Sanders drops 2020 bid, leaving BOO BOO Biden as likely nominee

This image from video provided by the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign shows Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he announces he is ending his presidential campaign Wednesday, April 8, 2020, in Burlington, Vt. (Bernie Sanders for President via AP)


WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders ended his presidential bid on Wednesday, making Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee to challenge President Donald Trump in a general election campaign that will be waged against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sanders initially exceeded sky-high expectations about his ability to recreate the magic of his 2016 presidential bid, and even overcame a heart attack last October. But he couldn’t convert unwavering support from progressives into a viable path to the nomination, with “electability” fears fueled by questions about whether his democratic socialist ideology would be palatable to general election voters.

“The path toward victory is virtually impossible,” Sanders told supporters Wednesday. “If I believed we had a feasible path to the nomination I would certainly continue the campaign, but it’s just not there.”

He called Biden a “very decent man” but didn’t offer an explicit endorsement of the former vice president. Sanders said his name would remain on the ballot in states that have not yet held primaries so he can gain more delegates and “exert significant influence” on the Democratic platform.

Biden, who is backed by much of the party’s establishment, told supporters at a virtual fundraiser that he had a “short conversation” with Sanders on Wednesday.

“He didn’t just run a political campaign. He created a movement,” Biden said. “That’s a good thing for our nation and our future. His campaign has ended, but I know his leadership will continue.”

Trump sought to foment the tension among Democrats by tweeting Wednesday that the party stacked the race against Sanders. The president said the senator’s supporters “should come to the Republican Party.”

Sanders began his latest White House bid facing questions about whether he could win back the supporters who chose him four years ago as an insurgent alternative to Hillary Clinton. Despite winning 22 states in 2016, there were no guarantees he’d be a major presidential contender this cycle.

But Sanders used strong polling and solid fundraising — collected almost entirely from small donations made online — to quiet early doubters. Like the first time, he attracted widespread support from young voters and made new inroads within the Hispanic community, even as his appeal with African Americans remained weak.

Sanders amassed the most votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, which opened primary voting, and cruised to an easy victory in Nevada — seemingly leaving him well positioned to sprint to the Democratic nomination while a deeply crowded and divided field of alternatives sunk around him.

But Biden won a crucial endorsement from influential South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn and a subsequent, larger-than-expected victory in South Carolina, which propelled him into Super Tuesday, when he won 10 of 14 states.

In a matter of days, Biden’s former Democratic rivals lined up to endorse him. His campaign had appeared on the brink of collapse after New Hampshire but found new life as the rest of the party’s more moderate establishment coalesced around him as an alternative to Sanders.

Things only got worse the following week when Sanders lost Michigan, where he had campaigned hard and upset Clinton in 2016. He was also beaten in Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho the same night, and the results were so decisive that Sanders headed to Vermont without speaking to the media.

The coronavirus outbreak essentially froze the campaign, preventing Sanders from holding the large rallies that had become his trademark and shifting the primary calendar. It became increasingly unclear where he could notch a victory that would help him regain ground against Biden.



Though he will not be the nominee, Sanders was a key architect of many of the social policies that dominated the Democratic primary, including a “Medicare for All” universal, government-funded health care plan, tuition-free public college, a $15 minimum wage and sweeping efforts to fight climate change under the “Green New Deal.”

Sanders began the 2020 race by arguing that he was the most electable Democrat against Trump. He said his working-class appeal could help Democrats win back Rust Belt states that Trump won in 2016, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. But as the race wore on, the senator reverted to his 2016 roots, repeatedly stressing that he backs a “political revolution” from the bottom up under the slogan “Not me. Us.”
Full Coverage: Election 2020

Sanders, 78, also faced persistent questions about being the field’s oldest candidate. Those were pushed into the spotlight on Oct. 1, when he was at a rally in Las Vegas and asked for a chair to be brought on stage so he could sit down. Suffering from chest pains afterward, he underwent surgery to insert two stints because of a blocked artery, and his campaign revealed two days later that he had suffered a heart attack.

A serious health scare that might have derailed other campaigns seemed only to help Sanders as his already-strong fundraising got stronger and rising stars on the Democratic left, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, endorsed him. Many supporters said the heart attack only strengthened their resolve to back him.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren outshone him throughout much of the summer, but Sanders worked his way back up in the polls. The two progressive candidates spent months refusing to attack each other, though Sanders offered a strong defense of Medicare for All after Warren offered a plan for a transition to it that would take years.

But they clashed bitterly, if briefly, in January, when Warren said that Sanders had suggested during a 2018 private meeting that a woman couldn’t be elected president. Sanders denied saying that, but Warren refused to shake his outstretched hand after a debate in Iowa.

Warren left the race after a dismal Super Tuesday showing in which she finished third in her own state. Any lingering tension seemed to fade by Wednesday when Warren tweeted her thanks to Sanders for “fighting so relentlessly for America’s working families.”

With the leading progressive now out of the race, Biden moved to appeal to their supporters on Wednesday.

“I hope you will join us,” he said in a statement. “You are more than welcome. You’re needed.”

But Sanders made clear that while he is exiting the campaign, he will still be a force.

“Please stay in this fight with me,” he told his backers. “The struggle continues.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders exits 2020 Democratic presidential race

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters at a rally in St. Louis, Mo., on March 9. The Vermont senator left the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
April 8 (UPI) -- Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday he is ending his 2020 presidential campaign, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden as the party's only remaining candidate.

Sanders thanked his supporters and campaign workers in his announcement

"I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth," he said. "The path toward victory is impossible.

