Daily Archives: January 22, 2022

2022-01-22: News Headlines

Irtiza Qureshi, Mayuri Gogoi, Amani Al-Oraibi, Fatimah Wobi, Daniel Pan, Christopher A Martin, Jonathan Chaloner, Katherine Woolf, Manish Pareek, Laura B Nellums (2022-01-22). [Correspondence] Intersectionality and developing evidence-based policy. thelancet.com It is reassuring to see that ministers in the UK are formally acknowledging how people from minority ethnic (ie, defined here as all ethnicities other than White British) backgrounds have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. However, crucial gaps exist in the collection, analysis, and translation of data to assess the effects of multiple intersecting factors on individuals and communities. The Science and Technology Committee and Health and Social Care Committee report, Coronavirus: lessons learned to date,1 dedicates thirteen paragraphs to how ethnicity ties into disparities and makes five recommendatio…

Richard Lane (2022-01-22). [Perspectives] Jamal Rifi: family doctor building bridges in the community. thelancet.com During Australia's COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, family doctor Jamal Rifi came up with an unusual plan to encourage the remainder of his urban community of Sydney, NSW, Australia, to come forward for COVID-19 vaccination. "I realised we needed to build on our community advocacy work by using an inflatable vaccination facility that could be transported easily into the heart of urban communities that had become COVID-19 hotspots, such as my own suburb of Belmore in southwest Sydney", Rifi explains. More recently, he has used the vaccination facility to help kick-start a COVID-19 booster programme, and from Jan 10, 202…

Richard Horton (2022-01-22). [Comment] Offline: COVID-19 as culture war. thelancet.com When Dr Anthony Fauci challenged Senator Rand Paul last week during US congressional hearings, he exposed how politicians have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic for their own personal advantage. Fauci showed screenshots of Senator Paul's website, which included the message "Fire Dr Fauci". He pointed out that Paul was inviting people to send donations to firefauci.org. He explained how Paul's exaggerations were creating the conditions for violent attacks on himself and his family. In December, 2021, a man was arrested on his way to Washington, DC, with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle in his car.

Michael Marmot (2022-01-22). [Perspectives] Shutdown and after. thelancet.com On March 9, 2020, neoliberalism hit the buffers. Put simply, the idea that small states and unbridled markets delivered the best societies was tested to destruction, dramatically so. As the COVID-19 pandemic surged, the stock market went into free fall. The bond market followed. The world's financial system was on a rollercoaster: US Treasury bonds were "lurching up and down in stomach-churning chasms", to quote Adam Tooze. While global attention focused on the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths and governments in the UK and the USA dithered over their response to this pandemic, the world's bankers and finance…

WSWS (2022-01-22). As deaths from Omicron surge across Canada, opposition mounts to in-person learning. wsws.org The growth of anger and opposition is being driven by the ruling elite's utter indifference to a dramatic acceleration of hospitalizations and deaths. On Friday, Canada's Public Health Agency reported the fourth-highest daily death tally since the pandemic began.

Kirsty Brown, Asma Yahyouche, Shamil Haroon, Jenny Camaradou, Grace Turner (2022-01-22). [Correspondence] Long COVID and self-management. thelancet.com People with COVID-19 often have symptoms in the long term (ie, long COVID), including fatigue, breathlessness, and neurocognitive difficulties.1 The disease mechanisms causing long COVID are unknown, and there are no evidence-based treatment options. Clinical guidelines focus on symptom management, and various treatment options are being evaluated.1 The scarcity of advice has often left people with long COVID feeling isolated and frustrated in their search for therapies.

WSWS (2022-01-22). Two hundred autoworkers out due to COVID-19 at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant. wsws.org Kentucky, with a population of 4.5 million, recently reached the grim milestone of over one million total cases, and 12,687 have died. On Friday, 15,864 new cases and 28 deaths were recorded in the state.

WSWS (2022-01-22). Australia's COVID explosion shows workers must fight for global elimination of the virus. wsws.org The shift in the world situation finds sharp expression in countries that previously suppressed transmission with public health measures, but have since adopted the "live with the virus" program with disastrous results.

Chiara Alfieri, Marc Egrot, Alice Desclaux, Kelley Sams, CoMeSCov (2022-01-22). [Correspondence] Recognising Italy's mistakes in the public health response to COVID-19. thelancet.com The Day of the Dead in Italy this year was not only a time for remembrance but also for demanding justice for lives lost to COVID-19. On Nov 2, 2021, members of the #Sereni (also known as Serene and Always United) Association demonstrated in Rome against institutional omerta (ie, law of silence) and for the restoration of a parliamentary commission to examine the management of the epidemic. This event followed 520 complaints that were filed by the association 4 months earlier against the national government, the Ministry of Health, and Lombardy region administrators.

