Daily Archives: November 21, 2020

2020-11-21: News Headlines

Reese Erlich (2020-11-21). The upcoming fights over COVID vaccine. zcomm.org Who will be vaccinated first — and in what country?>

Susan Jaffe (2020-11-21). [World Report] US Supreme Court poised to keep the Affordable Care Act. thelancet.com A lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act may be floundering after Supreme Court justices questioned why the law should be dismantled. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.

_____ (2020-11-21). Nurse Survey Exposes Hospitals' Failure To Prepare For Covid-19 Surge. popularresistance.org National Nurses United's new nationwide survey of more than 15,000 registered nurses reveals that 11 months into the pandemic, hospitals are failing to prepare for a surge of Covid-19 cases during flu season and that basic infection control and prevention measures are still lacking. Nurses cite the health care industry's inappropriate pursuit of profit during this public health crisis as the main reason for its failure to follow the proper infection control measures that nurses have been demanding since the beginning of the pandemic.

Editor (2020-11-21). The Imperative to Achieve Medicare for All. scheerpost.com By Dr. Margaret Flowers / Popular Resistance Health care will be a major issue early in the new Biden/Harris administration. Unemployment is still high with over a million people applying for unemployment benefits last week and 42.6% of working age people without a job. In the United States, losing employment often means losing health insurance. On top of the 30 million people who are already… |

The Lancet (2020-11-21). [Editorial] COVID-19 vaccines: no time for complacency. thelancet.com "Yes. Yes. Yes." That was the response of John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, when asked whether we could be confident that life will be returning to normal by spring. He was being interviewed by the BBC shortly after the announcement last week by Pfizer and BioNTech that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate had 90% efficacy in clinical trials. Similar announcements about the Russian Sputnik V and Moderna vaccines followed soon after. The prospect of preventing illness and death, and avoiding the harm and misery of extended restrictions, is a cause for optimism.

Children's Health Defense (2020-11-21). FDA Lets Pfizer Test Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine on U.S. Children. globalresearch.ca Americans have been following COVID-19 vaccine trial developments for weeks, watching companies jockey for frontrunner status like contestants in a reality TV show. And though participants in some of the studies (by

Munyaradzi Makoni (2020-11-21). [World Report] Violence leads to health emergencies in Mozambique. thelancet.com Displaced by war, thousands of people in Mozambique are at risk of infectious disease. Munyaradzi Makoni reports.

Almira Tanner (2020-11-21). Five reasons why a moratorium is the right next step in our fight to #CancelAnimalAg. indybay.org If you're reading this, I likely don't need to tell you that something is deeply wrong and unjust about animal agriculture. This industry tortures and kills trillions of animals each year, forces marginalized people to work in unsafe and traumatizing environments, and is a leading contributor of greenhouse gases, ocean dead zones, and pandemic-causing zoonotic diseases. We need to completely abolish animal agriculture and transition to a more just, plant-based food system, but it's not going to happen overnight.

Geoff Watts (2020-11-21). [Obituary] Frank von Sonnenburg. thelancet.com Specialist in infectious diseases and travel medicine. He was born on May 8, 1946, in Munich, Germany, and died there of brain cancer on Aug 21, 2020, aged 74 years.

Seye Abimbola, Madhukar Pai (2020-11-21). [Perspectives] Will global health survive its decolonisation? thelancet.com There are growing calls to decolonise global health. This process is only just beginning. But what would success look like? Will global health survive its decolonisation? This is a question that fills us with imagination. It is a question that makes us reflect on what Martin Luther King Jr saw when he said in 1968, in the last speech he gave before he was killed, that "I've been to the mountaintop…and I've seen the Promised Land." If what he saw was an equal, inclusive, and diverse world without a hint of supremacy, then, that world is still elusive.

Dean Baker (2020-11-21). How Many Lives Would Have Been Saved if We Had Collaborated on Vaccines With China? cepr.net We know that Republican office holders are not allowed to say that Joe Biden won the election. Apparently there is a similar ban in place for news outlets when it comes to the question of the United States collaborating with China, and other countries, in developing vaccines against the pandemic. In recent days, there have …

Andrew J Pollard, Oxford COVID Vaccine Trial Group (2020-11-21). [Comment] Notice of addendum to Article reporting Oxford trial of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. thelancet.com On request, and to aid others doing similar trials, we are publishing the full standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the Oxford University-sponsored trials of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. Operational details about running clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in a pandemic are not generally available as they are contained in SOPs held at trial sites. These SOPs can provide additional insight into study conduct that assist with interpretation of the data. We have provided an additional appendix to our Article reporting the phase 1/2 findings1 to provide this information about the key processes guiding the Oxford…

Mara Giavina-Bianchi, Andre P. Santos, Eduardo Cordioli (2020-11-21). Teledermatology reduces dermatology referrals and improves access to specialists. thelancet.com The use of teledermatology as a triage tool significantly reduced the waiting time for in-person visits, improving health care access and utilizing public resources wisely. Knowledge of sex, age, diagnoses and treatment of common skin conditions can enable public policies for the prevention and orientation of the population, as it can be used to train general physicians to address such cases.

