Daily Archives: April 11, 2021

2021-04-11: News Headlines

ecns.cn (2021-04-11). Low-income nations have received just 0.2 pct of all COVID-19 shots given. ecns.cn The vast majority of COVID-19 vaccines administered have so far gone to wealthy nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported.

ecns.cn (2021-04-11). Panama approves emergency use of Chinese vaccine against COVID-19. ecns.cn Panamanian health authorities on Friday approved the emergency use of the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac.

ecns.cn (2021-04-11). Chile receives new shipment of Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines. ecns.cn A new batch of CoronaVac vaccine from China's Sinovac arrived in Chile on Saturday to become part of the country's vaccination campaign against the COVID-19.

ecns.cn (2021-04-11). Sinopharm, CoronaVac to be assessed between April 26 and May 3: WHO. ecns.cn Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and CoronaVac (Sinovac) are in the final stage of evaluation by the Emergency Use Listing of the World Health Organization (WHO) and a "final decision" should be made between April 26 and May 3, a WHO official said in a press conference on Friday.

ecns.cn (2021-04-11). WHO slams 'shocking imbalance' in global vaccine distribution. ecns.cn The World Health Organization has called out a "shocking imbalance" in the global distribution of vaccines, with rich nations far outstripping poorer countries in their immunization drives.

ecns.cn (2021-04-11). Hong Kong reports 13 new COVID-19 cases. ecns.cn Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 13 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, taking the tally to 11,581.

ecns.cn (2021-04-11). India records over 150,000 daily COVID-19 cases, tally at 13,358,805. ecns.cn India reported a record high of 152,879 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total tally to 13,358,805, according to data released by the federal government.

People Before Profits (2021-04-11). US is 13th in Infrastructure, 27th in Education and Healthcare. indybay.org As Pres. Biden embarked on a campaign for improving US infrastructure by raising the corporate tax to 28% (was 53% in 1950s), he provided a ringing indictment of the US private-profit-first economy with a list of the 12 countries that have better infrastructure than the US: 1. Singapore, 2. Netherlands, 3. China, 4. Switzerland, 5. Japan, 6. South Korea, 7. Spain, 8. Germany, 9. France, 10. Austria, 11. United Kingdom, 12. United Arab Emirates. See mothership.sg/2021/04/joe-biden-infrastr…

California Poor People's Campaign (2021-04-11). Sunday 4/18: "The Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution" Film & Panel w/ Filmmaker. indybay.org Online event…

Nicholas Freudenberg (2021-04-11). Corporate Versus Public Control of Science And Technology. zcomm.org Are the public health crises of the last decade harbingers of a world doomed to declining human and planetary health or a wakeup call to act now to create a better future?

Yanis Iqbal (2021-04-10). Understanding India's Migrant Workers' Crisis Through the Prism of Commodity Fetishism. orinocotribune.com By Yanis Iqbal — Apr 8, 2021 | As the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic intensifies in India, migrant workers are returning back to their villages. Imposition of new restrictions to contain the virus — like the announcement of a night curfew in Delhi — has instilled fears in workers that they will be rendered jobless and get stuck in the industrial centres where they are precariously employed. Migrant workers in several states have been seen waiting to board buses and trains bound for their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as their source of income dries up because of Covid-related curbs. The L…

orinocotribune (2021-04-10). Colombian Comptroller's Office Finds over a Thousand Irregular Vaccinations. orinocotribune.com The Office of the Comptroller General of Colombia, with assistance of the Directorate of Information, Analysis and Immediate Reaction (DIARI), found that among the Colombians vaccinated against Covid-19, 1,241 do not belong to any of the prioritized groups defined in the second stage of phase one of the National Plan of Vaccination. | Among them, DIARI identified 600 people who are between 26 and 44 years of age, and 189 are within the age range of 18 to 25 years. The 1,241 individuals vaccinated irregularly are not over 60 years old, nor are they health professionals, teachers or students, nor support personnel…

WSWS (2021-04-10). Judge blocks lawsuit against OSHA over refusal to inspect Pennsylvania Maid-Rite food processing plant during pandemic. wsws.org A lawsuit brought by workers at a Maid-Rite meatpacking plant in Pennsylvania against the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to enforce safety guidelines related to COVID-19 has been thrown out by a federal judge.

