Monthly Archives: December 2020

With the goal of enhancing the user-experience, the group said the new website features more intuitive navigation and improved education to assist consumers select wellness products that suit their individual lifestyles and needs

() (OTCQB:TGIFF), a vertically integrated cannabis consumer packaged goods company, has announced the launch of a new e-commerce website for its Canna Hemp brand of hemp and CBD wellness products.

With the goal of enhancing the user-experience, the group said the new website features more intuitive navigation and improved education to assist consumers select wellness products that suit their individual lifestyles and needs. Featuring a large selection of high-quality hemp and CBD products with specific outcomes and delivery formats, Canna Hempaims to bring natural wellness to consumers across the United States.

"Our new website reflects an immersive approach to online shopping. We aim to deliver the power of CBD to our consumers via an elevated experience, educating our visitors about the benefits of terpenes and adding a number of new features aimed at making the overall experience more impactful and user-friendly,"Eugene Ruiz, president of 1933 Industries said in a statement.

"With a fresh look and feel, the hemp and CBD one-stop-shop showcases all our Canna Hempbrands, including our Canna Hemp Xactions sports line," he added. "Canna Hempstands as a trusted brand for its unwavering commitment to using only quality organic botanical ingredients that are free of synthetic chemicals, preservatives and additives. Canna Hempinfuses its products with high-grade, 100% all-natural hemp-derived CBD sourced from regulated suppliers in the US. Many of our products are made with TerpFX, our proprietary blend of terpenes designed to bring maximum benefits to your wellness routine."

Ruiz added:"The safety and efficacy of our products stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Providing a modern and inviting online home to feature our extensive brands and growing portfolio of products that is pleasing and convenient to use has been a strategic priority and is reflective of new management's approach to building our brand. We seek to earn the trust and loyalty of our consumers by delivering exceptional products at competitive prices which have been formulated to bring customers the highest quality products to aid in total body wellness. We know this resonates as a key priority for many in today's world."

With an extensive product line that includes topicals, creams, vapes, elixirs, capsules, dabs, lip balms and pre and post-workout recovery sports products, the Canna Hempbrand utilizes the power of hemp and CBD to bring natural wellness. its flagship products, the Canna Hemp Relief Cream and Canna Hemp XRecovery Cream are recognized as best topicals in the market.All products are triple and third-party tested for safety with test results embedded via QR codes for traceability.

To explore the new website and experience it, click here: http://www.cannahemp.com

1933 Industries is a vertically-integrated, growth-orientated company, focusing on the cultivation and manufacturing of cannabis consumer branded goods in a wide range of product formats. Operating through two subsidiaries, the company controls all aspects of the value chain with cultivation, extraction, processing, and manufacturing assets supporting its diversified portfolio of cannabis brands and licensing partners.

The company also owns 91% of Alternative Medicine Association (AMA), a licensed medical and adult-use cannabis cultivation and extraction subsidiary that produces its own branded line of unique cannabis products and manufactures third-party brands. AMA's extensive menu of cannabis products include: craft cannabis flower, pre-rolls, full-spectrum oils, high-quality distillates, proprietary blends of terpenes, vaporizer products and boutique concentrates such as shatter, crumble, batter, sugar wax, diamonds, and live resin.

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1933 Industries announces launch of a new e-commerce website for its Canna Hemp brand - Proactive Investors USA & Canada

The global report titled as Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market has recently added by Absolute Markets Insights to its huge repository and can be used to gain effective insights into the businesses. It helps to mark the current scenario and historical developments of the market. The global Complementary and Alternative Medicines sector has been examined on the basis of key elements such as products or services, applications, end-users, and technologies. It has been amassed by using primary and secondary research methodologies.

Shifting trends from a standardized treatment approach to a combined treatment, where people were provided natural unconventional treatments along with the standardized treatments is anticipate to assist the Brazil complementary and alternative medicine market. Complementary and alternative medicine includes practices like consumption of dietary supplements, massage therapy, acupuncture and drinking green tea amongst others. A company named Sanofi is one of the leaders under dietary supplements sales in Brazil. However, the company faces intense competition from other market participants owing to the fact that these aforementioned companies tend to offer cheaper alternatives options than those offered by Sanofi. Technological advancements (the Vcaps Plus Purple Carrot and Blue Spirulina capsules by Lonza) carried out by manufacturers for sports nutrition and others high growth market segments is expected to assist the healthy living trend in Brazil

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In terms of revenue, the Brazil Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market stood at US$ 2,498.24 million in 2018, and is anticipated to reach US$ 9,759.38 million by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 16.4% during the forecast period (2019 2027). The detailed research study provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of Brazil complementary and alternative medicine market. The market has been analyzed from demand as well as supply side. The demand side analysis covers market revenue across regions and further across all the major regions. The supply side analysis covers the major market players and their regional and global presence and strategies. The geographical analysis done emphasizes majorly on Brazil.

