#AceBreakingNews – Pakistan Floods: Dengue cases soaring after record monsoon
By Pumza Fihlani BBC News, Karachi
Displaced families have had to make their own shelters in Sindh – but there is no clean water
Thirty-three million people have been affected by the flooding, which has left nearly 1,500 dead since the middle of June.
As rescue and evacuation efforts continue in parts of the country, health experts are reporting a surge in dengue, malaria and severe gastric infections.
Many displaced people are living near stagnant water. Dengue fever is already claiming lives and cases are increasing by the day.
Whole areas of Sindh province like this area around Sehwan are under water
About 3,830 cases of dengue fever have been reported by health officials in southern Sindh province, with at least nine deaths, but there are concerns this may be a conservative estimate.
“Overall the situation in Sindh is very bad, we are organising medical camps all over the province. Most of the cases we are seeing now are of dengue patients followed closely by malaria,” Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association, told the BBC.
“The dengue burden is the same all over the province and it’s increasing daily. When we checked with the laboratories, the suspected cases are around 80% of tests being done.”
Dr Shoro, who has been treating scores of dengue patients at Agha Khan hospital in Karachi, fears the situation is only going to worsen in the coming weeks.
Muna believes Sakina would have died if she hadn’t made it to the clinic#AceNewsDesk report ………..Published: Sept.15: 2022:
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsDesk – How Medicine Fails to Protect Children’s Health from Chronic Disease Organic Consumers Association by Nate Doromal
Children’s health is getting worse. And it has been doing so for decades…………….Attention, parents, family members, and concerned citizens!
While the COVID-19 pandemic brought about widespread changes to our daily lives, forcing us to reexamine our lives and values in the wake of the crisis, it also brought widespread examination and criticism of our medical systems.
Despite the fear-mongering from the media, infectious diseases, including COVID, are not the foremost health concerns for children. A look at the top ten causes of childhood mortality reveals the top three medically-related conditions are cancer, congenital anomalies, and heart disease.
On the contrary, the top health concerns for children are chronic conditions. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) stated in 2016 that “the primary burden of disease in children and young people has shifted from infectious diseases towards chronic conditions.”
This shift has been occurring over decades, and medicine offers no easy answers for underlying causes. Much of the belief is that the onset of these diseases is genetic. But this is a simplistic answer that ignores deeper reasons.
As we will see, modern medicine has largely ignored a significant potential source of problems – environmental toxins.
Here we will examine the problem of declining children’s health, bring up known environmental toxins that could play a role in that decline, and show how medicine needs to reorient towards a broader vantage point to make progress on children’s health.
The Normalization of Chronic Illness in Children: It’s suddenly become the norm for children to have a chronic illness.
A review by Children’s Health Defense paints a stark picture. Despite higher per capita health spending, children have poorer health outcomesthan in other Western nations. In addition, the review shows that every chronic illness is on the rise in children, including asthma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, allergies, autoimmunity, etc.
Medicine has been aware of the rise of chronic illnesses in children. Yet it cannot explain why. If it cannot understand these chronic illnesses, medicine cannot prevent them. Nor does medicine deal with the underlying causes of these illnesses.
Instead, medicine places its focus on the short-term treatment of symptoms. Children with diabetes are given insulin for the rest of their lives, asthma patients are given inhalers, children with severe food allergies carry around EpiPens, and many others take a cornucopia of pharmaceutical drugs.
Medicine is not hurrying to change the status quo. There is no accompanying public health mobilization to find permanent solutions to chronic illness as there was with COVID-19. Instead, things are fine and dandy as clinicians prescribe short-term remedies while passing the buck on dealing with root causes.
It’s the environment, stupid!
We can take a lesson from former president Bill Clinton when he drove the point “It’s the economy, stupid” to win the presidential nomination against incumbent George Bush.
Medicine has focused much on genetics and infectious diseases for the science policy of the last few decades. But these factors do not explain the rise in chronic illnesses. Human genetics remains the same, and infectious disease has been diminishing since the early 1900s.
