June

Sebelius Reiterates Obama's Support for Public Option

Pressing hard on the urgency of needed health reform, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a set of new state-by-state reports this week documenting the nation's broken health system.

It is Official Now: Swine flu is a Pandemic

Swine flu, or more technically influenza A (H1N1), is now officially a pandemic. Addressing the press on June 11, Dr Margaret Chan, the director general of World Health Organisation (WHO) said, “On the basis of available evidence, and these expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met.

Political Affairs Podcast #103 – Fixing the Broken Health System

On this episode, we look closely at the healthcare reform debate and talk with various activists and leaders in the movement to fix the broken healthcare system and create a public option for Americans who can't afford or who have been left behind by the private insurance industry.

Planned Parenthood Campaigns to Promote Women's Health

Community health centers should play a key role in ensuring affordable, universal access to quality care, especially for women, according to a new multimedia campaign launched by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America this week.

300-plus Economists Connect Health Reform to Growth

We, the undersigned economists, business leaders, and health care experts, urge the new President and Congress to reform America's health care system—to move boldly to cover all Americans with health insurance, to bring down health care costs and create improved quality and value within the health care system.

Podcast #102: Building Bridges with Cuba

On this episode, we talk with Elena Mora and John Bachtell, both members of the National Board of the Communist Party and who traveled this month to Cuba for meetings with the Communist Party there and with leaders of various Cuban social and cultural institutions.

Swine Flu – Giving the Pigs a Bad Name

The swine flu scare may have receded from the public eye, but the fear of a pandemic still remains. Along with the threat of a pandemic, the issues that have come up include the old one of the implication of patent monopoly for vital life saving drugs and whether the industrial mode of producing meat/poultry products is giving rise to threat of new diseases.

Vietnam Develops World’s Best Cholera Vaccine

Vietnam’s Vaccine and Biomedical Product Company No. 1 (VaBiotech) has developed a new cholera vaccine that is superior to others currently in use. “The new vaccine offers 90 to 100 percent protection after two oral doses in comparison with 60 to 70 percent with the current vaccine,” said Dr. Nguyen Tran Hien, Director of Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

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United Health Reform Campaign Picks Up Steam

Fixing the healthcare system is not only morally sound, but it will also produce major economic benefits. So argued a new report released this week by the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA).