Medical science
An interview with Dr. Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at New York University, on the COVID-19 pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 27 January 2021
Dr. Arthur Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics at NYU’s Langone Medical Center and the founding director of the Division of Medical Ethics.
999 Interview with Art Kaplan on the pandemic
26 January 2021
The science of the pandemic supports teachers’ concerns over the dangers of school reopening—Part one
By Benjamin Mateus, 20 January 2021
Science validates teachers’ concerns that in-person education during the pandemic is a dangerous proposition. This article reviews some of the more recent scientific findings.
US deaths from COVID-19 lead to a more than one-year decline in life expectancy
By Benjamin Mateus, 18 January 2021
Life expectancy in the US has declined dramatically, by more than one year, due to deaths associated with COVID-19 infections. Adding to the catastrophe of the pandemic, a new variant of the coronavirus has been detected across more than 12 states, threatening to further exacerbate the crisis.
999 Latest science on school reopenings
18 January 2021
Before it begins, COVID-19 vaccination in Turkey already a fiasco
By Barış Demir, 13 January 2021
The Turkish government’s murderous ruling class “herd immunity” policy continues with a chaotic and incompetent roll-out of the vaccine.
Nebraska governor says undocumented meatpacking workers will not receive vaccine
By Alex Findijs, 7 January 2021
Governor Ricketts said during a press conference that undocumented immigrants in the meat processing industry will not receive the COVID-19 vaccine and his spokesman said its distribution will be prioritized by citizenship status.
The COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the US are proving to be a massive debacle
By Benjamin Mateus, 5 January 2021
Despite the media hype that has accompanied the release of the COVID-19 vaccines, barely three million of the 20 million doses were administered by the end of the year.
COVID-19: Global vaccination stymied by nationalism and profit gouging
By Jean Shaoul, 4 January 2021
The race to procure vaccines against a fast-spreading virus that travels unimpeded by border controls has set in motion a ferocious national competition that threatens to prolong and intensify the pandemic.
Vaccine distribution fiasco continues in the United States
By Bryan Dyne, 31 December 2020
Less than one-fifth of the vaccine doses distributed in the United States have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
US-China tensions at center of fight over Philippine vaccine procurement
By John Malvar, 31 December 2020
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte stated on December 26 that he would terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) unless the US provided the Philippines with vaccines.
South Africa: COVID-19 cases soar with little prospect of widespread vaccination
By Jean Shaoul, 31 December 2020
The situation in South Africa is replicated in a second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping across much of the continent, which has seen a steady rise in infections since November
Coronavirus accelerates as new strain detected across Europe
By Will Morrow, 29 December 2020
The spread of the new strain of the virus intersects with the European governments’ criminal refusal of measures to stop the pandemic that would cut corporate profits.
A coronavirus Christmas
COVID-19 hospitalizations, deaths worldwide reach record highs
By Bryan Dyne, 24 December 2020
“The next 100,000 deaths are baked in,” said Biden coronavirus advisory board member Dr. Atul Gawande to CNBC.
Britain descends into chaos as coronavirus crisis mounts
By Robert Stevens, 24 December 2020
On Tuesday, 691 more people were announced dead from the virus. Yesterday this was topped with 744 deaths reported, the highest total since April 29.
The new UK variant of coronavirus raises urgent questions about pandemic policy
By Benjamin Mateus, 23 December 2020
The new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the UK highlights the importance of bringing the pandemic under strict control.
Countries impose UK travel restrictions as more infectious COVID-19 strain threatens to spread worldwide
By Chris Marsden, 22 December 2020
Even if the spread of the mutation is limited, it is already active on the continent and is only one of thousands of mutations worldwide—some of which have similar characteristics.
“I stand with Ms. Jones, and I call on others to stand in solidarity with Ms. Jones.”