The actual suspect here is the environment – something has changed in the environment that is leading to an increase in chronic illnesses in children.
Simply put, it’s the environment, stupid. If we want to truly solve the problem of chronic illness, we have to look at the possibility that something in the environment is causing harm to people’s health.
But when has a clinician ever had a heart-to-heart talk with you about the toxins in your environment? For most people, it’s never. In truth, most clinicians do not know how to assess or educate patients about environmental toxins.
But it’s not just mere suspicion. We have plenty of science to back it up. And we’ve known about it for decades.
Medicine and Environmental Toxicity – A Dismal History
You should know that the history of environmental toxicity has been a dismal one.
This changed in 1962 when Rachel Carson published the book Silent Spring, which documented DDT’s physiological and environmental effects. She brought attention to FDA data that showed that DDT was carcinogenic. She also brought attention to the intentional use of disinformation by chemical companies.
Her book changed public sentiment against DDT, eventually leading to its ban in the USA in 1972. Despite this ban, US chemical companies still manufacture DDT for sale in foreign countries.
The Playbook for Profiting from Environmental Toxins
We can learn much about looking at patterns from the history of environmental toxins. The design is always the same:
1. A corporate company develops a new chemical with commercial applications.
2. The company petitions the government regulators for approval by presenting safety data from its non-peer-reviewed, internally generated studies.
3. The company markets the new product, which is then successfully adopted throughout society, and the company makes substantial profits.
4. Researchers and whistleblowers start to come forward about the dangers of the chemical.
5. The company goes into defense mode to protect its profits and limit liability by launching PR campaigns, hiring its team of experts to assure the public the chemical is safe, and attacking opposing researchers using character smear tactics.
6. The chemical hurts real people, and the epidemiological data of harm accumulates.
7. The company strategically delays public action by questioning safety data, calling for more studies, and influencing legislators via political lobbying.
8. Eventually, the number of people harmed and the opposing research becomes so overwhelming that public change begins to happen.
Moreover, this sinister act includes numerous professionals, researchers, doctors, and politicians. It is almost too much for the average person to believe.
In the instances described, it is essential to note just how slow the medical community was to act on reports of harm to people. The spread of new knowledge moves at slug-like speeds and can take decades to permeate the medical community.
Moreover, the health effects of environmental toxicity can be myriad, and it is easy for clinicians to accept the default route (not to mention more profitable) of treating symptoms without searching for an underlying cause. As a result, it is easy for medical professionals to fall into the traps of blaming the victim and groupthink.
Though people want to believe that things are different now, it would be naive to do so. The same pattern occurs with chemicals used right now; you must protect yourself and your family.
Environmental Toxins You Should Know About
Just as COVID-19 quickly became a household word, there are several environmental toxins that everyone should know about. We will cover a few key ones here.
The Facts on Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic manufactured chemical compounds with no taste or smell. They were manufactured in 1929 and then distributed by the chemical company Monsanto starting in 1935. PCB was used in many industrial settings until its adverse effects became known, leading to its banning in the USA in 1979.
PCB has been used in various applications, including electrical equipment, surface coatings, inks, adhesives, flame-retardants, and paints. For example, if you walk around and see an old electrical transformer on a powerline, it might have PCB.
Additionally, PCB has the unfortunate property of being a “forever chemical” because they take a very long time to break down and thus circulate throughout the environment, going from the air to the soil, into plants and animals, and into our bodies from eating, drinking, or breathing.
The adverse effects of PCBs are well-established. There is clear evidence that PCBs have toxic effects on animals and humans. The EPA concludes that PCB is a probable human carcinogen. PCBs have been shown in human and animal studies to hamper the immune system and increase susceptibility to infections. Studies suggest that infants exposed to heightened levels of PCBs are at higher risk of impaired neurological deficits and learning orders. These are just some negative effects, and there are far more, including damage to reproductive organs and the liver.
