(2021-07-03). [World Report] US FDA defends approval of Alzheimer's disease drug. thelancet.com Accelerated approval for aducanumab has prompted resignations and condemnation of the agency's decision. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.
(2021-07-03). [Correspondence] Countdown on health and climate change: too important for methodological errors — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Peter Morfeld and Thomas Erren for their interest in the 2020 report of the Lancet Countdown.1 They argue that the use of attributable fractions is inadequate to estimate premature mortality from ambient air pollution or exposure to heat, and base their argument on the work by Hammitt and colleagues,2 which states that mortality does not allow one to "distinguish between situations in which a few people die much earlier than they would have if unexposed and situations in which many people die a little earlier than they would have if unexposed".
(2021-07-03). [World Report] North Korean health at risk due to border closures. thelancet.com Most links to North Korea have been cut for 18 months, severely limiting imports of food and vital medicines. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2021-07-03). [Correspondence] Countdown on health and climate change: too important for methodological errors. thelancet.com Nick Watts and colleagues1 did wide-reaching analyses to track the emerging health effect of climate change. Among other indicators they estimated "Indicator 1.1.3: heat-related mortality" and "Indicator 3.3: premature mortality from ambient air pollution" and concluded: "average heat-related mortality per year…a total of 296‚Äà000 deaths in 2018" and "premature deaths…from ambient PM2 ∑5 have increased…from 2 ∑95 million deaths in 2015 to 3 ∑01 million deaths in 2018". The Article1 estimated numbers of deaths by attributable fractions, which disallows identification of the num…
(2021-07-02). Campaign for the Elimination of Patents. orinocotribune.com By Pasqualina Curcio — Jun 28, 2021 | A debate has been going on worldwide about the exemption of COVID-19 vaccine patents. The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, warned governments and pharmaceutical companies that "unless we eliminate the virus everywhere, we could end up back at square one." This statement is mainly due to the fact that the longer we take to vaccinate the world's population, the more likely the coronavirus will mutate and evade vaccines, making them less effective in containing the disease. A clear example has been Brazil, where several experts warn t…
(2021-07-02). Cuba's Vaccine Shield and the Five Monopolies that Structure the World. popularresistance.org To use the social wealth of a population, to teach science, and to establish a basic norm of scientific literacy are essential lessons of the pandemic. These are lessons well-learnt by the Cubans. This is why Cuba has, against all odds, developed five different vaccines. Abdala and Cuba's four other vaccines stand as a shield against COVID-19. These vaccines emerge out of the social productivity of socialist Cuba, which has not surrendered to the ugliness of the five monopolies.
(2021-07-02). China has provided over 480 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to world. ecns.cn China has provided more than 480 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the world, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Friday.
(2021-07-02). Venezuela immunizes its population against COVID-19 with Cuban vaccine. peoplesdispatch.org Last week, Venezuela signed an agreement with Cuba for the purchase of 12 million doses of Abdala, just three days after the country announced and celebrated the success of its locally developed anti-COVID-19 vaccine…
(2021-07-02). India's official Covid death toll climbs past 400,000, but real figure could be drastically higher. rt.com 
India has become the third country to have surpassed the 400,000 coronavirus death mark, but there is speculation that the number of fatalities is actually significantly higher. | On Friday India announced that it had doubled its official Covid-19 death toll since April. It's estimated that around half of India's 400,000 fatalities were amassed during the second wave of the virus. | However, questions have been raised about whether the official death toll is a true reflection of the dire situation in the country. Two notable studies from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and the Economist h…
(2021-07-02). India's official Covid death toll climbs past 400,000, but real figure could be drastically higher. rt.com India has become the third country to have surpassed the 400,000 coronavirus death mark, but there is speculation that the number of fatalities is actually significantly higher. | On Friday India announced that it had doubled its official Covid-19 death toll since April. It's estimated that around half of India's 400,000 fatalities were amassed during the second wave of the virus. | However, questions have been raised about whether the official death toll is a true reflection of the dire situation in the country. Two notable studies from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and the Economist h…
(2021-07-02). COVID-19 Delta variant detected in 98 countries, continues to evolve and mutate, warns WHO. news.un.org The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged leaders to push back against daunting new COVID surges through increased vaccination efforts and public health measures, warning that with Delta quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries 'we are in a very dangerous period of the pandemic'.
