and it only gets worse [verbatim]

“With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether America’s generosity has been put to the best use possible. The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion. If we cannot trust them, if this is what we will receive from the WHO, our country will be forced to find other ways to work with other nations to achieve public health goals.” DT, 14 April

“It is also not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organization in the fight against the virus.” Antonio Guterres, 14 April

“The president of the United States calls the shots. [State governors] can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States. When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total.” DT, 13 April

“…the US Treasury has ordered Donald Trump’s name be printed on cheques to be sent to tens of millions of Americans affected by the coronavirus outbreak, a decision that will slow their delivery by several days.” The Washington Post, 15 April

“Very simple. If [both chambers of Congress] don’t act on getting these people approved that we need – we need them anyway, but we especially need them now because of the pandemic – we are going to do something that will be … something I’d prefer not doing, but which I should do and I will do if have to.” DT, 16 April

““It is vital to avoid the collapse of any country’s medical system – given the explosive impact that will have on death, suffering and wider contagion. At this crucial time, both for global public health reasons, and to support the rights and lives of millions of people in these countries, sectoral sanctions should be eased or suspended. In a context of global pandemic, impeding medical efforts in one country heightens the risk for all of us.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, 24 March

and it only gets worse…

“David Brooks, the New York Times columnist, recently summed up the “Trumpian world-view” writing, “Trump takes every relationship that has historically been based on affection, loyalty, trust and reciprocity and turned it into a relationship based on competition, self-interest, suspicion and efforts to establish dominance.” NYT, June 14

“Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about the widely condemned human rights record of the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, praising him as a “tough guy”, a “smart guy” and a “great negotiator”.” The Guardian, June 14

“Clinics that call themselves crisis pregnancy centers are not obliged to tell women when state aid may be available to obtain an abortion, according to a US supreme court ruling that represents a blow to pro-choice groups (…) All three of the court’s female members dissented.” The Guardian, June 27

“A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the (…) United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly. Based on decades of research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes. Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations. The intensity of the administration’s opposition to the breast-feeding resolution stunned public health officials and foreign diplomats, who described it as a marked contrast to the Obama administration.” NYT, July 8

“President Trump on Tuesday pardoned a pair of Oregon cattle ranchers who had been serving out sentences for arson on federal land (…) The pardons undo an Obama administration appeal to impose longer sentences for the Hammonds and show that, at least in this case, the Trump administration is siding with ranchers in the battle over federal lands.” NYT, July 10

“President Trump stood next to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday and publicly challenged the conclusion of his own intelligence (…) “No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant,” Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said in a statement. “Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” ” NYT, July 16

“The Interior Department on Thursday proposed the most sweeping set of changes in decades to the Endangered Species Act, the law that brought the bald eagle and the Yellowstone grizzly bear back from the edge of extinction but which Republicans say is cumbersome and restricts economic development.” NYT, July 20

an increase of 18% a day?!

A striking figure I saw earlier this week in a newspaper and confirmed by checking on the World Health Organisation (WHO) today:

…if the association of red meat and colorectal cancer were proven to be causal, data from the same studies suggest that the risk of colorectal cancer could increase by 17% for every 100 gram portion of red meat eaten daily…

The way I interpret this sentence and the every in it when I read it is that each time I eat a portion of 100g of red meat, my probability of getting a cancer increases by 17%. Actually the previous sentence in the report sounds even more dire:

An analysis of data from 10 studies estimated that every 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by about 18%.

Which means that eating a sausage a day would multiply the probability by about… 10²³! This cannot be: turning statistics into “plain” language  can be so confusing! Or else pardon my French!!!

Influenza, anywhere?!

Everyone should take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs, including frequent hand washing and people who are sick should stay home and avoid contact with others in order to limit further spread of the disease [CDC Public Guidance].

As I am getting ready to take my plane for the 3rd Rimini Bayesian workshop mentioned on that post (no, I haven’t yet changed my slides!), I am [rather idly] wondering why we do not hear more about the H1N1 pandemic. Checking on the site of the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows a widespread repartition of the flu since most countries are hit (I spotted Haiti and most of Africa missing from the list, but this may be due to a lack of proper reporting rather than no case so far).

Novel influenza A (H1N1) activity is now being detected through CDC’s routine influenza surveillance systems and reported weekly in FluView [CDC Surveillance].

While I see the point in not panicking people by adopting extreme measures like those taken in Mexico (too late) during the first weeks of the outbreak, it seems to me that nothing is done at the moment, at least as perceived through my everyday life. I do not see people wearing masks when they cough, washing hands more regularly and so on… It sounds like the [maximum] Phase 6 level announced by the WHO has no visible impact. Is it because the disease actually has less impact than previously thought? Mais que fait la police?!