The Facts on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
PFAS is an acronym for the complicated-sounding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. This group of chemicals has been the recent talk around environmental circles as the EPA warns that PFAS is more dangerous than previously thought.
Like PCB, PFAS is another class of “forever chemicals” that, once released into the environment, degrade very slowly and spread through the ecosystem, causing damage to humans and animals. Unfortunately, it is pervasive in our daily lives, homes, and workplaces. Just about everyone is exposed to some level of PFAS.
PFAS were created in the 1940s and, since the 1950s, have been widely distributed by the company 3M. 3M is now facing increasing litigation costs for its role in contaminating the environment with PFAS.
The health effects of PFAS are very concerning. PFAS are hormone-disrupting chemicals that have a wide variety of adverse effects, such as interfering with human fertility, impairing thyroid function, increasing cholesterol levels, causing low birth weight in infants, and increasing the risk for certain cancers. Moreover, a 2013 study found associations between heavily exposed communities and the following conditions: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, hypercholesterolemia, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
With so many products containing PFAS offered to the public, it remains to be seen how exactly the EPA will act. Until then, it is the up to individuals to protect themselves from it.
There is a dark side when you see perfect-looking lawns at houses or golf courses in your neighborhood. These perfect lawns result from frequent herbicide application to control weeds and often have the cost of negative health effects on the people that live in that area, as well as contamination of waterways and damage to the surrounding ecosystem.
The history of glyphosate is fascinating when viewed in light of the patterns of environmental toxicity described before. Glyphosate, used as an herbicide and a pesticide, was initially brought to market by the company Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) in 1974, and it is one of the world’s most successful chemical products. You will find it at your favorite home improvement store under its brand name, Roundup.
From its inception, glyphosate has been mired in controversy. In 1985, it was classified by the EPA as a Class C Carcinogen (suggesting that the compound could cause cancer), but this decision was reversed in 1991, during which glyphosate was re-classified as a non-carcinogenic Class E Carcinogen.
Currently, as of August 22, 2022, the EPA claims that the use of glyphosate is safe. They state that there are “no risks of concern to human health from current uses of glyphosate” and “no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans nor is an endocrine disruptor.” While it is easy for busy people to stop at this government assessment, we will see that the science is far from settled, and the concerns are genuine.
At this moment, your body’s cells are engaged in a complicated dance of activity, transforming chemicals into ones needed for critical bodily functions. The term biological pathway describes this dance. Glyphosate works to kill plants by disrupting a particular pathway that plants rely upon called the shikimate pathway.
At this moment, trillions of microorganisms populate your gut and can dramatically affect your health. However, medicine has only recently understood the importance of the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome affects your body in numerous ways, including digesting fiber, helping control your immune system, affecting your brain health, and modulating your body weight.
The risks to human health could be far more significant than the EPA acknowledges. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a working group of 17 experts from 11 countries, reviewed over 1,000 studies and concluded that glyphosate is a possible carcinogen and that there was “strong” evidence that it is genotoxic, meaning capable of damaging DNA thus leading to mutations and possibly cancer.
How could two respected government-affiliated institutions, the EPA and IARC, reach vastly different conclusions? A 2019 European study sought to answer this question and found some damning results. While the IARC relied mainly upon studies drawn from the peer-reviewed literature, the EPA relied mainly upon “registrant-commissioned, unpublished regulatory studies,” many of which were done by the glyphosate manufacturers themselves.
More recent research paints a broader picture of harm to health. A 2020 review published in the Journal of Immunotoxicology corroborates the IARC findings of genotoxic effects. However, it adds additional adverse effects such as increased oxidative stress, disruption of estrogen pathways, impairment of brain functions, and causes the immune system to become more pro-inflammatory. Another study published in 2021conjectures that glyphosate could be behind the worldwide increase in thyroid disorders.
