(2021-12-04). An Obscure Agency Is Threatening To Hand Medicare Over To Wall Street. popularresistance.org In the face of massive support for Medicare for All and the failure of the U.S.'s for-profit health care system, the inevitable fall of the medical-industrial complex can be predicted, if not with precision, with certainty. Everyone is aware of the impending demise, none more so than those in charge of the for-profit health care system and their supporters in Congress, as evidenced by the frenetic activity at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to transfer the traditional Medicare program to the insurance industry as fast as humanly possible. Given this urgency, physicians representing Physicians…
(2021-12-04). Bitcoin drops nearly $10,000 in an hour. rt.com 
The world's crypto pioneer, bitcoin, saw a sharp decline of nearly $10,000 in roughly an hour to as low as $42,000 before bouncing back to $45,000, extending the latest downtrend amid the emergence of the Omicron Covid-19 strain. | The price of bitcoin has dropped around $15,000 over the past 24 hours. It was trading at nearly $47,580 as of 08: 16 GMT, down 16.14% day over day, having dropped by 31.6% from the year's high of $69,000, which it reached on November 10. | Read more | | Meanwhile, ether, the sec…
(2021-12-04). Omicron outbreak in Sydney school as Australian governments reject safety measures. wsws.org Omicron already may be circulating widely in the working-class suburbs of western Sydney, given the known community transmission.
(2021-12-04). Video: Workers must oppose Australian ruling elite's homicidal response to Omicron variant. wsws.org SEP Assistant National Secretary Max Boddy warns: "There is no viable way to stop the pandemic and save lives, other than a strategy of global elimination."
(2021-12-04). Presidential victory in Honduras represents another loss for U.S. imperialism. fightbacknews.org Tucson, AZ – In the early hours of June 28, 2009, Honduran soldiers snatched President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya from his home and removed him from power in a coup d'état with tacit support from the U.S. What followed was a brutal dictatorship that murdered, disappeared and oppressed Hondurans. In close collaboration with criminal cartels, the Honduran power elite implemented neoliberal policies, while violence and drugs plagued the country. It should come as no surprise that waves of Hondurans poured out into caravans headed north to seek asylum in the U.S. only to be met by the cruel denial of President Trump and U.S…
(2021-12-04). Carers of the World vs. Covid-19 Criminals. zcomm.org The Progressive International is mobilizing nurses unions around the world to take on Big Pharma and the governments they have captured…
(2021-12-04). [Correspondence] Obligations in a global health emergency. thelancet.com Ezekiel Emanuel and colleagues1 emphasise the ethical obligations of pharmaceutical companies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis of four ethical principles: optimising vaccine production; fair distribution; sustainability; and accountability.
(2021-12-04). The Criminalization of Big Pharma, mRNA Vaccine Deaths and Injuries. EU Adopts "Digital Vaccine Passport" globalresearch.ca First published by Global Research on April 3, 2021, coinciding with …
(2021-12-04). [World Report] Hope for nutrition summit as global hunger spikes. thelancet.com As COVID-19, climate change, and conflict drive hunger and malnutrition, the health community looks towards the Nutrition For Growth Summit. John Zarocostas reports.
(2021-12-04). [Perspectives] Knowing, seeing, and telling in medicine. thelancet.com Today, we are witnessing a new permeability between the arts and the sciences. Scientists are urged to promote transformative creativity in their trainees. Nobelists credit surprise and the imagination for their insights. The health professions have incorporated the humanities, social sciences, and arts into their curricula to teach relational, cultural, and creative dimensions of health care. Whether artists or scientists, investigators strike out from what is known to brave the unknown in acts of creative discovery.
(2021-12-04). [World Report] Health warnings over UNRWA funding shortfall. thelancet.com Experts caution that health services for millions of Palestinian refugees are under threat. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2021-12-04). [Correspondence] Enabling physical activity for people living with disabilities. thelancet.com The call for multi-level action for the promotion of participation of people living with disabilities (PLWD) in physical activity by Kathleen Martin Ginis and colleagues1 underscores the lack of structural opportunities for participation. Health-care workers might provide long-term interventions to PLWD in and throughout life-course stages, with an impact on their lives. These interventions might start early in the rehabilitation process, be they congenital, early-onset, acquired, or later-onset disabilities.
