Daily Archives: January 11, 2021

2021-01-11: News Headlines

The Canary (2021-01-11). Stark warning from Chris Whitty — UK has not yet hit the peak of Covid-19 infection. thecanary.co The UK has not yet hit the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 infection, with the next few weeks being "the worst" of the pandemic for the NHS, England's chief medical officer has warned.Professor Chris Whitty said the vaccine rollout offered hope that lockdown restrictions could be lifted in the coming months, but described the current UK death rate as "appalling". | During a BBC phone-in on the current high case rates, he said: "I don't think we're yet at the peak, I'm afraid."I think we will be at the peak if everybody can double down and absolutely minimise their contacts."The point of the lockdown is to br…

RT (2021-01-11). English hospitals won't see reduction in Covid admissions until FEBRUARY, health service chief warns. rt.com Number of Covid-19 patients in English hospitals isn't going to drop in the coming weeks as the country hasn't yet seen the full impact of the Christmas loosening of restrictions, NHS England's National Medical Director warned. | Coronavirus infections and the death rate remain "stubbornly high," putting hospitals in England under "significant and sustained" pressure, Professor Stephen Powis said during a Downing Street press conference on Monday. | There are now over 13,000 more Covid-19 patients in hospital than there were on Christmas Day, he pointed out. According to official data, the number of people hos…

RT (2021-01-11). Japan notifies WHO of new Covid-19 variant found in travelers arriving from Brazil. rt.com The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it was notified by Japan about the detection of a new Covid-19 variant there, as the government extends the state of emergency declared to control the virus in Tokyo to other areas. | WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the Japanese health authorities had informed the UN health agency of the new strain at the weekend, after it was detected in four travelers from Brazil's Amazonas state. | The variant has 12 mutations, one of which has been found in the strains discovered in South Africa and the UK. The Brazilian Health Ministry said t…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-11). Israel 'declined WHO request' to provide Covid-19 vaccine for Palestinian medics. middleeasteye.net Israel 'declined WHO request' to provide Covid-19 vaccine for Palestinian medics | Israeli authorities accused of 'racial discrimination' for refusing to provide Palestinians with jabs | Mon, 01/11/2021 – 13: 22 | An Israeli senior citizen receives his second Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the northern coastal city of Haifa on 11 January 2021 (AFP) | An official at the World Health Organisatio…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-11). Covid-19: Palestine first in Middle East to register for Russian vaccine, says wealth fund. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Palestine first in Middle East to register for Russian vaccine, says wealth fund | With delivery expected 'within a month', Russia's Sputnik V will be the first shipment of coronavirus vaccine for the Palestinians | Mon, 01/11/2021 – 13: 27 | A Palestinian health worker collects random swab samples from people to test for the coronavirus in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 1…

Prensa Latina (2021-01-11). Vietnam without deaths from COVID-19 in over three months. mronline.org Vietnam's death toll from COVID-19 has stood at 35 since last September, and none of those hospitalized due to this disease risks death, the Ministry of Health reported on Sunday.

Brandon Stout (2021-01-11). Michigan evictions continue despite CDC moratorium. liberationnews.org Violent police-led evictions are being carried out in Michigan despite a Centers for Disease Control eviction moratorium meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. Legal loopholes and non-compliant judges make the moratorium easy to circumvent. While the CDC issued this order "because evictions threaten to increase the spread of COVID-19," it offers extremely limited protection. …

Patrick Cockburn (2021-01-11). What Assange's Victory Really Means. counterpunch.org The 10-year campaign by the US government to criminalise reporting critical of its actions has failed in rather peculiar circumstances, with the unexpected decision by the court in London to reject the US demand for Julian Assange's extradition. Judge Vanessa Baraitser gave as the reason for her decision Assange's mental health and possible suicide risk,

imperial.ac.uk (2021-01-11). Blood plasma treatment has limited effect for sickest COVID-19 patients. imperial.ac.uk Treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with blood plasma from people who have fought off the disease has limited impact on patient outcomes.

WSWS (2021-01-11). Netanyahu government denies vaccine to Palestinians as it lauds mass rollout to Israelis. wsws.org Israel's COVID-19 vaccination program does not include the five million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, which Israel has illegally occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

news.un (2021-01-11). Get COVID-19 vaccinations for 'high-risk' populations underway within 100 days worldwide, Tedros urges. news.un.org There needs to be a "collective commitment" to get vaccinations underway worldwide for health workers and others who are at high risk of catching COVID-19, within the next 100 days, said the UN health agency chief on Monday.

