Coronavirus: UK Doctors launch legal action over government's PPE guidance

Meenal Viz and Nishant Joshi, a husband and wife expecting a child, have been exposed to patients with coronavirus.

Thursday 23 April 2020, UK

paramedic wears PPE

Two doctors are launching legal action against the government's advice over personal protective equipment (PPE).

Meenal Viz and Nishant Joshi, who are married and expecting a baby, have been exposed to patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

According to their solicitors, Bindmans, the couple are concerned that current PPE guidance and availability is inadequate to protect them from infection.

Paramedics and staff at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital wearing various items of PPE

In a statement, Dr Viz and Dr Joshi said: "We are incredibly concerned at the ever-growing numbers of healthcare workers who are becoming seriously unwell and dying due to COVID-19.

"It is the government's duty to protect its healthcare workers, and there is great anxiety amongst staff with regards to safety protocols that seem to change without rhyme or reason."

There has been a shortage of clinical gowns in some areas

Public Health England, which responded to the legal action on behalf of the government, said UK government guidance was "consistent" with advice given by World Health Organisation.

A spokesman for PHE said: "The safety of those working on the frontline in health and social care is our number one priority. The UK guidance, written with NHS leaders and agreed by all 4 CMOs, in consultation with royal and medical colleges, recommends the safest level of personal protective equipment (PPE).

"The WHO has confirmed that UK guidance is consistent with what it recommends for the highest risk procedures."

It comes after a flight carrying PPE - urgently needed by front line health workers as they treat COVID-19 patients in the UK - arrived from Turkey yesterday following days of delays.

The total consignment of 84 tonnes includes 400,000 clinical gowns, but it is not clear how much of it was on the flight.

Coronavirus: Where does the PPE in UK hospitals come from?

On Tuesday, Sky News revealed Britain only made a formal request to Turkey over the consignment on Sunday after Robert Jenrick, the housing minister, said the equipment was en route.

The delay has caused embarrassment for the government, which is already under significant pressure because of a shortage of gowns and other protective gear worn by frontline staff.

Ministers previously faced criticism over a lack of PPE given to medical workers - with one hospice boss revealing she has been forced to "beg, borrow and steal" protective gear.

Another doctor told Sky News he appealed to his own patients for PPE earlier this month after facing a shortage.

JOHN BIRCH IS PLEASED 

Trump escalates WHO fight by redirecting funds to other groups

BY LAURA KELLY - THE HILL - 04/23/20

The U.S. is starting to shift its World Health Organization (WHO) contributions to other health-focused groups, marking an escalation in President Trump’s fight with the WHO.

The move is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to punish the WHO after suspending payments to the global health body pending a “review” of its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“For every contract or dollar flowing today, we’re just taking WHO off the table,” Jim Richardson, director of foreign assistance at the State Department, said in a press briefing Wednesday. “We’re going to provide that assistance to these other organizations in order to get the job done. Our system simply can’t wait.”

“At the end of the day, this should be about saving lives, not about saving a bureaucracy,” he added.

John Barsa, who became acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) last month, said the pause in WHO funding has allowed his agency to pursue contributions to other on-the-ground initiatives.

“During this pause, what USAID and other entities are doing — we’re looking for alternate partners to carry out the important work,” Barsa said at the same briefing. “We’re going with existing programs outside of the World Health Organization.”

Barsa said a funding mechanism already exists as part of a USAID pilot program that he expects will be formalized within a week.

But global health policy experts are warning against handicapping the sole international body capable of directing a global response as the world braces for coronavirus outbreaks among some of the most vulnerable populations.

“There needs to be a moment where we look back and understand who knew what, and when,” said Amanda Glassman, executive vice president of the Center for Global Development. “But certainly I don’t think now is the time for reform and re-creation, I think we have to get through this crisis.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has started laying the groundwork for a U.S. exit from the WHO, accusing the agency’s leadership of failing to exercise authority over China for its handling of the outbreak, which originated in Wuhan.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with the shortcomings of this organization that sits inside the United Nations,” Pompeo said in a Fox News interview Wednesday. “We need a fix. We need a structural fix for the WHO.”

The U.S. owes an estimated $203 million to the WHO for its biennial operating budget, which includes funds owed for 2019, according to the WHO. That amount is calculated by each member state’s wealth and population.

But voluntary contributions — funds provided on top of required dues — make up a bulk of the budget. The U.S. provided up to $656 million for 2018-19.

State Department officials suggest moving contributions away from the WHO could be permanent.

Glassman, of the Center for Global Development, called this a “dumb idea.”

“No existing program can replace the work of the WHO,” she said in an email, noting that individual organizations can’t coordinate large-scale projects like vaccine development.

“A U.S. non-governmental organization is not able to obtain and share genetic sequences from around the world that enable a fit-for-purpose COVID-19 or influenza vaccine to protect U.S. citizens,” she said. “A U.S. NGO cannot coordinate the more than 70 COVID-19 vaccine trials and their data.”

The absence of U.S. contributions to the WHO could have a ripple effect on the agency’s COVID-19 response, but it will also take away from health initiatives like HIV/AIDS prevention and vaccine programs, such as the eradication of polio.

“No agency, country, or organization could step in and do the work of WHO, particularly in the middle of a global health emergency,” said Loyce Pace, president and executive director of the Global Health Council, a consortium of nonprofit organizations, corporations and universities that work on responding to global health issues.

“To suggest that feels dangerous and irresponsible,” Pace added. “They play an essential role coordinating efforts across sectors and providing guidance across regions that would be very difficult to replace and nearly impossible to do in real time.”

Pompeo and State Department officials have increased their attacks on the WHO and its leadership, saying the director-general has failed to enforce the agency’s own policies against member nations' violations, namely China.

Pompeo has zeroed in on the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR), guidelines established in the wake of the 2003 SARS outbreak that instruct countries when and how they should alert the world to a possible health threat.

“We strongly believe that the Chinese Communist Party did not report the outbreak of the new coronavirus in a timely fashion to the World Health Organization,” Pompeo said Wednesday, citing the IHR guidelines.

He went on to say that the WHO also failed to call out China’s noncompliance.