"This battle for the Democratic nomination cannot be successful."

Sanders called his decision to leave "very painful."

His exit came as Biden held a substantial lead in Democratic delegates and was the party's presumed nominee.

Sanders cited the coronavirus crisis as undeniable proof that employer-based healthcare in the United States is failing Americans.

This was Sanders' second run for president, following an unsuccessfully campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

At age 78, and following a heart attack last year, this was likely his final run for the presidency. He finished second in Iowa's early primary before winning New Hampshire and Nevada. He struggled to maintain momentum in the contests that followed, giving way to large swaths of support for Biden in South Carolina, Texas and Florida.

Sanders' coalition and the source of millions of dollars in small donations were largely made up of young voters supportive of his plan to cancel student debt and offer Medicare to all Americans. Support from female and black voters proved more difficult to obtain, and he lost some of his white working-class voters to Biden.

Speaking directly to the camera in social distancing conditions on Wednesday, Sanders suspended the campaign, offering "deep gratitude" to 2 million financial contributors who he said offered, on average, $18.50 per donation. He noted that "we won the ideological struggle" and "moved radical ideas to mainstream thought," and with young voters supporting him, "the future of this country is ours."

Sanders said the current coronavirus pandemic magnifies "how absurd our current employer-based [healthcare] system is." Sanders cited Nelson Mandela in noting that healthcare, better working conditions, education, a clean environment and social justice are impossible to achieve "if we don't believe we are entitled" to them.

He closed his address by adding that his name will remain on the ballots in states that have not yet held primaries, to bring the largest possible support to the Democratic National Convention in August.

Mexico urges end to harassment of health workers in pandemic

By CARLOS RODRÍGUEZ 8/4/2020

A doctor gathers information from a driver arriving to get tested for COVID-19 at private laboratory Biomedica de Referencia, in the Lomas Virreyes neighborhood of Mexico City, Thursday, March 26, 2020. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — They are the first line of defense against the COVID-19 pandemic, but in parts of Mexico, doctors, nurses and other health workers are being harassed to the point that federal authorities have pleaded for Mexicans to show solidarity.

While tributes to courageous medical personnel putting themselves in the virus’ path circle the globe, Mexico and some other places have seen disturbing aggression born of fear.

Recently, a hospital in Guadalajara — Mexico’s second-largest city — were told to wear civilian clothes to and from work rather than their scrubs or uniforms because some public buses refused to allow them to board. Other medical personnel have reported attacks and this week someone threw flammable liquid on the doors of a new hospital under construction in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon.


“There have been cases, you could say isolated, but all outrageous,” Mexican undersecretary of health Hugo López-Gatell said Monday night. “Fear produces irrational reactions, reactions that make no sense, have no foundation and have no justification when they have to do with respecting the dignity and the physical integrity of people.”

It also comes as the Mexican government has embarked in a massive recruiting drive to bolster the thin ranks of its public health system before the virus hits with its full force.

“It’s even more outrageous when it concerns the health professionals that we all depend on in this moment, because they are on the front lines facing this epidemic,” López-Gatell said. “The declaration is of indignation and a demand that this not occur because it is completely punishable, sanctionable and won’t be allowed.”

Mexico has nearly 2,800 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 141 deaths. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

Authorities were moved to speak out publicly because the incidents have continued spreading. Harassment of medical personnel in the western city of Guadalajara became a daily occurrence in recent weeks.

Edith Mujica Chávez, president of Jalisco state’s Interinstitutional Commission of Nurses, denounced the attacks including physical aggression, verbal harassment and even having bleach solutions thrown at nurses.

In a letter to Gov. Enrique Alfaro, her organization asked for help and public condemnation of the attacks.

“We all know we are potentially at risk in public health, but violence can never be tolerated, even though we are afraid of catching coronavirus,” the letter said. “We have to maintain our mental health and share information so that they know nurses are not enemies of society.”

A group of cab drivers calling themselves “Code Red” in that city banded together to offer free or reduced cost rides to health workers.

But the attacks haven’t been limited to that city.

A nurse in the city of Merida, Yucatan wrote on Facebook of a recent attack.

“While I was waiting for my ride, two people on a motorcycle threw an egg at my uniform,” wrote Rafael Ramírez, who works at a public health clinic in Merida. “I didn’t think these kinds of things happened in our city. I felt powerless not being able to do anything while they rode on laughing.”

“We don’t deserve it,” he wrote. “Am I afraid to go to work? Of course I am.”

In the central state of Morelos late last month, residents of the rural community of Axochiapan protested outside their local hospital, which they heard might be used to treat coronavirus patients. When the hospital director came out to say nothing had been decided yet, a man shouted that they would burn the hospital down.

The hospital attacked this week in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon had been turned over to the military to receive COVID-19 patients.

“To threaten the physical safety of medical personnel or to affect the functioning and operation of the hospital infrastructure dedicated in this moment to the health emergency puts at risk the capacity of response that the population requires,”said Víctor Hugo Borja, director of medical services for Mexico’s public health system.

Mexico is not the only place seeing such harassment of medical personnel.

In Argentina, each night residents go out to their balconies or windows to applaud those working in the health system. But in one incident, a group of residents in an apartment building advised a doctor living there that she not be in the building’s common spaces or risk legal consequences. They told her to “not touch door handles, stairway railings and to not be on the terrace.”

In another case, a pharmacist found a sign on his building’s elevator telling him he should leave the building to not spread the virus to his neighbors. He reported it to authorities.

