalen (2020-10-31). [Correspondence] Asymptomatic health-care worker screening during the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com We applaud the establishment of the COVIDsortium by Thomas Treibel and colleagues1 as a bioresource focusing on asymptomatic health-care workers (HCWs).1 However, we disagree with the authors' conclusion that "the rate of asymptomatic infection among HCWs more likely reflects general community transmission than in-hospital exposure". This report was an ecological study subject to the ecological fallacy. Moreover, the figure compares symptomatic inpatients who were tested in hospital with asymptomatic HCWs.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-31). Meeting of COVID-19 combat headquarters held on Saturday. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 31 (MNA) — National Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters held a meeting in the presence of Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki on Saturday.

Richard Horton (2020-10-31). [Comment] Offline: COVID-19—a crisis of power. thelancet.com COVID-19 is about the politics of the body. In a series of lectures and essays in the 1970s and early 1980s, Michel Foucault (who died in 1984) argued that the discipline of public health emerged with the birth of capitalism in the 18th century. The body came to be understood as an instrument of economic production, of labour power, and so became a subject of significant political interest. Medicine and public health were endorsed as tools to enhance these productive forces, to ensure that people were fit for work.