The Way Forward – Genuinely Protecting Children’s Health
Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT, author of the book “Toxic Legacy: How the Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Destroying Our Health and the Environment,” has long sounded the alarm on the problem of glyphosate. In addition to harming the gut microbiome, she states that “the evidence is solid that glyphosate substitutes for the coding amino acid glycine by mistake during protein synthesis.” This disruption to the body’s protein synthesis could be why many chronic diseases rise in lockstep with glyphosate usage.
Given that we have been through a pandemic, it is easy to become discouraged about all these environmental toxins. A common reaction to this new information is, “What does this have to do with me? We are all exposed anyway. Can I even do anything about it?”
It’s easy to feel like we are helpless cogs in a giant machine played like puppets by an uncaring system. It’s easy to feel like we can’t do anything about it and that we should accept the state of affairs. Unfortunately, it is also easy to take the mentality of “let the experts fix it.”
However, the truth is that we can do something about it. It doesn’t take an MD to understand the following simple principle. Functional medicine specialist Dr. Andrew Weil said, “The best way to detoxify is to stop putting toxic things into the body and depend upon its own mechanisms.”
Exposure levels to these dangerous chemicals vary considerably in the populace. Some people are exposed to exponentially higher levels of pollutants than others. The truth is that you can take action to reduce your exposures now and detoxify your environment.
The following actions are within your power to take:
• Use a water filter at home that can filter out PFAS and PCBs from your drinking water. There are standalone units like the Berkey water filter and under-the-sink units like Hydroviv.
• Audit your home and environment for products that contain suspicious chemicals. Toss these products and find more natural replacements.
• Share this info with your friends, family, and clinicians. We need to make the topic of food and environmental toxicity better known!
• Join and support non-profits such as Moms Across America that are campaigning to remove pesticides from our environment.
• Encourage your local and state politicians to take action against the spread of these harmful chemicals, especially the rampant spraying of glyphosate in public areas.
On a larger scale, we need medical reform. It is unacceptable for doctors, scientists, and government regulators to have ignored the problem of environmental toxicity for too long. Moreover, it is intolerable for doctors and clinicians to treat symptoms while ignoring the root causes of declining children’s health.
The practice of medicine has become too insular and too reductionistic. Our children deserve medicine that takes a larger view of health beyond just infectious diseases. There can be no health for our children if they are suffering from chronic illnesses in perpetuity.
The practice of medicine in the 21st century is at a crossroads, and it remains to be seen if it can take the necessary steps to safeguard children’s health.
In the meantime, do what you can to educate and protect yourself.
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#AceNewsDesk – Health insurance comparison business Health Insurance Comparison Choosewell Pty Ltd (HICC) has admitted breaching the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by failing to inform consumers of their termination rights, including a 10 business day cooling-off period, when entering into unsolicited consumer agreements for private health insurance.
HICC engaged businesses as third party lead generators to initiate unsolicited contact by telephone with consumers on its behalf before negotiating agreements with those consumers for the supply of health insurance services by a partnered insurance provider: A copy of the undertaking is available at Health Insurance Comparison Choosewell Pty Ltd.
HICC has admitted that it entered into unsolicited consumer agreements without informing consumers verbally and in writing of their rights under the ACL to terminate the contract, how they could terminate the contract, and that the health insurance provider was not allowed to seek payment until after the 10 business day cooling-off period.
The ACCC has accepted a three-year court-enforceable undertaking from HICC in which HICC commits to not entering into unsolicited sales contracts without giving consumers verbal and written information about their termination rights, and notifying the relevant health insurance provider that the contract resulted from an unsolicited consumer agreement.
In addition, following the issue of an infringement notice by the ACCC, HICC has paid a penalty of $13,320 relating to its admitted failure to give a consumer information about their termination rights in writing after the telephone call in which the agreement was negotiated.
The ACL contains consumer protections which apply to specific unsolicited sales practices, such as door-to-door sales or telemarketing.
