(2022-03-17). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: New cases of COVID-19 continue downward trend. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org New cases of COVID-19 are down 90% from the peak, with under 75,000 new cases reported last week across the U.S. "What we're observing is a pretty dramatic suppression of cases," explains Dr. Gregory Poland, head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "This is good news, but we need to be cautious." Dr. Poland warns that there are still people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, including people who are immunocompromised; children under 5 who cannot yet be…
(2022-03-17). Chinese oral COVID-19 drug safe, well-tolerated in human tests: study. ecns.cn A Chinese oral COVID-19 nucleoside drug, VV116, has commenced global trials in moderate and severe COVID-19 patients after having proven to be safe and well-tolerated in the tests of healthy people.
(2022-03-17). Traditional Chinese medicine experts arrive in Cambodia to help fight COVID-19. ecns.cn A team of 10 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts arrived here in the capital of Cambodia Wednesday evening to help the southeast Asian nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2022-03-17). Mayo Clinic's 2021 achievements affirm 'Bold. Forward.' strategic vision, staff dedication. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. ‚Äï Mayo Clinic is proud to report a year of extraordinary achievements in 2021, thanks to the hard work and dedication of its more than 73,000 staff members. Mayo Clinic accelerated progress on goals related to its "Bold. Forward." strategic plan to transform health care while continuing to provide leadership in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Mayo cared for more than 1.4 million patients from every U.S. state and…
(2022-03-17). Jilin illustrator inspired by medical workers' pandemic fight. ecns.cn Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has created multiple popular flip illustrations to encourage medical workers.
(2022-03-17). Lancet report shows pandemic death toll is triple the official total. wsws.org A peer-reviewed study published in the Lancet provides evidence that though reported COVID-19 deaths in the first two years approached six million, excess deaths attributable to the pandemic were three-fold higher, at more than 18 million.
(2022-03-17). People with Omicron variant less likely hospitalised compared to Delta variant. imperial.ac.uk People with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 were less likely to be admitted to hospital or to die, compared to those with the Delta variant.
(2022-03-17). Mayo Clinic Minute: What you can eat to avoid kidney stones. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org March is National Kidney Month, a time to raise awareness about your kidney health and generate support for those affected by conditions, including kidney stones, kidney infections and kidney disease. It's estimated that 1 in 10 people will get a kidney stone in his or her lifetime. Kidney stones are not only painful, but they can lead to serious complications that may require hospitalization and even surgery. The good news is kidney stones are preventable,…
(2022-03-17). Science Saturday: Mayo Clinic develops automated system to accelerate diagnoses for patients with rare diseases. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Mayo Clinic researchers are working to accelerate the diagnoses of rare diseases and renew hope for patients whose symptoms have defied an explanation ‚Äï‚ÄØsometimes for years or even decades.‚ÄØ The team of genomics experts has developed an automated system called RENEW for tracking new scientific knowledge from around the world of pathogenic genetic variants and applying it to Mayo Clinic patients with rare and undiagnosed diseases. RENEW stands for reanalysis of negative whole-exome/genome data. "We're…
(2022-03-17). Mayo Clinic Q and A: Treatment of peripheral artery disease depends on severity of symptoms. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am in my early 50s, and I enjoy hiking and biking. I was active until leg pain brought me to my doctor. I was diagnosed with a blockage of the artery behind my right knee. What is this condition, and what treatments are available? ANSWER: Your condition, called peripheral artery disease, is a common problem in which narrowed arteries reduce the amount of blood that reaches the limbs. The type of blocked artery…
(2022-03-17). Science Saturday: Big data helps in understanding asthma biologic use, outcomes. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 25 million Americans have asthma, and that number is increasing every year. In the last 10 years, a number of new medications have become available. Collectively referred to as 'biologics,' these therapies are made to target very specific parts of the body and its immune system. Although they each have different targets, they all are designed to prevent the inflammation that leads to asthma exacerbation. However, it appears…
(2022-03-17). Young girl with rare disease gets life-changing diagnosis and targeted therapy at Mayo Clinic. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Rare Disease Day raises awareness of the 30 million people in the U.S. who have a rare disease. Araeya Sell, 13, has spent much of her childhood visiting her health care team and in the hospital. She has endured countless blood draws, scans, procedures and a surgery ‚Äï all in the search for answers to her complex symptoms. "It started in kindergarten when Araeya just kept getting bladder infections," says her mother, Nicole Sell. "Her…
(2022-03-17). Consumer Health: What is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, also called hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, is a group of inherited disorders that affects an estimated 150,000 people in the U.S., according to the National Library of Medicine. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease causes nerve damage mostly in the peripheral nerves of the arms and legs. This nerve damage results in smaller, weaker muscles. You also may experience loss of sensation and muscle contractions, and difficulty walking. Foot deformities, such as hammertoes and high arches,…
(2022-03-17). Netizens give thumbs up to anti-epidemic measures in rural China. ecns.cn A series of photos showing a medical worker collecting nucleic acid samples in a village have recently gone viral on Chinese social platforms, winning praise from netizens.
