(2022-02-05). Saturday 2/5: No War Against Russia! Fund Schools and Covid Relief Not War! indybay.org In front of Grand Lake Theater (Grand and Lake Park) Oakland…
(2022-02-05). Nebraska teacher and parent describe brutal conditions in schools during Omicron surge. wsws.org Despite the surge of the Omicron variant, which has pushed COVID-19 deaths close to 4,000 across Nebraska, schools continue to be fully open for in-person learning.
(2022-02-05). COVID-19 death toll in US officially surpasses 900,000, driven by Omicron. wsws.org Deaths from the latest COVID-19 wave continue to surge globally, with the seven-day average surpassing 10,000 victims per day.
(2022-02-05). Olympics open under clouds of war. wsws.org The 2022 Winter Olympics in China are being staged in a world wracked by disease and poised on the edge of global conflict.
(2022-02-05). [Perspectives] Xenophobia, prejudice, and blame in pandemic times. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us time and time again, through deeply painful lessons, that epidemics of infectious diseases may be biological in origin but our collective understandings of them and their impacts are social. From US Supreme Court rulings on mask and vaccine mandates in December, 2020, and as recently as January, 2022, to xenophobia, racism, and the blaming of disease spread on those marginalised within society, COVID-19 has laid bare what historians of epidemics have long understood—that epidemics expose, reproduce, and harden existing prejudices and inequalities within societies.
(2022-02-05). Extreme-Right Opposition Democratic Action Wants to Participate in 2024 Presidential Elections, Announces Candidacy. orinocotribune.com 
With two years to go before the 2024 presidential elections in Venezuela, Carlos Prósperi, the spokesperson for the Democratic Action (AD) faction led by Henry Ramos Allup, has called for all opposition sectors to organize as a single unitary platform. | Ramos Allup is thus making it clear that even those groups which have traditionally represented right-wing extremism in Venezuela that has recurred to violence, election abstention, and coups, now understand that the only option is to constitutionally adhere to the democratic electoral route. | "The healthiest thing would be for all opposition political organizat…
(2022-02-05). Health systems, pandemic response and social participation: lessons from Latin America. peoplesdispatch.org Latin America has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, following years of privatization and fragmentation of health systems, and low public investment in health…
(2022-02-05). No pause in health workers' struggles in Nigeria. peoplesdispatch.org As health workers' trade unions in Nigeria call their membership to continue strike action over bad working conditions and missed payments, attempts to limit the space for industrial action persist…
(2022-02-05). Sunday 4/3: #M4A: 2022 Medicare For All Virtual Strategy Conference (Day 2). indybay.org Virtual conference – join online…
(2022-02-05). [World Report] Aid agencies warn of health consequences of Mali sanctions. thelancet.com Delayed elections in Mali have prompted sanctions, but humanitarian groups warn that health care is being adversely affected. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2022-02-05). Canadian workers need a socialist program to defeat the threat of far-right political violence, end the pandemic and oppose war. wsws.org With the support and encouragement of a significant faction of the ruling class, far-right thugs have besieged Canada's parliament for the past week to demand all COVID-19 public health measures be abolished. These extraordinary events underscore the urgent necessity of the independent political mobilization of the working class.
(2022-02-05). [Comment] Offline: Where is America? thelancet.com The pessimism is overwhelming. During a series of meetings convened by a US foreign policy think tank last week (I am forbidden from naming the organisation), participants (whom I am barred from identifying) explored prospects for American engagement in global health. The opportunity is surely there for the taking. After 2 years in which a pandemic has gripped and ground down the world, America's superior resources, intellectual and material, should place the country in a prime position for leadership.
(2022-02-05). Europe's governments go all in for "herd immunity" wsws.org Mass infection is now the official policy of every European government. To keep the economy running and profits flowing, those in power are prepared to sacrifice countless lives and the health of the next generation.
(2022-02-05). Tuesday 2/8: Mental Health Rights: Dependent Adults & Elders Rights to be Free of Abuse & Neglect. indybay.org Online webinar…
(2022-02-05). [Correspondence] A just memory. thelancet.com Richard Horton's Offline1 makes for thought-provoking reading but gives a cynical and unbalanced view of the enterprise of tropical medicine. To portray tropical medicine as merely a service to the White colonialists and therefore fundamentally racist, even in the early days of the British empire in Africa, is to ignore the selflessness of many of its practitioners. Many of the great figures of tropical medicine were motivated by a desire to solve the health problems of African people, not merely to provide health care for the governing elite.
(2022-02-05). [Perspectives] Ayoade Alakija: advancing equity in the COVID-19 response. thelancet.com Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija is running late for our video call because of back-to-back meetings in Geneva as the newly appointed WHO Special Envoy and Co-Chair of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator), a global collaboration to accelerate equitable access to COVID-19 health tools. Her Geneva visit will help her "join the dots to help move us from working in silos to working better collectively to overcome COVID-19", she tells me in between her last meeting and catching a flight back home to Abuja, Nigeria.