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Cuban Abdala Vaccine to End Its First Phase of Clinical Trial. telesurenglish.net Abdala, one of the four Cuban COVID-19 vaccines, will finish its first phase of clinical trials with scarce adverse reactions and an adequate security profile. | RELATED: | "So far, the volunteers only manifest discomfort in the area of vaccine administration," Saturnino Lora Hospital's director Rafael Suarez said. | The first phase of the clinical trial started in a hospital in Santiago de Cuba province in December. I…

WSWS (2021-01-11). Canada's health care system overwhelmed by COVID-19 surge. wsws.org "We've lost control of the epidemic," exclaimed Dr. Antoine Delage, a pulmonologist at a hospital south of Montreal.

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Mexico Resumes Remote Learning Amid COVID-19 Surge. telesurenglish.net Mexico's Education Minister Esteban Moctezuma Sunday informed that the new school year will resume remotely due to the current COVID-19 surge. | RELATED: | "We are working to achieve a safe return to classrooms. Student community's health and safety are priorities for the government," Moctezuma assured. | On Monday, over 25 million elementary students nationwide assisted the "Learn at Home" television program, an initiativ…

Dr. Barbara G. Ellis (2021-01-11). Congressional Aid for COVID Victims Takes Lessons from Parliament's Stingy Aid to Irish in the Great Famine of the 1840s. globalresearch.ca The parallel of the American economic landscape from COVID's deathly sweep seems far more like Ireland's in the

David R. Lorenz, Vikas Misra, Sukrutha Chettimada, Hajime Uno, Lanqing Wang, Benjamin C. Blount, Víctor R. De Jesús, Benjamin B. Gelman, Susan Morgello, Steven M. Wolinsky, Dana Gabuzda (2021-01-11). Acrolein and other toxicant exposures in relation to cardiovascular disease among marijuana and tobacco smokers in a longitudinal cohort of HIV-positive and negative adults. thelancet.com Smoke-related toxicants, including acrylonitrile and acrylamide metabolites, are detectable in exclusive marijuana smokers, but exposures are lower compared with tobacco or dual smokers. Acrolein exposure is increased by tobacco smoking but not exclusive marijuana smoking in HIV+ and HIV- adults, and contributes to cardiovascular disease in tobacco smokers.

news.un (2021-01-11). State of the ocean will 'ultimately determine the survival of our species': UN Special Envoy. news.un.org The health of the ocean will ultimately determine the survival of humankind on Earth, according to the UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson. Marking the opening of the International Decade for Ocean Science, the former top Fijian diplomat and General Assembly president, told UN News that a healthy planet is inextricably linked to a healthy ocean.

Sacha Stone (2021-01-11). Video: Focus on Fauci. "This is Not A Vaccine" globalresearch.ca " Let's make sure we are clear… This is not a vaccine. They are using the term "vaccine" to sneak this thing under public health exemptions. This is not a vaccine." Dr David Martin | This means that all those 'pushing …

Zachary Denman (2021-01-11). Video: The Great Reset: Dystopian. globalresearch.ca The Great Reset had to happen so the cashless society could be brought in and the one world government could be introduced… | With society now in a Police state and a Mandatory Vaccine now in place, Kain is finding refuge …

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Brazilian Lab to Produce Sputnik V for Sale in Latam. telesurenglish.net The Russian Sputnik V vaccine developers informed that a Brazilian laboratory will launch the drug's production and distribution throughout Latin America as of January 15. | RELATED: | The Brazilian Chemical Union company confirmed the news by announcing that it will produce 8 million doses per month in the first semester of 2021. | "On Monday, a company delegation will travel to Russia to finish validating the manufac…

Dan Bacher (2021-01-11). Newsom's 2021 Budget Doesn't Address Fossil-Fueled Public Health & Climate Crises. indybay.org The response to the budget by environmental, climate and environmental justice groups was mixed. The Sierra Club praised the funding of incentives to replace fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles, while the Last Chance Coalition, a coalition of more than 750 public health, environmental justice, climate, and labor organizations, said the budget fails to directly address the extraction and production of fossil fuels in California after a year during which the state's oil and gas regulators approved thousands of drilling permits.

Dr. Gary G. Kohls (2021-01-11). False Positives: Evidence Based Fact, What is the Reliability of the PCR Test? globalresearch.ca "It is easier to deceive people than to convince them that they have been deceived." — Mark Twain | * | We bring to the attention of our readers a series of quotations by the CDC, FDA, scientists and medical doctors (emphasis …

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Peru: Ex-President Fujimori Sued Over Forced Sterilizations. telesurenglish.net The Peruvian Attorney General's Office on Monday will present charges against former president Alberto Fujimori, his health ministers, and other former officials over the forced sterilizations of thousands of women from 1996 to 2000. | RELATED: | The hearing, which will be presided over by Judge Rafael Martin, will begin at 9h30 local time and will be broadcast on social networks through the Justicia TV account. | The for…

