COVID-19 reinfection: Virus could hide itself in human chromosome, finds new study
Sandipan Talukdar | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-19
Cases of reinfection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID19 pandemic, have emerged all over the world. The two possibilities being considered largely are 1) the inability of the immune system to prevent a second attack and 2) the virus has a lingering affect. Taking on this problem, a research team from MIT and Harvard University, US, has found a different aspect. Their research was published in the pre-print server Biorxiv on December 13. | The study says that the coronavirus could hide in a…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/19/covid-19-…
Cuba sends medical brigade to Mexico to fight COVID-19
Prensa Latina | mronline.org | 2020-12-19
The second group of a Cuban medical brigade to contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic traveled to Mexico City on Thursday.
mronline.org/2020/12/19/cuba-sends-medic…
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VIDEO: "Honest Journalism" Then and Now: The CBS Report on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccine
CBS | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-19
"The flu season is upon us. Which type will we worry about this year, and what kind of shots will we be told to take? Remember the swine flu scare of 1976? That was the year the U.S. government told …
globalresearch.ca/video-the-1976-swine-f…
Helping the NYT Understand Its Reporting: China's Coverup Was Not the Cause of the Worldwide Spread of the Coronavirus
Dean Baker | cepr.net | 2020-12-19
The NYT had a very interesting piece on efforts by China's government to conceal and downplay the threat posed by the coronavirus. The piece reports on a number of Chinese government documents and directives that sought to minimize the threat posed by the pandemic. However the paper seriously misrepresents the meaning of its research, telling …
cepr.net/helping-the-nyt-understand-its-…
The Great Divider: Covid-19 Reflects Global Racism, Not Equality
Ramzy Baroud | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-12-19
The notion that the COVID-19 pandemic was 'the great equalizer' should be dead and buried by now. If anything, the lethal disease is another terrible reminder of the deep divisions and inequalities in our societies. That said, the treatment of the disease should not be a repeat of the same shameful scenario. For an entire …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/12/the-great-div…
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Covid-19 in Iranian nurses' eyes
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-19
TEHRAN, Dec. 19 (MNA) — These pictures depict the coronavirus pandemic in the eyes of Iranian nurses, who have been coping with the lethal disease in the past months.
en.mehrnews.com/photo/167342/Covid-19-in…
[Comment] 2020 Wakley Prize: space for compassion
Niall Boyce, Bianca Brandon, Gabriella Merry, Joanna Palmer, Jonathan Pimm, Maneet Virdi | thelancet.com | 2020-12-19
We were moved by the many thought-provoking entries to the 2020 Wakley Prize Essay competition.1 Essays explored some of the tough clinical experiences and uncertainties of this pandemic year. They gave us insights into the unique challenges health professionals faced in a gruelling year, and how health-care workers have risen to meet them. We read accounts of isolation, loneliness, and despair. But there were also stories of kindness, joy, dedication, progress, and hope, even in the face of a year of fear and loss.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)32706-9/fulltext?rss=yes
[Perspectives] Highlights 2020: framing health stories
Joanna Palmer, Highlights 2020 winning contributors | thelancet.com | 2020-12-19
Despite the difficulties of this pandemic year, The Lancet received fascinating and varied entries for our Highlights 2020 photography competition. 15 striking photographs were selected for publication in this issue. Each picture captures a unique moment, highlighting a health story.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)32682-9/fulltext?rss=yes
[World Report] Caribbean rainy season batters health care
Joe Parkin Daniels | thelancet.com | 2020-12-19
This year's rains, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, are putting immense strain on the health systems in Colombia and elsewhere. Joe Parkin Daniels reports from Bogotá.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)32712-4/fulltext?rss=yes
The pandemic is causing teachers to flee the profession
Lesley Lavery | salon.com | 2020-12-19
America's public school teachers are emotionally exhausted and need help. What is to be done?>…
salon.com/2020/12/19/the-pandemic-is-cau…
The Case for Forcing a Floor Vote on Medicare for All
Briahna Joy Gray | currentaffairs.org | 2020-12-19
Briahna Joy Gray on why forcing Pelosi into a floor vote is one important part of a broader strategy for building progressive power.