WSWS (2022-01-22). North Carolina COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations skyrocket amid reckless school reopenings. wsws.org At least twenty schools in the state have already been forced to close due to staff shortages this month as case numbers reach all-time highs.

Tong B Tang (2022-01-22). [Correspondence] The COVID-19 response in Hong Kong. thelancet.com Richard Horton1 and the Editors2 have repeatedly called for closer collaborations in global health. China has been taking decisive, albeit difficult, measures to prevent and manage outbreaks in diverse settings, from city epicentres to rural clusters. Although these policies might be draconian, they resulted in community solidarity and success; with one prerequisite to both solidarity and success being transparency embraced by both the government and the health profession.

WSWS (2022-01-22). Harvard tells students with COVID-19 to "self-isolate" and conduct their own contact tracing. wsws.org In the spring semester, Harvard students who test positive for COVID-19 will not be required to move into university-provided isolation housing but are being advised to "self-isolate" in their dorms or off-campus housing instead.

WSWS (2022-01-22). Escalating COVID-19 cases and deaths as Omicron enters Fiji. wsws.org The current wave has coincided with the reckless decision by the government to open the country's borders to international travel on December 1.

WSWS (2022-01-22). Western Australian government keeps border shut, fearing mass opposition to COVID disaster. wsws.org The decision indicates the rising working-class opposition and deepening political crisis being produced by the "live with the virus" offensive by Australia's governments, both Labor and Liberal-National.

WSWS (2022-01-22). A 28-year-old disabled man dies as COVID is "let rip" in Australia's state of Queensland. wsws.org Despite suffering high fevers and seizures, combined with evidence of a respiratory infection and a pending COVID PCR test, Lachlan Moore was sent away from hospital and died in his sleep several hours later.

Matthew Greenhawt, Marcus Shaker, Elissa M Abrams (2022-01-22). [Comment] Peanut oral immunotherapy in very young children. thelancet.com Peanut oral immunotherapy is a disease-modifying treatment to raise the peanut quantity necessary to trigger an allergic reaction. Among children older than 4 years undergoing peanut oral immunotherapy, nearly 75—80% achieve desensitisation, although few gain lasting protection (eg, remission) after discontinuing oral immunotherapy.1 Efficacy is balanced by an increased risk of treatment-associated anaphylaxis versus peanut avoidance, a preference-sensitive consideration manageable in partnership with a supervising allergist.

Joanne Kurtzberg (2022-01-22). [Comment] Gene therapy offers new hope for children with metachromatic leukodystrophy. thelancet.com Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a rare, progressive lysosomal storage disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding arylsulfatase A (ARSA), causing disease in the central and peripheral nervous systems. MLD presents in toddlers (late infantile disease) or in children (juvenile disease) with gait disturbances, loss of developmental milestones, and cognitive decline, leading to death in childhood. It is frequently not diagnosed until the later symptomatic phase when it is too late to intervene.

J Vigneshwaran, M Senthil Kumar, Vijayashree Raghavan, Sivagama Sundari (2022-01-22). [Clinical Picture] Seizures and sideroblastic anaemia in a patient with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. thelancet.com A 60-year-old man attended our hospital reporting generalised tiredness which had gradually developed over the past 4 weeks.

The Lancet (2022-01-22). [Editorial] Antimicrobial resistance: time to repurpose the Global Fund. thelancet.com Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major cause of death globally, with a burden likely to be higher than that of HIV or malaria, according to the most comprehensive assessment of bacterial AMR to date published in The Lancet. The data presented in this analysis are striking: in 2019, the deaths of 4 ∑95 million people were associated with drug-resistant bacterial infections. 1 ∑27 million deaths were directly caused by AMR. For the first time, the study provides estimates for 204 countries and territories, as well as data for the regional impacts of AMR.

WSWS (2022-01-22). Education secretary threatens UK schools opposing scrapping mask-wearing, unions complicit. wsws.org Zahawi's intervention is the latest in a series of vicious threats levelled against schools and parents for resisting the government's policy of mass infection.

Walker Bragman (2022-01-21). Biden Missed His Best Chance To Vaccinate America. dailyposter.com

ecns.cn (2022-01-21). Ethiopia receives additional 2.2 mln doses of Chinese-donated COVID-19 vaccines. ecns.cn The Chinese government on Thursday donated an additional 2.2 million doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Ethiopia, giving a boost to the East African nation's vaccination efforts.