Statements of support for COVID-19 whistleblower Rebekah Jones from across the US
By Chase Lawrence, 15 December 2020
In response to this clear assault on democratic rights, there has been an outpouring of support by educators, scientists, and other workers in defense of Jones and the rights of whistleblowers.
999 Interview with Dr. Sten Vermund of Yale School of Public Health
9 December 2020
“Human Nature”: Documentary explores CRISPR, the groundbreaking development in genetics
By James Hohmann, 9 December 2020
The program explores the implications of simple mass-produced genetic editing and raises the question: Is society ready for the changes that this new horizon makes possible?
New study finds young adults vulnerable to developing debilitating long-term complications from COVID-19
By Dominic Gustavo, 9 December 2020
The symptoms reported most frequently by the young adults were impaired concentration, headaches, rhinitis, exercise intolerance, dyspnea, sleep impairment, brain fog, appetite loss, fatigue, and chest pain.
UK COVID-19 vaccination programme will not halt pandemic deaths due to end of lockdown
By Robert Stevens, 9 December 2020
Despite the immense significance for mankind of the availability of the drug—and promising developments with other vaccines coming on stream—its ability to save lives given its 90 to 95 percent effectivity rate against COVID-19, is being undermined by Britain’s ruling elite in their drive to keep the economy open and make profits.
COVID-19 is now the leading cause of death in the US
By Benjamin Mateus, 7 December 2020
COVID-19 is inundating hospitals across the US. The case fatality rate is already seeing an upturn, which means that hundreds of patients who will die in the next few weeks would have survived had they been infected just a month ago.
The science behind COVID-19 vaccines
By Benjamin Mateus, 3 December 2020
Both Pfizer, a pharmaceutical giant, and the start-up firm Moderna have used essentially the same biochemical process, involving messenger RNA (mRNA) to develop a new vaccine against coronavirus.
999 Covid vaccine developments
30 November 2020
28 November 2020
999 Amazon entry into online pharmacy market
24 November 2020
Why are millions of Americans traveling for Thanksgiving as the pandemic rages?
By Niles Niemuth, 24 November 2020
Even as travel this week is expected to decline from last year, with many citing concerns over COVID-19 as a reason to stay home, the movement of tens of millions across the country threatens to massively accelerate the spread of COVID-19.
Number of children diagnosed with COVID-19 in the US surpasses one million
By Alex Findijs, 19 November 2020
Most of the infections have come after the reopening of schools, highlighting the dangers of in-person instruction during the pandemic.
British Medical Journal accuses UK government of the “suppression of science”
By Thomas Scripps, 18 November 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic and the British ruling class’ criminal “herd immunity” response has created a humanitarian disaster.
Long-COVID post-viral syndrome: Lessons from the Russian Flu of 1889 for the COVID pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 10 November 2020
The post-viral syndrome associated with COVID-19 infection has been recognized in the SARS and MERS pandemic. The scope of this disease will have lasting impact on health care systems.
“Zero was never a realistic expectation”
Official academics downplay the risks of school reopenings as pandemic rages across the US
By Benjamin Mateus, 5 November 2020
The official bourgeois academics and health experts, as evidenced by the likes of Emily Oster, Ashish Jha and Scott Atlas, place the profit interests of the ruling class above the safety and lives of the working class.
The approach of the World Socialist Web Site to science
By Bryan Dyne, 3 November 2020
The WSWS was the only publication to warn very early on the dangers the working class faced if the coronavirus became a pandemic.
The explosion of new cases of COVID in the Northern Hemisphere will fuel massive social unrest
By Benjamin Mateus, 30 October 2020
There were more than 500,000 cases of COVID-19 reported globally, with the number of deaths keeping apace.
As COVID-19 surges in Europe, governments protect profits over lives
By Johannes Stern and Alex Lantier, 29 October 2020
If the resurgence of COVID-19 across Europe is not halted, it is a matter of only a few weeks before hospitals are overrun and masses of people cut off from treatment.