Victoria Donda, head of Argentina’s National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, said doctors and nurses were among an “enormous quantity of cases of discrimination” they are receiving related to the pandemic.

“We can’t applaud at 9 at night and discriminate at 9 in the morning,” she said. “We have to inform ourselves well so that the emotions that burst forth are not irrational in this emergency and we don’t let fear overtake us.”

TRUMP SAYS PHUK WHO 

Trump threatens withholding funds from UN world health body

AFP/File / Fabrice COFFRINIUS 

President Donald Trump threatened "to put a very powerful 

hold on" funding to WHO, whose logo is pictured, but later 

said he wasn't saying he was going to do it

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut US funding to the World Health Organization, accusing it of bias toward China during the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump told reporters he was "going to put a very powerful hold on" funding to WHO, the UN body whose biggest funding source is the United States.

"We're going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO," said Trump, who pursues an "America First" agenda and has previously criticized other UN and multilateral agencies.

He gave no details about how much money would be withheld and minutes later during the same press conference he said: "I'm not saying I'm going to do it."

"We will look at ending funding," he added.

According to Trump, the WHO "seems to be very biased toward China. That's not right."

His comments built on an earlier statement on Twitter in which he accused the WHO of being "very China centric."
Trump asked why the WHO had given "such a faulty recommendation," apparently referring to the UN body's advice against curtailing international travel to stop the virus which first spread from China.

"Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on," Trump wrote, referring to his decision to ban travel from the country.

China faces criticism in Washington, particularly from Republicans, over the way it handled the pandemic and Trump has expressed doubt over the accuracy of Chinese statistics for cases and deaths.

However, Trump himself has been widely criticized for initially downplaying the virus, which he likened to an ordinary flu and said was under control in the United States, before later accepting that it was a national emergency.

By JONATHAN LEMIRE, JILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILLER


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to freeze U.S. funding to the World Health Organization, saying the international group had “missed the call” on the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump also played down the release of January memos from a senior adviser that represented an early warning of a possible coronavirus pandemic, saying he had not seen them at the time. But he turned his anger on the WHO, first declaring that he would cut off U.S. funding for the organization, then backtracking and saying he would “strongly consider” such a move.

Trump said the international group had “called it wrong” on the virus and that the organization was “very China-centric” in its approach, suggesting that the WHO had gone along with Beijing’s efforts months ago to minimize the severity of the outbreak. The WHO has praised China for its transparency on the virus, even though there has been reason to believe that more people died of COVID-19 than the country’s official tally.


“They should have known and they probably did know,” Trump said of WHO officials.

Throughout his presidency, Trump has voiced skepticism toward many international organizations and has repeatedly heaped scorn on the WHO. In its most recent budget proposal, in February, the Trump administration called for slashing the U.S. contribution to the WHO from an estimated $122.6 million to $57.9 million.

The organization’s current guidance does not advocate closing borders or restricting travel, though many nations, including the United States, have enacted those steps. The WHO declared COVID-19 a public health emergency on Jan. 30, nearly a month before Trump tweeted that “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA” and a full 43 days before he declared a national emergency in the United States.

Health experts have suggested that the weekly death totals will reach a new high in the United States this week. More than 12,000 people have died from the virus in the U.S.

Vice President Mike Pence said that the Centers for Disease Control will release new guidelines this week for returning to work for people with potential exposure but who may not be displaying symptoms.

Trump continued on Tuesday to defend his actions in the early days of the crisis. He played down memos written by Peter Navarro, a senior White House adviser, that were made public this week. In the late January memos, the most direct warning as yet uncovered in the upper levels of the Trump administration, Navarro warned that the coronavirus crisis could cost the United States trillions of dollars and put millions of Americans at risk of illness or death.

Trump said Tuesday that he was not aware of the memos back in January but that he unilaterally followed some of their recommendations, including taking steps to curtail travel from China. But he said he wouldn’t have wanted to act prematurely when it was not clear how dire the situation would become.

“I don’t want to create havoc and shock and everything else. I’m not going to go out and start screaming, ’This could happen, this could happen,’” Trump said. “I’m a cheerleader for this country.”

UN health agency on defensive after Trump slams it on virus

FILE - In this Monday, March 9, 2020 file photo, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference on updates regarding on the novel coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. After the new coronavirus erupted in China, the World Health Organization sprang into action: It declared an international health emergency, rushed a team to the epicenter in Wuhan and urged other countries to get ready and drum up funding for the response. Many analysts have praised the initial response by the world’s go-to agency on health matters. But now, governments have started to brush aside, ignore and criticize WHO recommendations on issues of public policy, like whether cross-border travel should be restricted or whether the public should wear masks. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, file)

GENEVA (AP) — In a heartfelt plea for unity, the World Health Organization’s chief sought Wednesday to rise above sharp criticism and threats of funding cuts from U.S. President Donald Trump over the agency’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The vocal defense from the WHO Director-General came a day after Trump blasted the U.N. agency for being “China-centric” and alleging that it had “criticized” his ban of travel from China as the COVID-19 outbreak was spreading from the city of Wuhan. Tedros, an Ethiopian and the WHO’s first African leader, projected humility and minimized his personal role while decrying invective and even racist slurs against him amid the WHO’s response to the disease. The new coronavirus has infected more than 1.4 million people and cost over 83,000 lives across the globe. “Why would I care about being attacked when people are dying?” he said. “I know that I am just an individual. Tedros is just a dot in the whole universe.