Staff (2022-01-21). ACLU Lawyer: Biden Is "Hiding Behind CDC" to Keep Pushing Trump-Era Anti-Immigrant Title 42 Policy. democracynow.org As the Biden administration marks its first year in office this week, we look at the president's ongoing defense of Trump-era anti-immigration policies. Department of Justice lawyers were in court Wednesday to defend the Trump-era order known as Title 42, which has been used to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants at the border without screening them for asylum. The policy was touted as a way to control the spread of COVID-19, even though top CDC officials say it's not needed to contain the virus. We speak with the ACLU's Lee Gelernt, who is the lead lawyer challenging the Biden administration's use of Title 4…

Mark Gruenberg (2022-01-21). Unions demand OSHA restore anti-COVID standard protecting health workers. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—Led by National Nurses United, unions are demanding the Biden administration's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) restore its national standard ordering hospitals and nursing homes to protect workers against the coronavirus. NNU's offensive took two forms. One was a Zoom virtual press conference, a National Day of Action, and a candlelight vigil in …

Mark Gruenberg (2022-01-21). Virus skews union density figures downward in 2021. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Union membership declined by 241,000 nationwide in 2021, to 14.012 million, compared to the year before, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. But it also cautioned the coronavirus pandemic skewed the statistics, compiled from a survey of 60,000 households nationwide. And, as usual, unionists' median weekly earnings were far ahead of those of their non-union …

sputniknews (2022-01-21). Video: Molotov Cocktails, Cop Injury, Gunfire Amid Protests Against COVID Restrictions in Guadeloupe. sputniknews.com Over the past few months, the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe, along with the nearby French island of Martinique, has been hit by protests against coronavirus restrictions.

Staff (2022-01-21). Schools defy Johnson's Covid relaxations. rt.com Over 100 UK headteachers have insisted masks must still be worn | Hundreds of British schools are set to defy Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he announced on Wednesday that masks will no longer be needed in schools, when Plan B rules elapse next week, according to reports in British media. | More than 100 headteachers have already written to parents to inform them that their children will still be required to wear facemasks in the classrooms. | Several schools said the policy would be in place "until further notice," citing high regional levels of Covid-19; coronavirus prevalence remains high in England's n…

Amy Goodman (2022-01-21). Vaccine Profits Minted 9 New Billionaires While Vaccine Apartheid Drove Omicron. truthout.org As many of the world's wealthiest people wrap up virtual talks today at the World Economic Forum based in Davos, Switzerland, Oxfam reports the incomes of 99% of the world's population dropped during the pandemic while the world's 10 richest men saw their wealth double. Meanwhile, vaccine profits have minted at least nine new billionaires at Moderna, BioNTech and China's CanSino, amassing a combined new wealth of over $19 billion. To discuss the rise of billionaires and the policies that got…

Rob Wallace (2022-01-21). COVID Shows It's Time to End the Pharmaceutical Industry. truthout.org Eighty-four million Americans As with COVID testing, thousands of newly hired community health workers are needed to hit the streets and back roads to convince people that vaccines are safe and necessary. Daily conversat…

Newsclick (2022-01-21). Are COVID-19 cases plateauing in major Indian cities? peoplesdispatch.org Immunologist Dr. Satyajit Rath and NewsClick's Prabir Purkayastha review the situation of COVID-19 infections in India and other parts of the world. He also discusses the latest vaccine 'Corbevax', its effectiveness and what its patent-free character means.

Ian Ellis-Jones (2022-01-21). US blockade frustrates Cuba's vaccine internationalism. greenleft.org.au ING Group, the Dutch multinational banking institution, has bowed to pressure from the United States and is blocking donations to support Cuba's vaccine solidarity, reports Ian Ellis-Jones.

_____ (2022-01-21). QR Codes Are Dead in Russia. strategic-culture.org One thing the individual can do is resist, and when the majority of the population decides to grind the wheels the engine comes to a halt | The sum of all fears for the average Russian has just been averted. The large packet of totalitarian answers to a problem of questionable magnitude has been booted from the State Duma. There has been an air of dread amongst the populace who were waiting to see if nationwide QR-code legislation would make it into law destroying their lives and businesses to separate those vaccinated from plague ridden riff raff. There was an expectation that some sort of Hegelian Dialectic gam…

WSWS (2022-01-21). Stellantis refusing to distribute supply of N-95 masks to workers at Sterling Stamping Plant. wsws.org Throughout the auto industry, even flimsy surgical masks, inadequate to prevent transmission, are no longer being provided while workers report they are not allowed to bring higher quality N-95 masks from home.

