(2020-12-06). Uruguay's First Leftist President Tabare Vazquez Passes Away. telesurenglish.net Uruguay's former President Tabare Vazquez (2015-2020) passed away at the age of 80 this Sunday from natural causes associated with lung cancer. | RELATED: | The information was revealed by his sons in a press release. At the request of Vazquez, the wake and subsequent burial ceremony will be held in a reserved and intimate manner and in accordance with COVID-19 health protocols. | His remains will rest at the Teja Ceme…
(2020-12-06). Review of Hensman's 'Indefensible'. zcomm.org Defense of the Easily Defensible By Dave Markland In 2018 Haymarket Books published Rohini Hensman's Indefensible: Democracy, Counter-revolution and Anti-imperialist Rhetoric. Its focus is on left journalists and analysts like John Pilger and the late Edward S. Herman who have committed the inexcusable sin of being overly suspicious of United States foreign policy. Many readers
(2020-12-06). In sickness and health, Fresno Food Not Bombs turns 25! indybay.org January 2021 will mark the 25th anniversary of Fresno Food Not Bombs Saturday meal serving, an unbroken string of free meals over 25 years. Will that string be broken?>
(2020-12-06). Venezuela Implements Biosecurity Protocols in Elections. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's authorities of the National Electoral Council (CNE) on Sunday will implement the Strategic Biosafety Plan designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the elections through which the new National Assembly (AN) will be elected. Previously, the CNE held two mock votings to familiarize people with biosafety protocols. | RELATED: | "Health is our premise …. in these elections, a health audit protects us…
(2020-12-06). COVID-19 vaccine: Rich countries might gain, poor ones might suffer. peoplesdispatch.org As trials for vaccine candidates continue, the question of which countries will gain access to it has become pressing. Low-income countries are likely to suffer in this regard…
(2020-12-06). Reduced working hours as a socio-economic investment. indybay.org In this Austrian article, reduced working hours is seen as a socio-economic investment, not as a cost-trap. In a 1909 study by Sidney Chapman, shorter working hours leads to higher productivity and greater output. More time sovereignty and better health of workers would be long-term gains…
(2020-12-06). Losing Jobless Benefits Is Not Only Stressful. popularresistance.org The coronavirus pandemic has thrown millions of Americans out of work — and over the past nine months, up to 20 million have filed for unemployment. Supplemental federal unemployment benefits of $600 per week — a lifeline for many — expired in July and more are set to go away at the end of the year if Congress doesn't act. | But beyond the economic consequences, not having that financial safety net can lead to serious health problems for those affected, according to new research. Dr. Seth Berkowitz, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine who co-authored some of that r…
(2020-12-06). Healthcare Workers Are Organizing Like Their Lives Depend On It. zcomm.org Faced with ongoing PPE shortages and employer obfuscation about deadly outbreaks, more hospital staff are seeing on-the-job solidarity as essential work…
(2020-12-06). "Stay of Action" Filed Against FDA to Stop Approval of COVID Vaccine for Using Faulty PCR Tests in Trials. globalresearch.ca An It is widely …
(2020-12-06). UK First to Approve Pfizer COVID Vaccine as Former Head of Pfizer Research Says Vaccine Can Make Females Infertile. globalresearch.ca In breaking news today, the U.K. became the first country to issue emergency authorization for Pfizer's new COVID vaccine, with the first doses being delivered "immediately" and injections expected to begin in the U.K. next week. | Pfizer and BioNTech have …
(2020-12-05). The Road to a More Just Society Runs Through Congress. commondreams.org Think about all the dreams for a better world that could come to be realized if our elected officials worked for the big majority of Americans instead of for Big Business interests. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-05). [Viewpoint] Certifying Guinea worm eradication: current challenges. thelancet.com The Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP) is, along with polio, one of two active eradication programmes endorsed by the World Health Assembly. Currently, smallpox is the only human infection to have been eradicated.1 Guinea worm disease, or dracunculiasis, is caused by infection with Dracunculus medinensis that is acquired by the ingestion of infected copepods (of the genera Cyclops and Mesocyclops) or by consuming viable infective larvae in fish or other paratenic hosts.2,3 Polio and Guinea worm programmes have made great progress; however, both programmes face major challenges as they progress towards eradi…
(2020-12-05). What's Not Being Said About the Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine. "Human Guinea Pigs"? globalresearch.ca The Pharma giant Pfizer use an experimental technology known as gene editing, specifically mRNA gene-editing, something never before used in vaccines. Before we rush to get jabbed in hopes of some immunity, we should know more about the radical experimental technology and its lack of precision.