999 Trump admin admits to herd immunity policy
27 October 2020
COVID’s deadly toll on people with Alzheimer’s and dementia
By Benjamin Mateus, 26 October 2020
Deaths from dementia have been catastrophic as the isolation and lockdowns of nursing homes have led to cessation of vital support and treatment for this vulnerable layer of the population.
COVID-19 “long-hauler” phenomenon presents in children and teens as schools reopen against expert advice
By Katy Kinner, 26 October 2020
New data is surfacing that suggests children can be saddled with chronic and debilitating post-viral illness after even mild cases of COVID-19.
UK COVID-19 deaths surge to more than 1,100 over last week
By Robert Stevens, 24 October 2020
It was the premature ending of the national lockdown from June onwards, and the opening of schools, colleges and workplaces to facilitate the profitmaking of big business, that produced this disastrous situation.
COVID-19 pandemic surges despite limited curfew measures across Europe
By Anthony Torres, 22 October 2020
With 700,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths from the virus last week, health officials are warning mortality this winter could reach four to five times that in the spring of 2020.
As coronavirus infections spike across Midwest
Excess US deaths during COVID-19 pandemic top 300,000
By Benjamin Mateus, 22 October 2020
The estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is nearly 50 percent higher than the official coronavirus death toll of 220,000 in the United States.
Trump steps up fascist agitation, targeting Fauci
By Barry Grey, 21 October 2020
Fauci has already become a target of far-right Trump supporters. He and his wife have received death threats by email, phone and text message.
UK COVID-19 “alert” system overseen by UK spy chiefs
By Julie Hyland, 20 October 2020
The decision to invest in this secretive body, rather than the National Health Service, is part of the policy of herd immunity, while using the pandemic to restructure economic and social relations and strengthen the state apparatus.
COVID-19 pandemic surges in Turkey as government continues to hide data
By Barış Demir and Ulaş Ateşçi, 19 October 2020
The government is allowing the virus to spread, citing false data to refuse any demands for lock-downs and suppress growing anger and concern within the working class.
Global surge in COVID-19 cases as governments abandon efforts to contain the pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 16 October 2020
The policy of “herd immunity,” effectively allowing a killer disease to run rampant, threatens to overwhelm hospitals and lead to a rising tide of deaths and suffering.
Trump’s “herd immunity” policy and right-wing terror
By Andre Damon, 14 October 2020
On Tuesday, Newsweek reported that two Trump administration officials said the White House supports the Great Barrington Declaration, a statement advocating for the mass infection of the population with COVID-19 through a policy of “herd immunity.”
The Great Barrington Declaration: Capitalism’s global policy of herd immunity
By Benjamin Mateus, 14 October 2020
Super spreading events are the primary mode of transmission for COVID-19 infections. The recent declaration at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, attempts to establish herd-immunity as a global policy that will have catastrophic consequences for the working class.
With more than 1 million dead, who have been the victims of the coronavirus pandemic?
Part two
By Benjamin Mateus, 10 October 2020
More than 1 million people globally have succumbed to COVID-19. The working class has faced the brunt of this pandemic, with all indications that the worst is still to come.
As COVID-19 deaths approach one million
WHO condemns governments’ failure to prepare for pandemic
By Bryan Dyne, 21 September 2020
The pandemic has exposed the contradiction between the highly integrated nature of modern society and the outmoded and irrational nation-state system of capitalism.
COVID-19 “long-haulers” publish patient-led research paper drawing attention to chronic illness
By Katy Kinner, 18 September 2020
COVID-19 survivors who continue to experience symptoms weeks to months after initial infection have organized themselves online, seeking to understand the phenomenon of their extended illness.
The precedents for disease eradication through international cooperation
Part two
By Frank Gaglioti, 16 September 2020
Vaccines have been successfully developed for both polio and the measles, but global elimination of the diseases lags.