The IHR guidelines “gave the director-general of the WHO encouragement and the ability to go public when a member-country wasn’t following those rules,” Pompeo said, “and that didn’t happen in this case either.”

The Trump administration says issues like those will be part of its evaluation of U.S. participation with the WHO over the 60 to 90 day suspension period, though officials said a review of the agency’s leadership is among the most pressing issues.

“There’s numerous questions in terms of the management of the World Health Organization, how they have been operating, holding member states accountable in their actions,” Barsa said. “The review is going to be all encompassing, in all manners of management and operation questions.”

The WHO has pushed back on the administration’s accusations, sharing on Twitter this week that it declared COVID-19 a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” on Jan. 30, with less than 100 cases and no deaths outside of China.

As industrialized nations work to bring the virus under control, poorer countries are beginning to see a spike in cases.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday announced a 43 percent increase in cases over the past week, The Associated Press reported, and warned that the virus could kill upward of 300,000 people and push 30 million into poverty.

Ben Weingrod, director of government relations for CARE, a global nonprofit working to eliminate poverty and hunger, said the coronavirus threat to African nations is almost beyond comprehension.

“It’s hard to almost say where the need is greatest because it is almost a different reality to what we’re seeing in the developed world,” he said, adding that the WHO should be empowered despite the political clashes.

“It is concerning to see politicization of bodies like WHO and others right now, and my hope is that people will continue to realize that there truly does need to be a coordinated global response,” he said.

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Sarah Sanders trades barbs with Ocasio-Cortez over returning to work

BY J. EDWARD MORENO - 04/23/20 

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clashed with former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders who accused the New York congresswoman of telling Americans to “boycott work.”

“As usual she’s wrong. The goal should be for Americans to SAFELY return to work because unlike AOC and members of Congress, most of us actually have to show up at work to get paid and support our families!” Sanders tweeted.

.@AOC says Americans should boycott work. As usual she’s wrong. The goal should be for Americans to SAFELY return to work because unlike AOC and members of Congress, most of us actually have to show up at work to get paid and support our families! #ProtectLivesProtectLivelihoods— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) April 23, 2020

The tweet was referring to a Wednesday interview with VICE in which Ocasio-Cortez said essential workers should protest pre-existing economic insecurity and inequities even after restrictions are lifted.

Ocasio-Cortez responded to Sanders's tweet by pointing out that while she was press secretary, the White House went months without holding press conferences, which were nearly daily occurrences in past administrations. The White House only began holding regular press briefings as the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold of the country.

“Look who’s talking about showing up for work! The woman didn’t hold a press conference for months while holding a job as press sec,” she tweeted.
If you’re so supportive of this admin’s plan, why don’t you go out and try delivering groceries for a living w/o health insurance or mass testing?— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 23, 2020

In the VICE interview, the congresswoman noted that the coronavirus pandemic has shined a light on pre-existing labor inequalities among workers who have now been deemed essential while often lacking sufficient pay or health care.

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SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=AOC

Union leader asks Pelosi, Schumer to spike 'surprise' billing legislation

BY JONATHAN EASLEY - THE HILL - 04/23/20

© Getty Images

A powerful labor union sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday announcing their opposition to bipartisan legislation to ban “surprise” medical bills patients can receive from hospitals and insurers when their services aren’t covered by insurance.

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), which represents more than 400,000 mechanics and machine operators nationwide, said it supports the effort to do away with surprise billing, but that the bipartisan legislation gaining traction in Congress would “impose devastating cuts to frontline medical providers and tilt the playing field in favor of insurers.”

“The proposals would give insurance companies outsized power to set artificially low reimbursement rates, reducing revenue that physicians and clinicians across the country depend on to keep the doors open,” union president James Callahan wrote to the Democratic leaders. “This policy would likely lead to physician shortages and even facility closures in many vulnerable rural and underserved communities, just as these critical providers are desperately needed.”

A bipartisan deal reached last year by the leaders of the House Energy and Commerce and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) committees would ban providers from sending the surprise bills, and would instead require insurers to foot the payments, with the costs benchmarked to the average price of the service.
Conservative groups have been raising alarms about the HELP legislation for months, saying it would implement “price controls” or “rate-setting” that gives the government too much domain over the private sector and would pave the way for a single-payer system.

Insurers support the legislation, which is backed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the top Republican on the committee, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the ranking member on the HELP panel.

The HELP bill is one of the few bipartisan pieces of legislation with a shot at getting to President Trump’s desk in an election year. Alexander and Walden are retiring at the end of the year, adding to the pressure they’re under to get the legislation passed.

Lawmakers tried to get the bill included in the 2019 end-of-year spending package, and then again into one of the coronavirus stimulus bills, without success.

The IUOE said it would support creating independent boards to mediate billing disputes, pointing to a model used in New York, that the union said has saved consumers $400 million dollars and reduced out-of-network billing by 34 percent since being implemented in 2015.

In the letter, the union bashed the insurers for supporting the HELP bill.

“This month, one major insurance company, United Health, beat its quarterly profit expectations as its stock price soared and its corporate executives continued to thrive,” Callahan wrote. “Meanwhile, hospitals and medical practices have been forced to cut hours, furlough healthcare workers, and, in some cases, close due to financial strain. There are better solutions to fix surprise billing that do not put the nation’s healthcare safety net or patients’ access to care at risk.”

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MARKET BASED MONOPOLY CAPITALISM IS A DISASTER 
Coronavirus prompts a destruction of US jobs without parallel

The increase in US unemployment caused by the pandemic appears to be even greater than in other comparable economies.


Ian King Business presenter Thursday 23 April 2020 SKYNEWS UK

Image:New York is one of the worst hit parts of the country

Day by day, pieces of numerical evidence and data are emerging that spell out the extent to which the global economy is being crushed by the coronavirus lockdown.

Today brought several particularly compelling examples of the pandemic's impact.

The US Labor Department revealed that, during the seven days to last Saturday, a further 4.427 million Americans registered as jobless.

That brings the total number during the last five weeks to a scarcely-believable 26.5 million - about one million more than the entire population of Australia.