Saheli Chowdhury (2021-04-10). April Elections in Latin America: Background and Possibilities. orinocotribune.com By Saheli Chowdhury — Apr 8, 2021 | For Latin America, the 2021 calendar is filled with elections of all kinds—presidential, parliamentary, gubernatorial, municipal, and even one for a constituent assembly. Two of these elections are to take place on the same day in April in two different countries—Ecuador and Peru. The election to select a Constituent Convention in Chile was originally scheduled for the same day, but has been postponed to May, citing the spread of COVID-19. These elections are taking place against a complex political background, with both countries suffering from devastation wr…

_____ (2021-04-10). In The Spirit Of Abolition, Let's Shut'em Down! popularresistance.org A call to action. National "Shut'em Down" demonstrations August 21st and September 9th. Originally published on the Jailhouse Lawyers Speak blog. | Over the last year prisoners across the country have been holding the longest and largest spontaneous demonstrations in response to covid. With approximately 300,000 (the number is possibly as high as 800,000) people in prison having been infected by covid prisoners have continued to demand basic human rights protections. These demonstrations have been sporadic and largely ignored by the public as prisoners and supporters demanded covid safety and precautions be enact…

WSWS (2021-04-10). US teachers denounce Biden's deadly school reopening drive amid pandemic surge. wsws.org The WSWS received statements of opposition from teachers across the US opposing the ongoing drive by the Biden administration to reopen schools as the COVID-19 pandemic surges once again.

WSWS (2021-04-10). The working class must intervene to halt Canada's COVID-19 catastrophe. wsws.org Canada is rapidly emerging as a global epicentre of the pandemic, with a surge in cases due to the new more contagious and lethal COVID-19 variants.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-04-10). 26 million jobs were lost in Latin America and the Caribbean due to pandemic in one year, says ILO. peoplesdispatch.org The International Labour Organization, in a technical note, said that 26 million workers lost their jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean in the past one year due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic…

WSWS (2021-04-10). COVID-19 spreads at Stellantis Jefferson North as safety protocols break down. wsws.org The World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter recently had a conversation with a JNAP worker, who reported unsafe conditions and widespread COVID-19 cases at the plant.

Fight Back (2021-04-10). Hundreds of Allina hospital workers picket over wages, essential pay in lead-up to potential strike. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On April 7 in Minneapolis, around 500 SEIU Healthcare Minnesota members who work at Allina's Abbott Northwestern Hospital picketed for around three hours. They have been bargaining for their next contract and have now authorized a strike across all eight Allina Hospitals by an overwhelming majority. The union members are demanding pay increases and financial recognition for working as essential workers through a global pandemic. | Allina is one of the largest and most successful hospital chains in Minnesota. In 2020, it gave large bonuses – some of them rivaling a full year's pay for the lowest-…

WSWS (2021-04-10). Why are the unions isolating the most important health care strike in America? wsws.org Despite a well-financed and coordinated campaign of intimidation and strikebreaking by hospital management, striking nurses are not receiving strike pay from the MNA.

teleSUR (2021-04-10). Perú: The Most Complex Election Ever. telesurenglish.net Perú is again facing a complex general election, in the context of perhaps the worst political economic and health crisis in decades. The spectacular loss of popular credibility in the political establishment is mirrored in the amount of presidential hopefuls: 18 of them, of which polls show nothing less than five in technical tie. Abstention from voting is expected to run high.

