Ways to democratize the global health system Karl Heinz Roth, Jochi Weil-Goldstein: Weltgesundheitsorganisation als Neuschöpfung, in: MMS Bulletin, ed. medico international switzerland, No. 110 (November 2008).
Monthly archives: May 2020
12 posts
Thomas Gebauer in conversation with Velten Schäfer, in: neues deutschland, 9 May 2020 In this interview, Thomas Gebauer, spokesman for medico international, talks about some of the serious shortcomings in the public health system that the Covid 19 pandemic has exposed. The WHO is in a structural crisis. Initiatives to bundle essential activities – such as the development of vaccines and medicines – are increasingly being transferred to major international foundations. In conspiracy theories this development is reflected in extreme distortion. The real problem is the worldwide commercialization of the health care system.
Statement of German professional associations for pediatrics on the closures of schools and day-care centres Peter Walger et al.: Kinder und Jugendliche in der Covid-19-Pandemie: Schulen und Kitas sollen wieder geöffnet werden, May 19, 2020. There is increasing evidence worldwide that children and adolescents rarely contract the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and only transmit the pathogen to other people to a small extent. As a result, the inclusion of schools and day-care centres in the lockdown seems inappropriate, especially since these restrictions have considerable disadvantages for those affected. For this reason, the authors of the professional associations call for the immediate […]
Shankar Vedantam: An Unfinished Lesson: What the 1918 Flu Tells Us about Human Nature. Radio feature, March 23, 2020.
Deficit spending as in war financing? Harold James: COVID-19, debt monetization, and lessons from war financing, Webinar at the Bendheim Center for Finance, Princeton University, April 24, 2020. To combat the economic consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, the governments of the USA, the European Union and other countries in the transatlantic region have mobilised trillions of dollars. Massive subsidies, grants and loans as well as massive economic stimulus packages are intended to halt or at least cushion the crash of the global economy. The resources mobilized by governments and central banks to combat the global crisis of 2008/2009 are already far […]
Maura Chhun:1918 flu pandemic killed 12 million Indians, and British overlords’ indifference strengthened the anti-colonial movement, Updated April 23, 2020.
Chris Colvin, Eoin McLaughlin: Coronavirus and Spanish flu: economic lessons to learn from the last truly global pandemic, 11.3.2020
Guido Alfani: Pandemics and asymmetric shocks: lessons from the history of plagues, 9 April 2020
Mathias Schrappe, Hedwig Françoise-Kettner, Franz Knieps, Holger Pfaff, Klaus Püschel, Gerd Gläske: Die Pandemie durch SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19: Datenbasis verbessern – Prävention gezielt weiterentwickeln – Bürgerrechte wahren. Thesenpapier 2.0, 3.5.2020.
Sources and literature Economic History Society: The Long View on Epidemics, Disease, and Public Health. An Economic History Resources List, April 2020
Vinay Prasad / Jeffrey S. Flier: Scientists who express different views on Covid-19 should be heard, not demonized, in: STAT, 27.4.2020 Critical epidemiologists and virologists, who in recent weeks have expressed doubts about the blanket worst-case scenarios of their colleagues, have often been regarded as ‘irresponsible’ and excluded from the scientific discussion. The authors demonstrate this finding using the example of epidemiologist John Ioannidis. They call on the scientific community to discuss the worldwide published research results in an open-ended manner.
The Long View on Epidemics, Disease and Public Health: Research from Economic History. Update 16 April 2020