(2022-03-17). Healthcare for Human Rights, Not Profits: what the US Can Learn from Cuba's Coronavirus Response. orinocotribune.com By Natalia Burdynska-Schuurman — Mar 10, 2022 | Cuba's remarkable response to the Coronavirus pandemic highlights the need for a healthcare system that puts people before profits | For two years now, the Coronavirus pandemic has done irreversible harm to millions in the United States. To date, over 78 million confirmed cases of infection and over 940,000 deaths due to Coronavirus have been
(2022-03-17). Consumer Health: Who needs a gluten-free diet and why? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org March is National Nutrition Month, which makes this a good time to learn why some people need a gluten-free diet. Whole grains are an important part of healthy diet. They are good sources of complex carbohydrates, as well as some key vitamins and minerals. And because whole grains are naturally high in fiber, they may help you feel full and satisfied, which can make it easier to maintain a healthy body weight. Eating more whole-grain…
(2022-03-17). Ask the Mayo Mom: Helping children cope with medical experiences. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Parents and caregivers play an important role in helping children feel comfortable with medical care. When possible, sharing age-appropriate information with children before a medical appointment can help ease their fear and anxiety. To help children prepare for a visit with their health care team, it is important that parents and caregivers understand the reason for the visit and what tests or procedures are likely to occur. Child life specialists, who are trained in child…
(2022-03-17). Turkish doctors, health workers on nationwide strike for wages, safety. wsws.org Amid unprecedented inflation and falls in workers' living standards due to the pandemic and war, Turkish doctors have organized their largest strike ever.
(2022-03-17). Mayo Clinic researchers recommend investments in vaccine safety in Nature commentary. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The leaders of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group are emphasizing the need for increased long-term study of vaccines and their mechanisms with future safety of patients in mind. Gregory Poland, M.D., and Richard Kennedy, Ph.D., write in their commentary in the scientific journal Nature Reviews Immunology that greater focus on understanding vaccines' downstream effects, not only on immunity but also on all the other biological systems will provide information that can help make vaccines safer…
(2022-03-16). Weekly COVID-19 cases up 8% worldwide: WHO. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Mar. 16 (MNA) — Over 11 million people contracted the novel coronavirus infection worldwide over the past week, more than 43,000 patients died, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday.
(2022-03-16). America's New Dystopian Normal. popularresistance.org The United States has all but declared the COVID-19 pandemic over and done with. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advised 230 million Americans, 70 percent of the population, to no longer wear masks in most cases, including indoors. | Cities, counties, and states across the US have lifted their mask mandates. | Restaurants, shopping malls, movie theatres, and grocery stores have dropped mask and physical distancing requirements. Even school districts have gone mask-optional since the end of February. This is despite more than 55,000 Americans contracting the disease and nearly 2,000 dying from it and the…
(2022-03-16). Venezuela and UN Human Rights Office Discuss Increased Technical Assistance. orinocotribune.com Monday, March 14, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro held a videoconference with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. | Through his Twitter account, President Maduro said that the two reviewed Venezuela's COVID-19 response, and discussed the possibility of increased UN technical assistance in order to guarantee justice and peace for the Venezuelan people. | En videoconferencia con la Alta Comisionada de la ONU para los DD…
(2022-03-16). China mounts all-out effort to stop the spread of Omicron BA.2 subvariant. wsws.org Backed by popular support for the Zero-COVID policy that has continuously prevented infections and deaths, the Chinese government is mobilizing vast resources to quell the outbreak and save lives.