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Brazil Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market:

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By Country

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Astounding growth in Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market is Projected to Grow at a CAGR of 16.4% over the forecast period (2019 2027),...

Patients with lower back and neck pain are now eligible for subsidised acupuncture treatment at public specialist outpatient clinics.

This pilot programme will provide referred patients with means-tested subsidies that can cover up to 70 per cent of treatment costs, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Tuesday.

About 2,000 patients a year, or 70 per cent of all who visit public specialist outpatient clinics for pain in the lower back and neck, are set to benefit under this pilot.

Merdeka Generation and Pioneer Generation seniors will enjoy an additional 25 per cent and 50 per cent off the remaining healthcare bill, respectively.

All patients, regardless of their subsidy status, will also be able to pay for acupuncture services to relieve lower back and neck pain using their Flexi-MediSave scheme.

The scheme, introduced by the Health Ministry in 2015, aims to reduce out-of-pocket costs for older Singaporeans at polyclinics, general practitioner clinics on the Community Health Assist Scheme, and public specialist outpatient clinics.

Seniors can begin to benefit from Flexi-MediSave once they are 60 years of age.

Those who qualify can withdraw up to $200 a year from their own MediSave account or that of their spouse to pay for outpatient treatments.

"The pilot will not cover acupuncture used to treat other pain indications, and other forms of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine currently offered at public healthcare institutions," said MOH.

Jessie Lim

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Subsidised acupuncture therapy for lower back, neck pain - The Straits Times

I'm back again with random thoughts blowing around my brain. Is that what headwinds are?

People have a strange habit when they're describing the color of things.

I'm looking for a car that's blue in color.

Blue in color. What else could the blue signal? Could it be blue in taste? Blue in sound? I'm sure it's not blue in mood.

From the wine pages of The Washington Post: "The 1982 Montbray Cabernet Sauvignon was brick red in color yet still bright and alive on the nose and palate, with spice-box aromas of clove, pepper and fenugreek."

(Wine writing is so, so fancy.)

So the wine is brick red in color and not in flavor? Not in composition?

One reader wrote to the food staff of The Post about the fruit of a quince bush in her yard.

It's small, and yellow in color, and frankly, over the years, I've just let it fall to the ground without doing anything with it.

Yellow in color? Not yellow in terms of cowardice?

The craziest example of all was from a story about football uniforms.

They'll have a darker burgundy jersey, and pants that are actually gold in color.

So, the pants aren't made of the element gold? Thanks for that clarification.

Similarly, an article in The Post recommending wrapping baked goods in colorful red, blue, green and gold cellophane.

I have never seen uncolorful or colorless red cellophane, have you?

We have all heard of smallpox. The sometimes deadly disease, also called variola, causes eruptions on the skin that can leave a person with pockmarks. We don't need to worry about catching it now because vaccines have eradicated it, though it had been around for many centuries.

"Currently, there is no evidence of naturally occurring smallpox transmission anywhere in the world," the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reports.

But the American Heritage Dictionary definition got weird. The disease is called smallpox to contrast it to the great pox, which was syphilis. The sexually transmitted disease causes larger pockmarks. (Please trust me when I urge you not to search on Google for images of syphilis. I sincerely regret having done so.) The great pox spread across Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Because we've been hearing about vaccines every day for months now, I'll inject a bit of history. Smallpox was the virus that inspired the first vaccine that worked.

The World Health Organization explains: "The smallpox vaccine, introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796, was the first successful vaccine to be developed. He observed that milkmaids who previously had caught cowpox did not catch smallpox and showed that inoculated vaccinia protected against [the] virus."

These two words have most of the same letters, but they have different meanings. The difference has grown a little hazy over the years.

Alternately means some things happen by turns. First one, then the other, then back again to the first.

She watched parts of two TV shows alternately because she didn't have a DVR.

The team alternately practices at two high school baseball fields.

Alternatively is following a path other than the original option.