(2021-07-02). Headlines for July 2, 2021. democracynow.org Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voter Suppression Law in Latest Blow to Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court Strikes Down California Donor Law in Major Win for Dark Money Groups, Trump Organization Charged with Criminal Tax Fraud, CFO Charged with Grand Larceny, WHO Warns Delta Coronavirus Variant Driving Massive Third Wave Across Africa, Venezuela Begins Administering Cuban-Made Abdala COVID-19 Vaccine, Extreme Heat Wave Scorches Canada, Nearly Wiping Out Canadian Town of Lytton, Pelosi Appoints Republican Liz Cheney to Select Committee to Probe Capitol Insurrection, Attorney General Merrick Garland Halts Federal Exec…
(2021-07-02). World Health Organization warns of new pandemic wave as cases surge in Europe and US. wsws.org The number of daily new cases of COVID-19 has surged over the past week in the United States, as the government eliminates all remaining restrictions on the spread of the disease even as the dangerous Delta variant becomes prevalent.
(2021-07-02). Reported cases of myocarditis in younger men following COVID-19 vaccination are rare; vaccination remains important. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers are taking a close look at rare cases of inflammation of the heart muscle, or myocarditis, in young men who developed symptoms shortly after receiving the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines. Several recent studies suggest that health care professionals should watch for hypersensitivity myocarditis as a rare adverse reaction to being vaccinated for COVID-19. However, researchers stress that this awareness should not…
(2021-07-02). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Summer travel and people not in your bubble during COVID-19 pandemic. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org "The reason we have the COVID-19 delta variant, the reason we have the delta plus variant is because of unimmunized people who get infected," says Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. He adds that 99.2% of the recorded COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are in people not vaccinated against the virus. This is why he cautions folks who may be traveling this Fourth of July holiday and…
(2021-07-02). Cancer to COVID-19: Experimental treatment pivots in record time. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org At the beginning of 2020, everyone in research and medicine who could pivot to focus on COVID-19 did. Scientists and physicians hauled out findings from previous epidemics. In papers and personal correspondence, they shared descriptions of the damage wrought by SARS-CoV-2. They started running potential drugs through their paces. "When you have a completely new …
(2021-07-02). Construction unions battle vaccine reluctance among members. peoplesworld.org 
CLEVELAND (PAI)—Almost half, 46.4%, of U.S. construction/extraction workers—union and non-union combined—said they probably or definitely would not get vaccinated against the still-potent coronavirus, a new study shows. That's the highest refusal rate among all occupations, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh report. It's also consistent with previous studies, the researchers found. …
(2021-07-02). Planting 'consultants,' blocking vaccine approval, threatening officials — Australia sabotages China-PNG cooperation by all means. ecns.cn By planting Australian consultants in Papua New Guinea to manipulate local epidemic prevention policies targeting China, obstructing the authorizing of Chinese vaccines' emergency use, threatening senior officials from welcoming Chinese vaccines, Australia has been found sabotaging and disturbing Pacific Island nations' cooperation with China on vaccines and anti-virus measures, with experts criticizing Australia's actions as hurting people's interest in the Pacific Island countries out of a pure Cold War mentality.
(2021-07-02). Cuba's vaccine shield and the five monopolies that structure the World: The Twenty-Sixth Newsletter (2021). mronline.org In 1869, at the age of fifteen, José Martí and his young friends published a magazine in Cuba called La Patria Libre ('The Free Homeland'), which adopted a strong position against Spanish imperialism. The first and only issue of the magazine carried Martí's poem, 'Abdala'. | July 2, 2021…
(2021-07-02). You Ordered Healthcare, You Got Airstrikes. strategic-culture.org 
By Caitlin JOHNSTONE | Biden: Sorry, did you say airstrikes on Iraq and Syria? | Americans: no, healthcare | Biden: Alright, you drive a hard bargain, but here are your airstrikes on Iraq and Syria. | ‚ùñ | It is journalistic malpractice to parrot US government claims about acts of military mass murder on the other side of the planet being "defensive". The only strikes near the Iraq-Syria border that could accurately be called "defensive" are those launched by the inhabitants of those nations upon the invading western military occupation. The only actual defensive action that the US could legi…
(2021-07-02). 400,000 in Tigray cross 'threshold into famine', with nearly 2 million on the brink, Security Council told. news.un.org Senior UN officials appealed on Friday for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to Tigray — and for an end to deadly attacks on aid workers – as the Security Council held its first open meeting on the conflict in the restive northern Ethiopian region.