Reese Erlich (2020-11-20). Foreign Correspondent: The Upcoming Fights Over COVID-19 Vaccines. progressive.org Who will be vaccinated first, and in what countries?

RT (2020-11-20). UK requests Pfizer & BioNTech jab assessment from regulator, hopes to start Covid vaccinations 'next month'. rt.com The British government has requested that the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) assess the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, as Health Secretary Matt Hancock hopes to roll it out from December. | "I can confirm that the government has formally asked the MHRA to assess the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for its suitability for authorisation," Hancock told journalists at a press conference on Friday, calling it the "first step" on the way towards the vaccine's approval. | "If the regulator approves a vaccine, we will be ready to start the vaccination next month, with the bulk of the rollout in…

RT (2020-11-20). Madrid region to close for 10 days in December to limit holiday travel amid Covid pandemic. rt.com The Spanish region of Madrid will close for 10 days early next month to try to curb Covid infections by preventing people from traveling to or from the area over a national holiday. | Madrid's regional authorities said on Friday that they would prevent people from leaving and entering for 10 days from December 4 in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, particularly given that large numbers usually travel around the December 6 Constitution Day holiday. | "We want to be in the best possible condition by Christmas," senior Madrid health official Antonio Zapatero said. | The country has reported 1.54 million…

RT (2020-11-20). Trudeau rules out a 'normal Christmas' as Covid-19 cases spike in Canada & health chiefs sound alarm. rt.com Canada's health system will be "in trouble" if the daily number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise, health chiefs have warned, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the country to "hang in there" and follow the health measures. | A second wave of the virus has forced 10 Canadian provinces to reimpose restrictions, amid predictions that the number of cases could shoot from the current level of 5,000 a day to 60,000 by the end of the year if people don't further limit their social contacts. | "We are facing winter that's going to drive people inside more and more, and we're really at risk of seeing caseloads g…

Beau Peters (2020-11-20). Ways You Can Help Eliminate Global Poverty. dissidentvoice.org Image Source: Pexels The planet may feel like a smaller place, thanks to the ease of travel and the internet, but the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that "approximately 1.2 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty" and earn less than a single dollar per day. Poverty affects the health and livelihood of …

Robert Hunziker (2020-11-20). Expert IPCC Reviewer Speaks Out. counterpunch.org Expert IPCC Reviewer Speaks Out Roger Hallam, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion/XR recently interviewed Peter Carter, M.D., who has the distinguished title — Expert IPCC Reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The interview was conducted to get to the bottom of what science says about the state of affairs, specifically the health of the

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-11-20). Arabic press review: Third of Jordanian children suffer from anaemia. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Third of Jordanian children suffer from anaemia | Jordanian health official warns of health crisis in the kingdom, while the UAE institute visa restrictions for Tunisians | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 11: 33 | Yemeni Aymen, who is suffering from a congenital spinal malformation, receives treatment at a private hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman (AFP) | Third of Jordan's child…

_____ (2020-11-20). The AMA Officially Recognized Racism As A Public-Health Threat. popularresistance.org The American Medical Association has officially defined racism as a public health threat that has created substantial health inequality. | Racism, both systemic and structural, has historically perpetuated health inequality and cut short the lives of many Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the US and around the world. | Over the last year, a number of county and state authorities have also labelled racism a public health threat. | Among them are county councils in San Bernardino, California, and Montgomery, Maryland, as well as authorities in Michigan, Nevada, Cleveland, Denver, and Indianapolis.

Binoy Kampmark (2020-11-20). COVID Offices and the Religion of Remote Work. counterpunch.org Masks can prove liberating. The hidden face affords security. Obnoxious authority breathes better, hiding in comfort. Behind the material, confidence finds a home. While tens of millions of jobs have been lost to the novel coronavirus globally, security services, surveillance officers and pen pushers are thriving, policing admissions to facilities, churning through health and safety

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-11-20). By Rejecting WTO Drug Patent Waivers Amid Pandemic, Richest Nations Put Big Pharma Profits Before Health of Billions. commondreams.org Rich countries—accused of hoarding future vaccines—are being urged to support a "humanitarian buffer" to innoculate refugees and people in conflict zones. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-11-20). Challenging EPA's Failure To Protect People And The Environment From Atrazine. popularresistance.org The herbicide atrazine is likely to adversely affect over half of endangered species listed in the United States, according to a report released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a legal agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). Based on both adverse human health and environmental threats, Beyond Pesticides joined with Center for Food Safety, CBD, and other public-interest groups in October to sue EPA over its decision to reapprove atrazine, an endocrine-disrupting herbicide banned across much of the world.

news.un (2020-11-20). 'Act urgently' to stave off catastrophic famine in Yemen: Guterres. news.un.org Yemen is in "imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades", the UN chief warned in a statement released on Friday, calling for urgent action on the part of the international community to "stave off catastrophe".