currentaffairs.org/2020/12/the-case-for-…
images.currentaffairs.org/2020/12/pelosi…
The pandemic, complicating already vulnerable lives
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-19
By Noemí Jabois Beirut, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated some of the most acute humanitarian crises on the planet, from the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, food shortages in the central Sahel and southern Africa to terror activity in the Chad Basin. It is not the virus itself wreaking havoc in these …
laprensalatina.com/the-pandemic-complica…
Thailand reports biggest Covid-19 outbreak with over 500 new cases
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-19
Bangkok, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- Thai authorities on Saturday detected 548 Covid-19 cases linked to a seafood market in what was the country's biggest outbreak of the pandemic so far. The outbreak has been traced to the Mahachai market in Samut Sakhon province, which borders Bangkok, where a 67-year-old woman tested positive on Thursday, according to …
laprensalatina.com/thailand-reports-bigg…
Workers Suffer As US Pandemic Relief Bill Goes Nowhere In Congress
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-19
Not only has the coronavirus pandemic taken a staggering toll in terms of loss of life in the United States but has also caused social and economic dislocation for the working class on a massive scale. The impact of this crisis is likely to last far beyond the distribution of a vaccine. | When the pandemic began to spiral out of control in March, Will Harris was one of the millions of retail workers who lost their income. Harris, who worked two part-time jobs, said that as the months of unemployment dragged on, "I couldn't afford all my groceries when I needed them… I felt bad for spending on anything even if i…
popularresistance.org/workers-suffer-as-…
There Is No Vaccine For Climate Catastrophe
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-19
The destruction wrought by COVID-19 represents an unprecedented crisis in recent history, yet it somehow feels eerily familiar. This is because the pandemic has mirrored many of the dynamics of the climate crisis, but on an extremely compressed time frame. An imminent global threat presented itself — the full extent of the danger being largely unknown — which required swift, coordinated and collective action. Instead, it was met with divergent national responses, finger pointing, appeals to individual responsibility and extreme resistance to any fundamental change to the status quo. | A number of left…
popularresistance.org/there-is-no-vaccin…
Capitalism On A Ventilator
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-19
Asian countries have been far more successful than the US in responding to the COVID pandemic, but you'd never know that from the US media. Even most alternative media has been largely US- & Euro-centric. While our domestic issues here are important, we have been missing out on important lessons from other places. | A partial remedy to this dearth of information is provided by the just released, "Capitalism on a Ventilator: The Impact of COVID-19 in China & the U.S." The book is an anthology of writing by over fifty activists and independent journalists, edited by Sara Flounders & Lee Siu Hin. | Th…
popularresistance.org/capitalism-on-a-ve…
UAW lectures workers on "practicing gratitude" and keeping up "healthy habits" this Christmas
wsws.org | 2020-12-19
The UAW at FCA had the audacity to post advice for its members on coping with stress during the pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/19/uawu…
Cancel the Rent: A Rising National Rent Strike Movement Gains Momentum
David Bacon | zcomm.org | 2020-12-19
With the pandemic, rent strikes have become a widespread response to brutal economic pressure…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/cancel-the-rent-a-…
2.7 Million Jobs in the Arts Have Been Lost Since the Pandemic Began
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-12-19
This past summer, the Brookings Institution released a report on the pandemic's impact on the U.S.'s creative artists and the institutions that showcase their work. The numbers were overwhelming: a loss of 2.7 million jobs, and a collapse in arts-related revenues to the tune of $150 billion. | In the fine and performing arts category (visual arts, music, theater and dance), B…
truthout.org/articles/2-7-million-jobs-i…
truthout.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/…
"COVID Vaccines" and "Genetically Modified Humans"
Dr. Carrie Madej | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-19
The main video has been removed. This report was first published by Global Research on July 19, 2020 | In the following video, Dr. Carrie Madaj questions what "it is to be human". Why? Because the so-called "COVID" vaccines deploy recombinant …
globalresearch.ca/covid-vaccines-and-gen…
Sydney COVID-19 outbreak follows pro-business lifting of Australian safety restrictions
wsws.org | 2020-12-19
The emergence of the cluster follows a frenzied "reopening" campaign, aimed at maximising corporate profit-making, especially over the holiday season.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/19/sydd…
Former Pfizer Vice-President Dr. Michael Yeadon Questions Company's Vaccine 'Breakthrough' Spin
John O'Sullivan | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-19
Yesterday Pfizer announced to much media fanfare that it has a breakthrough in the search for a reliable COVID-19 vaccine claiming studies showed it can prevent 90% of people contracting the virus. But respected former vice-president of Pfizer, Dr. Michael …
globalresearch.ca/top-pfizer-whistleblow…
COVID-19, the Climate Crisis, and Mutual Aid
Tina Gerhardt | progressive.org | 2020-12-19
Mutual aid is not only about addressing the crisis at hand but also about undoing the injustices of colonialism and imperialism.
progressive.org/dispatches/covid-climate…
Iran's daily COVID-19 fatalities reach lowest in three months
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-19
TEHRAN, Dec. 19 (MNA) — The latest figures released by the Iranian Ministry of Health show the daily death toll of the COVID-19 has reached its lowest count since late September.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167349/Iran-s-daily…
[Editorial] Science during COVID-19: where do we go from here?