Expressed as a proportion of the total US labour force, it means that one in six Americans of working age and still fit for work have filed claims for unemployment benefits during the last month

Or, put an alternative way, it means that the equivalent of all of the US jobs created since the end of the global financial crisis in 2009 - the longest period of job creation in American history - have been wiped out.

I

 Jobless figures are a worry for Donald Trump ahead of November's election

The figures also highlighted the truly shocking rates of unemployment in some individual US states.

In Michigan, whose biggest city, Detroit, is traditionally the heart of US car-making, the jobless rate now stands at 17.4%.

In Rhode Island, another traditional manufacturing base but also home to healthcare giant CVS, the unemployment rate is now 15%.

In Nevada, home to America's most famous casinos, the jobless rate is now 13.7%.

And in Georgia, where household names such as Coca-Cola, Honeywell and UPS have their global headquarters, the unemployment rate is now 13.6%.

Over the five weeks, in absolute terms, the most jobs have been lost in California, Pennsylvania and New York.

Expressed in terms of the proportion of the local labour force, Pennsylvania and Georgia have been worst hit.


US workers feel the impact of COVID -19

The destruction of American jobs during the last month is without parallel.

To put it in context, during the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009, around nine million Americans were made unemployed.

And the numbers may be even worse than suggested by these figures.

The extent to which increases in joblessness are being recorded depends on the efficiency with which individual states are able to process jobless claims.

For example, a big increase in the jobless rate in Washington State has been put down to a systems upgrade that allowed claims to be dealt with more quickly.

What is particularly worrying - and which will no doubt concern President Trump as he prepares for this November's elections - is that the increase in US joblessness appears to be even greater than in some comparable economies.

Crash in business activity 'vastly' worse than financial crisis

As James McCann, senior global economist at fund manager Aberdeen Standard Investments, put it: "This is another terrible week for layoffs.

"One of the concerns is that the government support doesn't seem to be stemming the tide here.

"The scale of joblessness in the US is clearly larger than other economies.

"This is partly due to the flexibility of the labour market, but also indicative of the problems the US has had ensuring that firms hold on to their workers in the way other countries have through wage subsidies."

An increase in joblessness is perhaps the most obvious way of illustrating the extent to which an economy is slowing down and certainly in terms of spelling out the human suffering that an economic downturn can cause.

Another way of measuring a downturn - and, to economists, just as important - comes in the form of the Purchasing Managers Index survey data.

These are a monthly snapshot of activity in three specific sectors of the economy: services, manufacturing and construction.

IHS Markit, the financial data providers, compile the numbers by sending out questionnaires to thousands of company managers each month asking them questions about what they are seeing in parts of their business, such as new orders, hiring levels, prices and so on.

These responses are then boiled down to one number.

Anything above 50 represents growth and anything below 50 represents contraction - and the numbers are usually a very accurate guide to how the official GDP figures, which are published later, are going to look.

Today IHS Markit published the "flash" PMIs for April, which are compiled from the first 85% of responses, for a number of economies.

These, too, were truly dreadful.

The "flash" composite number - which combines both services and manufacturing - for the US came in at 27.4.

That was down from 40.9 in March.

The figures in Europe, meanwhile, were even worse.

The composite number for the Eurozone was 13.5, again the lowest on record, down from 29.7 in March.

Within that, some of the figures were worse still, with the composite PMI figure for France - which has seen the fourth-highest total of coronavirus deaths by country - coming in at just 11.2.

In the UK, meanwhile, the figure came in at 12.9 - down from 36 for the whole of March.


It's going to be bad. But just how bad?

Again, this is a figure without parallel, consistent with - according to IHS Markit - a quarterly contraction in GDP of 7%.

The overall health of the economy may actually be even worse than implied by the PMI figures because, as IHS Markit pointed out, the PMI survey excludes the vast majority of the self-employed and parts of the heavily-hit retail sector.

Cathal Kennedy, European economist at RBC Capital Markets, said: "Even given the record falls in the PMI survey over the past two months, the surveys are still not picking up the true extent of the collapse in activity that is occurring at present.

"The problem with the PMIs in a situation like the one we are currently experiencing is that they only report the balance of firms saying whether activity is higher or lower.

"What they don't tell us is by how much activity has increased or decreased.

"And in this current episode, a large number of firms will be experiencing a total halt in activity, which the PMIs can't account for and is why the fall in Q2 GDP will be much larger than they are pointing to."

There are not too many crumbs of comfort that can be taken from the latest figures but one, perhaps, is that the UK manufacturing sector appears to be holding up comparatively well compared with the services sector.

That may reflect that, with pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants all closed, activity in many parts of the services sector has completely frozen while in some parts of manufacturing, notably for healthcare and medical equipment, production has been stepped up in some cases.

Another is that, according to Chris Williamson of IHS Markit, business optimism about the year ahead has actually picked up from the all-time low in March.

In the US, meanwhile, although the number of new claims reported today is monstrous, it represents a slowdown from the 5.2 million claims seen the previous week, which was itself down on the week before.

It suggests that the rate at which American jobs are being destroyed has at least peaked.

The bigger question - and this depends strongly on when the lockdown ends - is when those jobs can be replaced.

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About 20% of people in recent survey said they wouldn't take COVID-19 vaccine

Research being done by University of Regina psychology professor

Kendall Latimer · CBC News · Posted: Apr 22, 2020

About 20 per cent of people who took a recent survey said they likely wouldn't take a COVID-19 vaccine if one became available. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
Researchers are racing to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, but new data suggests that some people wouldn't get vaccinated even if that option became available.

Gordon Asmundson, a psychology professor at the University of Regina, is studying how psychological factors affect COVID-19's spread.

The study involves three waves of surveying and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as part of their COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative.

Asmundson received $400,000 in funding for his research project COVID-19: The Role of Psychological Factors in the Spreading of Disease, Discrimination, and Distress, undertaken in collaboration with Steven Taylor from the University of British Columbia.

"About 20 per cent of individuals indicated [in the first wave of surveying] that should a vaccine become available, they won't be likely to take it," Asmundson said. "That's concerning given all of the push and efforts to find that vaccine."

The sample size for the first wave was just shy of 7,000 people in Canada and the United States. The data was collected through an internet self-report survey done by data-gathering company Qualtrics between March 21 and April 1.

