(2020-12-13). OSHA Is Helping Employers Get Away With Underreporting Health Care Worker Deaths. truthout.org As Walter Veal cared for residents at the Ludeman Developmental Center in suburban Chicago, he saw the potential future of his grandson, who has autism. | So he took it on himself not just to bathe and feed the residents, which was part of the job, but also to cut their hair, run to the store to buy their favorite body wash and barbecue for them on holidays. | "They were his second family," said his wife, Carlene Veal. | Even after COVID-19 struck in mid-March and cases began spreading th…
(2020-12-13). AZ educators organize sickout amid highest rate of COVID-19. fightbacknews.org Tucson, AZ – When the Chandler Unified School District governing board decided to stay with in-person instruction as Arizona continues to experience another spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths, some educators organized their resistance in the form of a sickout. Over 100 educators in CUSD called in sick on Friday, December 11 to express their opposition to the negligent board. The local union, Chandler Education Association (CEA) had issued a number of demands that include: educator representation on the district COVID committee, use of the more stringent county health metrics, and creating a COVID Task Force of ed…
(2020-12-13). "There is no vaccine to save the planet" indybay.org In the Arctic, 2020 has seen exceptional warmth, with temperatures more than 3 degrees Celsius above average – and more than 5 degrees in northern Siberia. Arctic sea ice in October was the lowest on record – and now re-freezing has been the slowest on record. Greenland ice has continued its long-term decline, losing an average of 278 gigatons a year.
(2020-12-13). President Luis Arce Travels to Brazil for Medical Check-up. telesurenglish.net Bolivian President Luis Arce departed on Sunday morning to Brazil for a routine appointment, temporarily leaving the presidency in the hands of Vice President David Choquehuanca until Tuesday. | RELATED: | "Today, I am absent from Bolivia until Tuesday, December 15, to carry out my routine health check-up. I thank the Bolivian people for the love and well wishes that they have sent me," Arce tweeted. | Before Arce's trip t…
(2020-12-13). From TMAP to Warp Speed: How Big Pharma Algorithms Fast-Track Unapproved Drugs and Vaccines. globalresearch.ca Five of the pharmaceutical companies developing COVID-19 vaccines through the USA's
(2020-12-12). Russian health watchdog says Covid-19 triggers process of 'natural selection' as deaths among elderly and infirm peak. rt.com 
An official in charge of protecting the rights of Russian hospital patients has bemoaned that Russia, like the rest of Europe, has chosen "miserable quarantine" as a solution to the coronavirus pandemic. | Maxim Starodubtsev, head of the 'Health Care' public protection watchdog, told journalists on Saturday that the healthcare system was struggling to deal with the rise in cases. "In such a situation, natural selection is turned on. That is, patients die – the elderly, those who, in principle, are susceptible to the most severe course of Covid, and chronic patients [with other conditions] who cannot receive ef…
(2020-12-12). How could a no-deal Brexit affect UK healthcare? thecanary.co 
Preparations are already being made, with the stockpiling of medicines and provision of alternative freight routes aimed at ensuring as little disruption as possible to healthcare in the event of a no-deal Brexit.Here is a look at some of the main issues: — Medical supplies and equipmentMedical suppliers have been encouraged to try and stockpile six weeks' worth of stock, with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) describing such actions as a "key part of contingency plans".In a letter to medicines and medical product suppliers, the department advised that having extra stocks "provides a further buf…
(2020-12-12). [World Report] Humanitarian access deal for Tigray. thelancet.com Humanitarian groups will be allowed into Tigray, Ethiopia, where conflict has displaced thousands and strained health services. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2020-12-12). Go Vote Yourself a Raise, Georgia—You've Long Earned It. commondreams.org Candidates should be pushed to say if they stand with the super-rich profiteering, callous Big Business tycoons or with the people who work for pitiful wages, on the rugged frontlines, and keep our society running. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-12). [Obituary] Valerie Curtis. thelancet.com Engineer turned hygiene scientist and public health advocate. She was born in Seascale, UK, on Sept 20, 1958, and died of vaginal cancer in Haywards Heath, UK, on Oct 19, 2020, aged 62 years.