“Businesses are reminded they cannot avoid their obligations in relation to unsolicited consumer agreements under the Australian Consumer Law by employing third party lead generators to contact consumers on their behalf,” ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
“The Australian Consumer Law is designed to protect consumers from salespeople who contact them without prior invitation or request at home, in public, or over the telephone.”
“Consumer protections in relation to unsolicited consumer agreements include a 10 business day cooling-off period in which a consumer can cancel the agreement for any reason without a penalty or payment being taken. Businesses involved in unsolicited sales, or their representatives, must also inform consumers of their rights and how to exercise them,” Ms Carver said.
HICC has also undertaken to implement a compliance program focusing on the ACL requirements for unsolicited consumer agreements.
HICC is a health insurance advisory service that operates an online health insurance comparison service via the website www.compareclub.com.au. HICC compares health insurance products provided by partnered insurance providers.
HICC is owned by Compare Club Australia, an online comparison service that offers comparison advisory services on a range of products, including health insurance, life insurance, home loans and energy.
From at least October 2014 to December 2021 HICC, acted as a dealer when entering into negotiations with consumers as a result of unsolicited telephone calls to make agreements for the supply of health insurance services.
Additional Notes:
The payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law.
The ACCC can issue an infringement notice when it has reasonable grounds to believe a person or business has contravened certain consumer protection provisions in the Australian Consumer Law.
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#AceBreakingNews – BEIJING (AP) – China has locked down 65 million of its citizens under tough #COVID19 restrictions and is discouraging domestic travel during upcoming national holidays.
Across the country, 33 cities including seven provincial capitals are under full or partial lockdown covering more than 65 million people, according to a tally published late Sunday by the Chinese business magazine Caixin.
It said that outbreaks have been reported in 103 cities, the highest since the early days of the pandemic in early 2020.
Despite a relatively low number of infections, authorities have adhered to a “zero-COVID” policy requiring lockdowns, quarantines and the confining of people suspected of being in close contact with any confirmed case.
China recorded 1,552 new cases in the latest 24-hour period across a nation of 1.4 billion people, the National Health Commission reported Monday.
Most of the 21 million people in the southwestern city of Chengdu are confined to their apartments or residential complexes, while in the eastern port city of Tianjin, classes have ben moved online after 14 new cases were reported, all but two showing no symptoms.
Chengdu lifted the lockdown for about 1 million people in Qionglai city and Xinjin district, two areas in its southwest. Three more rounds of mass testing are being held through Wednesday. and schools remain closed with all classes online.
Sept. 10-12 is China’s mid-autumn festival, the country’s second-most important holiday after the Lunar New Year. The anti-virus measures have taken a major toll on the economy, travel and society in general, but China’s ruling Communist Party says they are necessary to prevent a wider spread of the virus, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
The fear of being caught in a lockdown or sent to a quarantine facility for even being in proximity with a person who tested positive has severely constrained people’s work, socializing and travel habits.
Since the outbreak began, China has placed tens of millions of people under lockdowns that have been strictly enforced, sometimes preventing residents from obtaining food, health care and basic necessities.
A more than five-week closure of Shanghai, China’s largest city and key financial hub, in the spring upended the local economy, prompted protests and led to an exodus of foreign residents.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsDesk – A federal jury convicted a Texas physician of engaging in a scheme that fraudulently billed TRICARE, the health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families, for toxicology and genetic tests that were not provided as represented and/or were medically unnecessary.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Sekhar Rao, 51, of Austin, was the medical director of the ADAR Group LLC. Rao authorized toxicology and genetic testing, including cancer genetic testing, for TRICARE beneficiaries without seeing, speaking to, or otherwise treating patients, and without incorporating the test results into ongoing treatment. In some cases, the patients did not know what they were being tested for. TRICARE beneficiaries were enticed to provide urine or saliva specimens in exchange for $50 gift cards. Evidence at trial demonstrated that Rao was paid in exchange for signing off on medically unnecessary and repetitive toxicology and genetic tests.