Dean Baker (2022-01-21). Are Used Car Prices Bankrupting Workers? cepr.net The news media have been constantly hyping inflation in recent months. While everyone has been seeing the huge rise in gas prices over the last year (that's what happens when the world reopens after a pandemic), used car prices have risen almost as rapidly. From December 2020 to December 2021 they rose 37.3 percent. This accounted for 1.03 percentage points of the 7.0 percent overall inflation in the last year. | We know the story of these price increases. A fire in a semiconductor plant in Japan has created a worldwide shortage of semiconductors, which has slowed car production. With people unable to get new car…

Editor2 (2022-01-21). One Island Becoming a Mecca for Crypto Millionaires. orinocotribune.com Bitcoin enthusiasts are flocking to Puerto Rico, thanks to tax breaks and an island lifestyle | The US territory of Puerto Rico has become the new hot destination for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs as it has crypto-friendly policies, including huge tax breaks to those who spend at least 183 days on the island each year. | US citizens can hold on to their American passports while not having to pay any taxes on capital gains. | "That's where all my friends are. I don't have one friend left in New York, and maybe the pandemic accelerated this, but every single one of them has moved to Puerto Rico," crypto entrepreneur…

sputniknews (2022-01-21). Fifth Time's Not the Charm: Pam Anderson Files for Divorce as Husband Was 'D*ck' to Her, Report Says. sputniknews.com Anderson married Hayhurst, who previously was her bodyguard and a contractor on Christmas Eve in 2020, at her Vancouver Island home. But it appears that the romance has fizzled out due to the pandemic.

Nayvin Gordon (2022-01-21). U.S. COVID-19 POLICY: PRISONERS OF FEAR—THE ELDERLY, THE SICK, AND VULNERAB. indybay.org The only way out of the Covid pandemic prison is by fighting for ZERO-COVID…

WSWS (2022-01-21). The global struggle to close schools and stop the pandemic. wsws.org The fight against school reopenings is once again the spearhead of the global class struggle as masses of youth and educators are unwilling to accept further infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.

WSWS (2022-01-21). Reports show worsening conditions for Australian youth. wsws.org The studies highlight that living conditions and financial security for young people in Australia were declining even before the pandemic, which has further exacerbated this trend.

WSWS (2022-01-21). New Mexico governor calls in National Guard to substitute teach as educators and child care workers fall ill from COVID. wsws.org With outbreaks of the Omicron variant resulting in staff shortages at schools, the Democratic governor is mobilizing military forces to act as replacements to keep schools running and parents working to produce profits during the pandemic.

WSWS (2022-01-21). West Bengal adopts mass infection policy amid India's COVID-19 surge. wsws.org The disaster unleashed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reckless policies in the current surge of the pandemic implicates the entire ruling establishment.

sputniknews (2022-01-21). Adele Cries Her Heart Out Amid Las Vegas Residency Delay, as Angered Fans Doubt Her Tears are Real. sputniknews.com The singer was supposed to perform at the iconic Colosseum every weekend, starting from 21 January until 16 April – however, the pandemic and delivery delays forced her to reschedule the grand event at the very last moment.

WSWS (2022-01-21). Hundreds of thousands of educators, children infected in Spanish schools. wsws.org The deliberate mass infection of pupils and teachers with COVID-19 is a part of the PSOE-Podemos government's policy of allowing the virus to become endemic.

WSWS (2022-01-21). Massachusetts hospitals "gasping for air" wsws.org The hospital system in Massachusetts is collapsing as thousands of workers fall to COVID-19 and new COVID-19 hospitalizations push facilities beyond capacity…

WSWS (2022-01-21). Hospitals across the US overflowing with COVID-19 patients. wsws.org Hospitals are buckling under the crush of COVID-19 admissions, sending out pleas for help and, in some cases, shuttering doors to incoming patients.

teleSUR -mcs -HIM (2022-01-21). Brasil aprueba uso de vacuna china anticovid en menores de edad. telesurtv.net Brasil atraviesa por una nueva ola de contagios de Covid-19 ante la expansión de la variante Ómicron.

WSWS (2022-01-21). As Omicron rages through US workplaces, 8.8 million workers were off sick in early January. wsws.org The number out on sick leave represents 6 percent of the total workforce and does not include another 3.2 million workers staying home due to fear of contracting or spreading COVID-19.

teleSUR- jaa -HIM (2022-01-21). OMS confirma récord de contagios diarios por Covid-19. telesurtv.net Según la OMS, la cifra de casos desde el inicio de la pandemia asciende a los 336.790.193.

Thomas Klikauer (2022-01-21). COVID-19 and Privatization in Germany. zcomm.org Public health is no longer measured on public health needs. Now they are based on abstract formulas about hospital bed and ICU occupancy…

WSWS (2022-01-21). At least one in 10 workers out with COVID at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island. wsws.org A leaked internal document has revealed that a large portion of the workforce at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island in New York City were out due to COVID-19 last week.

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