(2020-12-12). Hospital capacity in the US severely strained as coronavirus infections continue to surge. wsws.org A recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services showed that as many as 200 hospitals had reached full capacity last week. One-third of all hospitals reported their ICU occupancy was above 90 percent.
(2020-12-12). CBO Shows Medicare For All Could Cover Everyone For Less Per Year. popularresistance.org The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday released a report examining the costs associated with universal healthcare proposals that are based on Medicare's fee-for-service program and found that implementing a single-payer health insurance program in the United States would not only guarantee coverage for every person in the country but would also reduce overall healthcare spending nationwide. | In the words of researcher Matt Bruenig—founder and president of the progressive think tank People's Policy Project who called the CBO's working paper (pdf) on the topic "more exhaustive than any other…
(2020-12-12). Iran registers 8,201 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 8,201 COVID-19 infections and 221 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.
(2020-12-12). [World Report] Bolivia's new health minister promises universal health care. thelancet.com Once implemented, the system will guarantee free health care to Bolivians, but critics say more funding is needed. Amy Booth reports.
(2020-12-12). World must invest in strong health systems that protect everyone — now and into the future. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed just how important it is for all countries to have strong health systems that provide the entire population with quality services when and where they need them, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed.
(2020-12-12). How to Cure America's Vaccine Paranoia. zcomm.org The vaccine refusers among us will likely continue to benefit from living in a largely vaccinated community, mooching off of the herd immunity they refuse to contribute to…
(2020-12-12). [Correspondence] One Health or Planetary Health for pandemic prevention? thelancet.com It is a well accepted narrative that the disruption of forests, rapid urbanisation, and population growth are driving zoonotic events simply by increasing close contact between people and animals.1 However, these predictor variables (eg, urbanisation, land usage, human population density) only explain about 30% of the total variation in zoonotic potential.2 With advancing technologies, it has been shown that vertebrate RNA viruses, despite transmitting between species, have co-evolved with their hosts for millions of years, which only strengthens the theory that zoonotic diseases caused by RNA virus spillover, su…
(2020-12-12). [Seminar] Primary biliary cholangitis. thelancet.com Primary biliary cholangitis is an autoimmune liver disease that predominantly affects women. It is characterised by a chronic and destructive, small bile duct, granulomatous lymphocytic cholangitis, with typical seroreactivity for antimitochondrial antibodies. Patients have variable risks of progressive ductopenia, cholestasis, and biliary fibrosis. Considerations for the cause of this disease emphasise an interaction of chronic immune damage with biliary epithelial cell responses and encompass complex, poorly understood genetic risks and environmental triggers.
(2020-12-12). British Government And Other Warnings Re Pfizer Covid Vaccine. indybay.org Warnings from UK health officials, CNN, NPR and other | sources re the covid vaccine.
(2020-12-12). [World Report] Experts call to include prisons in COVID-19 vaccine plans. thelancet.com As some countries begin vaccination, experts are questioning the allocation and prioritisation lists. Nayanah Siva reports.
(2020-12-12). [Articles] Genome-edited, donor-derived allogeneic anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells in paediatric and adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: results of two phase 1 studies. thelancet.com These two studies show, for the first time, the feasibility of using allogeneic, genome-edited CAR T cells to treat patients with aggressive leukaemia. UCART19 exhibited in-vivo expansion and antileukaemic activity with a manageable safety profile in heavily pretreated paediatric and adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The results this study are an encouraging step forward for the field of allogeneic CAR T cells, and UCART19 offers the opportunity to treat patients with rapidly progressive disease and where autologous CAR-T-cell therapy is unavailable.
(2020-12-12). As FDA Gives Pfizer and BioNTech the Green Light, Global Calls Continue to Mount for a #PeoplesVaccine. commondreams.org Campaigners are warning that nine out of 10 people in poor countries are set to miss out on Covid-19 vaccine in 2021. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-12). Wednesday 12/16: NAACP Town Hall: Slowing Pandemic Spread, #COVID19 Vaccine, & Health of Black Community. indybay.org Online town hall…
(2020-12-12). [Correspondence] Cardiovascular preventive strategies are not conflicting. thelancet.com We agree with Michael Brainin and Karen Sliwa1 about the urgent need to improve the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease but would like to correct some other points they raise. Brainin and Sliwa suggest that we2 promoted high-risk approaches over population-based approaches; however, we stated that "Too often debate about prevention of cardiovascular disease is polarised between opposing evangelists for the high-risk and population-wide approaches. An agnostic approach based on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness is preferable.