Vitor Gaspar, W. Raphael Lam, Paolo Mauro,, Mehdi Raissi* (2021-04-10). Tailoring Government Support — Analysis. eurasiareview.com The race to vaccinate against COVID-19 continues, but the pace of inoculation varies widely across countries, with access unavailable to many. Global cooperation must be stepped up to produce and distribute vaccines to all countries at affordable costs. The sooner vaccinations curb the pandemic, the faster economies can return to normal. | If the global pandemic is controlled via vaccination, the resulting stronger economic growth would yield more than $1 trillion in additional tax revenues in advanced economies by 2025—and save more in fiscal support measures. The COVID-19 vaccination will thus more tha…

IPCS (2021-04-10). Aarogya Setu, Data Security, And The Right To Privacy — Analysis. eurasiareview.com By Vrinda Batra* | With over 150 million downloads, India's Aarogya Setu is the world's most downloaded COVID-19 contact tracing app. Within the first month of its launch, it helped identify approximately 600 COVID-19 hotspots around the country. However, a lack of robust data protection laws and checks on mass surveillance to safeguard privacy and individual autonomy makes Aarogya Setu vulnerable to misuse. It thus presents a case for instituting a comprehensive regulatory framework that governsprivacy and its enforcement mechanisms. | Structural and Functional Aspects: | On the structural level, Aaro…

Kathy Kelly (2021-04-10). Hunting In Yemen — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Since March 29th, in Washington, D.C., Iman Saleh, age 26, has been on a Saleh decries the prevention of fuel from entering a key port in Yemen's northern region. | "When people think of famine, they wouldn't consider fuel as contributing to that, but when you're blocking fuel fro…

Eurasia Review (2021-04-10). Brazil At High Risk Of Dengue Outbreaks After Droughts Because Of Temporary Water Storage. eurasiareview.com Dengue risk is exacerbated in highly populated areas of Brazil after extreme drought because of improvised water containers housing mosquitoes, suggests a new study in Lancet Planetary Health. | The research was led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine's (LSHTM) Centre on Climate Change & Planetary Health and Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases. Using advanced statistical modelling techniques, the team predicted the timing and intensity of dengue risk in Brazil from extreme weather patterns. | The risk of dengue was high in urban areas three to five months after extreme…

Dr. K S Parthasarathy (2021-04-10). Safety And Clinical Impact Of MRI In Patients With Non—MRI-Conditional Cardiac Devices — OpEd. eurasiareview.com In 1996, this writer came across an instance in which physicians with the help of modern medical technology saved a life in an emergency. We were in Chennai in one of the premier cancer hospitals in India to attend a conference. On the second day, one of our colleagues was found unconscious in his room. The physician who examined him suspected that it is possibly an instance of brain haemorrhage. Within a few hours he underwent many tests including digital subtraction angiography in a specialty hospital. | He underwent surgery to place an aneurysm clip in his brain. He came back to normal health within a few w…

CNA (2021-04-10). Feds Allege Ex-Executive Embezzled Children's Services Non-Profit For Personal Spending. eurasiareview.com By Kevin J. Jones | Alleging embezzlement of over $200,000, federal prosecutors have filed charges against John Lynch, a former executive of the historically Catholic Michigan non-profit Holy Cross Children's Services . | "In 2017, Holy Cross Services' management discovered financial irregularities indicative of possible embezzlement activity," the nonprofit organization said in a statement. The organization initiated an audit performed by an outside accounting firm and notified its insurance carriers, and reported the matter to law enforcement, including the FBI. | The investigation was prompted when an emplo…

Fight Back (2021-04-10). Chicago Teachers Union raises concerns as COVID cases rise and high schools are set to open. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged that cases on COVID-19 are on the rise again in Chicago, yet she is sticking to her plan to reopen Chicago high schools in two weeks, without addressing ongoing safety concerns from teachers and from the community. | Mayor Lightfoot has continued to hold off on vaccinating Chicago residents aged 16 and over despite the fact that the state of Illinois has opened up vaccine eligibility to those residents. People in that age group are currently being found to be the most significant cause of spread of the virus. National health experts are calling for state…

ecns.cn (2021-04-10). Over 155 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses administered across China. ecns.cn More than 155.15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Thursday, the National Health Commission said Friday.