(2021-12-04). At online town hall, Kaiser union officials praise "joint" approach to cost-cutting in tentative agreement. wsws.org At Wednesday's meeting, the first since the deal was announced more than two weeks ago, no rank-and-file workers were allowed to speak or ask questions, a clear indication of the unions' nervousness about opposition to the deal among health care workers.
(2021-12-04). Keeping Business Alive: The Government Will Pay. indybay.org A buyer-of-last-resort program would alleviate the hardship of workers and businesses. It would maintain the cash flow for families and businesses, so that the coronavirus shock has no secondary impacts on demand — Business activity is on hold today, but with an intravenous cash flow, it can be kept alive until the health crisis is over.
(2021-12-04). [Correspondence] Obligations in a global health emergency — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Felipe de Carvalho Borges da Fonseca and colleagues, and Kayvan Bozorgmehr and Rosa Jahn for their comments on our Viewpoint.1 We agree with de Carvalho Borges da Fonseca and colleagues about the need for "a more equitable, sustainable, and accountable medical innovation system". Whether waiving patent rights will meaningfully improve access to COVID-19 vaccines for low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in the short term, is an empirical matter. There is wide agreement that intellectual property (IP) for mRNA vaccines is not a primary barrier to vaccinating the world;2,3 vaccine pr…
(2021-12-04). Trump hid positive coronavirus test prior to presidential debate with Joe Biden last year. wsws.org Eschewing public health protocols and knowingly risking the lives of those attendance, Trump and his inner circle hid the results of the test and refused to wear masks during the debate.
(2021-12-04). [Editorial] Reinstating universal health coverage on the global agenda. thelancet.com Who remembers universal health coverage (UHC)? The World Health Organization defines UHC as all individuals and communities receiving the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving this target was a top priority in global health, as it underpins Sustainable Development Goal 3: to ensure health and wellbeing for all. But as countries focused on the pandemic, the world's health community has neglected to sustain the momentum needed to achieve UHC.
(2021-12-04). "We should all do this together. We could close Kaiser down!" Operating engineers speak out on two-month strike at Kaiser Permanente. wsws.org There is enormous support for engineers from nurses and other health care workers, but the strike has been systematically isolated by the health care unions.
(2021-12-04). [Comment] Offline: Is democracy good for your health? thelancet.com What is the best political system to protect and advance health? In 2019, Thomas Bollyky, who directs the Global Health Program at the US Council on Foreign Relations, and colleagues reported evidence in The Lancet suggesting that democracies are better than autocracies for delivering gains in health. Advantage America, he seemed to be saying. The argument is superficially convincing. Democracies sharpen the accountability of governments to their citizens. Free and fair elections create incentives for political leaders to pay serious attention to the wellbeing of voters.
(2021-12-04). Australia's under-funded healthcare system confronts major nursing shortages. wsws.org After decades of attacks against working conditions, accelerated by the pandemic, 20,000 nurses have resigned this year.
(2021-12-04). [Perspectives] Martin Griffiths: serving communities affected by violence. thelancet.com In 2019, Martin Griffiths, consultant trauma surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust in London, UK, was appointed the NHS's first Clinical Director for Violence Reduction in London and then National Clinical Director for Violence Reduction for NHS England and NHS Improvement. In both roles, Griffiths leads and coordinates the strategy and delivery of health-led programmes to reduce interpersonal violence. In part, his insights come from his own early life experiences. He describes his younger self as "a very naive but streetwise south London boy" who grew up on a council estate in Lewisham with a single mother who was…
(2021-12-04). Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi Interview: COVID Vaccine Blood Clot Risk Was Known, Ignored & Buried. globalresearch.ca First published on May 28, 2021 | Joining us today is Dr. …
(2021-12-04). Meet the "Godfather of Vaccines" dissidentvoice.org 
"A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns." (Vito Corleone) Vaccinologists consider the Stanley A. Plotkin Award to be the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in their lucrative field. To qualify for this accolade, the nominee should be "an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of …
(2021-12-04). World Must Not Blame Africa for Undervaccination While Denying Continent Shots – Expert. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The international community should not be blaming African nations for being undervaccinated while at the same time limiting their access to vaccines, South African expert Solly Moeng told Sputnik.
(2021-12-04). Global vaccine inequality: "A policy decision by the rich countries" wsws.org African Union officials estimate the COVAX global vaccine distribution scheme will deliver just 470 million doses to African countries by the end of December, less than a quarter of the 2 billion needed to deliver two shots to its entire adult population.