New cases of COVID-19 reach a one-day high of nearly 308,000 worldwide
By Benjamin Mateus and Patrick Martin, 15 September 2020
The number of new cases of COVID-19 hit a new one-day high of nearly 308,000 worldwide, bringing the global total to almost 30 million cases and 930,000 deaths. The United States alone will reach 200,000 deaths by mid-week.
The precedents for disease eradication through international cooperation
Part one
By Frank Gaglioti, 15 September 2020
An examination of the historical record demonstrates that infectious diseases like COVID-19 can be eliminated.
Smoking in the age of COVID: Some immunological considerations
By Henry Hakamaki, 12 September 2020
Smoking and e-cigarettes are directly associated with increased risk of infection by the novel coronavirus.
The pseudoscience behind the right-wing drive to force schools to open
Part two
By Benjamin Mateus, 2 September 2020
The ruling elites and their legion of state and local officials are furiously pushing to open schools and universities. However, recent published studies have provided ample evidence that school openings will drive the pandemic toward a second, potentially larger, wave.
The pseudoscience behind the right-wing drive to force schools to open
Part one
By Benjamin Mateus, 1 September 2020
The ruling elites and their legion of state and local officials are furiously pushing to open schools and universities. However, recent published studies have provided ample evidence that school openings will drive the pandemic towards a second potentially larger wave.
Mounting evidence of COVID-19 reinfection
By Henry Hakamaki, 31 August 2020
Several recent studies suggest that survivors of the coronavirus can come down with a second case after recovering from a first infection.
Under pressure from the White House, CDC issues guidelines for less COVID-19 testing
By Benjamin Mateus, 27 August 2020
The change in guidelines has been met with a barrage of anger and dismay among various health experts and physician groups who have repeatedly stated that the key to suppressing the infection is broad, mass testing of the population.
Who is Scott Atlas, Trump’s new adviser on the COVID-19 pandemic?
By Benjamin Mateus, 18 August 2020
Dr. Scott Atlas, a former neuroradiologist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution was selected as the new presidential adviser on the pandemic to “counter” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading US epidemiologist.
The coronavirus pandemic and capitalism
Russia’s vaccine intensifies global struggle for profits and geopolitical advantage
By Barry Grey, 13 August 2020
Vladimir Putin’s announcement Tuesday that Russia has officially approved a COVID-19 vaccine has intensified the global conflict between national powers and pharmaceutical giants to be the first to mass produce and market a vaccine for the deadly virus.
Why is the US doing less and less COVID-19 testing?
By Bryan Dyne, 11 August 2020
Without any serious explanation by the government, the number of tests being done every day in the United States has dropped significantly over the past two weeks.
Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine racket
By Bryan Dyne, 30 July 2020
Moderna’s exorbitant price point for its taxpayer subsidized vaccine exemplifies the corporate-financial elite’s exploitation of the coronavirus catastrophe for its selfish private gain.
Canadian medical experts provide ideological justification for homicidal back-to-work drive
By Laurent Lafrance, 25 July 2020
Exploiting their professional qualifications to give their arguments credibility, the experts have fully endorsed the corporate elite’s reactionary dictum: “The cure cannot be worse than the disease.”
The nationalist hijacking of the race for a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus
By Benjamin Mateus, 24 July 2020
Vaccine nationalism is driving the fury to capitalize on being the first nation to produce a viable cure against the coronavirus.
White House in disarray as coronavirus numbers explode
By Patrick Martin, 16 July 2020
The one-day total of infections has set a new record of 71,670 and deaths are once again climbing.
Trump wages war against science and Dr. Fauci, not coronavirus
By Patrick Martin, 14 July 2020
At an appearance Monday, Trump continued to deny that the coronavirus is actually spreading in the United States, claiming the skyrocketing number of cases is due entirely to more testing.
Pandemic surges in the Americas as the global death toll nears 560,000
By Kate Randall, 11 July 2020
The United States is leading the global toll of new COVID-19 cases and deaths, with nearly 3.2 million cases and 134,092 deaths as of Friday evening, about a quarter of the global total.
