(2021-01-09). Tribes Mount Organized Responses To COVID-19. popularresistance.org As the months roll by, the pandemic continues to hit Indigenous nations hard. But this phenomenon is not new. Epidemics have been part of colonialism since settlers arrived. Health inequities tell us that illnesses have different outcomes on different populations; however, leading medical professionals warn the general public of the dangers of oversimplifying health data. They don't tell the whole story. And, in the case of Indigenous nations, the story of inequity is imbued with dispossession of lands and is met with organizing from the inside: two crucial points for untangling and responding to COVID-19.
(2021-01-09). New COVID Variant Found in South Africa Raises Concerns Over Impacts on Vaccine. truthout.org Naturally, the coronavirus mutates as it spreads. But scientists are more concerned about some mutations more than others, and there's one in particular that's worrisome because it could throw a wrench in future vaccine efficacy. | Specifically, variant 20C/501Y.V2 — also known as B.1.351 lineage — which has
(2021-01-09). [World Report] Health systems neglected by COVID-19 donors. thelancet.com The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator is short of billions of dollars, and the funds committed so far are skewed towards vaccines, with little for health systems. Ann Danaiya Usher reports.
(2021-01-09). [World Report] Polio in Afghanistan: a changing landscape. thelancet.com Resurgent violence and the COVID-19 pandemic have set back polio programmes in Afghanistan. Sophie Cousins reports from Kandahar.
(2021-01-09). [Perspectives] Thinking across disciplinary boundaries in a time of crisis. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic forced clinicians and researchers to look beyond traditional professional boundaries, working at a speed that would have previously been unthinkable. A widespread shortage of essential equipment in the early stages of the pandemic prompted health-care staff to search outside their clinical domains for new solutions. Reports from the UK and beyond showed clinicians, engineers, and racing car teams collaborating to design and produce respiratory support apparatus such as ventilators and continuous positive airway pressure machines for treating seriously ill patients.
(2021-01-09). Infamous US Record during Covid-19 Pandemic. dissidentvoice.org 
A health worker conducts a nucleic acid test on a resident in Chengdu, in western China's Sichuan province, on December 8, 2020, after new Covid-19 cases were detected in the city. Almost from the start, China has responded rapidly to outbreaks. Photo: AFP / STR December 11, 2020, is another December day that should "live …
(2021-01-09). COVID-19 crisis situation in Ontario: Deadliest day of the pandemic. mronline.org 
January 7th is the deadliest day of the pandemic so far, 89 people died in the last 24-hour period. By every measure the situation is critical, and there can be no question remaining that stronger measures are needed to control the devastation the virus is wreaking.
(2021-01-09). The military is chuffed that the coronavirus crisis has filled the ranks. thecanary.co The British Army is reporting a substantial rise in recruiting due to the pandemic. A source General Tyrone Urch, the British Army officer who was responsible for overseeing the Nightingale hospitals, was also interviewed. He told the paper: In a uniquely demanding year for us all, it has been remarkable and really encouraging to see the huge numbe…
(2021-01-09). The Pointless Putsch. popularresistance.org If the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, and eventually overtook the Capitol, quite easily by the way, with police literally opening gates for them, snapping some selfies, and participating in a few friendly shoving matches before ceding the building completely. | If those people stormed the Capitol because their government had abandoned them for nearly a year while an unprecedented pandemic ravaged the country. | If they stormed the Capitol because the government shut down their jobs and asked them to stay home but didn't provide stimulus to replace their lost income, didn't provide rent relief,…
(2021-01-09). Scientists warn that national lockdown needs to be stricter. thecanary.co 
The national lockdown needs to be toughened further to have a similar impact on case numbers as the March shutdown, scientists have said. | A more infectious variant, coupled with the usual winter pressures, requires stricter measures than the ones announced by Boris Johnson for England this month, the experts warned. Similar lockdown measures are in place across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. | Activity: | Professor Robert West, a participant in the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B), said the current restrictions are "still allowing a lot of activity which is spreading the…
(2021-01-09). [Articles] Immunogenicity and safety of fractional doses of yellow fever vaccines: a randomised, double-blind, non-inferiority trial. thelancet.com Fractional doses of all WHO-prequalified yellow fever vaccines were non-inferior to the standard dose in inducing seroconversion 28 days after vaccination, with no major safety concerns. These results support the use of fractional dosage in the general adult population for outbreak response in situations of vaccine shortage.