But he dodged questions about Trump’s comments, while acknowledging the the agency was made up of humans “who make mistakes,” and insisted his key focus was saving lives, not getting caught up in politics.

“No need to use COVID to score political points. You have many other ways to prove yourself,” he said. “Without unity, we can assure you, every country will be in trouble.”

Avoiding any direct mention of Trump, Tedros’ comments testified to the often-delicate task faced by U.N. leaders when criticized by member states. That challenge is especially difficult with the United States, the biggest donor to the world body and its offshoots. At the White House on Tuesday, Trump first said the United States would “put a hold” on WHO funding, and then revised that to say, “We will look at ending funding.” He took aim particularly at its alleged criticism of the U.S. ban on travel to and from China.

“The WHO ... receives vast amounts of money from the United States,” Trump said. “And they actually criticized and disagreed with my travel ban at the time I did it. And they were wrong. They’ve been wrong about a lot of things.”

Generally, the WHO has been careful not to criticize countries on their national polices, and it was not immediately clear what specific criticism Trump was alluding to.

Trump’s remarks came as many governments, particularly in Europe, have started to brush aside, ignore and criticize WHO recommendations on issues of public policy, like whether travel restrictions are warranted or whether the public should wear masks. In guidance that dates to Feb. 29, WHO advises against travel or trade restrictions with regard to countries facing the outbreak - now nearly every country in the world - arguing the measures could divert resources, prevent the delivery of aid, and hurt economies. The United States contributed nearly $900 million to the WHO budget for 2018-2019, according to information on the agency’s website. That represents one-fifth of the WHO’s total $4.4 billion budget for those years.


The U.S. gave nearly three-fourths of the funds in “specified voluntary contributions” and the rest in “assessed” funding as part of Washington’s commitment to U.N. institutions.

A more detailed WHO budget document provided by the U.S. mission in Geneva showed the United States provided $452 million in 2019, including nearly $119 million in assessed funding. In its most recent budget proposal from February, the Trump administration called for slashing the U.S. contribution to the WHO to $57.9 million. Some African leaders and the U.N. chief rallied around Tedros and the agency, insisting a worldwide public health crisis was no time to reduce the budget of the entity working to coordinate an often-disjointed international response. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the WHO “is absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against COVID-19” and must be supported. Once the pandemic ends, he said, there must be an investigation into how it emerged and spread so quickly as well as into the reactions of all those involved in the crisis so lessons can be learned.

The chair of the African Union’s commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, wrote on Twitter: “Surprised to learn of a campaign by the U.S. govt against WHO’s global leadership. The African Union fully supports WHO and Dr. Tedros.” Namibia’s President Hage Geingob tweeted that “WHO, under the stewardship of Dr. Tedros, has shown itself to be a true flag-bearer of multilateralism when global solidarity has become critical.”

Some U.S. lawmakers piled on alongside Trump, with Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida calling for Tedros to resign. “Unfortunately, it has been politicized,” he said of the WHO on Fox News. “I have deep concerns about it.” ___ Jill Colvin in Washington, Edith M. Lederer in New York, Cara Anna in Johannesburg and Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.

CATS CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN MEME

FORGOTTEN HEROES MEME

MY PROFESSION 

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TECHNICIANS

AKA JANITORS, CUSTODIANS, CARETAKERS, CLEANERS

A member of cleaning crew washes metro car as a preventive measure against the spread of the new coronavirus in Mexico City, Wednesday, March 18, 2020. For most people COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms. For others, especially the elderly and people with existing health problems, it can cause many other serious illnesses, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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KENNEY AND TRUMP PEAS IN A POD  HYDROXYCHOLORQUINE
Controversial COVID-19 treatment touted by Trump to be tested in Alberta 
Volunteers needed for clinical trial of drug used to treat malaria, lupus and HIV

Bryan Labby · CBC News · Posted: Apr 08, 2020

Chloroquine phosphate, an old drug for the treatment of malaria, has shown some efficacy and acceptable safety against COVID-19 associated pneumonia in trials, according to Chinese media. (Barcroft Media/Getty Images)

Albertans who have been exposed to the coronavirus are being asked to join a clinical trial into the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-viral drug that's been used for decades to treat malaria and some auto-immune diseases.

It's one of the drugs that U.S. President Donald Trump has touted as a "game changer."

Albertans who have been exposed to COVID-19 will form one part of the study, while those who have tested positive for the disease are being asked to join a separate trial.

Researchers are hoping to recruit as many as 600 people across the province.

"For now, this is going to be for people living with somebody who's known to be COVID positive or somebody who's a health-care worker that's been looking after someone who's known to be positive," said Dr. Ilan Schwartz, an associate professor of infectious disease at the University of Alberta's faculty of medicine.

The study is being led by McGill University with participants from Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta expected to include as many as 1,500 people from Canada. Another 1,500 people are enrolled in a similar study in the United States.


McGill team seeks Quebecers exposed to COVID-19 for hydroxychloroquine study

At a time of physical distancing, participants will have no contact with medical researchers conducting the study. It means that more Albertans who live outside Calgary and Edmonton and away from the province's major universities will be able to participate.

Anyone who's been exposed to the virus is being asked to visit COVID-19research.ca to see if they qualify for the study. If accepted, they'll receive a five-day course of either hydroxychloroquine or a placebo.

"We're going to be giving medication to people after they've been exposed and possibly infected to see if we can prevent that infection from taking hold," said Schwartz.

"No medication has proven to be effective in either preventing or treating COVID-19. And that's why we need to do these studies."

