October, 02 2023, 08:53am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Joe Karp-Sawey, Senior Media Advisor, People’s Vaccine Alliance
Email: joe.karpsawey@peoplesvaccine.org
Nobel Prize winning mRNA was publicly funded
Dr Mohga Kamal-Yanni, Policy Co-Lead for the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said:
“This award challenges the claim that it was solely big pharmaceutical companies who saved the world from COVID-19. Just like the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Karikó and Weissman’s groundbreaking work on mRNA vaccines received a huge amount public funding.
“Pharmaceutical companies have refused to share mRNA technologies with developers and researchers in developing countries. Fortunately, Weissman is helping a WHO-backed mRNA programme which aims to develop mRNA technology in lower-income countries, even while pharmaceutical companies refuse to share their know-how.
“As governments discuss how to prepare for the next pandemic, they should learn from the story of mRNA. Public funding delivers incredible medical advances and that should be a priority for all countries, but pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted to share technology with the world.”
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Horrific. Unjustified. Morally Wrong. But 'Unprovoked'?
'Nothing about today is "unprovoked"'
Oct 07, 2023
Horrific. Unjustified. Morally wrong. But 'unprovoked'?
After the Palestinian group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years--with many killed, hostages taken, and fighting raging--many US elected officials released statements Saturday condemning the "unprovoked" attacks.
But many others took to Twitter Saturday to ask incredulously how Israel’s continued brutal occupation of the Palestinian people cannot be considered a provocation.
75 years of ethnic cleansing
15 years of blockade
Confiscation of Palestinian lands
Pogroms on Palestinian towns
Desecration of Palestinian sacred sites
Daily raids into Palestinian homes
Constant humiliation of a entire people
Nothing about today is "unprovoked."
Writer Caitlin Johnstone tweeted: "It's clear now that whenever the western political/media class starts bleating the word "unprovoked" in unison, you know with absolute certainty that whatever they're talking about was massively provoked."
*. *. *
Hamas attacks on civilian targets in Israel are completely unjustified. The Biden administration is totally wrong, however, to say they are "unprovoked." Israel has been killing many scores of Palestinian civilians, including children, in recent months.— Stephen Zunes (@Stephen Zunes) 1696689417
I keep seeing the Hamas attack described as "unprovoked," as if Israel has not been occupying, dispossessing, blockading, and besieging a population. The attack is morally wrong but let's be honest about what its causes are.— Nathan J Robinson (@Nathan J Robinson) 1696706184
75 years of ethnic cleansing.\n15 years of blockade.\nConfiscation of Palestinian lands.\nPogroms on Palestinian towns.\nDesecration of Palestinian sacred sites.\nDaily raids into Palestinian homes.\nConstant humiliation of a entire people.\n\nNothing about today is \u201cunprovoked.\u201d— Amer Zahr (@Amer Zahr) 1696693591
Today\u2019s attacks on Israel are horrific\u2014especially since innocent women and children are involved. Today\u2019s attacks, however, were not unprovoked. \n\nPraying for peace. \ud83d\udc94— Nick Laparra (@Nick Laparra) 1696707765
And here are a sampling of statements released Saturday by US elected officials and politicians calling the attacks "unprovoked":
Statement from the White House on Israel:— philip lewis (@philip lewis) 1696684125
My statement on the violent, unprovoked and despicable terrorist attack by Hamas against the State of Israel.— Hakeem Jeffries (@Hakeem Jeffries) 1696687757
This ignominious, unprovoked, and barbaric attack on Israel must be met with world condemnation and unequivocal support for the Jewish state\u2019s right to self-defense. We must provide Israel with whatever it needs to defend itself \u2014 now. As President, I\u2019ll make sure that our policy\u2026— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@Robert F. Kennedy Jr) 1696695042
I forcefully condemn these cowardly, horrifying, unprovoked attacks on Israel by Hamas. \n\nAttacking innocent civilians is particularly despicable and reflects the craven behavior of this terrorist group. \n\nI unequivocally stand with the people of Israel now, and always.— Senator John Fetterman (@Senator John Fetterman) 1696689464
I unequivocally condemn Hamas\u2019 horrific, unprovoked attacks and call on all parties to take steps to prevent civilian harm. Israel has a right to defend itself, and the United States stands ready to offer our support.— Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (@Congresswoman Sara Jacobs) 1696692875
I am horrified by the unprovoked, heinous attacks against Israel by Hamas\u2014a terrorist organization. I stand in strong support of our ally Israel and the Israeli people as they fight to defend themselves and protect their sovereignty.— Mondaire Jones (@Mondaire Jones) 1696685680
The unprovoked terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israeli citizens are alarming and horrifying. My thoughts are with the victims and their families during this unprecedented time. \n\nI stand with Israel and its right to defend itself from these heinous and widespread attacks.— Ruben Gallego (@Ruben Gallego) 1696687733
As a steadfast supporter and ally of Israel, I unequivocally condemn the unprovoked and unprecedented terrorist attack launched by Hamas and stand with the people of Israel as it rightly defends itself.\n\nMy statement:— Rep. Ritchie Torres (@Rep. Ritchie Torres) 1696684621
I am horrified by the attacks against the Israeli people and condemn them unequivocally. This unprovoked violence is unacceptable. Today the United States must stand beside the Israeli people on this difficult day and in the days to come.— Congresswoman Chellie Pingree \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Congresswoman Chellie Pingree \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1696706022
These attacks by Hamas against Israel were heinous and unprovoked.\n\nMy thoughts are with the families of those killed, injured, and captured.\n\nI strongly condemn these attacks. The United States remains unwavering in our support for Israel and their right to self-defense.— Senator Mark Kelly (@Senator Mark Kelly) 1696691135
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Netanyahu: Israel 'At War'; Media: Surprise Attack 'A Massive Intelligence Failure'
Israeli jets are bombing the Gaza Strip in retaliation
Oct 07, 2023
BREAKING NEWS. This article will be updated.