(2021-01-09). [Comment] Public health role for fractional dosage of yellow fever vaccine. thelancet.com In The Lancet, Aitana Juan-Giner and colleagues1 compare seroconversion rates, neutralising antibody titres, and adverse events in patients given full dose (0 ∑5 mL) and one fifth dose (0 ∑1 mL) of all four WHO pre-qualified yellow fever vaccines among 960 healthy adults aged 18—59 years in Kenya and Uganda. Each group contained 110—117 participants and participant demographics were similar between groups, with an overall mean age of 35 ∑7 years (range 34 ∑5—37 ∑2), and 55% of participants were female (range 49—61%).
(2021-01-09). In India, pseudo-nationalism trumps science in vaccine clearance. peoplesdispatch.org The recent regulatory clearance given to an indigenous developed vaccine candidate in India is an example of vaccine nationalism at its worst and jettisoning of all the principles of an evidence-based, scientific approach…
(2021-01-09). Fascism, fascisation, antifascism. mronline.org 
Fascism can be classically defined as an ideology, a movement and a regime.
(2021-01-09). Groundbreaking Climate Crisis Court Case. popularresistance.org In 2019 a study linked climate change and hotter weather to early childbirth in the United States. "That's enough to take somebody from what's considered to be a pretty healthy pregnancy into a 'we are somewhat worried' pregnancy," said Alan Barreca, a UCLA professor of environment and human health and lead author of the study. | Prior to this, several studies showed that the most effective way to mitigate the climate crisis, in terms of individual behavior, was to choose a smaller family, and have fewer children than one normally would. | That means the best thing we can do to protect our kids is to change the w…
(2021-01-09). Gavin Newsom's New Year's Gift: 14 new fracking permits, delayed public health regulations. indybay.org California Gavin Newsom has come under fire from environmentalists and the public over the fracking and other oil drilling permits that CalGEM issued in 2020 for Aera Energy and other oil companies.
(2021-01-09). Ministers face calls to support university students with rent rebates for their empty rooms. thecanary.co Ministers and university leaders are facing calls to offer rent rebates to students amid the lockdown. | The government has said the majority of university students in England can't return to campus until at least mid-February. Instead, they'll have to study from their current residence. Some universities have decided to move lessons online until even later in the year amid tighter restrictions announced this week. | The National Union of Students (NUS) has said it's "unacceptable" that students have to pay towards accommodation that they've been told not to travel to on public health grounds. They say ministers…
(2021-01-09). [Perspectives] Building power. thelancet.com It was a raw response to yet another social injustice. A response to the not guilty verdict in the trial of the murderer of Trayvon Martin. A response that many people had, but Alicia Garza's response became a global movement. As she describes in her book The Purpose of Power, this was a moment decades in the making. Garza's courageous reflections document her personal transformation alongside the growth of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the USA. As public health physicians of colour from the USA and UK humbly engaging in the work of social change to advance global health equity, for us Garza's words ar…
(2021-01-09). [Obituary] Gordon Wesley Perkin. thelancet.com PATH co-founder and radical visionary in global health. He was born in Toronto, ON, Canada, on April 25, 1935, and died of lung cancer in Seattle, WA, USA on Aug 21, 2020, aged 85 years.