(2021-12-04). Lives before profits! Stop the pandemic! wsws.org Ending the COVID-19 pandemic requires rejecting the concept that profit interests must be "balanced" against saving lives.
(2021-12-04). Pdte. mexicano agradece apoyo de China en lucha contra Covid-19. telesurtv.net El agradecimiento fue realizado de forma virtual durante la III Reunión Ministerial del Foro Celac – China.
(2021-12-04). More details emerge on how Canadian governments covered up aerosol transmission of COVID-19. wsws.org The Canadian government continued to insist the main source of COVID-19 infection was respiratory droplets that fall rapidly to the ground, not aerosols, even when its own briefing documents said otherwise.
(2021-12-04). Marking World AIDS Day, Campaigners Warn 'History Is Repeating Itself With Covid'. zcomm.org "In Africa alone, it's estimated up to 12 million people died needlessly in the time it took to make HIV treatment universally available. We cannot allow it to happen again with Covid-19."
(2021-12-04). Two more Minnesota teachers die of COVID-19 as cases approach record highs. wsws.org The measures necessary to stop the spread of the virus—and put a halt to the deaths of teachers and students—can only come through workers developing rank-and-file committees in every workplace and factory in the US and internationally to enforce the shutdown of unsafe facilities and the closure of schools to in-person learning.
(2021-12-03). Another Omicron Variant Case In Minnesota Puts America On Notice: 1st Case Of 'Community Transmission',' Traveler Came Home From Anime Convention in NY. moguldom.com A vaccinated Minnesota man, who attended a two-day anime convention at NYC's Javits Center in November, has been confirmed to be the second Omicron variant case in the U.S. The first was announced in California on Dec. 1. While Omicron has yet to be confirmed in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul has said, "It's coming." The Minnesota …
(2021-12-03). Infectious Disease Doctor: Omicron To Dominate And Overwhelm The World In 3-6 Months. moguldom.com As the global medical community scrambles to figure out how to deal with the latest coronavirus variant, omicron, one infectious disease doctor, has declared that omicron will likely "dominate and overwhelm" the world in six months or less. "Frankly, omicron will dominate and overwhelm the whole world in three to six months," Singapore-based doctor Leong …
(2021-12-03). Government will stay open — for now. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—As the coronavirus pandemic's Omicron variant landed in the U.S., right-wing Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, wanted to make sure more people are exposed to the modern-day plague. They failed, as lawmakers—with union backing—also voted to keep the federal government going. The three just didn't say so, but exposure …
(2021-12-03). Selected Articles: Omicron Variant Sends Vaccine Makers' Stocks Soaring. globalresearch.ca 
By In total, 92% of the scientific studies published on the toxicity or ecotoxicity of the world's most widely used pesticid…
(2021-12-03). Why should health activists care about WTO's agenda? peoplesdispatch.org For the first time in 4 years, trade ministers from the World Trade Organization's (WTO) constituency were supposed to hold an in person meeting in Geneva from November 30 to December 3. The meeting was cancelled at the last minute as European governments started introducing strict travel restrictions because of the Omicron variant — but the agenda the ministers were supposed to discuss remains important in spite of the cancellation. | The WTO meeting was quite out of the ordinary because its relevance was recognized not only by trade activists, but also by those campaigning for the right to health. A great…
(2021-12-03). Presence of Omicron Variant Confirmed by WHO in 38 Countries. telesurenglish.net World Health Organization (WHO) authorities have detected the presence of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 in 38 countries, although the Delta strain continues to be the most prevalent worldwide. | Maria Van Kerkhove, head of health emergencies at the WHO, stated during a press conference from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland: "So far, omicron has been reported in 38 countries in all six WHO regions, with a significant increase in infections in Africa. But the Delta variant contin…
(2021-12-03). Documents Reveal Biden Admin Not Fighting For A Covid Vaccine Patent Waiver. popularresistance.org On November 26, as news of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 stoked alarm around the world, the White House released a statement calling on countries to support an intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines. However, this public statement, which garnered numerous headlines, stands in stark contrast with what the Biden administration did‚Äâ—‚Äâor did not do‚Äâ—‚Äâbehind closed doors at the WTO on November 29.