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Ford Announces the Closure of Its Factories in Brazil. telesurenglish.net The measure should impact the company about $ 4.1 billion and affect about 5,000 workers, according to Bloomberg. "We know that these actions are very difficult, but necessary, to create a healthy and sustainable business," Ford President Jim Farley was quoted as saying in a company statement. | RELATED: | Production will cease "immediately" at the Camacari and Taubaté plants, although they will continue to supply p…

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2021-01-10). As Pandemic Rages, Trump Admin. Approves Tennessee's "Reckless" Plan to Slash Medicaid. commondreams.org The eleventh-hour safety net attack is being met with outrage from advocates of strengthening the healthcare program. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-10). Israelis resume corruption protests against Netanyahu amid third Covid-19 lockdown. middleeasteye.net Israelis resume corruption protests against Netanyahu amid third Covid-19 lockdown | Protests taking place as trial approaches and with race on to deliver vaccine ahead of March election | Sun, 01/10/2021 – 14: 22 | Prime minister has centred focus on vaccination programme ahead of latest nationwide vote (Reuters) | Thousands of Israelis have restarted protests against Prime Minister Benja…

RT (2021-01-10). New coronavirus variant with similarities to UK & South Africa strains discovered in Japan. rt.com The Japanese Health Ministry said it has tracked down yet another variant of Covid-19 partly similar to the UK and South Africa strains, which are believed to be more contagious and linked to a spike in infections in Britain. | The mutant strain was found in four people who flew into Japan from Brazil. The passengers tested positive for Covid-19 in airport quarantine, the ministry said. | One of them was a man in his 40s, who showed no symptoms on arrival, but was later hospitalized with breathing difficulties. Another was a woman in her 30s who reported having a headache. A male, aged between 10 and 19, had f…

RT (2021-01-10). Scanning digital health QR code becomes OBLIGATORY for passengers using ride-hailing services in Beijing. rt.com Using a ride-hailing service in Beijing, such as Uber or local Didi Chuxing, won't be possible without scanning your health QR code, the city authorities said amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in nearby Hebei province. | Starting from Monday, drivers will be able to deny services to those who refuse to show and scan their QR codes, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported. | The color-based health QR code system was introduced in Beijing and more than 100 other cities in February to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, which was first reported in China's Wuhan more than a month earlier. | The app automat…

Bruce E. Levine (2021-01-10). COVID-19 Slaughter, CDC Tragedy, and One U.S. Authority without Blood on His Hands. counterpunch.org It is easy for progressives to blame the staggering calamity of U.S. COVID-19 deaths solely on Trump. Yes, Donald Trump is a self-serving liar, and his vice president, Mike Pence, as chair of the President's Coronavirus Task Force and Trump henchman, has blocked life-saving guidance from scientific authorities. There is smoking-gun evidence (some of which

RT (2021-01-10). Algeria becomes first African nation to approve Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. rt.com Algeria is going to vaccinate its population against the coronavirus with Sputnik V after the Russian drug received official approval from the North African country's health authorities. | A registration certificate for Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine was shared by the country's Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry on Facebook. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which finances the development of the vaccine, also confirmed the news, saying that it was approved under the emergency use authorization. | Algiers and Moscow inked a deal for Sputnik V shortly before the New Year. The supplies of Russian…

RT (2021-01-10). Russia reports first case of mutated UK coronavirus variant. rt.com A new, more infectious variant of Covid-19, which was discovered in Britain in mid-December, has reached Russia, the country's wellbeing and consumer-rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said. | The mutated strain was found in the samples taken from a Russian man who had returned from a trip to the UK before the New Year, Rospotrebnadzor's head Anna Popova told the Rossiya 1 channel on Sunday. | He didn't show symptoms of the disease and isn't contagious anymore. "The man was feeling and is currently feeling fine," Popova said. | The new Covid-19 variant has led in recent weeks to a spike in cases in Britain, par…

Editor (2021-01-10). The Coming Battle Over Vaccines. scheerpost.com Matt Allworth / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] By Jill Richardson / OtherWords With the new COVID-19 vaccine available, Dr. Anthony Fauci says Americans can begin to achieve herd immunity by next summer. Herd immunity occurs when so many people are immune to the virus that it can't spread, because an infected person won't have anyone left to spread it to. Yet as of November, four in ten Americans said they… |

The Canary (2021-01-10). Public health expert warns that the UK needs a clear coronavirus strategy beyond the vaccine. thecanary.co The response to coronavirus (Covid-19) across the UK should be more proactive, a public health expert has warned. | Professor Devi Sridhar said there's currently "no clear strategy" in the UK other than "reactive lockdowns". Prof Sridhar is chairwoman of public health at Edinburgh University and an adviser to the Scottish government. | Each devolved administration is responsible for how it handles coronavirus. But all four are currently in lockdown following a spike in cases and deaths in the past six weeks. The spike has been caused, at least partially, by a new, more transmissible strain of the virus. | "Th…

Dan Bacher (2021-01-10). 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). 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.