(2021-01-08). Patriarchy And The Pandemic. popularresistance.org The COVID-19 pandemic has made it agonizingly clear that the systems under which we are living were already broken. The pandemic has only exacerbated the crisis of the capitalist system and removed any illusions about this reality. However, the impact of the crisis has not been uniform. The neoliberal capitalist model, which survives and profits by exploiting the vulnerable, again fell back on its same old ways. As a result, it has been the workers, the migrants, the women, and others, whose unpaid and underpaid labor serves as the basis for capitalists to profit, who have suffered the most. | In this conversatio…
(2021-01-08). The COVID-19 Pandemic Shows the Dangers of For-Profit Housing. truthout.org A recently published article in The Atlantic titled " As white-collar workers have left expensive urban cores in droves, apartments have emptied and rents have fallen, just as your average economist would predict.
(2021-01-08). Plunge in Restaurant Jobs Due to COVID Leads to First Job Loss Since April. truthout.org The economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, all of which can be attributed to a plunge in restaurant employment of 372,000. Other sectors highly sensitive to the pandemic, such as hotels and recreation, also lost jobs. The unemployment rate and employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) were both unchanged at 6.7 percent and 57.4 percent, respectively. | The resurgence of the pandemic further heightened the two-track nature of this recession. Construction and manufacturing, two sectors normally hard…
(2021-01-08). Florida Seniors Forced to Camp Overnight in Cars in Hope of Vaccine. truthout.org As the United States reports record COVID-19 deaths, Florida broke the record for the highest single-day increase in new cases Thursday. Across the state, long lines to get vaccinations against COVID-19 left senior citizens camping in their cars overnight in cold weather, after Governor Ron DeSantis lowered the priority age to 65, 10 years below the CDC recommended age of 75. Those aged 79 and older are reportedly four times as likely to die from COVID. We speak with John and Maria Luisa Schoch, aged 79…
(2021-01-08). Vaccinating equitably 'saves lives, stabilizes health systems' — WHO chief. news.un.org Two billion doses of "safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines" have been secured by the international equitable vaccine alliance COVAX, and they will be ready for distribution as soon they are delivered, the UN health agency chief said on Friday.
(2021-01-08). As US Sets Daily Record With 4,085 Dead From Covid-19, Governors Demand More Vaccine Doses. commondreams.org The World Health Organization now says the interval between two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be extended to up to six weeks.
(2021-01-08). Peru Identifies the First Case of the New Sars-Cov-2 Mutation. telesurenglish.net Peru's Ministry of Health confirmed on Friday its first case of the new SARS-CoV-2 mutation. The patient, a woman who had not traveled abroad but did receive a relative over Christmas, remains in quarantine at this home. | RELATED: | The scientists have warned that the new mutation has a contagion capacity 70 percent more than the COVID-19. Nonetheless, the authorities remarked that the patient had shown only "mild sympto…
(2021-01-08). Modi boasts about "Indian" vaccines as COVID-19 virus rages through the country. wsws.org Workers and the poor continue to be the primary victims of the pandemic, while India's media focuses on vaccinations.
(2021-01-08). Survival of the Fittest? Florida Seniors Forced to Camp Overnight in Cars, Hoping for Vaccine. democracynow.org 
As the United States reports record COVID-19 deaths, Florida broke the record for the highest single-day increase in new cases Thursday. Across the state, long lines to get vaccinations against COVID-19 left senior citizens camping in their cars overnight in cold weather, after Governor Ron DeSantis lowered the priority age to 65, 10 years below the CDC recommended age of 75. Those aged 79 and older are reportedly four times as likely to die from COVID. We speak with John and Maria Luisa Schoch, aged 79 and 80, as they enter their second day in line waiting for shots.