(2021-12-03). Documents Reveal Biden Not Fighting For A Covid Vaccine Patent Waiver. popularresistance.org On November 26, as news of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 stoked alarm around the world, the White House released a statement calling on countries to support an intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines. | "I call on the nations gathering next week for the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting to meet the U.S. challenge to waive intellectual property protections for Covid vaccines, so these vaccines can be manufactured globally," said President Joe Biden. "I endorsed this position in April; this news today reiterates the importance of moving on this quickly." | However, this public statement,…
(2021-12-03). Vaccine Hoarding Favored Appearance Of Omicron: ALBA Recalls. telesurenglish.net On Friday, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) Secretary-General Sacha Llorenti pointed out that the hoarding of COVID-19 vaccines prompted favorable conditions for the appearance of the Omicron strain. | RELATED: | "The appearance of Omicron was a foreseeable consequence of the hoarding of vaccines by some northern countries," Llorenti said, adding that "not giving priority to vaccinate all vu…
(2021-12-03). ECDC warns Omicron variant to become dominant in Europe in a "few months" wsws.org European governments are refusing critical social distancing measures and relying exclusively on vaccinations, which the Omicron variant may largely evade.
(2021-12-03). Explosive & Nearing Dominance: What the Data Out of South Africa is Telling Us About Omicron. sputniknews.com The omicron variant of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, first identified in South Africa, has quickly spread throughout the world. Cases have emerged in Europe, the United States, Australia, and China. The World Health Organization has labeled it a variant of concern.
(2021-12-03). Argentines To Submit COVID-19 Pass For Attending Close Places. telesurenglish.net Over-13-year-old Argentines will be requested to present a health pass certifying that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend massive events or enter close places from next week. | RELATED: | "Although COVID-19 infection and death rates have not increased much recently, we have to extreme COVID-19 preventive measures due to the appearance of the Omicron strain, which the World Health Organization…
(2021-12-03). 'Omicron' the new Covid-19 variant: What is it all about? peoplesdispatch.org Immunologist Dr. Satyajit Rath and NewClick's Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha discuss the new variant, Omicron. They talk about its origin and the possible spread in the world, threats it poses to the people of the world and whether it can this lead to a third wave in India and other waves in other countries of the world. They also discuss the precautions to contain the new variant.
(2021-12-03). Biden offers platitudes while Omicron coronavirus variant spreads in US. wsws.org CDC data indicates that the Omicron variant is at least partially resistant to even a triple-dose of the existing vaccine regimens.
(2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Del Rio Bridge Now Face Inhumane Conditions in New Mexico ICE Jail. democracynow.org 
The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their own lives," says immigration attorney Allegra Love of the El Paso Immigration Collaborative.
(2021-12-03). Cuba Celebrates Health Workers on Day of Latin American Medicine. telesurenglish.net On the day commemorating Latin American Medicine, teleSUR English reproduces in full the speech offered by Cuban Minister of Health Jose Angel Portal Miranda to the health workers of Cuba and the region. | Cuba celebrates Latin American Medicine Day every December 3, to commemorate the birth of Cuban epidemiologist Carlos J. Finlay, an occasion to thank doctors, nurses, scientists, and collaborators for their successful efforts against Covid-19.
(2021-12-03). "Big Pharma should not be the one calling the shots during the pandemic" peoplesdispatch.org Fatima Hassan from Health Justice International talks about the TRIPS waiver proposal, vaccine apartheid, and the WTO's role in pandemic response and recovery…
(2021-12-03). The House of Cards of Clinical Psychology. dissidentvoice.org 
Why is anger a motivation for writing this book? Because the rapid growth and professionalization of my field…has led it to abandon a commitment it made at the inception of that growth. That is to establish mental health base on research findings The practice would ignore the research…Instead, too many mental healthcare professionals rely on …
(2021-12-03). America's rural hospitals were already in the red; COVID could finish them. peoplesworld.org 
In July, the Center for Health Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR) released a study revealing just how far the decline of hundreds of rural hospitals has gone, many of which could soon be forced to close their doors for good. The study received some media attention in the months since its release, however, most of …
(2021-12-03). US Supreme Court might sabotage abortion access nationally. peoplesdispatch.org The right to abortion is under imminent threat as the Supreme Court begins deliberations on a case which may chart the path to overturn the landmark ruling in Roe V. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion in 1973. On December 1, the court heard arguments in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which examines the constitutionality of a Mississippi state law banning abortions after the fifteenth week of pregnancy, except in cases of medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities. The six justices who make up the conservative majority in the court have expressed favorability towards…