The United States, European Union, Canada and Switzerland, home to some of the world’s biggest food companies, have pressed Mexico to delay upcoming health warnings on processed food and drinks, a World Trade Organization document showed.
Archiv: health ministries / departments
UK’s daily death toll is INFLATED: Academics say fewer than 40 people are dying of Covid-19 per day and accuse government of adding historic deaths in batches ‚for some time‘
Dr Jason Oke and Professor Carl Heneghan said figures from Public Health England — which are published each day by the Department of Health — contained ‚inaccuracies‘ and could cause confusion.
Deaths are still falling, the professors said, even if at a slower rate than they were earlier in the crisis.
Big Price, Modest COVID-19 Drug
(29.06.2020)
Congressman Doggett has been seeking information from both Secretary Azar and Gilead on remdesivir pricing for almost two months. Neither disclosed the huge taxpayer expenditure that the Trump Administration is making today to purchase remdesivir supplies through September. Copies of related correspondence are available upon request.
Facts and figures flu in the Netherlands Winter 2018/2019
±400,000 patients had symptomatic influenza in the period between the beginning of October until the end of May.
±11,000 hospitalisations Many people were admitted to hospital with flu complications, such as pneumonia.
FLU VACCINE About half of the people who were eligible to receive a flu vaccination were vaccinated against flu.
2,900 more people than expected died during the epidemic period. These extra deaths were associated with the flu epidemic.
Current information about COVID-19 (novel coronavirus)
Current numbers COVID-19: 22 June 2020
Positive tested persons: 49,658* (+69)
Admitted to hospital: 11,851 (+2)
Reported deaths: 6,090** (+0)
MN nursing homes have 81% of COVID-19 deaths, still taking positive patients, local officials weigh in
Many states, including New York, came under fire for a policy requiring nursing homes to admit COVID-19 positive patients. Data shows that Minnesota now has 81.4% of deaths from long term care facilities and assisted living centers.
Minnesota’s Department of Health did so to lower the risk of overwhelming hospitals with COVID-19 patients.
AP Count: Over 4,300 Coronavirus Patients Sent to NY Nursing Homes
“It was the single dumbest decision anyone could make if they wanted to kill people,” Daniel Arbeeny said of the directive, which prompted him to pull his 88-year-old father out of a Brooklyn nursing home where more than 50 people have died. His father later died of COVID-19 at home.
Coronavirus Toll: What Impact Did New York’s Nursing Home Mandate Have On COVID-19 Deaths?
Petition and email campaigns warned introducing COVID patients to nursing homes put vulnerable residents at risk.
Cuomo rescinded the order on May 10, and this week blamed the original policy on the Trump administration.
“Why did the state do that with COVID patients in nursing homes?” said the governor. “It’s because the state followed President Trump’s CDC guidelines.
CDC, Georgia to change website reporting after combining antibody and viral test results
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, the Georgia Department of Health said it would remove the antibody testing data from the diagnostic data, although it had been following the current CDC guidance on the reporting data.
Thursday, Toomey addressed the issue during a state news conference.
“I’m actually am grateful that the media are looking at this closely because often you can recognize things that I did not see, or there are some inconsistencies that I didn’t notice,” Toomey said.
CDC, Florida report vastly different coronavirus testing numbers
As of May 16, the state had performed close to 700,000 COVID-19 tests, according to the Florida Department of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Florida had conducted more than 900,000 COVID-19 tests.
With a 33% difference between the two agencies, Florida is one of 10 states to report such large discrepancies in testing numbers, with Florida being the most extreme case, according to an analysis by The COVID Tracking Project, which compared cases, deaths and testing numbers reported by each state and by the CDC’s Data Tracker.
‘How Could the CDC Make That Mistake?’
This is not merely a technical error. States have set quantitative guidelines for reopening their economies based on these flawed data points.