Evidence lacking

The head of the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious disease at the University of Calgary's Cumming school of medicine says the results from three, small studies into the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 have been mixed.

Two studies showed positive results, while the third was negative.

Dr. Chris Mody says the three trials involved a total of 120 patients and their outcomes following a six-day course of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).

Misinformation about so-called miracle cures for COVID-19 are spreading online. Can you really buy your way to a better immune system? We ask an expert: UBC professor Bernie Garrett, who studies deception in healthcare, including alternative medicine. 5:27

One of the trials showed virtually no difference between those who took the drug and those who didn't. Another trial showed more people who took HCQ recovered from pneumonia compared with those who received the usual care.

The third trial showed more people who didn't take HCQ converted from a positive test for COVID-19 to a negative one.

"I wouldn't say on the basis of that number of patients and two trials that look positive and one that looks negative, that we should be using hydroxychloroquine as the standard of care," said Mody.

"I would describe the evidence for hydroxychloroquine is that it indicates it should be studied further. That's about as far as I would go with the evidence there."
Controversy, warnings, hoarding

HCQ has received a lot of attention since President Trump touted it as a "game changer" in a tweet last month.

He suggested hydroxychloroquine along with azithromycin, an anti-biotic used to treat bacterial pneumonia, would change the world of medicine.

Since the March 21 tweet, a number of people have expressed enthusiasm for the still-unproven claims.

Alberta talk radio host Danielle Smith apologized and deleted a tweet that claimed HCQ cured 100 per cent of coronavirus patients within six days of treatment.
Talk radio host deletes tweet with false claim that there's a 100% cure for coronavirus

Kathy Macdonald, a University of Calgary senator, said in a recent tweet that HCQ is "the most effective drug!" while retweeting an article that suggested physicians shared the same view. 

ANOTHER RIGHT WING QUACK

University of Calgary senator Kathy MacDonald retweeted an apparent survey of physicians who praised an unproven therapy for the treatment of COVID-19. The tweet has since been deleted. (Twitter)

The University of Calgary distanced itself from Macdonald's tweet.

"The University of Calgary is committed to developing solutions that are evidence-based and backed by scientific rigour. The views expressed were posted on a personal social media account and do not reflect those of the University of Calgary. We encourage Albertans to look to Alberta Health Services for guidance on best practices in the rapidly-evolving COVID-19 situation.

In a separate tweet, Macdonald questioned why the Alberta government has such a narrow view on potential remedies. Both tweets have since been deleted.

Kathy MacDonald has since deleted a tweet that questioned the Alberta government's 'narrow view of potential remedies' for COVID-19. (Twitter)

In a statement to the CBC, Alberta Health said in part: "While different research projects are underway to assess the effectiveness of various therapies, there is no robust evidence yet on any treatment. We are closely monitoring the emerging evidence across Canada and around the world. If that changes, we will alert Albertans and take action accordingly."

However, the ministry acknowledged that more information regarding research studies will be made available as early as this week.

"We know that many Albertan physicians are interested in enrolling patients in research studies underway on experimental therapies," it said in a statement. "We will be sending information out in the coming days so physicians who want their patients to have access to these therapies can put them in touch with the appropriate people."

There's also been concern about the supply of HCQ since it's been touted as a possible treatment for COVID-19.

Your guide to COVID-19 and its impact on life in Canada

The governing bodies for Alberta's physicians and pharmacists issued a joint warning about prescribing behaviours, misuse and stockpiling of the drugs.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and the Alberta College of Pharmacy said there are "serious concerns about shortages" that could affect patients with chronic conditions who rely on the drugs.

Schwartz says all of the headlines around HCQ and some of the other drugs is a concern, and that it's important for the research to get underway to safely monitor patients who qualify for the trials.

"We want to avoid people taking this medication until it is proven to be both safe and effective for this purpose," he said.

Health Canada says so far eight clinical trials have been approved.

Schwartz says just as fast as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, they're hoping to get preliminary results from their trials in a matter of weeks.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bryan Labby
Enterprise reporter
Bryan Labby is an enterprise reporter with CBC Calgary. If you have a good story idea or tip, you can reach him at bryan.labby@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @CBCBryan.

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Dr. Donald: why the U.S. president keeps touting an unproven COVID-19 treatment

James McCarten
The Canadian Press

Published Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Is hydroxychloroquine effective?

WASHINGTON -- Americans and Canadians alike are used to seeing gauzy, pastel-coloured pitches for medicines, therapies and treatments on cable television. They're less accustomed to hearing them delivered live from the White House briefing room.

At times, Donald Trump's nightly news conferences have come to resemble infomercials as the country's pitchman-in-chief promotes hydroxychloroquine -- an anti-malarial drug more commonly prescribed for diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis that the president seems convinced carries promise for COVID-19 patients.

Trump said the U.S. has stockpiled 29 million hydroxychloroquine tablets -- a strategy based on evidence that doctors, health care professionals, governors and infectious-disease experts across the country have described as inconclusive at best and downright dangerous at worst.

On Tuesday, he seized on the story of Karen Whitsett, a state Democrat from Michigan, who told Fox News this week that "she thought she was dead" before trying the drug, which she now credits with saving her life.

"I think she'll be voting for me now, even if she's a Democrat," Trump said. "I don't say that happens with everybody, but that's a beautiful story. There are many of those stories. And I say, 'Try it."'

That's precisely the sort of message Florence Tew doesn't want to hear.

Tew, who lives in Toronto, has been taking the medication for the last 12 years to help manage lupus, which can include debilitating joint pain, rash and kidney problems. She wants nothing more than the world to find an effective COVID-19 treatment, she said -- but not based on unproven theories that come at the expense of her own therapy.