Prabir Purkayastha (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…

RT (2021-01-09). BoJo gets an earful from fed-up Brits as UK govt launches ad campaign urging compliance with 3rd national lockdown. rt.com Boris Johnson has been accused of mismanaging the UK's response to Covid-19, as his government rolls out a new ad campaign encouraging people to adhere to the nation's third lockdown. | The British prime minister on Saturday implored his countrymen to comply with the measures, claiming that the NHS was under increasing pressure amid a rise in coronavirus cases. | Our hospitals are under more pressure than at any other time since the start of the pandemic, and infection rates continue to soar at an alarming rate. | The vaccine rollout has given us renewed hope, but it's critical for now we stay at home, protect…

RT (2021-01-09). 'Our people won't be a testing device': Tehran bans trials of foreign vaccines on Iranians. rt.com Tehran has rejected attempts by foreign companies to test their coronavirus vaccines on Iranians, President Hassan Rouhani said, adding that the country will purchase safe immunization for its population. | "Foreign companies wanted to give us vaccines so they would be tested on the Iranian people. But the health ministry prevented it," Rouhani told state TV, without naming the producers that tried contacting the government in Tehran. | Our people won't be a testing device for vaccine manufacturing companies. | The Iranian authorities will purchase foreign vaccines — without naming them — that hav…

RT (2021-01-09). Pope to be vaccinated against Covid next week, labels opposition to jabs 'suicidal denial'. rt.com Pope Francis has branded opposition to Covid-19 vaccines as "suicidal denial" and announced that he will receive a jab against the coronavirus disease next week. | In a forthcoming interview, the 84-year-old leader of the Catholic Church says that "ethically" getting a vaccine against the virus should be a duty for everyone. | "Next week, we will start to do it here (in the Vatican) and I made an appointment, we must do it," Francis told Italy's Canale 5 TV station. | Segments of the interview were released on Saturday with the full comments set to be broadcast on Sunday. "There is a suicidal denial which I ca…

RT (2021-01-09). WHO has received 13 Covid vaccine proposals for emergency use, expects to get full data on Russia's Sputnik V by end of this month. rt.com The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently assessing several vaccines to be promoted for emergency use across the world, including those made in Russia and China, one of its most senior officials revealed on Friday | The WHO has received 13 "valid proposals" for the possible emergency listing of Covid-19 vaccines since October, the assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, Mariangela Simao, said at a press briefing. | "We have received, for example, the information from Sinopharm, we have finalized that in phase three trial and it is being authorized in some countries. We ar…

Eds. (2021-01-09). Fascism, fascisation, antifascism. mronline.org Fascism can be classically defined as an ideology, a movement and a regime.

John V. Walsh (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 …

Roger Kneebone, Claudia Schlegel (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.

Ann Danaiya Usher (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.

Ryan Cristián (2021-01-09). Numerous Deaths After COVID Vaccine, DARPA Genetic Extinction Tech, The Coup Psyop & The War On YOU. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (1/9/20). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth

sputniknews (2021-01-09). Twitter Deletes Khamenei Post Labelling US and UK COVID-19 Vaccines 'Untrustworthy'. sputniknews.com In December last year, the tech giant announced a policy under which it would eliminate the users' content containing what it described as potentially "false or misleading information" about COVID-19 vaccinations.

WSWS (2021-01-09). The United States sees more than 4,000 deaths in a single day from COVID-19. wsws.org The United States saw more than 4,000 deaths yesterday from COVID-19 infections. The vaccine rollout continues to be a fiasco, while new coronavirus variants are demonstrating more aggressive behaviors.

WSWS (2021-01-09). Indonesia: Soaring COVID-19 cases as government scrambles to roll out vaccine. wsws.org Contact tracing has been minimal and disorderly, while lockdowns have been resisted throughout, placing the full burden of the virus on the working class.

Geoff Watts (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.

Aitana Juan-Giner, Derick Kimathi, Kyra H Grantz, Mainga Hamaluba, Patrick Kazooba, Patricia Njuguna, Gamou Fall, Moussa Dia, Ndeye S Bob, Thomas P Monath, Alan D Barrett, Joachim Hombach, Edgar M Mulogo, Immaculate Ampeire, Henry K Karanja, Dan Nyehangane, Juliet Mwanga-Amumpaire, Derek A T Cummings, Philip Bejon, George M Warimwe, Rebecca F Grais (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.