Hamas launched a surprise operation on an unprecedented scale against Israel early Saturday by land, air, and sea. Hamas’s military chief, Muhammad Deif said the operation was codenamed “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Israeli media calls it a massive intelligence failure by Israel and the United States.
The day marks a tremendous strategic failure and defeat for Israel, even as it bombs Gaza in retaliation. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says the death toll of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza has risen to 198, with 1,610 injured.
And Israel’s Channel 12 reports that the Israeli death toll has risen to at least 40 and more than 740 people have been injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas would pay an “unprecedented price” and warned of severe retaliation to come after ordering an extensive mobilization of Israeli army reserves.
Hamas spokesperson Khaled Qadomi told Al Jazeera that the group’s military operation is in response to all the atrocities the Palestinians have faced over the decades. “We want the international community to stop atrocities in Gaza, against Palestinian people, our holy sites like Al-Aqsa. All these things are the reason behind starting this battle,” he said.
No this was not the biggest intelligence failure by Israel.\n\nThe biggest intel failure is to believe it can live in peace while permanently occupying another people\n\nThat is not to justify violence. But to recognize that peace & occupation never tends to coexist in the long run>>— Trita Parsi (@Trita Parsi) 1696693727
Hamas has launched \u2018Operation Al-Aqsa Flood\u2019 against Israel \u2013 the biggest armed offensive in decades.\n\nVideos show Palestinian fighters \u2018infiltrating\u2019 Israeli territory from Gaza, where they are reported to have captured Israeli soldiers \u2935\ufe0f— Al Jazeera English (@Al Jazeera English) 1696666797
A surprise operation launched from Gaza, 50 years after Egypt\u2019s October surprise caught Israel off guard, is a shocking embarrassment for Israeli security and leadership whose policy in Gaza has been an abject failure and crime against humanity.— Yousef Munayyer (@Yousef Munayyer) 1696661360
The unfolding events in Israel and Palestine are deeply alarming.\n\nWe need an immediate ceasefire and urgent de-escalation.\n\nAnd we need a route out of this tragic cycle of violence: ending the occupation is the only means of achieving a just and lasting peace.— Jeremy Corbyn (@Jeremy Corbyn) 1696681645
Gaza is a small strip of besieged, blockaded land that Israel dominates and controls, allegedly with the most sophisticated surveillance on earth, and they missed a massive land, sea, and air incursion being organized for what had to have been months, right under their noses? Odd— Michael Tracey (@Michael Tracey) 1696672565
Footage of a hamas infiltrator using a motorized hang glider to get into Israel.\n\n#Palestine #Israel #Hamas #Gaza #War #AlMayadeen #Palestine #AlAqsaFlood #\u0637\u0648\u0641\u0627\u0646_\u0627\u0644\u0623\u0642\u0635\u0649 #IsraelUnderAttack #Palestinian #IndiaWithIsrael #Palestinians #Palestina— Zain Rajpoot (@Zain Rajpoot) 1696682762
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Nearly Half of US Nutrition Board Members Have Food and Pharma Industry Ties: Report
"Millions of Americans' lives are affected by this report and it's crucial that the report tell the truth to American people and it's not degraded into another sales pitch for Big Food and Big Pharma."
Oct 06, 2023
Nearly half the members of the U.S. government panel that helps draft dietary guidelines for Americans have ties to the food, pharmaceutical, or weight loss industry, a report released this week revealed.
"Food and pharmaceutical industry actors have historically sought to influence the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), and have had financial ties to nutrition experts on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), which reviews the latest science on diet, nutrition, and health outcomes to make recommendations for the DGA," states the report, which was authored by researchers at the advocacy group U.S. Right to Know.
"We found that 13 of 20 DGAC members had high-risk, medium-risk, or possible conflicts of interest with industry actors," the authors wrote.
Of these, nine were high- or medium-risk conflicts with companies and industry groups including Coca-Cola, the Nestlé Nutrition Institute, National Dairy Council, Weight Watchers International, Beyond Meat, the California Walnut Commission, and the National Egg Board. Big Pharma giants including Pfizer, Abbott, Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly are also named in the report.
U.S. Right to Know executive director Gary Ruskin toldThe Guardian that revelations like those in the report erode consumer confidence in government dietary guidelines.
"Millions of Americans' lives are affected by this report and it's crucial that the report tell the truth to American people and it's not degraded into another sales pitch for Big Food and Big Pharma," Ruskin said.
The report also notes some "encouraging findings," including that "seven members had no relationships in the past five years that met our definition" of conflicts of interest, and that "four members only had one instance" of possible conflicts.
"Surely, there is room for further improvement," the publication states. "With high-risk conflicts of interest still present on the DGAC,
the public cannot have confidence that the official dietary advice of the U.S. government is free from industry influence."
The report's authors offer recommendations for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, including:
- Not appointing DGAC members with high-risk conflicts of interest;
- Disclosing individual members' conflicts during the last five years;
- Using a better disclosure form;
- Publishing a list of provisional appointees prior to appointment, open for public comment; and
- Including leadership roles or paid roles at conflicted nutrition organizations in disclosures of potential conflicts of interest.
The group also called on Congress to expand the Physician Payments Sunshine Act to cover the nutrition field.
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