(2020-09-11). Headlines for September 11, 2020. democracynow.org 500,000 Evacuated Across Oregon as Record-Shattering Fires Rage in Western States, AstraZeneca CEO Warned Investors of Vaccine Recipient Who Became Ill, Trump Admin Fines Pork Processor $13,500 for Lapses at Plant Where 1,300 Contracted Coronavirus, India Records Another Record Daily Coronavirus Toll, Senate Coronavirus Relief Bill Fails as Another 857,000 File New Unemployment Claims, Amazon Accused of Price Gouging After Raising Prices Up to 1,000% During Lockdown, Philadelphia Activists Defy City Order to Vacate Encampment for Unhoused Residents, Joe Biden Says He May Further Increase Military Spending If Elec…
(2020-09-11). What Went Wrong with AstraZeneca's Vaccine Trial? CEO Only Shares Details with Investors. democracynow.org 
As the world races to find a COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most promising vaccine trials has hit a major roadblock. AstraZeneca paused its Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial after a woman in the trial developed severe neurological symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, or inflammation of the spinal cord. Details were only revealed during a CEO call with investors, and "everyone was left to guess what went wrong," writes Ed Silverman, senior writer at the health news site STAT, which broke the story. Silverman says the halting of the U.K. trial raises several issues, including whether pharmaceutical companies ar…
(2020-09-11). Times remain hard, especially for low-wage workers. mronline.org 
The current economic crisis has hit workers hard. Unemployment rates remain high, with total weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits continuing to grow.
(2020-09-11). LA health director accused of 'playing politics' after saying schools won't reopen 'until after the election' in leaked audio. rt.com 
LA County's public health chief has come under fire after saying that local schools would not reopen until after the 2020 presidential election, prompting criticism that officials are putting politics ahead of science. | The county's health director, Barbara Ferrer, recently told local educators that schools would remain shuttered until the beginning of November, repeatedly referring to the upcoming election, according to "We don't realistically anticipate that we would be moving t…
(2020-09-11). For Nearly Six Months, Weekly US Unemployment Claims Exceed One Million. globalresearch.ca Since March, weekly US claims for unemployment insurance (UI) were greater than ever before in the nation's history for 25 straight weeks. | What seemed unimaginable when 2020 began is cold, hard reality. | Over one million jobless US workers continue to …
(2020-09-11). WHO warns against potential Ebola spread in DR Congo and beyond. news.un.org Ebola is spreading in a western province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), raising fears that the disease could reach neighbouring Republic of Congo and even the capital, Kinshasa, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
(2020-09-11). Take Back The Night Like A Fresh Burning Star. counterpunch.org I am, she said, though borne into demolition. —"Poem for Suheir Hammad" by Trish Salah One hundred years ago, women were risking everything to get the right to vote, including marching on Washington during the Spanish Flu epidemic, which saw millions of people drop like flies. American suffragists had been fighting since the turn of
(2020-09-11). New Orleans Sanitation Workers Strike, Union Busting, Convict Labor & Labor Solidarity. indybay.org A panel was held on the strike of New Orleans striking sanitation workers who went out in May for PPE, health and safety and $15.00 an hour. Included on the panel were strikers and also supporters in Seattle and Tacoma who have been picketing the corporate owner of the contractor Metro which employed the workers. This company brought in convict labor to bust the strike.
(2020-09-11). Postponed: Memorial for People Killed by Police/Vigilantes since the George Floyd Uprising. indybay.org Due to unhealthy air quality, this memorial event is postponed until next Thursday.
(2020-09-11). Crucial Testing for Child Lead Poisoning Has Plummeted During Pandemic. truthout.org Families skipping or delaying pediatric appointments for their young children because of the pandemic are missing out on more than vaccines. Critical testing for lead poisoning has plummeted in many parts of the country. | In the Upper Midwest, Northeast and parts of the West Coast — areas with historically high rates of lead poisoning — the slide has been the most dramatic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In states such as Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota, test…
(2020-09-10). Headlines for September 10, 2020. democracynow.org Wildfires Destroy Oregon Towns, Bringing "Apocalyptic" Orange Skies to West Coast, Human Activity Blamed for 68% Drop in Animal Population Since 1970, President Donald Trump Acknowledges Downplaying COVID-19 Threat to U.S. Public, Biden Blasts Trump's "Life-and-Death Betrayal of the American People" on COVID-19, Bob Woodward Blasted for Withholding Trump's Comments on COVID-19 for Months, NIH Director Says Politics Shouldn't Trump Science in Vaccine Development, UW-Madison Halts In-Person Classes After 1,000+ Students Test Positive for Coronavirus, India Reports Record Daily Coronavirus Infections as Global Death…
(2020-09-10). "Democratic Public Health": Big Pharma Relies on Developing World While Limiting Access to Treatment. democracynow.org 
We look at the history of clinical vaccine trials and exploitation of vulnerable people in the U.S. and India, which recently surpassed Brazil as the country with the second most infections worldwide. Kaushik Sunder Rajan, an anthropologist at the University of Chicago, says there is a documented history of "ethical lapses" and lack of accountability in vaccine studies in India. "The critical issue here is not whether vaccines are good or bad, but … even more, I would suggest what is at stake is a democratic public health," he notes.