"If one in five people are not going to take it, that's going to have a significant impact on the effectiveness of [stopping] the virus, of mitigating spread."

Dr. Gordon Asmundson is a professor at the University of Regina, a mental health scientist and a registered clinical psychologist. He studies the psychological factors of epidemics and pandemics. (University of Regina Photography)

Last year, WHO named "vaccine hesitancy" — people unsure about the safety or efficacy of vaccines — a Top 10 threat to global health.
Asmundson said data on vaccine hesitancy will be published within the next month, following the second wave of collection.

Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab was not available for an interview, according to the Ministry of Health. He has previously said restrictions like physical distancing will be in place until a vaccine, a treatment or significant immunity is in place.

Nearly half of Canadians are concerned about vaccine safety. Here's why.

How a lab in Sask. that focuses on animals became Canada's $23M hope for a COVID-19 vaccine

Other factors assessed

Asmundson said they are conducting two more waves of surveying so they can measure potential changes in attitude. This will offer insight into how people are emotionally responding to COVID-19, which is "not a one-size fits all stressor."

For example, some questions look at dreaming and sleep patterns.

"Those who are most anxious are coping by sleeping more but they're also reporting more trouble sleeping," Asmundson said based on the first survey results.

People reported more intrusive thoughts while awake and more bad dreams featuring bad outcomes while asleep. 

Maintaining mental health and mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic

Asmundson said it's no surprise the virus is lurking in people's dreams because of the "constant barrage of media attention," changes to daily life and a rising global death toll. Intense emotions like fear often fuel dream content, he added, as the brain uses dreams to process information.

"This is having a huge toll on people," he said. "It's really important for people to stop and check how they're doing in terms of their mental health."

He said the data collection has also shown that there is a group of people who appear extraordinarily overwhelmed by the virus. In contrast, there is another group of people who aren't particularly concerned by it and might not adhere to public health advice, which could affect how the virus spreads.

The end goal of the research is to develop a "rapid assessment system that can be used to assess, for any pandemic or major epidemic, infection-related excessive anxiety and xenophobia, and risk factors for these problems."

What impact will the coronavirus pandemic have on anti-vaxxers?

THE CONVERSATION April 9, 2020 

Not long after the COVID-19 pandemic began, hopes for a vaccine were raised. Even US president, Donald Trump, a former vaccine sceptic, demanded a coronavirus vaccine, saying: “Do me a favor, speed it up, speed it up.”

So where does that leave the “anti-vaxxers” – those who are critical or oppose vaccination. Will they now be quiet in the face of a real-life reminder of a time before vaccines controlled many diseases?

During a pandemic, the position of those who oppose vaccination is often voiced, even if a vaccine is not yet available.

Some celebrities and high-profile personalities have also spoken out about their unwillingness to have a vaccine. The British rapper MIA, for example, attracted controversy for her tweet: “If I have to choose the vaccine or chip I’m gonna choose death. YALA.”.

MIA experienced a significant backlash from many followers who disagreed with her views. Indeed, in general, the heightened stakes of a very present disease threat may lead to a stronger countering by those who are in support of vaccination.

While the anti-vaxx constituency was seen as politically attractive in pre-coronavirus times, today, vocal vaccine critics looking for votes may find it harder. As a Vermont governor candidate has found, his stance against government-mandated vaccination has been questioned by opponents.

British rapper, MIA. Steve C Mitchell/EPA
Anti-vaxxers are a target right now for those looking for enemies in the crisis. While tempting, it is important not to fuel tensions and polarisation. The worries that anti-vaxxers might have of government encroachment into private lives (through surveillance and possible enforcement of vaccines) should be addressed, as should the spread of misinformation and “influencers” offering alternative “natural cures” that are useless or even harmful.

It is difficult to assess, at this stage, what the public’s reaction to a coronavirus vaccine might be. Looking at vaccines that were rolled out in response to other disease outbreaks, you will find different reactions. For example, there was high demand for the polio vaccine in the 1950s because the risk was very present. But there were concerns over a new vaccine being “rushed” or “not tested well” during the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic.

A vaccine for COVID-19 will have to go through all the same safety and effectiveness tests as any other vaccine that is introduced. But negative comments in the media about the speed and rigour of vaccine trials is worrying. As are references to trial participants as “guinea pigs”.

Even more worrying is the spread of misinformation and disinformation, which can stem from scepticism about the motivations of those who have developed a new vaccine and may lead to questions about how safe and useful it is. This sort of thing could derail a vaccination campaign, as has happened in the past. For example, in 2017, a rumour that vaccination would make children impotent hampered the Indian government’s vaccination campaign for a new measles and rubella vaccine being rolled out in five states.

To address this risk, health authorities and governments need to quickly react to information that is false or misleading. Social media platforms are already aware of their role against COVID-19 fake news and met with government leaders early on in the crisis.

Where there is very limited control and oversight is with private messaging, such as WhatsApp, email and text messages. Even though WhatsApp recently announced it will limit “frequent forwards”, by restricting the times a message can be forwarded by five, we still need to rely on the public to be aware of what sources to trust and also bring attention to fake news.

With the many concerns about opposition to vaccination, what should not be neglected are the routine immunisation programmes that protect people against vaccine-preventable diseases. While it may be harder to routinely vaccinate people if health resources are directed elsewhere, and there is difficulty or reluctance to go to the doctor or other places where vaccination takes place (such as schools, due to closure), making the best use of the vaccines already available is crucial to avoid other disease outbreaks on top of COVID-19.

Author
Samantha Vanderslott
Postdoctoral Researcher in Social Sciences, University of Oxford
Disclosure statement
Samantha Vanderslott receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the New Venture Fund. She is also a steering committee member for the Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN).
Partners


University of Oxford provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

Coronavirus causing some anti-vaxxers to waver, experts say

While some are doubling down on their rejection of vaccines, the scale of the Covid-19 crisis is eroding resistance in others
Jon Henley and Guardian correspondents Tue 21 Apr 2020

 

A protester wearing anti-vaccination earrings at a demonstration in Indianapolis against the Covid-19 shutdown in the US. Photograph: Jeremy Hogan/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock

The coronavirus pandemic may be prompting some anti-vaxxers to question their views, experts say, but others are doubling down – and vaccine hesitancy, amplified by some celebrities, could seriously undermine a future inoculation programme.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 70 candidate coronavirus vaccines are being developed, with three already in clinical evaluation. The world’s small but vocal anti-vaccination community seems divided on how to respond.