(2021-01-08). How to Make a COVID-19 Vaccine @Home. realprogressives.org This is a script of the video embedded below. | Hello Internet, I'm Jackie Fox and I have a new idea I want to bring you in the final hours of a dark year. This may be a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. It combines video games, community, scientific research, and even vaccines and medical treatments. In some ways it's a follow up to cover new info about vaccines in general I learned since the last series, but the core concept is about this project called Folding@Home. | See, back in 2007, I bought a PlayStation 3, and after a few updates, there was a mysterious app added called "Folding@Home" and I…
(2021-01-08). Indonesia Deems the Chinese Vaccine Suitable for Muslims. telesurenglish.net The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) on Friday announced that the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Chinese company Sinovac is suitable for Muslim believers. | RELATED: | The MUI Fatwas Commission Secretary Asrorun Ni'am Sholeh pointed out that the vaccine is "holy" but that his institution will wait for the health authorities to approve the drug to issue the "fatwa", which is a formal ruling on a point of Islamic law…
(2021-01-08). Is Israel Practicing Vaccine Leadership or Medical Apartheid? counterpunch.org 
Israel has a population of around 9 million. About 20 percent of Israel's population are Palestinian citizens of Israel. These people can vote in elections, have representation in the Knesset, and are being vaccinated against COVID-19. But, there are another around 5 million Palestinians who live under Israeli rule, without rights, and like the rest of the world, are suffering from the pandemic.
(2021-01-08). COVID Scientist Rebekah Jones Condemns Armed Police Raid on Her Home & Florida's Pandemic Response. democracynow.org 
As Florida sets new records for daily coronavirus cases, we speak with a whistleblower who was fired in May from the Florida Department of Health after she refused to censor information about the state's COVID-19 outbreak. Rebekah Jones is a data scientist who helped build Florida's coronavirus tracking dashboard, and she says her termination came after she refused to manipulate data to support the state's reopening. In December, police raided Jones's home in Tallahassee, seizing her computer and phone and holding her family at gunpoint, as part of an alleged investigation into a hacking of the Florida Health Dep…
(2021-01-08). Hospitals in Ecuador and Peru Collapse Due to Lack of Beds. telesurenglish.net Health authorities in Peru and Ecuador on Thursday reported a surge in demand for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds at their hospitals, which suggests that both countries are facing a COVID-19 rebound. | RELATED: | "We have started counting them on our fingers," Peru's Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti warned, reporting that a group of experts believe the country is experiencing a second wave of contagion. | Hospitals' situatio…
(2021-01-08). Cuba Reports Record Number of COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours. telesurenglish.net The director of epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) of Cuba, Francisco Durán García, announced this Friday in a press conference that the country reports its highest number of infections of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with 344 new cases confirmed. | The province that presents the most significant accumulation of coronavirus infections is Havana, the island's capital. | RELATED: | Durán García said that 12,092 clinical t…
(2021-01-08). Capitalism on a Ventilator: A new book analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. and China. mronline.org 
While China contained COVID-19 and preserved its economy, the U.S. spins lies while hundreds of thousands of its people die for lack of even a semblance of a national health system.
(2021-01-08). COVID-19 infections out of control at Cricklewood Bus Garage! For a walkout and strike action to save lives! wsws.org At least 12 staff have been diagnosed with COVID in recent days, including up to ten bus drivers, a manager and the garage's full time Unite Health and Safety Rep…
(2021-01-08). Record numbers of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations across the US as pandemic surge continues. wsws.org The situation in southern California remains especially dire, with Los Angeles County emerging as a global epicenter of the virus.