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-12-19
The emergence of COVID-19 has indelibly marked science and medicine this year. Advances in epidemiology, clinical care, prevention, treatment, and the speed of vaccine development have been unprecedented, driven by global collaboration and data sharing. None of that would have been possible without the tireless work, sacrifice, dedication, and insight of scientists and researchers worldwide, from those working in laboratories to the principal investigators of clinical trials and everyone in between.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)32709-4/fulltext?rss=yes
[Comment] Offline: The lessons of smallpox eradication for COVID-19
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-12-19
The announcement last week that Rochelle Walensky is President-elect Joe Biden's choice to lead the much-eroded Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was universally welcomed by the US medical community. A respected clinician and scientist, as well as a skilled communicator, she has every prospect of restoring credibility and leadership to the nation's foremost public health agency. Walensky recently co-authored an important paper in Health Affairs, which examined the future determinants of a successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)32713-6/fulltext?rss=yes
[World Report] 2020: a year in review
Farhat Yaqub | thelancet.com | 2020-12-19
While one health issue has dominated the news in 2020, Farhat Yaqub looks back at some of the year's most important non-COVID-19 stories in health and medicine.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)32710-0/fulltext?rss=yes
UK imposes Christmas lockdown in London, much of southern England
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-19
London, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- This capital and large areas of southern England are to be placed on lockdown over the Christmas period amid a surge of Covid-19 cases linked to the emergence of a new variant of the virus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday. "It is with a very heavy heart that I …
laprensalatina.com/uk-imposes-christmas-…
Brussels airport braces for logistical challenges of vaccine distribution
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-19
By María Moya Brussels, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- With its specialized infrastructure, Brussels-Zaventem airport is preparing for the logistical challenges of becoming the main entry and distribution point for the first Covid-19 vaccines destined for the European Union. The European Medicines Agency is poised to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday. The head of the European …
laprensalatina.com/brussels-airport-brac…
Malaysia set for first Covid-19 vaccines in February
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-19
Bangkok, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- Malaysian authorities on Saturday said they expected to receive the country's first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in February, the state news agency Bernama reported. The Asian country has some 12.8 million doses of the jab on order so far, enough to cover 6.4 million people, roughly 20% of the total population. …
laprensalatina.com/malaysia-set-for-firs…
Sydney's Northern Beaches to enter lockdown amid Covid-19 outbreak
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-19
Sydney, Australia, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- Sydney's Northern Beaches area on Saturday begins a four-day lockdown amid a local outbreak of Covid-19, which has accumulated 38 cases in a few days. The move was announced in a televised appearance by New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who also asked the rest of the residents of Sydney, …
laprensalatina.com/sydneys-northern-beac…
India's Covid-19 cases breach 10 million mark, deaths cross 145,000
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-19
New Delhi, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- India on Saturday crossed the grim milestones of 10 million coronavirus cases and 145,000 deaths even as the number of fresh cases has slowed down in recent days and authorities are gearing up for a massive vaccination drive. According to latest data by the Indian health ministry, 25,152 new infections …
laprensalatina.com/indias-covid-19-cases…
Education body says the government's "11th hour" testing plans for schools are "chaotic and rushed"
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-19
Headteachers could end up working on Christmas Day to put in place "11th hour" plans for the mass Covid-19 testing of students from January, an education sector body has warned.Sam Henson, director of policy and information at the National Governance Association (NGA), said more detail was needed by teachers on how new coronavirus testing systems would be implemented in schools by the new year.His comments came after the government announced secondary school and college pupils' return to class in England will be staggered in the first week of January to help schools roll out mass testing of students.Schools minis…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/19/educatio…
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Hospitals across south-eastern England cancel treatments as coronavirus cases rise
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-19
Hospitals across south-eastern England are postponing non-urgent procedures as some face double the number of coronavirus patients they had in the spring.The NHS in Kent confirmed on 18 December that it would be putting a stop to some planned treatments across the region "due to the increase in Covid patients being treated".Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust had 221 Covid-19 patients on 16 December, more than 120 more than the 98 they had in the first peak on 8 April.(PA Graphics)East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust was treating 357 people with coronavirus on 16 December, almost twice the maxi…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…
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Tne Vaccine Court, RFK Jr., Anthony Fauci, Covid-19 And Animals
AVFN | indybay.org | 2020-12-19
The unconstitutional actions of the US' Vaccine Court | Robert F Kennedy Jr. Vs Anthony Fauci | Animals Can Catch Covid-19…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/18/1883899…
487 Afghan civilians dead from Taliban attacks in 3 months
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-19
TEHRAN, Dec. 19 (MNA) — The Taliban's continued suicide attacks and bomb blasts over the past three months have resulted in the deaths of 487 civilians, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167369/487-Afghan-c…
Challenging patriarchal practices makes "House of Ho" more than just a Vietnamese Kardashians clone
Hanh Nguyen | salon.com | 2020-12-19
Judy Ho spoke to Salon about abiding by her immigrant parents' expectations until a reality show let her break free…
salon.com/2020/12/19/house-of-ho-judy-ho…
Good riddance to the "PAT-riot" Act?