(2022-02-05). [World Report] China's population peak. thelancet.com Demographic changes in the world's most populous country is posing challenges for health and the health system. Megan Tatum reports.
(2022-02-05). Saturday 4/2: #M4A: 2022 Medicare For All Virtual Strategy Conference (Day 1). indybay.org Virtual conference – join online…
(2022-02-05). [World Report] WHO concerned over COVID-19 health-care waste. thelancet.com In a new report, the agency calls for global action to deal with huge amounts of waste produced by personal protective equipment and other material. John Zarocostas reports from Geneva.
(2022-02-05). High Recorded Mortality in Countries Categorized as "Covid-19 Vaccine Champions". The Vaccinated Suffer from Increased Risk of Mortality. globalresearch.ca This "health strategy" based on false simulations, lies, promises never kept, propaganda and the fear campaign has become unbearable. In turn it has been followed by the extortion of consent to be vaccinated, by outright blackmail.
(2022-02-05). Attack of the Transphobic Putin-Nazi Truckers! dissidentvoice.org 
They rolled up on Ottawa's Parliament Hill like one of the plagues in the Book of Revelations, honking their infernal air horns, the grills of their tractors grinning demonically, the sides of their dry vans painted with blasphemies like "FREEDOM TO CHOOSE," "MANDATE FREEDOM," "NO VACCINE MANDATES," and "UNITED AGAINST TYRANNY." Yes, that's right, New …
(2022-02-05). Before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Corona Virus "Vaccines". Nuremberg Code, Crimes against humanity, War Crimes and Crimes of Aggression" globalresearch.ca We bring to the attention of Global Research readers, the full text …
(2022-02-05). Video: Has Justin Trudeau Been Duly Vaccinated? Registered Nurse Expresses Doubt on Authenticity of Trudeau's Vaccine Jab. globalresearch.ca First published …
(2022-02-05). Cuba is helping vaccinate the world. peoplesdispatch.org Only 9.5% of people in low-income countries have received a single dose of the vaccine. Cuba has a comprehensive plan to support vaccine distribution in the global south to make sure none are left behind…
(2022-02-05). Bomb threats sent to historically black colleges across the United States. wsws.org The series of threats against historically black colleges and the law-and-order response of authorities follow protests and demonstrations at schools and universities against inequality and the spread of COVID-19.
(2022-02-05). COVID-19 Gave Sense of Smell to Woman Who Grew Up Without It. sputniknews.com Many people who have been ill with COVID-19 infections have noticed a loss of smell. Some, meanwhile, complain that smells have become unbearably intense and unusual.
(2022-02-05). Australian respiratory scientist Guy Marks discusses need for global elimination strategy to end COVID pandemic. wsws.org Guy Marks reviews previous measures used to fight tuberculosis and how these lessons should be applied to fight for the global elimination of COVID-19…
(2022-02-05). The people of the world vs Pfizer Inc. peoplesdispatch.org During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pfizer has used every opportunity to maximize its profits, even if this meant reduced access to life-saving medical products for most of the world. The same is about to happen in the case of Paxlovid, the company's Covid-19 oral treatment…
(2022-02-05). Indefinite "Political Quarantine" for Justin Trudeau: Freedom Convoy 2022. In Solidarity with the Truck Drivers. globalresearch.ca A mass movement against the Covid mandate is unfolding coast to coast across Canada in solidarity with cross-border truck drivers. Tens of thousands of people will be joining the truck drivers in Ottawa.
(2022-02-05). Texas teacher exposes nightmarish conditions in schools with COVID. wsws.org "We've had kids with COVID and we've had staff with COVID. Nonstop. It is not getting better. I don't think they'll close no matter what."
(2022-02-05). Global Research Weekender: #FreedomConvoy2022 Updates. globalresearch.ca In this weekend selection, we bring to your attention some important updates on the Canadian #FreedomConvoy2022. The people's movement gathers pace as more truckers and freedom fighters rally to the Capital to protest against all levels of COVID-19 mandates. The …
(2022-02-05). [Correspondence] Depression and anxiety during COVID-19 — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Michael Daly and Eric Robinson for their comments on our Article.1 We share Daly and Robinson's caution against generalising mental disorder prevalence estimates solely from the very early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our methods took this timing into account in several ways. Every estimate that informed our model had corresponding values of the impact of the pandemic (estimates of human mobility and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate) for the period in which the survey was done, whether it was early or later during the course of the pandemic.
(2022-02-05). In New Zealand, rising inflation, inequality intensify social crisis. wsws.org The Labour-Green Party government's pro-business policies, imposed since it assumed office in 2017, have produced an unprecedented explosion in social inequality since the onset of COVID-19.
(2022-02-05). Klaus Schwab's WEF "School for Covid Dictators", a Plan for the "Great Reset" globalresearch.ca First published on December 18, 2022 | Economist Ernst Wolff believes that a hidden alliance of political and corporate leaders is exploiting the pandemic with the aim of crashing national economies and introducing a global digital currency. | How is it that …
(2022-02-05). COVID outbreak in Tonga after volcanic eruption and tsunami. wsws.org The deadly virus has almost certainly entered Tonga via infected personnel delivering aid from countries that include Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, France, Fiji and Britain.