Rao was convicted of two counts of health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham for the Northern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly Blackmon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Dallas Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Steven Grell of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) Dallas Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Breen of the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) South Central Field Office made the announcement.
DCIS, HHS-OIG, FBI, DOL-OIG, and VA-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Shy Jackson and Lee Michael Hirsch of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Health Care Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
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#AceNewsDesk – Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of human-made chemicals that don’t occur in nature. They are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down in the environment.
They have non-stick or stain repellent properties so can be found in household items like food packaging, electronics, cosmetics and cookware.
But now researchers at the University of Stockholm have found them in rainwater in most locations on the planet – including . There is no safe space to escape them.
Safe guideline levels for some of these forever chemicals have dropped dramatically over the last two decades due to new insights into their toxicity.
There has been an astounding decline in guideline values for PFAS in drinking water in the last 20 years,” says Ian Cousins, lead author of the study and professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University.
For one well-known substance, the “cancer-causing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)”, water guideline values have declined by 37.5 million times in the US.
“Based on the latest US guidelines for PFOA in drinking water, rainwater everywhere would be judged unsafe to drink,” he says.
“Although in the industrial world we don’t often drink rainwater, many people around the world expect it to be safe to drink and it supplies many of our drinking water sources.”
What risk do ‘forever chemicals’ pose to our health?
The health risks of being exposed to these substances have been researched widely. Scientists say that they could be linked to fertility problems, increased risk of cancer and developmental delays in children.
But others say that no cause and effect can be proven between these chemicals and poor health.
Despite this, and as a result of this new research, some are calling for tighter restrictions on PFAS.
“It cannot be that some few benefit economically while polluting the drinking water for millions of others, and causing serious health problems,” says Dr Jane Muncke, managing director of the Food Packing Foundation in Zurich who wasn’t involved in the study.
“The vast amounts that it will cost to reduce PFAS in drinking water to levels that are safe, based on current scientific understanding, need to be paid by the industry producing and using these toxic chemicals.”
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#Coronavirus News Desk – One million people have died from #COVID19 so far this year, the World Health Organization has revealed, describing it as a “tragic milestone”…………….Since the pandemic began more than two and a half years ago, more than 6.4 million people across the globe, according to WHO data.
More than 6.4 million people around the world have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.(Reuters: Soe Zeya Tun)none
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday the figures reached this week demonstrated the world was not “learning to live” with the virus.
“This week, we crossed the tragic milestone of 1 million reported deaths so far this year,” he told a press conference.
“We cannot say we are learning to live with COVID-19 when 1 million people have died with COVID-19 this year alone, when we are two and a half years into the pandemic and have all the tools necessary to prevent these deaths.
“We ask all governments to strengthen their efforts to vaccinate all health workers, older people and others at the highest risk, on the way to 70 per cent vaccine coverage for the whole population.”
More than 593 million cases have now been reported to the UN health agency.(AP: Mark Schiefelbein/File)none
Mr Tedros had wanted all countries to have vaccinated 70 per cent of their populations by the end of June, but 136 countries failed to reach the target, of which 66 still had coverage below 40 per cent.
“It is pleasing to see that some countries with the lowest vaccination rates are now making up ground, especially in Africa,” Mr Tedros said.
He said only 10 countries had less than 10 per cent coverage, most of which were facing humanitarian emergencies.
Tedros urges countries to step up fight against #COVID19
The Omicron variant accounted for 99 per cent of virus samples uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative in the past month.(Reuters: Hannah Beier)none
Mr Tedros said “much more needs to be done” to vaccinate, test and limit transmissions.
“One-third of the world’s population remains unvaccinated, including two-thirds of health workers and three-quarters of older adults in low-income countries,” he said.
“All countries at all income levels must do more to vaccinate those most at risk, to ensure access to life-saving therapeutics, to continue testing and sequencing, and to set tailored, proportionate policies to limit transmission and save lives.”