_____ (2021-04-10). Why China's Vaccine Internationalism Matters. popularresistance.org United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called it "the biggest moral test" facing the world today. World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom warned of a "catastrophic moral failure" whose price would be paid with the lives of those in the world's poorest countries. | Such cautionings of inequitable global vaccine distribution have been shunted to the margins; instead, optimistic chatter of "returning to normal" is circulating once again as Global North citizens line up for their long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. But normal, as ever, is relative: public health advocates warn that some countr…

_____ (2021-04-10). Corporate Versus Public Control Of Science And Technology. popularresistance.org "Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity." Louis Pasteur said that in 1876. Today it would be more accurate to say that science belongs to the corporations and investors that have the money, power, and savvy to secure patents and bring new developments to global markets, a change that threatens human and planetary health. | As illustrated by the pharmaceutical industry's windfall profits despite its failure to date to get Covid-19 vaccines to the poorest nations and the poorest in wealthy nations, Pasteur's observation that bringing science to the world is "the highest personification of t…

orinocotribune (2021-04-10). United Kingdom Has Not Released a Single Dollar Belonging to Venezuela for Vaccine Purchases. orinocotribune.com Venezuela is one of the few countries in the world that has had, and still has, to face Covid-19 pandemic while being subjected to an unprecedented blockade imposed by the United States and European countries. The government of President Nicolás Maduro has called incessantly for the end of these illegal coercive measures and is especially waiting for the release of $300 million kept frozen by the Bank of England. However, "not a single dollar" of that money has been released until now, informed Jorge Arreaza, Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs, in a recent interview. With this money, the State intends to buy…

ecns.cn (2021-04-10). Hungary has leading vaccination rate in EU thanks to Chinese, Russian jabs, says official. ecns.cn Hungary has a leading vaccination rate among European Union (EU) countries thanks to Chinese and Russian COVID-19 vaccines, a Hungarian official has said.

RT (2021-04-10). Talks over, Sputnik V purchase possible: Austria's Kurz says Vienna may buy a MILLION Russian vaccine doses. rt.com Austria may soon be purchasing Russia's Sputnik V jab to give an "additional turbo boost" to its anti-Covid vaccination drive, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told the media in Vienna after negotiations with Moscow concluded. | The negotiations on the contract to acquire Sputnik V have "de facto come to an end," Kurz announced on Saturday. "It's now possible to purchase it for us in Austria," he added. | A "million" doses of the vaccine from Russia, which boasts an efficacy of more than 91% percent and lacks significant side-effects, would provide an "additional turbo boost" to Austria's immunization campai…

Prabir Purkayastha (2021-04-10). The West is practicing vaccine apartheid on a global level. peoplesdispatch.org China and India are the only two major countries that have been willing to export vaccines while also vaccinating their own people. Meanwhile, to rich countries, the billions of dollars of vaccine market for Big Pharma far outweigh the benefits of saving millions of lives…

ecns.cn (2021-04-10). New cases of 'double mutant' COVID-19 variant detected in U.S. state. ecns.cn Five new cases infected with a "double mutant" of COVID-19 variant have been identified in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, CNBC reported on Thursday. The new cases were identified days after the area reported the first such case.

ecns.cn (2021-04-10). Int'l Horticultural Exposition opens in Yangzhou. ecns.cn Themed "Green City, Healthy Life," the expo opened to the public in Zaolinwan Tourist Resort in the county-level city of Yizheng, Yangzhou City, and will run until Oct. 8 this year.

The Lancet (2021-04-10). [Editorial] China's response to COVID-19: a chance for collaboration. thelancet.com April 8 marks a year since China's lifting of the 76-day lockdown in Wuhan—the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the reopening of Wuhan, efforts to control the pandemic in China have thus far successfully prevented resurgence and importation of new cases, while re-establishing the country's social and economic activities. Although China has since had sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 in several areas, including Beijing and Qingdao, they were all contained. How has China managed to control COVID-19? And is the global scientific community in a position to benefit from China's experiences?