Igor Derysh (2020-11-20). Geraldo Rivera wants to name COVID-19 vaccine after Trump to make him feel better about the election. salon.com "Why not name the vaccine 'The Trump'?" Rivera asked on "Fox & Friends." "It would be a nice gesture to him"

Alix Mayer (2020-11-20). Leading COVID Vaccine Candidates Plagued by Safety Concerns. globalresearch.ca "It works!" trumpeted the normally stoic

Kenny Stancil (2020-11-20). 'No Vaccine for Climate Change'. zcomm.org Coronavirus Has Been Disastrous, Says Red Cross, But Global Warming Poses Greater Threat…

news.un (2020-11-20). COVID cases surge amid growing threat from antimicrobial resistance — WHO chief. news.un.org More cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past four weeks than in the first six months of the pandemic, the UN health agency chief told journalists on Friday as he launched a new report on the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.

Dean Baker (2020-11-20). The Krugman Boom: Don't Bank on It. cepr.net I have largely been in agreement with Paul Krugman in his assessment of the economy over the last dozen years or so, but I think in his latest column he let the promise of a post-Trump era get the better of him. Krugman notes that the distribution of effective vaccines should allow people to return …

news.un (2020-11-20). Collective, conflict-sensitive responses vital to address COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout. news.un.org The coronavirus pandemic has not only exacted a terrible toll on human lives, health and economies, it has also exacerbated existing conflicts, a UN forum heard on Thursday, with top officials urging global solidarity in the fight against COVID-19.

_____ (2020-11-20). Over 235 Organizations Call On Biden To Cancel Student Debt. popularresistance.org Washington, D.C. — Over 235 organizations sent a letter to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, calling on them to use executive authority to cancel federal student debt on day one of their administration. | In the letter, 238 nonprofit and community organizations highlight that cancelling student debt would stimulate the economy, help reduce the racial wealth gap, and could have a positive impact on health outcomes. The groups write that "executive action is one of the few available tools that could immediately provide a boost to upwards of 44 million borrowers and the economy…

Danielle Renwick (2020-11-20). Anger After North Dakota Governor Asks COVID-Positive Health Staff to Stay on Job. zcomm.org "We are willing to break our backs and work as hard as we physically can. But then to ask us to come in as a potential infectious source is just stunning."

WSWS (2020-11-20). Youth suicides and mental health disorders on the rise amid pandemic depression. wsws.org One of the impacts of the pandemic is a rising mental health crisis, particularly among youth, for which no faction of the ruling class proposes any solution.

Kate Raines (2020-11-20). Pfizer CEO Sells Stock Same Day Positive Results of COVID-19 Vaccine Announced. globalresearch.ca Pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Inc. announced on Nov. 9, 2020 that ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine candidate suggests the vaccine may be 90 percent effective in preventing infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The news sent Pfizer's …

The Canary (2020-11-19). Africa records two million coronavirus cases amid fears of fresh surge. thecanary.co Africa has surpassed two million confirmed coronavirus (Covid-19) cases as health officials warn of infections starting to creep up again into a second surge.Second wave: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday that the 54-country continent has seen more than 48,000 deaths from coronavirus. The continent of 1.3bn people is being warned against "prevention fatigue" as countries loosen pandemic restrictions to ease their economies' suffering and more people travel.The Africa CDC director this week openly worried that the level of mask-wearing has gone down and called that…

John P. Geyman (2020-11-19). Beyond COVID-19: the Power Struggle Over Alternatives for Health Care Reform. counterpunch.org Today we face the COVID-19 pandemic, with its resultant economic downturn and systemic racism—the triple crises that have exposed the serious problems of U. S. health care. It is now obvious to most observers that the system is broken, raising the question of how it can be put together through the political process after a hotly contested election season filled with disinformation and confusion about potential reform alternatives.