(2021-07-02). An All-American Horror Story: How we Sacrificed our Health on the Altar of useless Nuclear Arsenals. juancole.com 
( Tomdispatch.com ) — Yes, once upon a time I regularly absorbed science fiction and imagined futures of wonder, but mainly of horror. What else could you think, if you read H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds under the covers by flashlight while your parents thought you were asleep? Of course, that novel was a …
(2021-07-02). Yes, Home Care is Infrastructure: Don't Let Them Play Word Games With People's Lives. counterpunch.org President Biden's infrastructure plan includes $400 billion in home care spending. Forbes Magazine describes Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as "a champion of the GOP's semantic objections" to that proposal. She and her fellow Republicans claim that home health care doesn't fall under the definition of infrastructure the same way rails and highways do, and therefore
(2021-07-02). A Deadly Summer In The Pacific Northwest Augurs More Heat Waves, And More Deaths To Come. popularresistance.org In Washington State, more than 1,300 people flooded emergency rooms suffering from heat exhaustion, dehydration, dizziness or loss of consciousness. At least three people died of suspected heat-related causes, according to the state health department.
(2021-07-02). Know your HIV status: Get tested. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org June 27 is National HIV Testing Day, a reminder to get tested and know your HIV status. Many people who have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, aren't aware they have it. Early diagnosis allows for early treatment options that may delay the progression to AIDS. The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends …
(2021-07-02). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Sorting out car seat safety with the Mayo Mom. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The best way to keep your children safe in the car is to secure them in a properly installed car seat. But more than half of all car seats may be improperly installed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So many car seat options are on the market, and many parents find …
(2021-07-02). Consumer Health: Kegel exercises for men. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Think Kegel exercises are just for women? Think again. Kegel exercises for men can strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder and bowel, and affect sexual function. These simple exercises can help men improve bladder control, and they may be a boost in the bedroom, as well. If you perform your Kegel exercises regularly, you can …
(2021-07-02). Specialized heart surgery gives Florida father hope for future. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Eric Salter's life changed unexpectedly in May 2017 when he suffered a life-threatening aortic dissection while working from his home office. The active father of two who was then 42 went from living a normal, healthy life to having just minutes to say goodbye to his family before emergency surgery.*** NOTE: The Mayo Clinic News …
(2021-07-02). Science Saturday: New technique to study 'microcancers' and screen cancer-fighting drugs. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org A team from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Grainger College of Engineering and Mayo Clinic have developed a new technique for creating "microcancer" cell cultures. It allows researchers to form hundreds of microcancers in a high-throughput format using a small, microfabricated chip, enabling direct measurement of cell health or response to drugs. It also allows …
(2021-07-02). Are sunglasses necessary? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Children spend a lot of time outside enjoying going to the pool, taking part in sports or just outdoor playtime. Likely, they are outside with sunscreen to protect their skin. But a question that sparks a lot of interest from parent centers around eye protection and sunglasses. Mayo Clinic Health System providers say children receive …
(2021-07-01). Self-amplifying RNA COVID-19 vaccine technology safe in humans, suggests study. imperial.ac.uk Results from the first trial of a new COVID-19 vaccine technology show no short-term safety concerns.
(2021-07-01). South-south solidarity to challenge vaccine inequity. peoplesdispatch.org "Since this pandemic hit, most of us in the Third World have been essentially dependent on donations of vaccines from western countries. As a result, we have been able to vaccinate very few people," explained Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, Governor of Kisumu County, Kenya in the Summit for Vaccine Internationalism organized by Progressive International (PI) from June 18-21. Nyong'o added, "We need to find a way of working together across developing countries, to develop the capacity and capability of manufacturing vaccines to deal with COVID-19 and future pandemics." | The Summit held in June brought together progressive…
(2021-07-01). 'We are not the world': CDC director sticks to 'no masks for vaccinated people' guidelines in defiance of WHO. rt.com 
The US has much better vaccination rates than the world in general, so the World Health Organization's advice for fully vaccinated people to wear masks doesn't apply here, the CDC director said. But localities may rule otherwise. | Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that even those vaccinated for Covid-19 continue to wear masks and take all of the other precautions to stop community transmission. "People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves," WHO Assistant Director-General Dr. Mariangela Simao said during a media briefing. | This co…
(2021-07-01). Russia begins re-vaccinating already inoculated people as country seeks herd immunity to defeat ever-worsening Covid-19 pandemic. rt.com 
With Russian Covid-19 cases rising, it has been revealed that some of the country's regions have begun to re-vaccinate citizens who received their second jab more than six months ago and want to boost their level of antibodies. | The move to give Russians a third dose comes as the country seeks to reach herd immunity in the adult population. People who have been ill with Covid-19 should also get vaccinated half a year after they tested positive, the Ministry of Health has announced. | "This 'emergency' Covid-19 vaccination procedure, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO)…