"It's disheartening," said Tew, who described hearing stories online from other lupus patients being warned by their pharmacies that they wouldn't be able to refill their prescriptions -- and in one case, being told by a doctor's office that they would be denied the drug entirely.

"That's when I started to really panic," she said. "You've gotten to a point where you're taking this medication and you just -- you feel good, you're able to work, you're able to function, and then something throws a wrench into it."

Tew said she currently gets a monthly supply of her medication from PocketPills, a B.C.-based pharmacy service that fills, delivers and manages prescriptions online -- and that's beginning to notice warning signs about the drug's availability.

Demand for the drug spiked in North America in the early days of the outbreak, not long after the president began singing its praises, said A.J. Bassi, the company's director of pharmacy services. Oversight bodies like the Ontario Medical Association and the Registered Nurses of Ontario had to issue notices to discourage doctors from stockpiling it.

Since then, although manufacturers insist that the supply of the drug in Canada is currently at typical, pre-pandemic levels, vendors are using historical purchase trends to restrict pharmacies to a 30-day limit on how much they can purchase, he said.

"If I only historically purchased 500 tablets a month, because that's how much I dispense, then that's how much they're restricting that we can purchase," Bassi said. The coming challenge will be dealing with supply-chain problems where wholesalers are forced to use ground transportation to send shipments, leading to potential restocking delays.

"Everybody's going crazy buying toilet paper -- when you need some, you go buy two rather than one, because you're just -- you're afraid. And the same thing in pharmacy -- you're afraid for your patients, so you buy more."

So what's with the president's fixation on hydroxychloroquine?

Conspiracy theories abound, most of them revolving around Big Pharma's long-standing influence in U.S. politics and reputation as a generous campaign donor. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump has a small personal stake in Sanofi, a Paris-based drug maker that produces Plaquenil, the brand-name version.

"Hydroxychloroquine can cause serious adverse reactions and should not be taken without medical prescription or advice," the company says on its website. "Sanofi's hydroxychloroquine product is not indicated for use for COVID-19 in any country."

People close to Trump, including billionaire Larry Ellison, television doctor Mehmet Oz and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani have all been pushing the president to expedite approving the drug for COVID-19, the Times reported. It's also been a popular talking point on Fox News, Trump's preferred cable-news indulgence.

And Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser, has reportedly been so aggressive in promoting the hydroxychloroquine theory that he got into a Situation Room confrontation on the weekend with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the face of the government's COVID-19 effort.

Navarro, citing his own research into anecdotal reports of the drug's effectiveness, has parroted the president's thinking.

"History will judge whether this was an efficacious drug," he told CNN. "Right now, in the fog of war, if that can save lives that's a good thing."

The Trump administration's enthusiasm for the drug is based on anecdotal studies conducted on a relative handful of patients, said Dr. Allen Zagoren, a surgeon and professor of public administration at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

"When you have a disease that's affecting a million people, you need to have bigger numbers to project because that could be coincidental -- the disease is very unpredictable," Zagoren said.

"You need to have a big study to predict. When you start throwing stuff at the wall to see what will stick, that's garbled information -- it's garbage in, garbage out."

Then there's the issue of side effects, Zagoren noted: the drug carries a host of potential issues, particularly for people with pre-existing conditions, compromised immune systems, cardiopulmonary problems -- the very people who are most likely to be vulnerable to the severe effects of COVID-19 in the first place.

Hydroxychloroquine is also often administered with an antibacterial known as azithromycin that carries a heightened risk of death in patients with a pre-existing heart condition.

"If I was asked to review a case for a lawyer or the board of medicine that a physician decided to give a drug to the patient that had no proven efficacy off-label and the patient died, that's negligence," Zagoren said.

"Write the cheque, because you can't defend that."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2020.

Trump allies put unproven virus drug to work in Texas
Dr. Robin Armstrong puts on his face shield while demonstrating his full personal protective equipment outside the entrance to The Resort at Texas City nursing home, where he is the medical director, Tuesday, April 7, 2020, in Texas City, Texas. Armstrong is treating nearly 30 residents of the nursing home with the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which is unproven against COVID-19 even as President Donald Trump heavily promotes it as a possible treatment. Armstrong said Trump's championing of the drug is giving doctors more access to try it on coronavirus patients. More than 80 residents and workers have tested positive for coronavirus at the nursing home. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — When a coronavirus outbreak hit a Texas nursing home, Dr. Robin Armstrong reached for an unproven treatment: the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

First, he needed to find a supply. But at a moment when President Donald Trump is heavily promoting the drug, Armstrong is no regular physician. He is a Republican National Committee member and GOP activist in Houston, and after calling Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Texas chairman of Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, Armstrong soon had enough doses to begin treating 27 infected residents of The Resort at Texas City.


Armstrong, the medical director at the facility, said Tuesday it is too soon to tell whether the treatment will work. But his sweeping use of the drug at one nursing home along the smoggy Texas coastline illustrates how Trump’s championing of the medication is having an impact on doctors across the U.S., even as scientists warn that more testing is needed before it’s proven safe and effective against COVID-19.

“I probably would not have been able to get the medication had he not been talking about it so much,” Armstrong told The Associated Press.

Hydroxychloroquine is officially approved for treating malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, not COVID-19. But as Trump holds out promise for the drug in the face of a mounting death toll, he has often stated, “What have you got to lose?”

Now in Texas, political connections and Trump allies are helping push the drug into the hands of more physicians.