(2020-09-10). COVID Vaccine Trials Seek Black & Latinx Participants, But History of Medical Apartheid Sows Mistrust. democracynow.org 
As President Trump pushes to release a coronavirus vaccine before the November election, a National Institutes of Health report details how the process could be slowed by a lack of participation in vaccine studies by African American and Latinx people, many of whom mistrust the U.S. healthcare system due the history of racist medical exploitation. "The written history of medicine, the canon, has been carefully curated to elide the experience of African Americans," says medical ethicist Harriet Washington, author of "Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Ti…
(2020-09-10). As COVID spreads: Epidemic of evictions goes viral. workers.org 
Houston — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a federal eviction moratorium on Sept. 1 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Coming several months into the pandemic, it may help keep many in their homes — but only until Dec. 31. This is very much a case . . . |
(2020-09-10). Why Herd Immunity is a Distraction. counterpunch.org 
There has been a spectrum of actions taken by governments to address near-term prevention of the spread of COVID-19. The extremes have ranged from total lockdowns (e.g., Italy, Belgium and Spain); to legal enforcement of quarantines and contact tracing (e.g., Canada and Germany); to much lighter forms of restriction (e.g., Denmark and Norway); to even more minimal restrictions, but with extensive testing and tracing (e.g., Taiwan and South Korea). There have also been some clearly incompetent policies, notably in the United States, where the country's public health infrastructure has been eviscerated not just by…
(2020-09-10). The Heat: Trump criticized for COVID-19 response. america.cgtn.com 
This week marks six months since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Fast forward to September and the death toll in the United States continues to climb.
(2020-09-10). Moonshot or moonshine? Experts sceptical about government's latest coronavirus plan. thecanary.co 
Boris Johnson's government is considering shelling out up to £100bn for a mass at-home coronavirus (Covid-19) testing programme. But experts are sceptical about its ability to deliver.Known as "Operation Moonshot", if it worked, up to 10 million tests could be carried out every day from the comfort of people's own homes.How would Operation Moonshot work?: Ministers and health officials are hoping for a test that doesn't need processing in a lab. It would mean users get their results in a matter of minutes rather than days.The saliva test would mean people don't need to travel to testing centres or wa…
(2020-09-10). OPCW should not be a 'geopolitical tool,' Russian envoy tells UN Security Council as Germany seeks to involve it in Navalny case. rt.com 
Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya slammed on Thursday Germany for withholding information about the health of activist Alexey Navalny and condemned Western attempts to politicize chemical weapons watchdog, the OPCW. | "Russia is deeply concerned by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons becoming an instrument in the geopolitical struggle," Nebenzya said at the United Nations Security Council session on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. | He
(2020-09-10). University Of Michigan Residential Staff On Strike. popularresistance.org The bottom line is our health can't wait. Our communities can't wait. The University's inaction in the face of ResStaff's explicit concerns and action items over the last few weeks has made it clear that public health is not the priority. The University has repeatedly referred to the Wolverine Culture of Care, but has not extended this same care to us. If U of M administrators do not want to live up to the Michigan Difference, we will be the difference ourselves. Health comes first. ResStaff will not stand for anything less than policies and adequate resources that reflect this priority.
(2020-09-10). Human disturbances of wild areas increase the likelihood of future pandemics. wsws.org Deforestation and other human incursions into wild areas decrease biodiversity and promote the growth of species that are reservoirs of potential zoonotic diseases.
(2020-09-10). The Trump Administration's Attack on Abortion Access Disproportionately Harms Communities of Color Already Devastated by COVID-19. aclu.org Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is devastatingly apparent that the United States' longstanding racial inequalities have only been amplified during this crisis. Nowhere is that truer than in health care, including reproductive health care., , Even before the pandemic, people of color faced severe barriers to accessing essential reproductive health care as a result of interrelated factors such as structural racism, gendered oppression, and associated economic disparities. Abortion restrictions, such as bans on insurance coverage for abortion or laws mandating delays in abortion care and an extra unnec…
(2020-09-10). Peace through weapons sales to the UAE. nationofchange.org If the American people really want to pursue peace in the Middle East and instead use our taxes to build up U.S. infrastructure, healthcare, education and address the climate crisis, then we must immediately pressure our Congressional representatives to make sure that the U.S.-UAE weapons sales deal does not go through.