The COVID-19 vaccine and the drive for profit
By Frank Gaglioti, 8 July 2020
As the pandemic rages across the planet, the struggle to develop a vaccine has become an urgent task. But the vaccines will be weaponized for geopolitical purposes, not to provide the treatments equitably on a global scale.
The inequality pandemic: How American capitalism puts profits over lives
By Andre Damon, 2 July 2020
The resurgence of COVID-19 is the outcome of a policy, led by the Trump administration but supported by the entire political and media establishment, of subordinating society’s needs to the interests of the financial oligarchy.
Pandemic profiteering: Gilead Sciences cashes in on COVID-19
By Bryan Dyne, 1 July 2020
Gilead’s declaration that it will charge over $3,000 per patient for the drug remdesivir sends a clear message that pharmaceutical companies plan to use the COVID-19 crisis to make billions of dollars.
The poor in Germany have a higher risk of falling sick from COVID-19
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 30 June 2020
The poorest people in Germany, including the long-term unemployed and recipients of Hartz IV social welfare, have an 84 percent higher risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 and requiring hospitalization.
Dutch government exposed by disastrous handling of COVID-19 pandemic
By Harm Zonderland and Parwini Zora, 30 June 2020
When the pandemic hit the Netherlands, the Dutch government adopted a reckless wait-and-see posture, even when it was clear that COVID-19 was potentially fatal.
Contact tracing and capitalism’s response to the pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 27 June 2020
As the globe rapidly approaches ten million cases of COVID-19, the United States continues to ignore any public health measures to contain the pandemic.
UK: Legal action highlights social-Darwinist policies against the disabled during COVID-19 pandemic
By Alice Summers, 16 June 2020
Numerous medical guidance documents published during the pandemic suggest that coronavirus patients can be denied or deprioritised for medical care solely on the basis of their age or existing mental or physical disabilities.
The World Health Organization comes under new US attack for its relationship to China
By Benjamin Mateus, 9 June 2020
China and the WHO are useful scapegoats for the systematic neglect of the health and lives of millions of people on the part of the Trump administration and other imperialist governments
White House Coronavirus Task Force effectively ended by Trump
By Bryan Dyne, 3 June 2020
Now that all fifty states have begun reopening in some form, the pandemic is considered over by the US ruling elite even as coronavirus infections and deaths continue to climb.
Democratic Governor Whitmer lifts major COVID-19 restrictions in Michigan
By Kevin Reed, 3 June 2020
The announcement rescinds the stay-at-home order, along with a series of other restrictions even though most of the state remains in the “flattening” phase of the pandemic.
Canada’s governments ignored 2006 pandemic preparedness report
By Dylan Lubao, 3 June 2020
The 550-page “Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector” is further proof that the COVID-19 pandemic was both foreseeable and foreseen.
COVID-19 pandemic exposes a rapidly developing global health crisis
By Benjamin Mateus, 2 June 2020
The pandemic has caused severe disruptions in the delivery of health care in fragile health systems the world over.
UK: Allowing mass-attended sporting events to go ahead led to COVID-19 deaths
By Margot Miller, 2 June 2020
Ignoring the WHO’s announcement on January 30 that the emergence of the novel coronavirus represented a “public health emergency of international concern,” the Conservative government made no preparations to stop its spread in Britain.
Discredited policy of coronavirus “herd immunity” placed in stark relief
By Benjamin Mateus, 1 June 2020
Much of the population of the globe remains susceptible to coronavirus infection, exposing the pursuit of herd immunity as a horrifically deadly policy.
Rise in deaths attributed to pneumonia suggests official US coronavirus death toll is grossly undercounted
By Bryan Dyne and Benjamin Mateus, 29 May 2020
The actual number of COVID-19 dead in the United States is likely to be at least 150,000, 50 percent more than what has been officially reported.