Derrick Sim of the Gavi vaccine alliance said 1 million deaths in 2022 was 1 million too many.
“Behind each statistic is a very real human tragedy, and as … the world deals with competing priorities, we cannot become numb to the toll the pandemic is having on individuals, families, and communities,” he said.
More than 593 million cases have now been reported to the UN health agency. Despite testing rates having dropped sharply in many countries, about half of those cases were reported this year.
The Omicron variant accounted for 99 per cent of virus samples collected in the past 30 days that had been sequenced and uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative.
Of these, the BA.5 group of Omicron sub-variants remain globally dominant at 74 per cent.
“There is increasing diversity within BA.5-descendent lineages, with additional mutations in the spike and non-spike regions,” the WHO said.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – Government announces investment in training 500 Aboriginal healthcare workers as Closing the Gap council meets
A meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap was held in Adelaide today to discuss the way forward on targets.(ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)none
The federal government has announced a plan to train 500 health workers across Australia, as the joint council on Closing the Gap meets in Adelaide.
Speaking from the front steps of South Australia’s Parliament House ahead of the meeting, Assistant Indigenous Health Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said the government would spend $52.9 million over five years to employ the Aboriginal trainees.
“We need to lift the standard of living for First Nations people in this country,” she said.
The trainees will get Certificate III or IV qualifications to allow them to work in health settings and deliver culturally appropriate care.
Federal Indigenous Australian Minister Linda Burney said the Closing the Gap targets were “absolutely fundamental” to changing the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia.
She said the gap cannot be closed without adequate data and shared decision-making between governments and Aboriginal organisations.
Federal and state Indigenous affairs ministers and Aboriginal leaders meet in Adelaide for a Closing the Gap meeting.(ABC News: Richard Davies)none
” It is patently obvious that Aboriginal organisations know their communities and know what the resolutions are to what seems like intractable problems,” she said.
She said her government was “absolutely committed” to the Uluru Statement, including a Voice to Parliament.
“But it’s wrong to suggest that agenda will be usurping the agenda of Closing the Gap — they are part and parcel of the same thing.
“Unless First Nations people are living lives of choice and chance, just like other Australians, then we cannot ever hold our heads high in the space of Indigenous affairs.”
Aboriginal activist Pat Turner said government institutions — hospitals, police stations, youth detention centres — need to be reformed to be more “culturally safe and culturally respectful in their dealings with Aboriginal people”.
She said the council would hopefully endorse a new community infrastructure target, as well as an inland waters target that would give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders exclusive commercial development opportunities.
Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney attended the meeting.(ABC News: Xavier Martin)none
South Australian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher said the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians “was not closing quickly enough”
He said all the state and territory Indigenous ministers and organisation leaders would discuss the 17 targets “in areas ranging from justice to use of inland waters”.
“This approach goes hand-in-hand with the state and federal governments’ ambition for Voice to Parliament — working directly with Aboriginal people, hearing their voice about ways to overcome some of the issues,” he said.
“One of the areas we will be discussing is how we evaluate what we’re doing and particularly how we all share data on what is working well.
“The area of justice is one area I think we’re all keen to look at to see what can be done.”
He said the hoped the meeting would look at the incarceration rates and the accessibility of legal services for Indigenous Australians.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – BALTIMORE—The FBI is warning individuals employed in the healthcare industry of ongoing widespread fraud schemes in which scammers impersonate law enforcement or government officials in attempts to extort money or steal personally identifiable information (PII).
HOW IT WORKS
Scammers, as part of a large criminal network, research background information of their intended targets through a medical practice’s website and/or social media and supplement this information with information found on common social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., to make themselves appear legitimate.
Scammers will often spoof authentic phone numbers and names and use fake credentials of well-known government and law enforcement agencies to notify the intended target they were subpoenaed to provide expert witness testimony in a criminal or civil court case. The health care professional is notified since they did not appear in court, they are in violation of the subpoena, have been held in contempt, and an arrest warrant has been issued for them.