“The extremists, the belief-driven groups who reject vaccination on principle, whose aim is to disrupt and polarise, they’re not changing, in fact they’re capitalising,” said Heidi Larson, director of the London-based Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP).

Some high-profile personalities with big social media followings have also expressed scepticism. Novak Djokovic, the world No 1 tennis player, suggested on Facebook that his opposition to vaccines might prevent his return to the sport, saying he “wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine” to travel.

The outspoken British rapper M.I.A. also drew widespread criticism for tweeting: “If I have to choose the vaccine or chip I’m gonna choose death”, while the Australian actor Isabel Lucas was dropped as ambassador for a girls’ charity after saying she did not “trust the path of vaccination”.

M.I.A(@MIAuniverse)
If I have to choose the vaccine or chip I'm gonna choose death - YALAMarch 25, 2020

However, Larson said there was also evidence that people who were “less sure for some reason, who maybe have issues with just one particular vaccine – the MMR jab for their children, for example – may behave differently in the context of this pandemic”.

The VCP has launched an 18-month study with local partners around the globe, conducting national polls and examining online conversations about the coronavirus to try to measure attitudes towards a future vaccine.

Larson said that after analysing more than 3m social media posts a day between January and March, she was confident the vast majority of people were “eager for a coronavirus vaccine, and as soon as possible”.

World no 1 Novak Djokovic said his opposition to vaccinations could prevent him from returning to tennis. Photograph: Simon M Bruty/Getty Images

There will, however, be resistance. The anti-vaccination movement has been growing globally in recent years, fuelled partly by a long-discredited paper by the disgraced British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who fraudulently claimed a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism in children.

According to the WHO, which identified “vaccine hesitancy” as one of the top 10 health threats to the world last year, depending on the disease between 75% and 95% of the population must be vaccinated to ensure herd immunity.

A 2018 Wellcome Trust survey of attitudes to vaccines globally found eight in 10 people (79%) somewhat or strongly agree vaccines are safe, while 7% somewhat or strongly disagree. Numbers vary around the world, with 72% in North America and 73% in northern Europe agreeing vaccines are safe, but only 59% in western Europe and 40% in eastern Europe.

The scale and gravity of the global coronavirus crisis may, however, be eroding vaccine resistance. A recent VCP survey in the world’s most immunisation-averse country, France, where 33% do not view vaccines as safe, found only 18% of respondents would refuse a coronavirus vaccine.

A poll in the UK in mid-March found about 7% of people would reject a coronavirus vaccine, while a second survey in early April – by which time the Covid-19 death toll was beginning to rise fast – showed the percentage had dropped to 5%.

In Russia – where according to the Wellcome Trust only 62% of people agree vaccines are effective – there are signs that concerns over the coronavirus crisis have caused conflict among anti-vaxxers and medical sceptics.

The administrator of The Truth about Vaccines, one of the largest social media groups dedicated to the issue, expressed frustration about the lack of discipline among its 100,000 members.

“You know what surprises me?” the anonymous administrator posted. I’m surprised by the reaction of vaccine opponents in this group. Many … believe there’s a coronavirus epidemic in Russia. That people are sick and dying from coronavirus.”

In Italy, Claudio Simion of the leading anti-vaxxer group Comilva said a vaccine was not the only solution and “may be a way to calm people”, but added: “We are not hostile towards vaccines out of principle”.

Elsewhere, however, the pandemic appears to have hardened anti-vaxxer attitudes. In the US, prominent figures in the movement have seized on Covid-19 to reinforce their arguments and push conspiracy theories.

Del Bigtree, the producer of Vaxxed, the 2016 “documentary” written by Wakefield, has put together an hour-long presentation – still available on Facebook and YouTube – that argues that Covid-19 is a set-up by the pharmaceutical industry to enrich itself.

Robert Kennedy Jr, the son of the assassinated Democratic leader, accused Bill Gates and top public health officials on Twitter of plotting to produce a vaccine with “unique and frightening dangers”.

Scott Ratzan, of the City University of New York’s school of public health, said he was alarmed by the results of a poll in New York City showing that only 53% of residents were sure to take a coronavirus vaccine and 29% would refuse.

“What if large numbers of people decide not to vaccinate themselves or their children?” Ratzan said. “Right now, barely half of New Yorkers tell us they’ll do that. If that is the case, we won’t be able to protect our community against a new wave.”

Larson said the timing of the vaccine’s release, forecast for some time in 2021, could be critical, with many likely to be deterred by any suggestion it might have had been rushed and not properly tested.

On balance, Larson said, she was not convinced the coronavirus would have a direct impact on anti-vaccination sentiment. But she did foresee a possible indirect impact, with coronavirus fears leading to the delay of measles vaccinations in 24 countries and their cancellation in 13 others, prompting concern from both the WHO and Unicef.

If vaccine hesitance does decrease after the Covid-19 crisis, Larson said, it would likely be as a result of “outbreaks of other diseases such as measles increasing because parents are afraid to take their infants to health centres during the pandemic”.

Additional reporting by Ed Pilkington, Andrew Roth and Angela Giuffrida

Coronavirus isn't shaking some prominent anti-vaxxers from their beliefs, expert says
The world's top tennis player, Novak Djokovic, said he may not return to the sport if he's required to take a COVID-19 vaccine

Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a backhand during his singles final against Alexander Zverev of Germany during Day Eight of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 18, 2018 in London, England.Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

National Post Staff April 21, 2020

Despite more than 170,000 dead and nearly 2.5 million infected people around the world, the coronavirus pandemic has hardened some anti-vaxxers’ beliefs while others are wavering.

The world’s top tennis player, Novak Djokovic, said he may not return to the sport if he’s required to take a vaccine.

There are 70 candidate vaccines currently under study, the World Health Organization states, with three in clinical evaluation.

“Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” Djokovic said in a Facebook livestream with several fellow Serbian athletes on Sunday. “But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision.”

He went on, “Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet.

The steadfast “extremists” are capitalizing on the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Heidi Larson, director of the London-based Vaccine Confidence Project, told The Guardian. “The belief-driven groups who reject vaccination on principle, whose aim is to disrupt and polarize, they’re not changing,” Larson said.

Prominent anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the former senator, has amplified misinformation that Bill Gates had a role in creating the COVID-19 pandemic in order to profit from it. Gates, one of the richest men in the world with a net worth of more than $100 billion, has a philanthropic foundation that largely helps deliver healthcare and vaccines to developing countries.

Throughout the pandemic, Gates has written op-eds, posted on Reddit forums and appeared on TV, calling for expanded public health measures, vaccine development and increased testing, the New York Times reported.

On his Instagram, Kennedy frequently attacks Gates, claiming the billionaire intends to control the world and surveil the population through his funding and support for a coronavirus vaccine.

However, there was evidence that people who were “less sure for some reason, who maybe have issues with just one particular vaccine – the MMR jab for their children, for example – may behave differently in the context of this pandemic,” Larson said.

Haley Searcy, a 26-year-old mother from Florida told CNN, she was “fully anti-vax” when her daughter was born last year but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed her beliefs.

“Since COVID-19, I’ve seen firsthand what these diseases can do when they’re not being fought with vaccines,” she said. Before the virus hit, she feared her child dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome due to vaccines — a scientifically unfounded claim pushed by anti-vaxxers.

“My mother has a lung disease, so if she gets COVID-19 there is no fighting it. I learned as much as I could to speak out against misinformation in the hopes that I could convince more people to stay home and follow social distancing so that she won’t get sick,” she said.

“So many lives are at stake, including people I care about who are very vulnerable.”

The Vaccine Confidence Project launched an 18-month study with local partners around the world, conducting polls and analyze online conversations about COVID-19 to measure people’s attitudes towards a future vaccine.

Larson told The Guardian that after analyzing more than three million social media posts a day from January to March, she was certain that a vast majority of people were “eager for a coronavirus vaccine and as soon as possible.”

Though, there will be resistance, as the anti-vaccination movement has grown globally in large part due to a widely discredited paper by British doctor Andrew Wakefield. The disgraced doctor claimed there was a link between autism in children and the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

ROBERT F KENNEDY JR. INSTAGRAM

"A New York Times reporter asked me yesterday about the conspiracy theory that #BillGates is developing injectable chip to store vaccine records. Here are the factsThe Bill and Melinda #GatesFoundation invested more than $21 million to perfect a microneedle technology that embeds, under the skin, a vaccination record visible by infrared light that can be read by a minimally-adopted smartphone technology.\u201d The technology will allow health officials to scan U.S. citizens to detect their vaccination compliance.A study funded by the Bill and Melinda #Gates Foundation and published in December 2019 by researchers from MIT, the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Gates-funded Intellectual Ventures Laboratory in Bellevue, WA, describes how near-infrared quantum dots will be implanted under the skin along with a vaccine to encode information for decentralized data storage and bio-sensing.Gates technology uses a tattoo-like mechanism to inject invisible nanoparticles subcutaneously. Gates researchers are now testing the implant with a vaccine against the #COVID-19 virus.\n\nThe Gates-funded report boasts that the chip system will allow house-to-house compliance searches to be conducted by government enforcement teams with minimal training, and will open up new avenues for decentralized data storage and biosensing. The #MIT paper is titled Biocompatible near-infrared quantum dots delivered to the skin by microneedle patches to record vaccination.Gates began funding implantable tracking chips and ratio biotechnology in 2011 with a grant to TransDerm Inc. Gates is currently making multiple investments to develop different versions, including grants to Vaxxas Pty Ltd, Micron Biomedical Inc, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Vaxess Technologies Inc.I urge you to contact Bill Gates on his social media. Gently explain that tagging and tracking humans may appeal to his government cronies in totalitarian China, but those activities are inconsistent with American values and traditions."

SURPRISE 

Coronavirus: Novak Djokovic reveals he's an anti-vaxxer and it may stop his return to tennis
The world number one admits his return to international competition could be delayed by his stance.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUND IN DJOKOVIC'S HOME REGION AND ARE PART OF THEIR HISTORICAL CULTURAL POLITICS

Monday 20 April 2020

Novak Djokovic speaks during a news conference before the coronavirus pandemic saw tennis tournaments cancelled

Novak Djokovic has revealed he is an anti-vaxxer and that it could get in the way of his return to competitive tennis once the sport resumes from the coronavirus pandemic.

The men's tennis world number one admitted his opposition to vaccinations, saying "I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine" and that if it were made compulsory he would have to make a decision.

Prominent figures in tennis have said all players should be vaccinated when competition starts again, provided a vaccination against COVID-19 is produced by then.

But speaking during a live Facebook discussion with several fellow Serbian athletes, Djokovic said: "Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.

"But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision.

"I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don't know.

"Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet."

Amelie Mauresmo, herself a former women's tennis world number one, has said the sport should not resume unless players can be vaccinated, although scientists have repeatedly said that could be a year away and may not ever materialise.

Dual grand slam winner Mauresmo last month tweeted: "International circuit players of all nationalities plus management, spectators and people from the four corners of the world who bring these events to life. No vaccine = no tennis."

The COVID-19 outbreak has seen tennis governing bodies suspend all tournaments until 13 July at the earliest.

Wimbledon has been cancelled for the first time since the Second World War, and the French Open has been put back four months until late September.

The main agencies which work to promote vaccination say they have been highly successful at saving lives in the last few years.

Much of the scepticism around vaccination stems from a discredited study by British surgeon Andrew Wakefield that erroneously linked autism to the MMR vaccine. That study has been retracted, and nine years ago Wakefield was struck off the UK medical registry.

OPINION
Who’s Behind the ‘Reopen’ Protests?
They are anything but spontaneous.