(2020-12-12). Predicting hyperprogressive disease in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with anti-programmed cell death 1 therapy. thelancet.com We identified three clinical variables as risk factors for HPD, providing an opportunity to aid the pre-treatment evaluation of the risk of HPD in patients treated with immunotherapy.
(2020-12-12). [Correspondence] Association of SARS-CoV-2 renal tropism with acute kidney injury. thelancet.com In their report on the association of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) renal tropism with acute kidney injury, Fabian Braun and colleagues1 do not appear to have provided evidence for acute kidney injury as defined in the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) clinical practice guidelines—that is, an increase in serum creatinine (SCr) by 26 ∑5 Œºmol/L or more within 48 h; an increase in SCr to 1 ∑5 times or more from baseline, which is known or presumed to have occurred within the previous 7 days; or a urine volume of less than 0 ∑5 ml/kg per h f…
(2020-12-12). Warehouse Workers on the Front Lines of the Covid Crisis Are Worried They'll Be Passed Over for the Vaccine. commondreams.org Low-wage warehouse workers, many of whom are temporary, are demanding access to the vaccine. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-11). Big Pharma's Hazardous to Health COVID Vaccines. globalresearch.ca Like other corporate predators, Big Pharma prioritizes profits over human life, health and welfare. | Corporate America buys politicians like toothpaste, buying influence, assuring their interests are served over the public welfare and rule of law. | Everyone willing to be vaxxed …
(2020-12-11). Cuba's medical brigades fight the pandemic. workers.org 
Socialist Cuba embodies the spirit of international solidarity by its constant medical aid to countries around the world, especially those impacted by imperialism. This is not just an empty phrase. The true meaning of solidarity is shown every day by teams of Cuban health care workers — the doctors and . . . |
(2020-12-11). Selected Articles: What Happens if Something Goes Wrong after You Receive a COVID Vaccine? globalresearch.ca 
By Government and media propaganda has firmly convinced most of the citizenry of the West that Russia invaded Crimea, and the truth …
(2020-12-11). PDF of December 10 issue. workers.org 
Download the 12-page PDF. Capitalist COVID catastrophe FIGHT or DIE! Message from Peltier; Reparations now! Justice for Breonna denied again; Disability rights; Workers demand justice; DEA surveillance; Editorial: New president — same wars; Commentary: Becoming a cadre; GLOBAL: China: global vaccines, science; India: worker & farmer uprising; Cuba; France; Palestine; Venezuela. . . . |
(2020-12-11). McConnell's virus lawsuit ban far worse than advertised. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell's ban on lawsuits through 2024 against firms that don't protect workers and consumers from the coronavirus is even worse than advertised, the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health reports, and an inspection of the measure's underlying text confirms. The GOP Majority Leader's bill is actually S4317, introduced July 27 by …
(2020-12-11). Choice in Health Care Plans and Medicare: It's More Complicated. cepr.net Margot Sanger-Katz had a very good NYT piece on the difficulty of choosing among health insurance plans. The gist of the piece is that people have a very difficult time choosing among plans, and even well-educated people often make choices that are bad for them. (The highlight is that Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman …
(2020-12-11). Thoughts on the Silence of Republican Lawmakers. indybay.org Coronavirus continues to devastate the country, with official deaths topping 281,000 today, but it turns out that the Trump administration did not actually have a plan for distribution of vaccines. Federal officials have drastically slashed the amount of vaccine they promised to states before the election. Instead of the 300 million doses, the plan is currently to distribute 35 to 40 million doses.