RT (2020-11-19). (WATCH) First European Union nation gets Russia's Sputnik V vaccine to fight Covid-19, as samples arrive in Budapest. rt.com Hungary has become the first country in the European Union to receive a batch of Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine as a container with samples arrived in Budapest, on Thursday, and was handed over to Hungarian medics. | "Vaccine samples manufactured in Russia have arrived in Budapest," Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto An exclusiv…

Areeb Ullah (2020-11-19). UK's Raab 'directly' intervenes on behalf of arrested Egyptian activists. middleeasteye.net UK's Raab 'directly' intervenes on behalf of arrested Egyptian activists | Three members of a prominent human rights organisation detained after meeting with western diplomats, including the British ambassador in Cairo | Thu, 11/19/2020 – 16: 17 | Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has raised the activists' case directly with his Egyptian counterpart (Reuters) | British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has per…

Stephen Lendman (2020-11-19). Covid Vaccine, Hazardous to Human Health? Big Pharma's Rush to Cash in on Multibillion Bonanza. globalresearch.ca All vaccines are toxic and hazardous to human health. | The great covid vaccines to the rescue scheme risks widespread harm, not protection. | In cahoots with Big Government, Big Pharma prioritizes maximum profits over human health. | Drug companies are rushing to …

Staff (2020-11-19). Headlines for November 19, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 250,000; Nearly 1% of U.S. Population Currently Infectious, Pfizer to Seek Emergency Authorization of COVID-19 Vaccine, Touting 95% Efficacy, Lawsuit Alleges Tyson Foods Managers Wagered on Meatpackers' Coronavirus Infection Rate, COVID-19 Surge Overwhelms Hospitals as Healthcare Workers Fall Ill, Biden Says Trump's Refusal to Concede Could Set Back Vaccine Rollout by Months, Arizona Secretary of State Faces Death Threats as Trump Promotes Election Conspiracy Theories, Democratic Congressmembers Reelect Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, Australian Military Apologizes to Afghan…

Finian Cunningham (2020-11-19). Sick Britain's Orwellian Dystopia. thealtworld.com Britain's sorry excuse for a leader, Boris Johnson, has proudly announced the biggest spending spree on the nation's military in 30 years. This comes as the country is reeling from disease, a healthcare crisis and economic misery for millions of workers. | The United Kingdom's so-called "defence" budget

Robert F. Kennedy Jr (2020-11-19). Gates' Globalist Vaccine Agenda: A Win-Win for Pharma and Mandatory Vaccination. globalresearch.ca First posted on GR on April 13, 2020 | Vaccines, for Bill Gates, are a strategic philanthropy that feed his many vaccine-related businesses (including Microsoft's ambition to control a

news.un (2020-11-19). In the face of ridicule: one woman's fight to bring sanitation to a Nepalese village. news.un.org 4.2 billion people are living without access to safely managed sanitation, putting them at increased risk of catching a host of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, cholera, and typhoid. On this year's World Toilet Day, which is marked on 19 November, we look at how Ratna Khawas has fought ridicule and tradition to improve hygiene in her Nepalese village, with the help of the UN.

news.un (2020-11-19). Remdesivir no COVID-19 silver bullet, says UN health agency. news.un.org An advisory body of the UN health agency is not recommending the use of the high-profile antiviral drug Remdesivir for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, saying on Thursday there is insufficient evidence that it improves survival outcomes or cuts down on the need for patients to be put onto ventilators.

Nicole Karlis (2020-11-19). CDC adjusts its public health messaging to appeal to Americans' individualism. salon.com Reflecting American culture, CDC is now emphasizing personal benefits of mask-wearing instead of collective ones…

Children's Health Defense (2020-11-19). Media Hypes Moderna's COVID Vaccine, Downplays Risks. globalresearch.ca For the second time in a week, news of a "promising"

Children's Health Defense (2020-11-19). Leading Canadian Health Expert Outraged at Government Response to COVID. globalresearch.ca

news.un (2020-11-19). In the face of ridicule: one woman's fight to bring sanitation to a Nepali village. news.un.org 4.2 billion people are living without access to safely managed sanitation, putting them at increased risk of catching a host of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, cholera, and typhoid. On this year's World Toilet Day, which is marked on 19 November, we look at how Ratna Khawas has fought ridicule and tradition to improve hygiene in her Nepali village, with the help of the UN.

Marc Chadeau-Hyam, Barbara Bodinier, Roel Vermeulen, Maryam Karimi, Verena Zuber, Raphaà´le Castagné, Joshua Elliott, David Muller, Dusan Petrovic, Matthew Whitaker, Silvia Stringhini, Ioanna Tzoulaki, Mika Kivimà§ki, Paolo Vineis, Paul Elliott, Michelle Kelly-Irving, Cyrille Delpierre (2020-11-19). Education, biological ageing, all-cause and cause-specific mortality and morbidity: UK biobank cohort study. thelancet.com The BHS captures features of the embodiment of education, health behaviours, and more proximal unknown factors which all complementarily contribute to all-cause, cancer and CVD morbidity and premature death.