(2021-07-01). Public Services Day: a focus on community health workers. peoplesdispatch.org Although they have played a key role for securing access to health care in epidemic conditions, including the Ebola epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic, community health workers are still under-recognized and underpaid…
(2021-07-01). Wednesday 7/14: Know Your Rights! Eligibility & Applying for Medi-Cal, Medicare, & Covered CA. indybay.org Online workshop…
(2021-07-01). The G7 Reality Check. popularresistance.org There were cautious hopes for the G7 meetings held in early June this year, where the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — the world's seven economically wealthiest countries — came together to discuss key global issues. A remnant of the neo-colonial nature of such forums, they represent a place where decisions with global impact are made. | The G7 produced two notable outputs that concern global health governance: the first being the Carbis Bay Health Declaration which commits to taking efforts to prevent a pandemic similar to COVID-19 occurrin…
(2021-07-01). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: COVID-19 vaccination rates stalling, infections from the delta variant rising. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Summer and fall are going to be a dangerous time for people in the U.S. who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19, according to Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "I really think this exponential rise in the number of sequences that are delta must be taken …
(2021-07-01). Cancer to COVID-19: Experimental treatment pivots in record time. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org At the beginning of 2020, everyone in research and medicine who could pivot to focus on COVID-19 did. Scientists and physicians hauled out findings from previous epidemics. In papers and personal correspondence, they shared descriptions of the damage wrought by SARS-CoV-2. They started running potential drugs through their paces. "When you have a completely new …
(2021-07-01). Mayo offers COVID-19 walk-in vaccine clinics in Minnesota: June 22-July 8. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org UPDATE: Mayo Clinic in Rochester and at its Health System sites continue to offer patients, visitors and staff additional convenient opportunities to be vaccinated for COVID-19. All domestic and international patients, visitors and staff who want to be vaccinated for COVID-19 have opportunities to do so at walk-in clinics this week. Anyone 12 and older …
(2021-07-01). Sharing Mayo Clinic: COVID-19 vaccination experience special for young man with Down syndrome. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The parents of a young Florida patient were so grateful for the caring approach offered to their son during his COVID-19 vaccine appointment that they called back to express their appreciation and share their story. _______________________________________ When the father of a 19-year-old patient with Down syndrome brought his son, Tyler White, for a COVID-19 vaccination …
(2021-07-01). There's a Way to Get More People Vaccinated—and It Doesn't Involve the Lottery. thenation.com There's a Way to Get More People Vaccinated—and It Doesn't Involve the Lottery…
(2021-07-01). Mark Heywood: Big Pharma continues to brazenly exercise power over countries. peoplesdispatch.org Mark Heywood from the Treatment Action Campaign talks to Kajal Bharadwaj on how Big Pharma's regressive role remains unchanged, the dangers of the rejection of science and the questions posed by public health crises such as COVID-19…
(2021-07-01). On One Native American Reservation, Vaccine Hesitancy Has Long Historical Roots. thenation.com On One Native American Reservation, Vaccine Hesitancy Has Long Historical Roots…
(2021-07-01). Mexico to Bottle Up to 20 Mln Doses of Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine Each Month. sputniknews.com On Wednesday, the Mexican laboratory for biological agents and reagents Birmex said that the first batch of the active component of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V was delivered to Mexico, and the bottling and packaging of the drug began in the country.
(2021-07-01). The G7 Reality Check. popularresistance.org In early June, the leaders of the world's seven richest countries met in the UK to discuss global health, climate, and tax issues. Although the world is still in the midst of a pandemic, their actions leave little hope — or room — for changes for the better…
(2021-07-01). Unemployed Workers Union calls for pandemic supplements to be reinstated. greenleft.org.au Support for the unemployed and underemployed workers is a critical part of any good health response to the pandemic, writes Isaac Nellist.
(2021-07-01). South-South Solidarity to Challenge Vaccine Inequity. libya360.wordpress.com Jyotsna Singh Cuban scientists participated in the Summit for Vaccine Internationalism organized in June by PI. The Summit for Vaccine Internationalism organized by Progressive International in June sought to address the pressing issue of global vaccine inequality and come up with concrete solutions "Since this pandemic hit, most of us in the Third World have…
(2021-07-01). The G7 reality check. peoplesdispatch.org In early June, the leaders of the world's seven richest countries met in the UK to discuss global health, climate, and tax issues. Although the world is still in the midst of a pandemic, their actions leave little hope — or room — for changes for the better…
(2021-07-01). Cuba's Vaccine Shield and the Five Monopolies that Structure the World. dissidentvoice.org 
RauÃÅl MartiÃÅnez (Cuba), Yo he visto ('I Have Seen'), n.d. In 1869, at the age of fifteen, José Martí and his young friends published a magazine in Cuba called La Patria Libre ('The Free Homeland'), which adopted a strong position against Spanish imperialism. The first and only issue of the magazine carried Martí's poem, 'Abdala'. …