(2020-09-10). Leaders pledge 'quantum leap' towards fully funding COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. news.un.org Global leaders, including more than 30 Heads of State and Ministers, have underlined their commitment towards fast-tracking the development and production of COVID-19 tests, medicines and vaccines, that will be available for anyone, anywhere, who needs them.
(2020-09-10). Salt Lake City police engage in a cover-up after shooting autistic 13-year-old boy multiple times. wsws.org Linden Cameron was shot by a Salt Lake City, Utah police officer after his mother called emergency services to report that her son was experiencing a mental health crisis and needed help.
(2020-09-10). UN Warns Pandemic-Intensified Famines Are Looming. zcomm.org "A lack of funding for emergency relief and the complications created by the coronavirus scourge have now pushed some of the world's neediest populations closer to famine conditions."
(2020-09-10). Iran COVID-19 update: 129 deaths, 2,063 cases in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 08 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 2,063 COVID-19 infections and 129 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.
(2020-09-10). Largest global vaccine confidence survey reveals hesitancy hotspots. imperial.ac.uk While vaccine confidence remains low in Europe, there are signs that public trust in vaccine safety has been increasing in some EU countries.
(2020-09-10). Hospitals and Nursing Homes Are Failing to Separate COVID Patients. truthout.org Nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center were on edge as early as March when patients with COVID-19 began to show up in areas of the hospital that were not set aside to care for them. | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had advised hospitals to isolate COVID patients to limit staff exposure and help conserve high-level personal protective equipment that's been in short supply. | Yet COVID patients continued to be scattered through the Oakland hospital, according to complaints to California's…
(2020-09-10). WHO says $700 million raised so far for COVID-19 vaccines initiative for poor. yenisafak.com International donors have raised $700 million – less than half the target – to purchase future coronavirus vaccines for poor countries in a global initiative to ensure eventual vaccines do not go only to rich countries, a World Health Organization official said on Thursday.The COVAX Advanced Market Commitment has an initial target of $2 billion to buy the vaccines."Up to today, what has been mobilised so far is $700 million … So there is a great deal of work to be done to diversify the possible sources of funding," Matshidiso Moeti, Africa regional director for the WHO, told an online press briefing.COVAX is co…
(2020-09-10). Australian study reveals rise in mental health problems during COVID-19 pandemic. wsws.org The data shows that services remain woefully inadequate to deal with the impact of the pandemic and its aftermath.
(2020-09-10). After 'Disgraceful' GOP Coronavirus Package Defeated, Progressives Demand McConnell 'Get Serious' About Relief. commondreams.org After Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's attempt at passing the Republicans' "skinny" coronavirus relief plan—prioritizing corporations over the health, safety, and livelihoods of working families—failed on Thursday, advocacy groups demanded that the Senate "get serious" about providing relief to Americans. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-09-10). 'What a Healthy Democracy Should Look Like': Connecticut Small-Dollar Campaign Program a Model for Restoring Power to the People. commondreams.org New report details how state initiative leveled the playing field for candidates and ultimately led to better legislative outcomes for communities. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-09-10). We Must Take The Vaccine Industry Into Public Ownership To Ensure Its Products Are Available To All. commondreams.org Vaccines developed in the public sector should be separated from the profit model and available to all to ensure prompt and equitable access. "Rather than competition between a limited number of firms," writes Lawson, "we need cooperation across the whole sector." (Photo: Javier Zayas Photography/iStock/via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-09-09). Thousands receive Turkish aid following Beirut blast. yenisafak.com Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has sent aid to 30,000 people in Lebanon following last month's Beirut port explosion.In a statement on Wednesday, the IHH said the aid delivery is still underway."So far, 30,000 beneficiaries have received aid from the IHH," the statement said.Aid has also been delivered to three health centers in the Lebanese capital, which lacks sufficient medicine and medical supplies.On Aug. 4, a huge explosion in the port of Beirut rocked the city, killing 191 people and injuring over 6,000 people, while dozens remain missing.The blast caused damage estimated at $15 billion, acc…
(2020-09-09). Remembering Kevin Zeese, Tireless Fighter For Our Democracy. popularresistance.org Defending Rights & Dissent was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Zeese over the weekend. Over his life, he was on the frontlines of many causes—whistleblower protections, election integrity, single payer healthcare, net neutrality, reforming our criminal justice system, environmental justice, and peace. He was the press secretary for Ralph Nader's 2004 presidential campaign and in 2006 ran for Senate in Maryland with the backing of both the Green and Libertarian Parties.