The targeted victim is told if they pay a court fine, they will no longer be held in contempt. Scammers use an urgent and aggressive tone coupled with scare tactics that claim the target victim is currently under surveillance and an arrest warrant will involve an early morning police raid. The intended victim is warned non-compliance will result in their medical license being revoked.
Payment is demanded in various forms, with the most prevalent being prepaid cards, wire transfers, and cash, sent by mail or inserted into cryptocurrency ATMs. Victims are asked to read prepaid card numbers over the phone or text a picture of the card. Mailed cash will be hidden or packaged to avoid detection by normal mail scanning devices. Wire transfers are often sent overseas and at times in person cash payments or drop offs are completed.
If victims make money payments, a new reason to send additional funds is used, such as additional court costs for having to continue the court hearing. Often the scammers will change tactics and impersonate law enforcement officers stating their victim has been identified as a participant of a scam and are currently under investigation for their part in sending money to the criminals. They are then told another payment will exonerate them from their part of the scam.
PROTECT YOURSELF
Law enforcement authorities or government officials will never contact members of the public or medical practitioners by telephone to demand any form of payment, or to request personal or sensitive information. Any legitimate investigation or legal action will be done in person or by official letter.
Always ask for credentials to validate identity.
NO legitimate law enforcement or government official will request payment via prepaid cards or cryptocurrency ATM.
Never give personally identifying information (PII) to anyone without verifying the person is who they say they are.
IF YOU ARE A VICTIM
Cease all contact with the scammers immediately.
Notify your financial institutions and safeguard any financial accounts.
Contact your local law enforcement and file a police report.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
Deputy Chief Health Officer for Communicable Disease Deborah Friedman said the past two weeks have shown a “significant increase” in locally acquired cases.
“Just about half of our 40 cases have been acquired within Victoria rather than overseas,” she said.
“We are really the only state in Australia that’s seeing such an increase of local transmission.”
Victoria’s cases have also been centred predominantly around Melbourne and health authorities believe cases will rise further.
At-risk communities urged to be on alert
She said that while monkeypox could spread from the close intimate contact of any two people, it had mainly been centred around LGBT communities.
“Where we’re seeing it now is within the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men community,” Dr Friedman said.
A weekly nude event at a Melbourne nightclub went on hiatus last month following concerns about monkeypox transmission.
A regular queer party event in Fitzroy announced a hiatus last month due to monkeypox concerns.(Facebook: ADAM)none
Dr Friedman said the cancelling of high-risk events made sense in the current health climate.
“From a public health perspective it’s a reasonably sound choice to cancel some events, especially some events that are going to result in very close or intimate contact,” Dr Friedman said.
Victorians are encouraged to self-monitor for symptoms including fever, sore throat, muscle aches, a rash and swollen lymph nodes, and keep contact details of those they have intimate contact with for contract tracing purposes.
Returning travellers from monkeypox hotspots such as North America and Europe are also strongly recommended to monitor for symptoms for at least three weeks.
The monkeypox strain that is infecting Australians is thought to have a mortality rate of around 3 per cent.
Deb Friedman says monkeypox case numbers are likely to rise.(ABC News)none
Vaccines are here, but may have come too late
Dr Friedman said that while local transmission has been escalating in the past two and a half weeks, monkeypox vaccines only became available in the past 10 days.
“So we, unfortunately, missed a window of opportunity to potentially have been able to intervene earlier,” she said.
Vaccines have been rolled out across sexual health clinics across Melbourne, with sex workers, HIV-positive people and those who have had direct contact with monkeypox cases eligible.
Victorians are warned that vaccine eligibility criteria and supply are limited during August and September while health services wait on further supply.
The government expects 20,000 doses to be available by September.
People who are eligible and reside in regional Victoria may access the vaccine via a regional local public health unit.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