(2022-03-16). As the Fed Prepares to Raise Rates, the Inflation Hawks are Running Wild. cepr.net With bad news on oil prices, and a new wave of Covid shutdowns in China, the inflation hawks are getting really excited. After all, higher oil prices and further supply disruptions are sure to add to the inflation the economy is already seeing. I guess they were right with their warnings. Okay, let's get back …
(2022-03-16). California transitions to an endemic approach to the virus. america.cgtn.com 
California has passed nine million COVID-19 cases. That's close to 25% of the state's population. However, with infections on the decline, it plans to transition from a pandemic to an endemic approach to the virus.
(2022-03-16). Ante la COVID-19 en Cuba: Hacer todo lo posible por no retroceder. cubadebate.cu Una intensa jornada que versó sobre la salud de los cubanos y estadísticas que muestran el actual comportamiento de la epidemia de COVID-19, tuvo lugar este martes, desde el Palacio de la Revolución, y estuvo encabezada por el Primer Secretario del Comité Central del Partido Comunista y Presidente de la República, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
(2022-03-16). New virus guidelines reflect Omicron realities. ecns.cn People with mild COVID-19 infections will be placed in centralized isolation, rather than in designated hospitals.
(2022-03-16). Nearly 1,000 people in hospital with COVID in New Zealand. wsws.org As Omicron continues to infect more than 20,000 people a day, hospitals have cut back other services to cope with the surge, and there is growing anger towards the government.
(2022-03-16). CovertAction Bulletin Podcast: The Role of War Propaganda in Anti-Asian Violence. covertactionmagazine.com The epidemic of anti-Asian violence has grown exponentially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Asian …
(2022-03-16). Inhalable vaccine for COVID-19 a step closer. ecns.cn An inhaled COVID-19 vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics has entered late-stage clinical trials, with data suggesting it is eligible to apply for emergency use in China, the company's chief scientist said.
(2022-03-16). Cuba sin casos de zika y chikungunya, pero alerta ante circulación de dengue y covid, señala el Minsap. cubadebate.cu Cuba se mantiene libre de chikungunya y de zika, pese a los elevados índices de infectación del agente transmisor de estas enfermedades, el mosquito Aedes aegypti, divulgó hoy el Ministerio de Salud Pública (Minsap). En el caso del dengue, también provocado por el insecto, un total de nueve provincias fueron afectadas durante el año anterior.
(2022-03-16). OPS llama a estar alerta ante posibles brotes de poliomielitis y a no descuidar la vacunación contra esta enfermedad. cubadebate.cu La Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) llamó hoy estar alerta ante posibles brotes de poliomielitis e indicó elevar la cobertura de vacunación contra esa enfermedad. La cobertura de contra la poliomielitis, el sarampión y la rubéola, la difteria y otras enfermedades infantiles había disminuido incluso antes de que llegara el Covid-19.
(2022-03-16). The Heat: Europe rolls back precautions as COVID-19 cases rise. america.cgtn.com 
A stark warning from the head of the World Health Organization as the global pandemic enters its third year.
(2022-03-16). Western countries lift COVID-19 bans amid fluctuation of pandemic. ecns.cn More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the global infections and deaths have waxed and waned in different parts of the world.
(2022-03-16). Right-wing candidate narrowly wins South Korean presidential election. wsws.org Yoon's election is the result above all of the deep unpopularity of the Moon administration, which is responsible for the social crisis produced by the COVID-19 pandemic…
(2022-03-16). Children show low levels of antibodies against COVID-19, new study suggests. peoplesdispatch.org The results of the study were astounding—while 76% of the adult group had antibodies against the coronavirus, only 37% of the children had the antibodies. Interestingly, participants from both groups had similar viral loads…
(2022-03-16). For The First Time In 50 Years, Minneapolis Teachers Are Out On Strike. popularresistance.org On March 8, around 3,500 Minneapolis teachers and educational support professionals went out on strike, effectively shutting down a system of 35,000 students. The action, led by Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) Local 59, is the first walkout the city has seen in over 50 years. | Educators are demanding caps to class sizes, higher wages and more mental health support for students. While the school district is claiming a budget shortfall, union advocates have pointed to the state's record $9.3 billion surplus as a potential untapped resource. | We sat down with Beth Dill, a 5th grade teacher at Whittier Int…
(2022-03-16). [Articles] Healthcare workers' views on mandatory SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the UK: A cross-sectional, mixed-methods analysis from the UK-REACH study. thelancet.com Only one in six of the HCWs in this large, diverse, UK-wide sample favoured mandatory vaccination. Building trust, educating, and supporting HCWs who are hesitant about vaccination may be more acceptable, effective, and equitable.