He asked me to phone him. Alternatively, I sent him a text.

We could have Key lime pie. Alternatively, we could have chocolate mousse pie.

(Please note that the much shorter word or could easily replace alternatively.)

Similarly, less conventional music is called alternative music. Alternative medicine offers treatments not found in the mainstream. And, though we see fewer and fewer newspapers each month, an alternative newspaper might offer less formal content and writing style. All three cases offer a different option.

People often use alternate when they mean alternative. From The Post:

The United States risks being left behind by other countries if it doesn't develop alternate energy technologies.

Instead, the writer meant the country needs a different energy source.

Legal proceedings use alternate when describing juries, but alternative is more accurate.

The next day, the 12 jurors and two alternate jurors settled into their jury sections and the proceedings began.

Those two jurors are other options.

Authorities sometimes suggest using a different route from the normal one. So alternative is needed here:

Officials warned drivers to expect delays, saying they might need to use alternate routes.

Naturally, as I often note, things change. Merriam-Webster says alternative is a synonym for alternate, partly because more and more people are using alternate when they mean alternative. Still, most people on the dictionary's Usage Panel say the two words are not synonymous. Each word has its place.

I'll confess that the pandemic has made it hard for me to feel rejuvenated for a while. Though chocolate does help.

When you would like to feel rejuvenated, you do something that makes you feel like your old self again. Or you might rejuvenate a weak football team, a crummy couch or a bad public image.

And yet, juvenate isn't a word. Normally, the prefix re- means something is happening again. I'm trying to find a philosophical reason behind this. You can be made young again, but you can't be made young? Maybe I'll stick with invigorate and reinvigorate.

A news guy this week was asking a guest to opine on some situation:

What's your analysis so far?

Your analysis sounds exactly like urinalysis.

I am so immature.

Sources include Merriam-Webster, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, The American Heritage Dictionary, The Washington Post, Society for Applied Microbiology, the World Health Organization. Reach Bernadette at

bkwordmonger@gmail.com

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OPINION: Colorful words overemphasize the obvious - Arkansas Online

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Inflammatory Bowel Disease, an autoimmune disease mainly affect intestine. It needs early attention to not let it becomes fatal. Dr Piyush Ranjan, Senior Consultant, Institute of Liver Gastroenterology & Pancreatico Biliary Sciences, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi, explains various aspects of the disease, symptoms, precautions, and treatment measures, in an exclusive interview with Harshal Desai of Elets News Network (ENN).

Q You have years of experience tackling IBD patients at topmost hospitals. Tell us what exactly is IBD and how is it affecting Indians.

IBD basically stands for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It comprises malfunction in the digestive system involving intestine. There are the two major types-the most common being, Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns disease. Ulcerative colitis involves the large intestine while Crohns disease occurs in bothlarge and small intestine. Then there are indeterminate colitis and microscopic colitis- these are the sub type of IBD.

Q Hows this trend different from the other trend we have in India. How is this different from the growing global trend?

Yes, the global trend is the same. Initially people used to believe that Crohns disease does not exist in India or it has low prevalence in India. Moreover, due to different presentations, it was confused with Intestinal Tuberculosis. Now with better diagnostic test, we are finding that Crohns is being diagnosed more and more. In addition, people who were previously treated for Intestinal Tuberculosis later turned out to be Crohns Disease. Crohns disease relevance has been increasing in India mainly because of better diagnostic tests and better awareness among the doctors.

Q Brief us about the reasons why it happens? Does our routine life like working under stress, long office hours are some of the reasons for IDP?

There are many, but the exact reason of this disease is not known. Mainly these diseases are autoimmune in nature. Autoimmune disease means those diseases which occur because of the damage in the body by its own immune system. In this case, own immune system recognize a particular organ as foreign origin. Because this is it matter of speculation. Some genetic disposition has been found but one to one correlation has not been seen yet. It oscillates about the triggering event. An industrial bacterium is one of the postulates. But in a sense, it is because of the damage of intestine by a persons own immune system.

Also read: Technology enables better outcome on diagnosis, treatment

Q Does it mean that you need to have a strong immune system to fight of this disease?

No, actually a strong immune system damages you; so it is a misbalance. It is a failed recognition of the self-tissue. Its not like these people are not susceptible to other infection. Its just that there immune cells start damaging any tissueit may be liver or in case of ulcerative disease it is intestine.

Q What is the diagnosis process and what are the possible treatments in the country right now?