Republican Bryan Hughes, a Texas state senator, said he is helping organize a pipeline of hydroxychloroquine donations to other states through their GOP leaders. Hughes said he has spent recent weeks helping Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Georgia receive or expect shipments from Amneal Pharmaceuticals, a maker of the drug based in New Jersey. Last month, the company announced it had donated 1 million tablets to Texas.

Amneal did not return an email seeking comment Tuesday. The company has previously said it donated 2 million tablets to New York, and in Detroit, Henry Ford Health System announced it would lead a 3,000-person U.S. study to determine the effectiveness of the drug against COVID-19.

Small, preliminary studies have suggested the drug might help prevent the new coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner. But those have shown mixed results.

Armstrong, who emerged from the nursing home Tuesday donned in full protective gear and a face shield, said he knew it was a “ticking time bomb” once the virus started spreading through the facility in Texas City, a refinery town outside Houston. At that point, Armstrong said, the goal quickly became preventing older patients from getting so sick they would require a hospital transport.

“We thought maybe we should try treating these folks while they’re in the nursing facility, while we’re watching them,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong, who said he has used the drug before on COVID-19 patients at a hospital, said that in searching for the medication for the nursing home he called Patrick, a firebrand conservative who drew national attention last month for saying people over the age of 70 would be able to “take care of ourselves” in the pandemic and that the U.S. needed to reopen for business. In a statement, Patrick said Armstrong called him on Friday and that after putting him in touch with Hughes, the drugs were on their way the next morning.

Both Armstrong and Hughes said they had not discussed the drug with the Trump administration. As nursing home residents began receiving their first dose of the treatment Saturday, Armstrong said he sat for a previously scheduled interview with the Trump campaign for a series called “American Heroes.” Armstrong said the interview was conducted by Kayleigh McEnany, who was named the new White House press secretary Tuesday, but said he wasn’t invited on to discuss the drug.

Research studies are beginning to test if the drugs truly help COVID-19 patients, and the Food and Drug Administration has allowed the drugs into the national stockpile as an option for doctors to consider for patients who cannot get into one of the studies.

The drug can cause potentially dangerous side effects, including life-threatening irregular heart rhythms. Those risks are even higher in patients taking other medications that affect the heart.

More than 80 people in all tested positive at the nursing home, and Armstrong said about 30 infected residents were not good candidates for the treatment. He endorsed the need for more rigorous clinical trials, but defended Trump’s embrace.

“Obviously, I’m not getting my medical practice ideas from politicians,” he said. “What it’s done is allowed for more access to the medication.”

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

After virus fades, service industries may be changed forever
By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D'INNOCENZIOApril 6, 2020



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FILE - In this April 4, 2020, file photo, pedestrians pass closed stores on Roosevelt Avenue in the Queens borough of New York. The coronavirus crisis is upending service businesses, and the crisis may permanently change the way Americans work, shop and socialize, even after the disease fades away. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)




WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, personal trainer Amanda Tikalsky didn’t have to worry much about her job. The U.S. economy’s record-breaking 11-year expansion offered security to service workers like her.

Then came the coronavirus, which closed the Milwaukee athletic club where she worked for 15 years. She scrambled to organize online exercise sessions to keep money coming in. About 25% of her clients made the jump with her.

“It’s an adjustment for everybody,” she said. “We are used to being face to face.”

But even when the virus threat is gone, Tikalsky predicts that many customers will continue to exercise from home. The shutdown is also likely to change her own shopping habits. She has a new appreciation for the ease of buying groceries online.


The pandemic is almost sure to leave a mark on the way people work, shop and socialize, perhaps permanently shifting the way many service industries operate. Consumers will think harder about the health implications of squeezing into crowded restaurants and movie theaters. More businesses will accept the effectiveness of employees who work from home, and the move to online shopping will accelerate.

“We’ve never had a crisis where we couldn’t socially gather with people,” said John Gordon, founder of Pacific Management Consulting Group in San Diego, which advises restaurants.

Until March, service workers — from dishwashers to real estate agents — had been enjoying a record winning streak in the job market. U.S. service jobs had risen for a decade.

The sector appeared almost immune to blips in the economy. Not even low-wage competition overseas or automation seemed to threaten service jobs that require direct contact with customers.

Then the virus arrived. It upended the service economy, which accounts for 84% of U.S. private-sector employment. It wiped out 659,000 service jobs in March — 94% of the jobs that vanished last month as the U.S. economy plunged into recession.
FILE - In this April 6, 2020, file photo, a cyclist wears a bandana over his face as he travels past a boarded up business in downtown Austin, Texas. The coronavirus crisis is upending service businesses, and the crisis may permanently change the way Americans work, shop and socialize, even after the disease fades away. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

It is sure to claim many more. In an interview Monday on CNBC, former Fed Chair Janet Yellen predicted that unemployment rates could climb to Great Depression levels. But because the economy was in solid shape before the outbreak, she added, the return to normal employment could happen much faster than during the Depression or after the 2007-2009 Great Recession.

When the economy goes into a nosedive, manufacturers, not services providers, are usually hit first and hardest.

Not this time. The virus has been a gut punch to businesses that depend on social gatherings — restaurants, cinemas, theaters, hotels, airlines, gyms, shopping centers. More than 250,000 stores are now temporarily closed, accounting for nearly 60% of retail square footage, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, a research firm.


The situation is similar in many other countries. In Wuhan, China, where the viral outbreak began, consumers are still reluctant to go out shopping as conditions slowly head back to normal.