By Lisa Graves
Ms. Graves is the executive director of True North Research and curator of KochDocs.
April 22, 2020

A protest against Michigan’s stay-at-home order outside the State Capitol last week.Credit...Seth Herald/Reuters

I first became aware of the political influence of Charles and David Koch in 2009 when I started looking into who was behind the protests at health care town halls.

The Tea Party, formed after America elected its first black president, used a series of health care town halls to spur angry Republicans to oppose the Affordable Care Act as a socialist takeover of American medicine. Little matter that it was modeled on a plan devised by Mitt Romney, a Republican, when he was the governor of Massachusetts.

Such false claims about the act have not aged well, as millions of Americans now depend on the law for health care coverage as the coronavirus contagion sweeps across the nation. And yet a Tea Party co-founder, Mark Meckler, is using the same tactics and same phony claims to stir his followers to protest against governors seeking to mitigate the Covid-19 death toll by closing businesses and banning public gatherings.

That public anger is both real and manufactured. The same was true in 2009, when the Koch fortune fueled the Tea Party’s attacks on the Obama administration’s health care law.

Still, the legend that the Tea Party was a spontaneous uprising took hold and continues to be peddled. As we face Tea Party 2.0, let’s not be fooled again.

The protests playing out now have the same feel as the Tea Party protests aided by Koch-financed Americans for Prosperity and others a decade ago — and with good reason: Early evidence suggests they are not organic but a brush fire being stoked by some of the same people and money that built the Tea Party.

Look no further than the first protest organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition and the Michigan Freedom Fund — whose chairman manages the vast financial investments of Dick and Betsy DeVos, the Education Secretary — to see that the campaign to “open” America flows from the superrich and their front groups.

Stephen Moore — a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Koch ally and a Trump adviser — admitted as much in a video I obtained comparing these new protesters to Rosa Parks, as first reported in The Times.

Mr. Moore, who is now leading an enterprise to end the virus precautions called Save Our Country, which includes the Koch-backed American Legislative Exchange Council, boasted that he has been working behind the scenes with a conservative donor who agreed to cover bail and legal fees for demonstrators who get arrested for defying Wisconsin’s virus protective measures.

More on the coronavirus demonstrations.
Protesters Pushing to Reopen Economy Are ‘Idiots,’ Says Top Manufacturing LobbyistApril 21, 2020

Opinion | Paul Krugman
The Right Sends In the QuacksApril 20, 2020

Opinion | Charlie Warzel
Protesting for the Freedom to Catch the CoronavirusApril 19, 2020


Others are providing legal assistance as well. The Times reports that a private Facebook group called Reopen NC has retained the legal services of Michael Best & Friedrich, a Wisconsin law firm whose clients include President Trump. The firm is well known for its work with dark-money groups that fought the recall of the Koch ally Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and waged war on unions.

Then there’s the Convention of States, established in 2015 with a big contribution from the conservative hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer. The group recruits activists at gun shows to support a balanced-budget amendment and is promoting the protests online via “Open the States.” COS is an offshoot of Citizens for Self-Governance, which Mr. Meckler co-founded with a longtime Koch operative, Eric O’Keefe.

To give you a flavor of what’s unfolding to help orchestrate these events, this week one of Mr. Meckler’s organizers told supporters via Facebook that “optics are everything” and that they should be sure to wear a mask to the protests and stand six feet apart — because it will make the crowds look bigger.

COS and a Koch-financed public relations firm, In Pursuit Of, are also purchasing domain names tied to protests to open the states, suggesting they are investing for a long battle — even as the death toll rises.

The consequences are already starting. One week after a Kentucky protest, the state experienced its largest spike in coronavirus cases. Other states may soon see similar spikes.

Those fanning these flames, including President Trump and Fox News hosts, are unlikely to get burned by infection themselves, though they may be goading their followers to risk their health by attending mass demonstrations.

America is now facing three calamities: a deadly contagion, a capricious president and a well-funded right-wing infrastructure willing to devalue human life in pursuit of its political agenda. Some very rich men and women are making this medical disaster worse through their reckless bellows, inflaming people to demand that states open now no matter how many lives that costs.

Lisa Graves is the executive director of True North Research and curator of KochDocs, and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice. 


RIGHT WING NUTS ANTI COVID-19 PROTESTS 

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/4/who-is-behind-coronavirus-social.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-tea-party-linked-group-plans-to.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/conservative-group-linked-to-devos.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/opinion-whos-behind-reopen-protests.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/america-has-descended-into-coronavirus.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/pro-trump-protesters-push-back-on-stay.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/fringe-right-closes-down-michigan.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/these-people-arent-freedom.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-quiet-hand-of-conservative-groups.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/pro-trump-protesters-push-back-on-stay.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/protesters-decry-stay-at-home-orders-in.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/trump-ally-lickspittle-bootlicker.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-rightwing-groups-behind-wave-of.html

 IT SPREAD TO CANADA 
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/reckless-yahoos-protest-at-queens-park.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/canada-eh-great-anti-vaxxer-coronavirus.html

Conservative leadership candidate under fire for asking whether top pandemic doctor 'works for China'
Scheer refuses to comment on Derek Sloan's words, says it's up to him to explain them

Kathleen Harris · CBC News · Posted: Apr 23, 2020

Conservative MP Derek Sloan attends a Conservative caucus retreat on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
A Conservative leadership candidate is facing an angry backlash after he suggested Canada's chief public health officer is working for China and should be fired for giving bad advice to the government on the COVID-19 crisis.

Derek Sloan, an MP from eastern Ontario who is running to lead his party under the slogan "Conservative - Without Apology," posted a message and video on Facebook and Twitter this week claiming that Dr. Theresa Tam had "failed Canadians."
"Dr. Tam must go! Canada must remain sovereign over decisions. The UN, the WHO, and Chinese Communist propaganda must never again have a say over Canada's public health!" he wrote.

"Does [Tam] work for Canada or for China?" Sloane asks in a tweeted video. He also accused the country's top doctor of parroting lines from the World Health Organization (WHO) after it repeated "misinformation" disseminated by the communist Chinese government.

His remarks drew swift condemnation on social media, with some calling his words "repugnant," "vile" and "xenophobic."

Tam, who was born in British Hong Kong and grew up in the U.K., has denounced the rise in anti-Asian racist incidents in Canada since the novel coronavirus erupted in Wuhan, China.