Diagnostic process starts from the symptoms. Whenever someone has blood mixed diarrhea, it is most likely that person is suffering from ulcerative colitis. The diagnosis test for this type of diseases is the colonoscopy. Endoscopy is done from the oral route; colonoscopy is done from the rectal route. Endoscope is passed through the rectum and large intestine is examined directly. The appearance of ulcerative colitis is very characteristic but still to confirm it a biopsy is taken though this is nothing to do with malignancy. People get scared too much when they are told about that biopsy has been undertaken. Ulcerative colitis diagnosis process involves colonoscopy and taking the intestinal biopsy. This is very simple for ulcerative colitis. For Crohns disease, we may examine small intestine with the help of a Capsule Endoscopy. There are other ancillary tests but they are not as credible as this to establish the diagnosis

This disease requires life-long treatment, the most important thing which has to be understood. There are many drugs available. The choice of drugs depends upon the location where the disease is in the intestine exactly. Then the severity of disease is another factor. According to the severity of the disease, various drugs are prescribedlike the oldest drugs which are five amino salicylate. Then there are oral steroids, other immune suppressive drugs like azathioprine methotrexate and newer drugs which are known as biological drugs- -anti TNF Alpha drugs,

So, which drug one would choose depends on the severity of the disease. For active disease, stronger medicine is required to first bring disease into control and once the disease has been brought under control then a different group of drug is required to maintain that statethat is ignored remission.

The most common cause of a person having uncontrolled disease recurrent is over compliance to the treatment. People often stop their treatment and start taking alternative options which leads to loss of control of disease.

Q What are the challenges you face while diagnosing IBD diseases?

One of the most common challenges is when a person is having bleeding. Doctor very often misdiagnosed as having hemorrhoidthat is piles. They undergo surgery because they do not undergo a colonoscopy, so any person having bleeding, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy at the onset is the bare minimum which is required.

So one needs to understand that this is a possibility and unless and until a test is done it will not be possible to diagnose this. Patients have to be counseled for depression that is a major challenge. These drugs have some side effects too, so monitoring is very necessary.

In this COVID time, people have stopped coming for checkups. This may lead to relapse that the disease coming back more strongly. One particular problem in our country is proclivity for alternative medicines like Ayurvedic and Homeopathic. People fall in that trap often. When they are promised that theyll be given some medicines which will not have any side effects, they go for it. These are some of the challenges.

Q Do we have cure in Ayurveda and Homeopathy for this disease?

They claim but you must have read that patanjali has found the cure for coronavirus but anything that is claimed has to be proved by a scientific mean. As a scientist you cannot say no to anything. They may have a cure but you need scientific proof which they dont have.

Q Due to lockdown, IBD may have taken toll on lots of IBD patients. What is your take?

A: Absolutely any person with long standing chronic disease need to visit doctor on regular interval but due to lockdown they are averse to visit doctors. They are scared to come to the hospital due to fear of catching infection. So not only Ulcerative, people with many different diseases, non COVID diseases are facing a lot of problem because of their reluctance to come to the hospital to seek help.

Q Recently I read a report that people with inflammatory bowel disease are at the high risk of dementia, do you think so?

As I told you these medicines decrease the immunity level. So there are groups of medicines among medicines which are being used for treatment of IBD which might put a person to higher risk for developing COVID. But the fact is again continuation or discontinuation. There are very clear cut guidelines for that and you actually need to take guidance of a Gastroenterologist to decidedepending on the activity of the disease, the past behavior of the disease, and the current needle that is their control.

Q What message would you like to give to people who are suffering from IBD?

Get yourself diagnosed early if youre having such symptoms. Discuss with the doctor. Accept that you are having a problem and accept the fact is this disease requires a life-long treatment, this is the most important thing. You need regular follow up to look at the activity of disease and monitor the side effects of the drugs. If you do this, nearly 90% people will have a very good course. 80 to 90% will have a very good and smooth coursethere will be intermittent some bumps on the way but most of the people can have the normal productive active life.

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'Early Diagnosis and Treatment Pivotal to Keep IBD at Bay' - eHealth Magazine - Elets

- Program grants access to investigational therapy for Fabry disease patients in the United States who cannot be adequately treated with currently available FDA-approved drugs -

BOSTON, Dec. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, a business unit of Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., an international research-focused healthcare group (Chiesi Group), today announced the first patient has been treated in the Expanded Access Program (EAP) in the United States for pegunigalsidase alfa, currently in development for the treatment of Fabry disease. Treatment was initiated on December 21, 2020 by Ozlem Goker-Alpan, M.D., founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Lysosomal & Rare Disorders Research & Treatment Center (LDRTC) in Fairfax, Va, and Lauren Noll, Clinical Research Coordinator.