Several states—including Pennsylvania, the site of one of the country’s largest outbreaks, as well as Texas, Georgia, and Vermont—are blending the data in the same way. Virginia likewise mixed viral and antibody test results until last week, but it reversed course and the governor apologized for the practice after it was covered by the Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Atlantic. Maine similarly separated its data on Wednesday; Vermont authorities claimed they didn’t even know they were doing this.
Scientists Warn CDC Testing Data Could Create Misleading Picture Of Pandemic
The CDC combines the results of genetic tests that spot people who are actively infected, mostly by using a process known as polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, with results from another, known as serology testing, which looks for antibodies in people’s blood. Antibody testing is used to identify people who were previously infected.
Open Letter, May 18, 2020, London: Dear Matt Hancock, we are civil society organisations, privacy advocates and academic researchers writing to express concerns about the NHS’s plans to build a COVID-19 datastore.
We share the common goal of preserving public confidence in systems that can help make us all safer. Therefore, before the NHS continues its plans, we urge you to provide the public with more information and take appropriate measures to reduce risk of data sharing and keep the aggregated data under democratic control.
In March, the NHS announced a new plan to build a datastore that aggregates COVID-19 health data. Microsoft, Google, Palantir, Faculty and Amazon will assist in the development of the datastore and the processing of the data.
Privacy advocates demand clarity over Covid-19 datastore
(yesterday)
In an open letter directly addressed to the health secretary, civil society organisations, privacy advocates and academic researchers urged Hancock to give the public more information about the datastore and take appropriate measures to reduce data-sharing risks and keep it under democratic control.
Coronavirus: Hard to prevent care home deaths, says Chris Whitty
Coronavirus is likely to result in a high mortality rate in care homes, England’s chief medical officer has said.
Chris Whitty said it was hard to prevent deaths in care homes „sadly because this is a very vulnerable group“.
Current statistics were likely to be an „underestimate“, he added.
Doctors launch legal action over Government’s PPE guidance
Dr Viz and Dr Joshi said: „Every time a healthcare worker becomes hospitalised with Covid-19, it exacts an extraordinary toll on our friends, family and colleagues. To sedate and ventilate your own colleague takes a mental toll on the entire workforce.
„The Government owes an apology to these bereaved families, many of whom were unable to be with their loved ones in their dying moments. Their trauma and grief is unimaginable – we want to ensure that no other family has to endure this suffering.
Alzheimer’s Society responds to joint statement from DHSC and CQC on the number of Covid-19 deaths in care homes
(22.04.2020)
Sally Copley, Director of Policy, Campaigns and Partnerships at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“The true impact of the coronavirus in care homes is becoming increasingly clear, and that’s why we’re demanding swift Government action. With the further report today of a possible 2000 deaths just over Easter weekend, this is a frightening time for everyone with relatives with dementia in care homes. People with dementia’s lives matter, and every death is a terrible loss to a grieving family.
“We hear daily from desperately concerned families who want to know that the Government is doing all it can to keep people in care homes safe, and it is good to hear that the CQC is actively booking testing appointments for care staff.
Israel among the first countries to receive new Japanese coronavirus drug
(today)
Katz praised the work of Jerusalem’s diplomatic mission in Tokyo, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Health Ministry for „having successfully brought this groundbreaking research to Israel.“
Israel: Litzman’s phone was tracked after he tested positive for coronavirus
The private cellphone of Health Minister Yaakov Litzman was tracked after he was suspected of flouting social distancing guidelines despite testing positive for the coronavirus, Israeli health officials said on Friday.
Germany hopes Bayer malaria drug could treat COVID-19
In an interview with Bild newspaper (link in German), federal health minister Jens Spahn said that there “are early indications that certain medications seem to help,” and that there were ongoing studies in Germany into what drugs could potentially work in treating coronavirus, “including with this old malaria drug.”
He added that more studies are needed as all drugs have side effects. However, he expects an effective drug to treat COVID-19 to come on the market much earlier than a vaccine.
Jens Spahn reserved huge amounts Chloroquine against Corona at the German pharma giant Bayer. Bayer also assured the US a big amount of it
(20.03.2020)