(2022-03-16). Doulas Push Back Against California's Proposal to Pay Them Shockingly Low Rates. truthout.org 
Sacramento, California — This was supposed to be the year that low-income Californians could hire a doula to guide them through pregnancy and advocate for them in the hospital. | But the new benefit for people enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid health insurance program, has been delayed twice as the state and doulas — nonmedical workers who help parents before, during, and after birth — haggle over how much they should get paid. | The state initially proposed a fla…
(2022-03-16). Rising school threats harm students' mental health in U.S.: media report. ecns.cn Rising violence and threats in U.S. schools are impacting many students' mental health, according to a report by the Daily Journal newspaper.
(2022-03-16). Privatizing mental health care in Michigan. peoplesworld.org 
A series of bills written last year by Michigan State Sen. Mike Shirkey purportedly aimed at "overhauling" behavioral health care in the state are now before a committee to be reviewed. Shirkey, who is also the Senate majority leader, along with Rep. Mary Whiteford, have been pushing this "overhaul" agenda through both houses of the …
(2022-03-16). Our Military Budget Is More Lopsided Than Ever. otherwords.org Congress recently announced a bipartisan budget deal to fund the federal government through 2022. It's a lopsided budget if there ever was one. | Even after America's longest war in Afghanistan ended last year, military spending isn't going down. In fact, it's skyrocketing upwards — from $740 billion in the last budget set under Trump to $782 billion in this deal. | The same new budget offers just $730 billion to meet urgent domestic needs at home. | That means that even during a pandemic, supply chain crisis, and painful inflation, we'll put more resources into the military and war than public health, educ…
(2022-03-16). Women in Colombia continue their struggle for reproductive rights. peoplesdispatch.org Ana Gonzalez Velez from the Roundtable for Life and Health of Women talks about the recent constitutional ruling in favour of decriminalization of abortion in Colombia and what lies ahead…
(2022-03-16). Australian mental health workers to take stopwork action. wsws.org The HACSU has called the three-hour stopwork to try to head off the growing anger of poorly-paid mental health workers toward the state Labor government.
(2022-03-16). Excluded Workers Shut Down Brooklyn And Manhattan Bridges…Again! popularresistance.org New York City – This, hundreds of excluded workers, elected officials, and allies took over the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. They raised the heat on the demands for an additional $3 billion for the Excluded Workers Fund in the state budget and the first ever "Excluded Worker Unemployment Program" in the country which would provide compensation to workers who have lost a job or income and are ineligible for unemployment insurance. | More than 130,000 people across New York State had their lives transformed after receiving funding from the Excluded Workers Fund. Yet many New Yorkers were left out due to insuffic…
(2022-03-16). See how cloud seeding might help fight drought in the U.S. america.cgtn.com 
As drought continues to plague the American West, some states are turning to a 75-year-old technology that's long been viewed with skepticism by many scientists: cloud seeding. What is cloud seeding and how's it done?>
(2022-03-16). Mass Grave In Mariupol. Who May Buried There And Why. southfront.org 
An official representative of the DPR said at an urgent briefing on the morning of 16 March that information had been received from various sources that another falsification had been carried out by the Ukrainian leadership in the city of Mariupol. | This time, the office of the Ukrainian President set the task for the Ukrainian armed forces' command to discredit the actions of the Russian forces by showing the Western public the mass graves of civilians allegedly killed as a result of artillery shellin…
(2022-03-16). Top 7 Ways Iran evaded US Sanctions that Putin could Follow. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The sorts of sanctions and boycotts the United States and its allies are placing on Russia resemble those applied by Washington to Iran off and on in the past decade, though so far the measures in place against Tehran are still far more severe than what has been done to …
(2022-03-16). Saudi Arabia: Mass Execution of 81 Men: Rampant Abuses in Criminal Justice System, lack of Fair Trials. juancole.com Human Rights Watch — (Beirut) — Saudi authorities' execution of 81 men on March 12, 2022 was its largest mass execution in years despite recent promises to curtail its use of the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said today. Rampant and systemic abuses in Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system suggest it is highly unlikely that …
(2022-03-16). Not all Refugees are Equal: Plight of Palestinians Displaced by Israel Worsening. juancole.com ( Middle East Monitor ) — Financial support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is dwindling, despite the renewed mandates and financial contribution pledges by world leaders. "The almost unanimous political support expressed by the UN General Assembly to the Agency is not translated into matching financial resources," UNRWA's Commissioner-General, …