DLI | indybay.org | 2020-12-19
Moments ago, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard introduced a bill to retire the odious and repressive "PAT-riot" Act–a serious repression tool for the U.S. government to massively spy on ordinary citizens who aren't suspected of any illegal act. Rushed by Congress in the days after Sept. 11, 2001(it was said to contain more than 800 pages, and most Congressional members hadn't even read thru all the provisions, before passing it unanimously), it represented the greatest threat to civil liberties, and had long been overdue for retirement, except for the cowardice of a bi-partisan Congress, fearful of alienating the nation…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/17/1883897…
Ramsey Prison Unit: The terror of Texas
| workers.org | 2020-12-19
By Nanon M. Williams Nanon Williams was arrested in 1992 at age 17 for capital murder and spent years on death row. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled people under 18 could not be sentenced to death. His sentence, along with 70 others, was commuted to life and he . . . | Continue reading Ramsey Prison Unit: The terror of Texas at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53324/?utm_source=rs…
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Mayor Pete, Transported to Candor
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2020-12-19
Gravy train department…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/18/1883898…
Tuesday 12/29: Revolutionary New Year's Party: Celebrating Working-class Resilience & Resistance!
Freedom Socialist Party Bay Area | indybay.org | 2020-12-19
Zoom (registration link in description)…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/18/1883899…
Ten years on, hopes of 'Arab Spring' snuffed out
Vijay Prashad | zcomm.org | 2020-12-19
Ten years after the Arab Spring, there is little to celebrate. Great hopes have been set aside. Old cynicisms have returned, the cynicisms of arms deals and of energy deals, the cynicism of brutality…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/ten-years-on-hopes…
The penalty for half a million deaths? A stern talking-to before Congress
Patricia Gorky | liberationnews.org | 2020-12-19
Corporate drug kingpins are given the privilege of choosing to appear before Congress in a video conference, while more than 2 million prisoners are forced into squalid conditions.
liberationnews.org/the-penalty-for-half-…
www.liberationnews.org/wp-content/upload…
Workers Party of Belgium opposes kilometer tax for Brussels region
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-19
The tax proposed by the Brussels government will be calculated according to the number of kilometers traveled and the power of the engine. The PTB says workers will bear the brunt of the tax…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/19/workers-p…
Coronavirus: Why Everyone Was Wrong. It is Not a "New Virus". "The Fairy Tale of No Immunity"
Beda M Stadler | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-19
So: Sars-Cov-2 isn't all that new, but merely a seasonal cold virus that mutated and disappears in summer, as all cold viri do — which is what we're observing globally right now. Flu viri mutate significantly more, by the way, and nobody would ever claim that a new flu virus strain was completely novel.
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-why-everyo…
(How) Should Class War Go Global? Building an Anti-Corporate Left Internationalism
Nathan J. Robinson | currentaffairs.org | 2020-12-19
In the last century or so, global solidarity has all but dried up. As each day holds new injustices, its revival is our best hope.
currentaffairs.org/2020/12/how-should-cl…
images.currentaffairs.org/2020/12/landri…
The Sophist and The Magician
Nathan J. Robinson | currentaffairs.org | 2020-12-19
Understanding how we can be manipulated helps us pull back the curtain on charlatans and can even protect democracy.
currentaffairs.org/2020/12/the-sophist-a…
images.currentaffairs.org/2020/12/magic-…
Chico Mendes' daughter remembers him on the 31st anniversary of his assassination
Brasil de Fato | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-19