Dow Jones hits 25,000 as pandemic death toll reaches 100,000
By David North, 27 May 2020
The Wall Street surge anticipates the shutdown of all restraints on corporate operations and capitalist profiteerring.
Reports question undercounting of COVID-19 deaths in US and globally
By Bryan Dyne, 27 May 2020
There is increasing evidence that the actual fatalities caused by the pandemic are up to three times the numbers officially reported.
Sweden’s “herd immunity” policy produces one of world’s highest fatality rates
By Jordan Shilton, 27 May 2020
Sweden’s policy has been praised by reactionary political forces and the corporate media internationally to bolster their criminal back-to-work campaigns.
Protests by medical workers grow as hospitals overwhelmed across Mexico
By Andrea Lobo, 27 May 2020
The protests are part of an international wave of unrest among medical workers demanding personal protective equipment, medicines, respirators, testing and staffing.
Executives of vaccine developer Moderna cash in, cut corners
By Benjamin Mateus, 26 May 2020
In March, while the global economy was facing an implosion, CEO Stéphane Bancel became a billionaire based on the valuation of his nine percent stake in the publicly traded company.
Hydroxychloroquine: New scientific study refutes the quack-in-chief
By Benjamin Mateus, 23 May 2020
President Trump claimed this week he had been taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure. His statements demonstrate both ignorance and hostility to science.
New analysis predicts US coronavirus deaths will triple by end of year
By Bryan Dyne, 20 May 2020
There is evidence that the Florida government, and possibly others, are censoring the data needed to accurately study the development of the pandemic.
Capitalism vs. science: The lessons of the 36-hour Moderna vaccine frenzy
By Benjamin Mateus, 20 May 2020
It took just 36 hours for the media’s frenzied promotion of a “breakthrough” treatment for the coronavirus to collapse under its own weight.
999 Deaths among youth and students in US
20 May 2020
US steps up witch hunt against Chinese scientists
By Shuvu Batta, 19 May 2020
The US federal government has arrested researchers and scientists of Chinese descent as part of an accelerated crackdown on alleged participants of China’s “Thousand Talents” program.
Spike in Kawasaki-like disease linked to coronavirus in France and Italy, one child dies
By Will Morrow, 18 May 2020
This is a damning indictment of capitalist governments internationally which are reopening schools and asserting that the virus does not harm children.
Malnutrition is leading cause of death and ill-health worldwide
By Jean Shaoul, 15 May 2020
A recent report confirms that various forms of malnutrition are the result of inequities in food distribution and health care systems but only hints at the criminal indifference of all national governments to these issues
The Trump administration vs. science
By Patrick Martin, 15 May 2020
The president’s attack on his top coronavirus advisor, Anthony Fauci, is part of an appeal to the most backward and reactionary forces to support the deadly policy of “reopening” the US economy.
The 2003 SARS epidemic: How Canada’s elite squandered the chance to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic
By Omar Ali, 15 May 2020
Canada’s disastrous response to the pandemic is all the more criminal given the impact of SARS and the repeated government vows that the country’s health system would be well-prepared for any future novel virus.
Kawasaki-like disease afflicting young children and teens after infection with SARS-CoV-2
By Benjamin Mateus, 13 May 2020
Around 100 children in New York may have been afflicted by complications of COVID-19 infection, now called Pediatric Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome, with possibly five dead.
Governments globally reopen schools, ignoring scientists’ warnings of coronavirus impact on children
By Will Morrow, 11 May 2020
Governments see reopening schools as essential as a false symbol of a return to normal, and so that they can herd parents back into their workplaces.
Children in US and UK dying from syndrome linked to COVID-19
By Jacob Crosse, 9 May 2020
At least two children in the US and one in the UK have died from the newly identified Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, which is believed to be related to COVID-19.
999 Deployment of thermal imaging cameras at workplaces to justify US reopening
6 May 2020
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