(2020-12-11). Tibetan Delek Children's Foundation: Helping Poor Kids in the Himalayan Mountains. indybay.org Delek Children's Foundation helps with healthcare & education to the poor children in the isolated villages of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Indian in the Himalayan Mountains…
(2020-12-11). 'Seems Like a Good Policy!' CBO Shows Medicare for All Could Cover Everyone for $650 Billion Less Per Year. commondreams.org The analysis shows that administrative costs under a single-payer healthcare system "will be lower than what even the most rabid Medicare for All supporters have traditionally claimed." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-11). Rebekah Jones, Florida's COVID-19 whistleblower, says Gov. DeSantis has health officials "terrified" salon.com After campaigning for transparency in COVID-19 case reporting, Jones' home was raided by armed agents…
(2020-12-11). 'Defacto Human Experiment:' Mary + Polly Discuss Rollout of Pfizer Vaccine in UK, Danger of Vaccinating Elderly + More. globalresearch.ca In "This Week," Mary and Polly discuss the latest COVID vaccine-related headline news, including the rollout of Pfizer's vaccine in the UK, concerns about vaccinating the elderly … and more. | *** | This week marked the "landmark" rollout of the …
(2020-12-11). What Happens if Something Goes Wrong after You Receive a COVID Vaccine? globalresearch.ca The bottom line is that if you are injured by a vaccine or other "countermeasure" designated by the DHHS Secretary as intended for a pandemic or bioterrorism threat (Covid-19, Pandemic Flu, Anthrax, Smallpox) your options for receiving any financial benefit …
(2020-12-10). Children's Health Defense (CHD): Life-Threatening Allergic Reactions to Pfizer COVID Vaccine. globalresearch.ca In August, CHD asked regulators to investigate the use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in COVID mRNA vaccines, which could have caused the severe allergic reactions reported this week by two of the first UK recipients of Pfizer's vaccine. | *** | Media …
(2020-12-10). So When Can I Get the Covid Vaccine? thenation.com So When Can I Get the Covid Vaccine?
(2020-12-10). No Time to Waste on Whining, Absent Politicians. counterpunch.org The United States is facing what medical professionals call the most serious public health threat in the history of the nation. The coronavirus pandemic is raging fully out of control, which is exacerbated by a near total lack of leadership at the national level and pitifully little on the state or local level. In the meantime,
(2020-12-10). Canadian Health Ministry Exploring "Immunity Passports," Vaccine "Tracking and Surveillance" globalresearch.ca The Health Minister of Ontario in Canada has stoked controversy by suggesting that people who do not take the coronavirus vaccine will face restrictions on where they can travel and spend time. | *** | When asked by reporters about how the …
(2020-12-10). Michigan Restaurant Owner Calls For Popular Uprising Against Hypocritical Covid Policy. dissidentvoice.org As U.S. death tolls from Covid 19 spiral towards three or four thousand a day, health officials urge us to stop breathing on each other while saying nothing about the vast majority being dependent employees or small entrepreneurs, not free agents, thus unable to cheerfully comply with draconian public health orders that torpedo our jobs …
(2020-12-10). Saturday 12/12: Virtual Vigil Supporting Healthcare Workers & Abolishing Healthcare Profiteering. indybay.org Online livestream…
(2020-12-10). CDC Official Says She Was Told to Delete Email on Kids' Covid-19 Risk to Match Trump's School Reopening Message. commondreams.org "Federal employees have affirmative obligations to preserve documents, and destruction of federal records is potentially illegal," warned Rep. James Clyburn. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-10). [Commentary] Switching the focus from weight to health: Canada's adult obesity practice guideline set a new standard for obesity management. thelancet.com For the majority of human existence, food supply has been scarce; stored energy, in the form of adipose tissue, was therefore vital for survival. Consequently, multiple powerful biological mechanisms developed to drive eating when food was available. These once life-preserving mechanisms are now key contributors to the global obesity epidemic.
(2020-12-10). Improving elective care planning could extend life for thousands of patients. imperial.ac.uk Optimizing hospital scheduling for treatment of tumours, diseases of the digestive system and injuries & poisoning will result in notable gains.
(2020-12-10). Preventing Spike in Evictions Will Help Limit COVID-19's Spread. commondreams.org Evicted families' limited housing options increase their contact with others and limit their ability to social distance, quarantine, access appropriate health services, or practice recommended hand hygiene. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-10). 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Caused Brain Damage in Children. Dr. Anthony Fauci on "Vaccine Safety" Issues. globalresearch.ca A lawsuit against the Trudeau Government for its handling of the COVID-19 Crisis has been launched. What is at stake is the violation of fundamental rights of Canadians. | "The mass and indiscriminate containment of citizens, the restriction of access to …