2021-03-27: News Headlines

_____ (2021-03-27). The War Of Hunger Is Taking Over From The War Of Guns. popularresistance.org Great dollops of hypocrisy invariably accompany expressions of concern by outside powers for the wellbeing of the Syrian people. But even by these low standards, a new record for self-serving dishonesty is being set by the Caesar Civilian Protection Act, the new US law imposing the harshest sanctions in the world on Syria and bringing millions of Syrians to the brink of famine. | Supposedly aimed at safeguarding ordinary Syrians from violent repression by President Bashar al-Assad, the law is given a humanitarian garnish by naming it after the Syrian military photographer who filmed and smuggled out of the countr…

Litsa Chatzivasileiou (2021-03-27). The Windigo Disease of Resource Capitalism and Global Dispossession of Indigenous Peoples. dissidentvoice.org This is a version of a speech given outside the headquarters of ReconAfrica in Vancouver BC on Water Day — March 22, 2021. We are on stolen CS·∏µwxñwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó: l≈ç and S…ôlÃìiÃÅlw…ôta î/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and x ∑m…ôŒ∏k ∑…ôyÃì…ôm (Musqueam) land and what is happening here today, the assault of Indigenous peoples and the invasion of their territories by …

Andrea Germanos (2021-03-27). WHO Chief Blasts 'Grotesque' Vaccine Inequality. zcomm.org Rich Nations Block Speedy End of Global Pandemic…

Gwenetta Curry (2021-03-27). [Perspectives] Your health is my health: how everyone's health is interconnected. thelancet.com People who provide health and social care services, transport, food, and other essential services have maintained the economy, vital services, and crucial support systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of these workers have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. In many countries the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted pre-existing racial and social inequalities. Health inequalities have been driven by structural factors that limit resources in deprived areas, leaving some more vulnerable to disease than others.

David B Hipgrave, Aboubacar Kampo, Luwei Pearson (2021-03-27). [Correspondence] Health systems in the ACT-A. thelancet.com The attention to health systems in the headline of Ann Usher's World Report1 about the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) is most welcome. However, we were disappointed that the World Report focused on medical oxygen and personal protective equipment (PPE), interventions that, although important, are better described as components of clinical care. Unlimited medical oxygen and PPE will not benefit populations that are affected by COVID-19 if health facilities do not have enough staff or funding for other equipment, drugs, utilities, and transport, or if they have lost most supplies to pilfering.

Sophie Mylan, Charlotte Hardman (2021-03-27). [Correspondence] COVID-19, cults, and the anti-vax movement. thelancet.com Rochelle Burgess and colleagues1 eloquently described participatory community engagement as essential for successful COVID-19 vaccination, which involves appreciating the heterogeneous public and working with communities and their leaders to enable bottom-up approaches. They suggested that COVID-19 has drawn attention to the structural violence that is embedded within society, with the pandemic furthering the marginalisation of historically oppressed and excluded groups. Burgess and colleagues1 drew attention to how people who might have suffered disproportionate economic and health consequences from COVID-19 are…

The Lancet (2021-03-27). [Editorial] COVID-19: building a stronger Europe. thelancet.com Europe is facing serious third waves of COVID-19 and vaccine roll-out has been fraught. But while much of the focus has been on western Europe, little attention has been paid to central and eastern Europe. This region is large, politically diverse, and historically complex, spanning EU member countries like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and the Baltic states, the non-EU western Balkans, and Ukraine further east. It is unclear how some of these countries managed to keep cases low during the first part of 2020.

Ann Danaiya Usher (2021-03-27). [World Report] Uncertainties over EU COVID-19 vaccine sharing scheme. thelancet.com Legal hurdles and political questions remain over a European Commission mechanism for donating COVID-19 vaccines to other nations. Ann Danaiya Usher reports.

Michael S Niederman, Lionel A Mandell (2021-03-27). [Comment] How low can we go in community-acquired pneumonia therapy? thelancet.com Duration of antibiotic therapy is a key decision in the management of community-acquired pneumonia, the number one cause of infectious disease mortality in developed countries such as the USA.1 In current US guidelines, therapy is recommended for a minimum of 5 days in patients admitted to hospital, provided that the patient has been afebrile for at least 48 h, initial therapy was appropriate, there is no more than one clinical instability, and no signs of extrapulmonary infection.1 Shortening the duration of therapy could lead to fewer antibiotic side-effects, less pressure for antimicrobial resistance, reduced…

Sherrine A Ibrahim, David M Haas (2021-03-27). [Comment] Role of progestogens in women at risk for spontaneous preterm birth: the final word? thelancet.com Preterm birth is defined by WHO as delivery before 37 weeks of gestation.1 It is one of the most common pregnancy complications, with an estimated global rate of 10 ∑6% in 2014, equating to an estimated 14 ∑84 million live preterm births.2 Preterm birth considerably increases risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality, including long-term sequelae, and can result in long-term health and financial implications for families.3…

Mark Sumner (2021-03-27). The Cost of Covid Long-Haulers. zcomm.org For some patients, serious and long-term problems are occurring even though the disease itself was apparently mild or asymptomatic…

Greg Kaufmann (2021-03-27). Stacy Abrams Aims to Vaccinate Rural Georgia. zcomm.org "We saw a huge difference when we engaged and organized communities in terms of the [election] turnout in Southwest Georgia. The same can be done with accessing the vaccine."

Staff (2021-03-27). Sanders Plans Push to Expand and Enhance Medicare in the Infrastructure Bill. truthout.org Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is

_____ (2021-03-27). Organizations Petition High Court Of Justice Demanding Vaccines For Palestinians. popularresistance.org Six Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations petitioned the High Court of Justice on Thursday demanding that Israel take immediate steps to ensure regular supply of vaccines to the Palestinian population under its occupation, control and influence, in the West Bank and Gaza. The petitioners also demand that the state transfer its surplus vaccines to the Palestinians immediately. | The petition was submitted by Adv. Adi Lustigman on behalf of Physicians for Human Rights Israel; HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual; Al Mezan Center for Human Rights…

Brian Wakamo (2021-03-27). As rich nations protect corporate patents, the global vaccine divide is widening. nationofchange.org Corporate profits are not more important than the lives of millions of poor people around the globe.