(2020-09-09). Trump's rush for a vaccine endangers the nation's health. peoplesworld.org 
The Trump administration admits it is aiming for a vaccine for COVID-19 before Election Day and that the public will joyfully rise up to reward him with a second term in the White House. The news this week that AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceutical giant, has halted its trial of a COVID-19 vaccine because of an …
(2020-09-09). Racism and anti-communism: Why the U.S. has no real health system. peoplesworld.org 
Healthcare access remains an urgent issue for millions of Americans. Trump's empty promise last month to "sign a health insurance law in two weeks" confirms this reality. As many as 12 million workers in the U.S., since the economic collapse, have lost their health insurance, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Many millions more go …
(2020-09-09). Safety comes first, says Fauci, after 'unfortunate' pausing of AstraZeneca vaccine due to UK participant's adverse reaction. rt.com 
AstraZeneca's decision to put the Phase III trial of its Covid-19 vaccine on hold is unfortunate but part of how a trial is supposed to work, Dr. Anthony Fauci has said. The pause comes after a subject developed complications. | "It's really one of the safety valves that you have on clinical trials such as this, so it's unfortunate that it happened," the leading US expert on infections told CBS' 'This Morning' program. "Hopefully, they'll work it out and be able to proceed along with the remainder of the trial, but you don't know. They need to investigate it further." | A similar sentiment was expressed by the…
(2020-09-09). Moscow to vaccinate 40,000 volunteers with 'Sputnik V' as Russian capital begins 3rd phase trial of pioneering coronavirus vaccine. rt.com 
Volunteers in Moscow have started to receive doses of Sputnik V, the world's first registered Covid-19 vaccine. The formula, developed by Russian scientists, is entering the third stage of clinical trials. | According to Anastasia Rakova, the city's deputy mayor for social development, the first volunteers were vaccinated on Wednesday. This week's trial participants are part of a wide-ranging final test phase, and the capital is looking observe Sputnik V's effect on 40,000 of the city's residents. | "The number of applicants is growing daily," Rakova said. "More than 35,000 Muscovites have already applied."
(2020-09-09). Democrats & Republicans agree: Politicians & corporations should be spared from prosecution over killer Covid-19 care homes. rt.com 
Republican and Democrat politicians have both embraced legislation to immunize themselves and their deep-pocketed corporate donors from legal liability for ill-thought-out pandemic policies blamed for the deaths of thousands. | Republicans in the Senate have all but plagiarized a controversial provision from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that will offer legal immunity to corporations that ran the care homes in which hundreds of thousands of elderly Americans died with the coronavirus over the last six months, according to a trio of progressive journalists who compared the texts and interviewed some of the lob…
(2020-09-09). Distrust of public institutions, health inequities could push more countries into conflict, UN political affairs chief warns. news.un.org The erosion of trust in public institutions, unequal access to health care and tensions around delicate peace negotiations, are among the risks amplified by COVID-19, which if not mitigated, could push more countries into violence, the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council on Wednesday.
(2020-09-09). How America continues to fail the health care workers battling the pandemic. nationofchange.org For too many Americans, health care workers are out of sight, out of mind.
(2020-09-09). Social movements in Haiti denounce president's links to criminal gangs. peoplesdispatch.org Haiti has been plagued by a wave of violent murders of vocal members of the opposition, and gang violence in poor neighborhoods. Social movements say the president is an accomplice to these crimes…
(2020-09-09). South African health care workers strike as opposition to ANC government mounts. wsws.org According to official figures from last month, more than 27,300 health workers have tested positive and 230 have died from the disease.
(2020-09-09). America Needs a Formal Truth-Telling Process, and Right Now! dissidentvoice.org Racism proves again that it is a cancer that's ravaging American society. As of late it seems to have metastasized to an uncontrollable disease that is snuffing our relationships, human dignity, careers, and common decency in the U.S. The various incidences of racial strife over the last several years, ranging from continued police brutality to …
(2020-09-09). Children's lives at stake, COVID threatens to undo 30 years of 'remarkable progress'. news.un.org COVID-19 threatens to undo decades of hard-fought progress in reducing deaths of children under the age of five, UN agencies have warned, calling on countries to ensure vital health services for children and women do not falter amid the global crisis.
(2020-09-09). The University of Michigan graduate student strike: A significant step forward for workers and students. wsws.org On Tuesday morning, approximately 1,000 graduate student workers went on strike in opposition to the dangerous health and working conditions they face in the pandemic.
(2020-09-09). Michigan University students seek safe working conditions. peoplesdispatch.org On September 9, around 1,000 graduate student employees at the University of Michigan commenced a strike.They are organizing the strike against the dangerous health and work conditions under which they have been forced to return to campus.
(2020-09-09). Serious knowledge gaps must be bridged to battle deadly sepsis infections. news.un.org Efforts to tackle sepsis, which can damage multiple organs and result in death, are hampered by "serious gaps in knowledge", particularly in low- and middle-income countries, according to a report launch on Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
(2020-09-09). Covid-19 Workers' Comp Claims Are Being Held Up or Denied. zcomm.org Employers and insurance companies are insisting employees, even those directly exposed to the virus, can't prove they got sick at work…