Watch: Tam reacts to suggestion that she's working for China


Dr Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer spoke to reporters on Parliament Hill on Thursday. 0:57

Today, she brushed off Sloan's comments as "noise."

"I'm a pretty focused person and I work really, really hard," Tam said, adding that she has been working more than 20 hours a day.

"My singular focus is to work with all my colleagues to get this epidemic wave under control. I don't let noise sort of detract me from doing that."
Watch: Scheer declines to comment on remarks about Tam

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is pressed by reporters on comments made by Conservative MP Derek Sloan criticizing Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam.

CHICKENSHIT

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer repeatedly refused to denounce or comment on Sloan's remarks.

"I won't be commenting on individual statements or positions that leadership candidates take. That's up for them to explain, and ultimately the members of our party will decide when they vote in a leadership race," he said.

Scheer has raised concerns about the WHO's track record during the pandemic and its relationship with the communist regime in China, but has directed his criticism of Canada's response to the pandemic at the Liberal government rather than Tam.

"We've got serious concerns about the accuracy of the information coming out of the WHO and it's incumbent upon this government to explain why they have based so many of their decisions on the WHO," Scheer said earlier this month.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked today about the rise in anti-Asian racist incidents across Canada generally and Sloan's statement specifically.

Watch: Trudeau denounces racist acts in Canada



Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls out racism as Conservative MP Derek Sloan faces backlash for his criticism of Dr. Theresa Tam. 1:02

"Intolerance and racism have no place in our country," he said.

"Canada has succeeded because of our diversity. It is one of our greatest strengths, and the millions of Canadians of all different backgrounds who are working together ... to help their fellow Canadians deserve better than this from all of us.

"We need to continue in our resolve to be an open, welcoming, respectful country and I think all Canadians expect that of every politician."


NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Sloan's comments could incite racism and Scheer should condemn them.

"From the beginning of this crisis, we've heard horrible stories of abuse faced by Asian Canadians, particularly those of Chinese descent. There is no question that MP Sloan's comments against Dr. Theresa Tam fuel this kind of racism. Andrew Scheer needs to clearly denounce this," he tweeted.

ANALYSIS An ill wind: The pandemic is giving states political cover for controversial acts
Canada's chief public health officer condemns racist acts linked to coronavirus outbreak

REPUBLICAN LIKE 
Sloan's leadership campaign website says "the damage to free speech, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience happening in Canada can not be understated. It's time for everyone concerned about these issues to stand up and support a candidate who will not just pay lip service but get in the line of fire to defend these freedoms."

Sloan's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBC News

Opinion
Emergency Student Benefit gets a failing grade - just make the CERB universal

Student-specific CESB brings bureaucratic headaches, inefficient splintering of support programs

Zoë Christmas · for CBC News Opinion · Posted: Apr 23, 2020 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, seen here during his daily press conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on April 19, announced initiatives Wednesday to help support students during what's expected to be a summer with scarce employment prospects. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

This column is an opinion by Zoë Christmas, a law student and research assistant at McGill University in Montreal. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new benefit plan Wednesday for students who face summer job precarity given the COVID-19 pandemic. While the gesture is appreciated, this benefit is simply not good enough.

Post-secondary students — who are scheduled to finish term next week — are confronted with few summer employment prospects. Businesses remain closed and jobs in sectors that typically hire summer students, such as the service industry, continue to dwindle.

"For a lot of students, the month of May normally marks the start of a summer job. But right now it might be really tough to find something. You may have been looking for weeks without any success," Trudeau said Wednesday.

Students who were not yet employed before the pandemic outbreak, and who therefore had not technically lost a job due to COVID-19, did not qualify for the federal government's previously announced Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) financial support package. This left students across the country anxious about how they'd be able to pay rent and bills over the coming months — let alone the thousands of dollars in tuition that will be due in September

Find the COVID-19 benefits and programs relevant to you

More than 44,500 students have expressed concern on a Change.org petition. An open letter to Trudeau sent April 15 on behalf of dozens of Canadian student associations called on the federal government to make sure students did not fall between the cracks.

On Wednesday, Trudeau announced a series of responses to attend to this predicament, including changes to student grants and loans. Notably, the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) provides $1,250 per month for the next four months to eligible students.

While it addresses some of the concerns, this benefit is not particularly well thought out.






Watch
First, the Prime Minister did not justify why students deserve $750 less per month than those who qualify for the CERB.

The cost of living for students does not differ drastically from that of the average population. While some students may receive help from their parents, many live independently and have to pay all the same expenses, such as rent, groceries, and phone bills.

Moreover, students are due to receive their annual tuition invoice — which averages nearly $6,500 — in September. Add to that the costs of things like books, school materials and housing, and the $5,000 the federal government has pledged for the following four months does not measure up for students who won't be able to find jobs this summer.

Students facing bleak job market this summer

Post-secondary students worried about making rent, paying for groceries

Second, while students can be eligible for the CESB even if they earn up to $1,000 per month, the benefit is still insufficient.

The $1,000 monthly CESB earnings cap echoes the new rules Trudeau announced in order for the CERB to support part-time workers, and although this measure is welcome, it is not suitable in the student context. The combined potential maximum of $2,250 per month still barely addresses the expenses that students face, and capping earnings at $1,000 per month can disincentivize people from seeking full-time, higher-earning work.

Accordingly, either the benefit or the earning cap should be raised to $2,000 per month.



Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough goes over the types of jobs she hopes the government can line up for students this summer. 0:40

However, even fine-tuning student benefit would simply reproduce the same issues we've seen with the CERB, namely inefficient splintering, bureaucratic headaches, and, most importantly, the fact that so many people in need remain left behind.

A more principled approach would be to establish a universal basic income (UBI).

Indeed, a $2,000 monthly UBI would not only be the simplest option, but the most equitable. While some Canadians may not be in need of a stimulus cheque, any UBI overpayments could be recovered next tax season. And for those living in poverty, $2,000 a month could be a life-changing amount of money.

The Canada Emergency Student Benefit is a move in the right direction, but the federal government needs to do better. Make the CERB universal.