(2020-12-05). US occupational safety agency fails to report hundreds of health care worker deaths. wsws.org The officially facilitated coverup of worker deaths has continued in the midst of exploding coronavirus infections and deaths over the past month.
(2020-12-05). US blocked Iran's flu vaccine consignment. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 05 (MNA) — Iranian Health Minister says the United States has continued its sanctions against Iran amid the pandemic, even blocking the import of a flu vaccine consignment to the country.
(2020-12-05). [World Report] South Africa and India push for COVID-19 patents ban. thelancet.com They want the WTO to temporarily suspend intellectual property rights so that COVID-19 vaccines and other new technologies are accessible for poor countries. Ann Danaiya Usher reports.
(2020-12-05). UK healthcare workers: "The ending of lockdown will see a massive increase in infections" wsws.org Doctors, nurses and health care assistants in the UK say hospitals are at breaking point and warn that the Conservative government's ending of the national lockdown will fuel a new wave of infections and hospital admissions.
(2020-12-05). Medical workers protest across Mexico as President AMLO continues to downplay pandemic. wsws.org After suffering nearly 150,000 infections and 2,000 deaths, health care workers are demonstrating against unsafe conditions, lack of pay and for other demands.
(2020-12-05). [Perspectives] Mona Hanna-Attisha: championing child health against the odds. thelancet.com It was mid-morning on March 16, 1988, when, after 2 days of mortar, artillery, and rocket attacks, aircraft returned to hit the people of Halabja, northern Iraq—this time, with an assault of chemical weapons. "I clearly recall, like it was yesterday, I was 11 years old, and my father showed me a picture of this beautiful baby lying on the ground", says Mona Hanna-Attisha, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Human Development and CS Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, USA.
(2020-12-05). Cuba Tests Vaccine Candidate Abdala Against Covid-19. telesurenglish.net Cuba has begun the clinical trial of a new vaccine candidate against COVID-19, named Abdala (CIGB-66), in Santiago de Cuba province, in the east of the country. | RELATED: | The candidate was developed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) of Cuba, an institution that is dedicated to the research, development, production and commercialization of products of this branch. | On Friday, the CI…
(2020-12-05). Michigan educators, autoworkers and healthcare workers: Unite to stop COVID-19 and save lives now! wsws.org Urgent and far-reaching action is needed to save thousands of lives across Michigan this winter. Join our committee now!
(2020-12-05). 1.5 million dead from the coronavirus pandemic worldwide. wsws.org More than 10,000 people are killed by this deadly disease every day, 50 percent more than the height of the first wave of the pandemic in April and more than double the daily death rate at the start of October.
(2020-12-05). [Obituary] Guillermo Soberón. thelancet.com Former Mexican Secretary of Health and Rector of UNAM. Born on Dec 29, 1925, in Iguala, Mexico, he died on Oct 12, 2020, of congestive heart failure in Cuernavaca, Mexico, aged 94 years.
(2020-12-05). [Seminar] Bipolar disorders. thelancet.com Bipolar disorders are a complex group of severe and chronic disorders that includes bipolar I disorder, defined by the presence of a syndromal, manic episode, and bipolar II disorder, defined by the presence of a syndromal, hypomanic episode and a major depressive episode. Bipolar disorders substantially reduce psychosocial functioning and are associated with a loss of approximately 10—20 potential years of life. The mortality gap between populations with bipolar disorders and the general population is principally a result of excess deaths from cardiovascular disease and suicide.
(2020-12-05). [Comment] Offline: COVID-19—what have we learned so far? thelancet.com COVID-19 has left little time for reflection about lessons to be learned. This coronavirus has provoked us, mobilised us, and distracted us. But with a vaccine on the horizon, it's perhaps time to pause. What have we discovered this past year? And how do these discoveries inform our future? Our annual Lancet—Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences conference—held virtually last week—provided a moment for such contemplation.
(2020-12-05). [Correspondence] Freedom from coercion is not discrimination. thelancet.com In the World Report about LGBTQ discrimination in US health care,1 the new US Department of Health and Human Services ruling and the Texas federal court ruling from 2019 are inaccurately portrayed. The Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) was one of the plaintiffs in the case.
