Cuba, sanctions, vaccines

I thank @POTUS for taking steps to reverse Trump’s cruel anti-Cuban policies and restore Obama-Biden’s approach of mutually beneficial engagement. We ask he ensure sanctions do not harm Cuba’s efforts to share COVID vaccines with low-income countries around the world. pic.twitter.com/9bLlc8IgTk
— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) June 16, 2022

The Great British Privatization Heist

The UK is going through an energy crisis, with rising prices forcing people to use candles for lighting and unable to turn on their electric cookers when preparing meals. There are calls for a windfall tax on soaring energy company profits, which the Tory government has refused to implement. Predictably, the CEO of National Grid warned that such a tax would “harm reinvestment”.

Source: The Great British Privatization Heist, Some Notes – CounterPunch.org

Medicare for All Could Have Prevented More Than 338,000 US Covid Deaths: Study

“Healthcare reform is long overdue in the U.S.,” said the lead author of a new study. “Americans are needlessly losing lives and money.”

Source: Medicare for All Could Have Prevented More Than 338,000 US Covid Deaths: Study

Patent waivers

What is needed today is a clear, unambiguous #TRIPSwaiver.

Rich nations have an opportunity to do the right thing at @wto negotiations.

I implore them to put people ahead of profits.

w/@JosephEStiglitz @_HassanF @PSIglobalunion @SABCNews @PeoplesVaccine https://t.co/JBT1L15WJf
— Winnie Byanyima (@Winnie_Byanyima) June 3, 2022

Future COVID-19 booster shots will likely need fresh formulations as new coronavirus variants of concern continue to emerge

A new generation of vaccines and boosters against SARS-CoV-2 may take a page from the anti-influenza playbook, with shots periodically tailored to target the most commonly circulating virus strains.

Source: Future COVID-19 booster shots will likely need fresh formulations as new coronavirus variants of concern continue to emerge

World Leaders Must Commit to End Covid-19 Patents: Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

Decrying the “brutally unequal global rollout of Covid-19 vaccines,” Yunus wrote that “there is still time for world leaders to say never again.”

Source: World Leaders Must Commit to End Covid-19 Patents: Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

Jeffrey Sachs Lays Out Possible Lab Origin of Covid

An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences calls for an independent investigation of information held by U.S.-based institutions that could shed light on the origins of Covid.