Josh Rivas is among the millions of job casualties in the U.S. He works at a Subway at a rest stop in Connecticut where he and co-workers were laid off because of the virus amid dwindling traffic at the plaza. “We can’t afford for us to miss a day of pay because we have families that we need to take care of and bills we need to pay,” he said.

In recessions, factories are often the first to slash jobs, and they don’t always bring them back. American manufacturers still employ 918,000 fewer workers than they did before the Great Recession. Over the same period, service employment is up by nearly 14 million.

FILE - In this March 24, 2020, file photo, a pedestrian passes a business which has closed temporarily in San Antonio. The coronavirus crisis is upending service businesses, and the crisis may permanently change the way Americans work, shop and socialize, even after the disease fades away. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Economists are divided over whether service employees will face the kind of economic disruption factory workers have endured.

Much depends on the rescue efforts being put together by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve. Congress and the White House are throwing at least $2.2 trillion at American businesses and households in a desperate attempt to keep them from going under before the health crisis is over.

“As long as we do the policy right, we should get a pretty strong recovery,” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Labor Department. “When the lockdown is over, I think we’ll get a pretty decent bounce back.”

Shierholz does not expect a “transformative” change to service sector jobs.

Still, some effects of the outbreak are likely to linger, analysts say.

Cooped up in their homes, Americans have discovered anew the convenience of shopping online — something that is likely to accelerate the decline of traditional retail stores, said Diane Swonk, chief economist at the accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton.

Restaurants have closed their dining rooms and reduced service to takeout, delivery and curbside pickup. Swonk expects the trend toward grab-and-go dining to continue after the health crisis.

Restaurant consultant Gordon predicts that local governments will reduce restaurant seating capacity to keep diners from being on top of each other. “Some of the places we used to go were just armpit to armpit. Can you see us doing that now?” he said.
FILE - In this March 23, 2020, file photo, a jogger runs past shuttered shops along Venice Beach Boardwalk, in Los Angeles. The coronavirus crisis is upending service businesses, and the crisis may permanently change the way Americans work, shop and socialize, even after the disease fades away. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Millions of Americans have spent weeks working from home, and the experience has been eye-opening for many, and for their bosses. Meetings and even virtual after-hours cocktail parties can be organized on Zoom, WhatsApp or other programs.

“We’re just discovering that we can have amazing seminars and conferences online much easier. We don’t have to travel anywhere,” said Arindrajit Dube, economist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. That’s troubling for airlines and hotels that depend on business travel, sometimes to subsidize discounts for leisure travelers.

The enhanced appeal of home offices could also have implications for real estate markets, giving more workers expanded housing options because they won’t need to travel to their jobs.

But there may be limits to Americans’ enthusiasm for isolating themselves at home.

Becky Ahlgren Bedics, 49, of Fishers, Indiana, has been working out via Zoom since her fitness club closed temporarily in mid-March. But she plans to trek over to the club when it reopens. She misses the camaraderie. “There’s such a connection that you have with people,” she added.

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D’Ínnocenzio reported from New York. Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber in Washington and Josh Hoffner in Phoenix contributed to this story.

AP PHOTOS: Virus haunts the destitute living on the margins

By MOSA'AB ELSHAMY
In a housing complex in the Moroccan city of Sale, over 900 people live in crowded rooms without running water or an income to support them. While the North African country entered total lockdown in mid-March, self-isolation and social distancing are a luxury that families in this complex cannot afford.

Some families have lived in their room for 40 years, steadily filling it with children and grandchildren, with some rooms housing up to 10 people. Almost all are marginalized, and since the outbreak of COVID-19, those who had jobs – such as working in gas stations or selling small items on the streets - have been left with no way to make a living.

Like countries around the world, Morocco is facing the challenge of how to protect populations from the fast-spreading virus while not punishing the poor.

In early March, the Moroccan government began rolling out measures to stem the spread of the virus, culminating in the ongoing lockdown that has turned once bustling cities into ghost towns.

Borders, schools, shops, companies, cafes and mosques have closed. Movement between cities is restricted. Only one member of each household is permitted to leave in order to buy necessities, and those who work in essential jobs must have government-approved permission slips to show at checkpoints or risk facing up to three months in prison.

As the measures started to pinch vulnerable families, Morocco approved emergency support packages to people not registered in public or private sector jobs, ranging from $80 to $120. The fund supporting such measures was established by Moroccan King Mohamed VI, and saw mobilization by institutions, businesses and officials.

At the housing complex in Sale’s old medina, children hang around the communal courtyard and run through narrow alleyways. Families share one room where they wash clothes, and fill buckets of water at public fountain

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In this in Wednesday, March 25, 2020 photo, a dog owned by one of the residents of a housing complex sits in his kennel in Sale, near Rabat, Morocco. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)



In this in Wednesday, March 25, 2020 photo, Ilias, 61, sit in his room in a housing complex in Sale, near Rabat, Morocco. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)



In this in Wednesday, March 25, 2020 photo, Kaddour El Miny, 55, poses with his equipment for selling water, which he can no longer use, in a housing complex in Sale, near Rabat, Morocco. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)



In this in Wednesday, March 25, 2020 photo, Warda, a mother, poses with her son Mohamed and her daughter Jannat in their room in a housing complex in Sale, near Rabat, Morocco. Hundreds of people live in crowded rooms in this Moroccan housing complex with no running water and no income left because of the coronavirus lockdown measures. However volunteers come to help clean as the government tries to protect the population from virus while not punishing the poor. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)