(2020-12-04). Patients support their striking SEIU nursing care workers. peoplesworld.org 
The following article is reprinted from the SEIU website. CHICAGO — Doris Moore became a resident at Ambassador Nursing Home & Rehab Center almost two years ago after a suffering stroke. Workers at Ambassador are among the nearly 700 workers at 11 nursing homes owned by Infinity Health Care that made the difficult decision to …
(2020-12-04). Dr. Paul Farmer: Centuries of Inequality in the U.S. Laid Groundwork for Pandemic Devastation. democracynow.org 
As the United States sets new records for COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, we speak with one of the world's leading experts on infectious diseases, Dr. Paul Farmer, who says the devastating death toll in the U.S. reflects decades of underinvestment in public health and centuries of social inequality. "All the social pathologies of our nation come to the fore during epidemics," says Dr. Farmer, a professor of medicine at Harvard University, chair of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, and co-founder and chief strategist of Partners in Health.
(2020-12-04). Colonization Fueled Ebola: Dr. Paul Farmer on "Fevers, Feuds & Diamonds" & Lessons from West Africa. democracynow.org 
We continue our conversation with medical anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer, whose new book, "Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds," tells the story of his efforts to fight Ebola in 2014 and how the history of slavery, colonialism and violence in West Africa exacerbated the outbreak. "Care for Ebola is not rocket science," says Dr. Farmer, who notes that doctors know how to treat sick patients. But the public health response was overwhelmingly focused not on care but containment, Dr. Farmer says, which "generated very painful echoes from colonial rule."
(2020-12-01). Association of Meningococcus Group B Vaccine With Group B Invasive Meningococcal Disease Among Children. jamanetwork.com This case-control study uses national hospital and immunization records in Portugal to estimates the difference in incidence of invasive group B meningococcal disease among children and adolescents who were immunized vs not immunized with 4CMenB, a 4-component meningococcus group B vaccine licensed in 2013.
(2020-12-01). Dispensing of Zolpidem and Low-Dose Trazodone Among Commercially Insured Adults in the US, 2011-2018. jamanetwork.com This study uses IBM MarketScan database data to describe trends in zolpidem and low-dose trazodone dispensing among adults with employer-sponsored insurance or Medicare supplemental plans between 2011 and 2018, before and after a 2017 clinical practice guideline discouraged trazodone use for insomnia.
(2020-12-01). Essential Medicines Identified for Future Public Health Emergencies. jamanetwork.com As it prepares for the next potential public health emergency, the FDA collaborated with other federal agencies to develop a list of essential medicines, medical countermeasures, and pharmaceutical ingredients considered necessary to protect the public from infectious diseases and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.
(2020-12-01). Therapy for Early COVID-19—A Critical Need. jamanetwork.com In this Viewpoint, Fauci and NIAID colleagues review leading candidates for treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to prevent disease progression and longer-term complications, including emerging antiviral drugs, immune-modulating agents, and antibody-based therapies, and the challenges of developing randomized trials to rapidly evaluate the safety and efficacy of each.
(2020-12-01). #23. "Global Gag Rule" Continues to Compromise Women's Health around World. projectcensored.org The United States's global gag rule continues to put at risk the sexual health of women in developing countries that rely on US aid. This federal rule—formally known as the…
(2020-12-01). Hospital-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Infection. jamanetwork.com This Viewpoint reviews the rare incidence of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection and discusses ways it can be minimized, including use of surgical masks, proper ventilation, physical distancing, eye protection, regular testing, and the availability of sick leave for health care workers.
(2020-12-01). Cannabidiol and Δ 9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol Effects on Driving Performance. jamanetwork.com This crossover randomized clinical trial evaluated driving test performance of healthy young adult volunteers after vaporized consumption of cannabis (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] and cannabidiol [CBD]) vs placebo.
(2020-12-01). New Partnership Aims to Intercept Illegal Drugs and Devices. jamanetwork.com The FDA has joined with US Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) to stop harmful products that threaten the public's health from entering the US through International Mail Facilities.
(2020-12-01). The Need for More and Better Testing for COVID-19. jamanetwork.com This Viewpoint proposes criteria for more effective COVID-19 testing strategies to manage population transmission, including use of rapid antigen tests and self-administered nasal and salivary tests, emphasizing that more effective testing alone cannot control the pandemic without continued public health interventions, such as mask wearing, physical distancing, and avoidance of large gatherings.
