UGANDA - What Uganda has got wrong – and right – in its struggle to contain COVID-19 (by Gloria Seruwagi) [The Conversation, July 2021]

Title:

What Uganda has got wrong – and right – in its struggle to contain COVID-19  

 

Author:

Gloria Seruwagi 

Lecturer & Researcher, Makerere University 

Published:

The Conversation, 6 July 2021

https://theconversation.com/what-uganda-has-got-wrong-and-right-in-its-struggle-to-contain-covid-19-163826

From the article:

Last month, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni tightened restrictions in the country following a worrying rise in COVID-19 infections and deaths. The new stringent measures included a 42-day lockdown and restrictions on the movement of people. Public health specialist Gloria Seruwagi reveals some of the critical success factors and issues that the government is missing in its response strategy.

Does the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to eliminate the tobacco industry? By JPA Ioannidis & P Jha [The Lancet, 26 October 2020]

Title:

Does the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to eliminate the tobacco industry?

 

Authors:

John P A Ioannidis & Prabhat Jha

 

Published:

The Lancet, 26 October 2020

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30466-6/fulltext

 

From the article:

Tobacco use is the top modifiable global health problem,1,  2 but the global tobacco market grows 3% annually.3 Most anti-tobacco measures to date target demand (eg, higher excise taxes). However, the endgame might require reducing supply.4,  5 The main counterarguments are financial (eg, economic damage or lost jobs) and defences of personal choice. Most importantly, public health has little experience in enforcing major changes that disrupt markets. The ongoing societal response to COVID-19 offers a precedent for drastic action taken to eliminate the tobacco industry.

A Controversial Opinion (GlobalResearch, 2 July 2020) - "No One Has Died from the Coronavirus" - Important revelations shared by Dr Stoian Alexov, President of the Bulgarian Pathology Association

Title:
"No One Has Died from the Coronavirus" - Important revelations shared by Dr Stoian Alexov, President of the Bulgarian Pathology Association

Authors:
Rosemary Frei & Patrick Corbett

Published:
GlobalResearch, 2 July 2020
https://www.globalresearch.ca/no-one-has-died-coronavirus/5717668

From the article:
Dr. Stoian Alexov called the World Health Organization (WHO) a “criminal medical organization” for creating worldwide fear and chaos without providing objectively verifiable proof of a pandemic.

Another stunning revelation from Bulgarian Pathology Association (BPA) president Dr. Alexov is that he believes it’s currently “impossible” to create a vaccine against the virus. 

He also revealed that European pathologists haven’t identified any antibodies that are specific for SARS-CoV-2.

These stunning statements raise major questions, including about officials’ and scientists’ claims regarding the many vaccines they’re rushing into clinical trials around the world.

They also raise doubt about the veracity of claims of discovery of anti-novel-coronavirus antibodies (which are beginning to be used to treat patients).  

South Africa - Why is the Covid-19 mortality rate so high in the Western Cape? Altitude plays a role, as do UV radiation levels and the weather

Title:
Why is the Covid-19 mortality rate so high in the Western Cape?

Author:
Daniel Uys & Schalk van der Merwe

Published:
BusinessDay, 2 July 2020
https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2020-07-02-why-is-the-covid-19-mortality-rate-so-high-in-the-western-cape/

Two quotes from the article:

* Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic at the end of 2019 there has been much speculation about whether the impact of the coronavirus varies at different altitudes. Currently, the mortality per million people in the Western Cape is 279.5. This is 19 times higher than the mortality per million people in Gauteng.

* However, more than 60% of the population in the Western Cape live in the City of Cape Town, meaning a large number of people in this province live at sea level. Does this low altitude contribute to the high mortality rate in the province?

An epidemiological analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic by Arias-Reyes et al (2020) showed a decrease of prevalence and impact of the virus in populations living at altitudes higher than 2,500m. Their study analysed the occurrence of Covid-19 in China, Bolivia and Ecuador, and concluded that the Covid-19 mortality rate per capita decreases as altitude increases.

United States of America - Nursing Homes & Assisted Living Facilities Account for 42% of COVID-19 Deaths (FREOPP, 7 May 2020, updated 22 May 2020)

Title:
Nursing Homes & Assisted Living Facilities Account for 42% of COVID-19 Deaths

Author:
Gregg Girvan

Published:
FREOPP, 7 May 2020, updated 22 May 2020
https://freopp.org/the-covid-19-nursing-home-crisis-by-the-numbers-3a47433c3f70

From the article:
Based on a new analysis of state-by-state COVID-19 fatality reports, it is clear that the most underappreciated aspect of the novel coronavirus pandemic is its effect on a specific population of Americans: those living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.