(2021-01-08). North China City Shijiazhuang to be Locked Down for 7 Days. telesurenglish.net Shijiazhuang, the capital city of north China's Hebei Province, will be locked down for seven days to curb the COVID-19 epidemic spread, announced local authorities on Friday evening. | RELATED: | After completing the citywide acid testing, all Shijiazhuang citizens are called to stay at home, and local authorities will endeavor to ensure their daily life, said the municipal COVID-19 prevention and control headquarters. | Shijiazhuang…
(2021-01-08). Comentario: øEnfrenta EE.UU. una situación revolucionaria? workers.org 
El deber ineludible de un socialista revolucionario es percibir los cambios que se están produciendo en la sociedad y que agudizan la lucha de clases y actuar sobre esos cambios sin vacilar. Cualquier organización socialista o persona socialista que no lo haga no puede ser considerada una defensora del proletariado . . . |
(2021-01-08). Unison leader retires with blast against Boris Johnson and the government. thecanary.co The outgoing head of the country's biggest trade union has criticised the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis and their treatment of public sector workers. | "Reckoning": | Dave Prentis, who has been general secretary of Unison for 20 years, said ministers had been behind the curve on procuring enough safety equipment at the start of the pandemic, made promises they hadn't kept, and were now denying a pay rise to workers who had heroically served their communities. | He called for a public inquiry into how the government had handled the crisis, saying there has to be a "day of reckoning". | He…
(2021-01-08). Vaccine distribution mired in delays across Europe. wsws.org As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread out of control throughout the European continent, the program of vaccination organized by the European Union is already widely recognized to be a debacle.
(2021-01-08). Immunization with SARS [1] Coronavirus Vaccines Leads to Pulmonary Immunopathology on Challenge with the SARS Virus. globalresearch.ca This article was originally published in April 2012. | It pertains to Severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS-CoV (2002) which has, according to the WHO and the CDC similar features to SARS-CoV-2. | A vaccine was envisaged in relation to SARS-1. | This article …
(2021-01-08). Immunization with SARS [1] Coronavirus Vaccines Leads to Pulmonary Immunopathology on Challenge with the SARS Virus. globalresearch.ca This study was originally published in April 2012. | It pertains to the Severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS-CoV (2002) which has, according to the WHO and the CDC similar features to SARS-CoV-2. | A vaccine was envisaged in relation to SARS-1. The …
(2021-01-08). This Pandemic Shows How Elites Have Forgotten Us. zcomm.org Belgium has suffered the world's worst rate of coronavirus deaths…
(2021-01-08). Coronavirus hits jobs again, 140k jobs lost in December. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The national coronavirus pandemic has hit workers' jobs again. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Jan. 8 that companies shed a net of 140,000 jobs in December. The U.S. ended 2020 with a 6.7% jobless rate, compared to 3.6% in Dec. 2019. But those jobs numbers actually understate the virus's impact. And the day …
(2021-01-08). Pandemic-Caused Plunge in Restaurant Jobs Leads to First Job Loss Since April. cepr.net The pain from the recession is heavily concentrated among the long-term unemployed. The economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, all of which can be attributed to a plunge in restaurant employment of 372,000. Other sectors highly sensitive to the pandemic, such as hotels and recreation, also lost jobs. The unemployment rate and employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) …
(2021-01-08). Cuba's revolution continues during the pandemic. workers.org 
During the first week of January, Cubans celebrated the 62nd anniversary of their great Revolution, marking the day when Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and the revolutionary forces entered Havana and ousted the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Since the victory in 1959, Cuba has resisted attack after attack by . . . |
(2021-01-08). Jackson, Miss., schools 'Smart Restart' pushed by capitalism, not families. liberationnews.org 
JPS leaders are making the decision to reopen campus because our racist capitalist system refuses to prioritize public health and safety, even during a global pandemic.
(2021-01-08). Cuban Doctors To Arrive in Mexico Once Again. telesurenglish.net Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) announced the upcoming arrival of the second group of Cuban doctors made up of 200 professionals who will support the fight against the pandemic in the country. | RELATED: | The group will be assisted by the Navy and the Armed forces given the alarming health situation in the country, which has recorded a caseload of over 1.4 million cases and over 131,031 related fatalitie…
(2021-01-08). IMF Projects China's Economy To Grow by 7.9% in 2021. telesurenglish.net The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said that China's economy will expand by 7.9 percent in 2021 following a 1.9 percent growth in 2020. | RELATED: | "The Chinese economy continues its fast recovery from the pandemic, helped by a strong containment effort and swift policy actions to mitigate the impact of the crisis," the IMF executive board said, adding that "policymakers have provided financial relief a…