(2022-02-05). [Correspondence] Depression and anxiety during COVID-19. thelancet.com The COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators conclude that, throughout 2020, the pandemic led to a 27 ∑6% increase in cases of major depressive disorders and 25 ∑6% increase in cases of anxiety disorders globally.1 However, we propose that these prevalence estimates are likely to be substantially inflated. Decades of trauma research has shown that, for most people, negative life events such as bereavement or disaster exposure are typically followed by resilience (minimal effect on symptoms of anxiety, or depression, or both) or recovery (initial short-term increase in symptoms of anxiety, or depression, or…
(2022-02-04). An open letter to workers in New Zealand: Join the fight to stop the pandemic and save lives in 2022! wsws.org The Labour Party-led government, backed by the trade unions, insists that schools and businesses must remain open, allowing Omicron to spread. The working class cannot accept this policy of mass infection and death.
(2022-02-04). Students and faculty demand remote learning options at University of California campuses. wsws.org The decision by University of California to reopen its 10 campuses amidst the deadly surge of the Omicron variant has prompted mass student opposition demanding remote learning options.
(2022-02-04). Strong Job Growth in January as Omicron Leads to Cuts in Hours, Not Jobs. cepr.net Employers responded to omicron by cutting hours rather than workers. | The economy added 467,000 jobs in January, in spite of the spread of the omicron variant. Even pandemic sensitive sectors such as hotels and restaurants were big job gainers. It appears that employers' main response was to reduce hours, with the average workweek falling by 0.2 hours, a decline of 0.6 percent. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.0 percent. |
(2022-02-04). January Sees Strong Job Growth as Omicron Leads to Cuts in Hours, Not Jobs. truthout.org 
The economy added 467,000 jobs in January, in spite of the spread of the omicron variant. Even pandemic sensitive sectors such as hotels and restaurants were big job gainers. It appears that employers' main response was to reduce hours, with the average workweek falling by 0.2 hours, a decline of 0.6 percent. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.0 percent. | (2022-02-04). Pandemic exposes U.S. health care crisis. workers.org 
In the book "The Great Influenza: The Deadliest Pandemic in History" by John Barry, written in 2005 about the so-called Spanish Flu of 1918, we learn that pandemic actually started in the U.S. The army barracks in the Midwest were the breeding ground for the deadly virus. World War I . . . |
(2022-02-04). Fast Food Sector Council advances in California, but CalCare health bill on hold. peoplesworld.org 
SACRAMENTO—Legislation to create a first-in-the-nation Fast Food Sector Council charged with regulating wages, working hours, and conditions affecting over half-a-million California fast food workers passed the state Assembly Jan. 31 and is on its way to the state Senate. The measure, Assembly Bill 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards (FAST) Recovery Act, by Assemblymember …
(2022-02-04). Gaza farmers struggle for livelihoods and healthy soil. electronicintifada.net Farming near the boundary zone is a hazardous undertaking.
(2022-02-04). 5 Months to Get 3rd COVID Vaccine Dose in Costa Rica. telesurenglish.net The minimum wait time between the administration of the 2nd vaccine dose and the 3rd booster injection was at least six months. | RELATED: | The Costa Rica Ministry of Health disclosed that it was allowed the 3rd dose to be given to people over 58 years of age, first responders, public and private education officials, besides all people over 18 years of age with a 5-month mark. | The vaccine to be used Pfizer and…
(2022-02-04). Canada's ruling elite pressures Trudeau to meet with far-right Ottawa occupiers. wsws.org The opposition Conservative Party and right-wing media outlets are demanding Trudeau find a "political solution" to the standoff in Canada's capital. That is, make concessions to the protesters and their fascistic demand all COVID-19 public health measures be scrapped.
(2022-02-04). I-X award and compost health risk: News from the College. imperial.ac.uk Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial.
(2022-02-04). Petition to save Boston's Tufts Children's Hospital garners more than 56,000 signatures. wsws.org Staff and patient families are outraged over Wellforce Health System's decision to close the 41-bed pediatric facility in downtown Boston.
(2022-02-04). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Strikes across France by healthcare, transport and employment agency workers over staff shortages, workload and pay; protests by teachers across Iran against wages and conditions following protests of retirees demanding a rise in pensions; 5,000 South African food workers on indefinite strike against pay and job cuts for eleventh week…
(2022-02-04). Herd immunity through natural infection to fight COVID-19 'foolish idea': WHO chief scientist. ecns.cn Chief scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan Thursday warned against the idea of attaining herd immunity through natural infection to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it "foolish" as there are huge costs to be paid.
(2022-02-04). US health care workers speak out as COVID-19 continues to fill ICUs and overwhelm hospitals. wsws.org When ICU beds are full it affects every aspect of the hospital system, causing ambulance diversion, supply limitations, staffing shortages, delays in care and overcrowding.