Julie Cassan, Agathe Claude, Mariuca de Hillerin, Audrey Fontaine, Paige Goodwin, Emily Halstead, Maya-Lhanze Lama, Yanis M'zali, Kim Paulin, Leonard Raimbault, Robin Tocqueville-Perrier, Riya Verma, Chloe Villaret (2021-04-10). [Correspondence] The ultra-connected generation would like to disconnect now. thelancet.com John Donne warned, "No man is an island."1 The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder not only of the interconnectedness of humans to each other, but also to their environment.

Kehinde Andrews (2021-04-10). [Perspectives] Racism is the public health crisis. thelancet.com The US police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020 sparked a set of responses and uprisings to racism that may have seemed different but should by now be all too familiar. Huge numbers of people protested, institutions made all the right noises, and there have been increased book sales for Black authors. The sheer size of the protests and the commitments from governments and corporations to make lasting changes have led to renewed optimism that this time it may be different. Yet there are persisting, major deficits in our collective education about racism and protest.

Talha Burki (2021-04-10). [World Report] 2021 Canada Gairdner Awards announced. thelancet.com The awards, which recognise basic research that has impacted health, were given to scientists for work on GLPs, BRCA1, clinical trials, and emerging viruses. Talha Burki reports.

US Department of Justice (2021-04-10). Pfizer Inc. "Fraudulent Marketing": "Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History" (2009). US Department of Justice. globalresearch.ca Introductory Note |

Peter Koenig (2021-04-10). Human Rights for Children: Saving Children from Covid Measures Abuses. dissidentvoice.org Background The Geneva Academy of international Humanitarian Law and Human Rights is a postgraduate joint center located in Geneva, Switzerland. The faculty includes professors from both founding institutions and guest professors from major universities. The Geneva Academy is affiliated with the University of Geneva. Dr. Nils Melzer has been the Swiss Human Rights Chair (HR …

C√©sar Chelala (2021-04-10). Yemen Is a Public Health Catastrophe. commondreams.org The country's civilians have been the unwilling participants in a proxy war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and has left the public health system in shambles. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2021-04-10). Video: The 2020-21 Worldwide Corona Crisis. globalresearch.ca Worldwide, people have been misled both by their governments and the media as to the causes and devastating consequences of the Covid-19 "pandemic". | The unspoken truth is that the novel coronavirus provides a pretext and a justification to powerful financial …

RT (2021-04-10). Back into quarantine? German govt plans new harsh Covid-19 restrictions in draft law — reports. rt.com Night-time curfews, sweeping business closures and severe limits on public gatherings are all part of the German government's new bill aimed at "standardizing" Covid-19 measures to stop the third wave, German media report. | Berlin is currently working on amendments to the national Infection Protection Act that would significantly tighten the lockdown restrictions and greatly reduce the federal states' ability to defy the government's orders, German media that obtained the draft document report. | The document that is expected to be discussed and potentially approved by Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet on Tu…

Heba Nasser (2021-04-10). Bahrain releases dozens of prisoners after Covid cases. middleeasteye.net Bahrain releases dozens of prisoners after Covid cases | Manama had vowed to release 199 prisoners and detainees, but only 166 have so far walked out of prison
| Sat, 04/10/2021 – 13: 51 | Bahrain says a vaccination campaign has been completed in Faw prison (AFP) | Dozens of detainees, including long-term political prisoners, have been released following protests by their families over Covid-19 case…

Silvia Ribeiro (2021-04-10). Prohibir cubrebocas con nanomateriales. globalizacion.ca Un tipo de cubrebocas descartable del que se han distribuido millones a niños escolares, guarderías, funcionarios de salud y transporte en Québec y otras provincias de Canadá, fue retirado esta semana del mercado por Health Canada, la Secretaría de Salud…

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