The initiation of treatment in the first patient enrolled in our EAP is an important milestone for the Fabry disease community and another reflection of our commitment to supporting patients, caregivers and their healthcare providers as they make important decisions about their health and disease management, said Giacomo Chiesi, Head of Chiesi Global Rare Diseases. Through this EAP, many patients can have access to treatment with pegunigalsidase alfa as we continue to work diligently to advance this therapy through the final stages of the regulatory review process in the months ahead. We would like to thank the Fabry patient and medical community for the support they have provided to us in the setup of this program.

The EAP is open to patients with a clinical diagnosis of Fabry disease who, in the opinion of the treating physician, have no comparable or satisfactory alternative treatment options with currently available FDA-approved therapies for Fabry disease. Other eligibility criteria apply. Patients participating in the EAP receive infusions of pegunigalsidase alfa every two weeks at 1mg/kg body weight. Information related to adverse events and other limited data will be collected from participants.

We are focused on providing patients with the widest possible range of options for high quality care, said Dr. Goker-Alpan. This is an exciting time for the Fabry disease community. We are pleased to participate in this EAP and will continue to support all efforts to help more patients have access to the treatments they need.

Pegunigalsidase alfa is an investigational product and currently not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The effectiveness and safety of pegunigalsidase alfa have not been reviewed or approved by the FDA. Before FDA review and approval, no conclusions can be drawn on pegunigalsidase alfas efficacy and safety profile. When seeking expanded access, treating physicians should consider all possible risks of treatment with pegunigalsidase alfa. Access must be compliant with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Investigators should not seek reimbursement for product provided to patients who participate in a government-funded insurance program.

In November 2020, the FDA extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date to April 27, 2021 for review of the Biologics License Application (BLA) seeking accelerated approval of pegunigalsidase alfa for the proposed treatment of adult patients with Fabry disease. Concurrently with the EAP, pegunigalsidase alfa is being evaluated in patients with Fabry disease under an open Investigational New Drug application in the Phase III BALANCE, BRIGHT and BRIDGE clinical trials and other related open label studies.

The Expanded Access Program is listed on ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04552691 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04552691). Additional information on Chiesis Expanded Access policy is available at https://www.chiesiusa.com/sustainability/expanded-access-programs/. Treating physicians must submit requests on behalf of their patients for consideration via the EAP request portal at https://chiesi.versaic.com.

About Fabry Disease

Fabry disease is an X-linked inherited disease that results from deficient activity of the lysosomal GalactosidaseA enzyme resulting in progressive accumulation of abnormal deposits of a fatty substance called globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) in blood vessel walls throughout a person's body. Fabry disease occurs in one person per 40,000 to 60,000. Fabry patients inherit a deficiency of the GalactosidaseA enzyme, which is normally responsible for the breakdown of Gb3. The abnormal storage of Gb3 increases with time and, accordingly, Gb3 accumulates, primarily in the blood and in the blood vessel walls. The ultimate consequences of Gb3 deposition range from episodes of pain and impaired peripheral sensation to end-organ failure particularly of the kidneys, but also of the heart and the cerebrovascular system.

About Pegunigalsidase Alfa

Pegunigalsidase alfa is an investigational, plant cell culture-expressed, and chemically modified stabilized version of the recombinant -Galactosidase-A enzyme. Protein sub-units are covalently bound via chemical cross-linking using short PEG moieties.

About Chiesi Global Rare Diseases

Chiesi Global Rare Diseases is a business unit of the Chiesi Group established in February 2020 and focused on research and development of treatments for rare and ultra-rare disorders. The Global Rare Diseases unit works in collaboration with Chiesi Group to harness the full resources and capabilities of our global network to bring innovative new treatment options to people living with rare diseases, many of whom have limited or no treatments available. The unit is also a dedicated partner with global leaders in patient advocacy, research and patient care. For more information visit http://www.chiesiglobalrarediseases.com.

About Chiesi Group

Based in Parma, Italy, Chiesi Farmaceutici is an international research-focused healthcare group with 85 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a global presence in 29 countries. Chiesi researches, develops, and markets innovative drugs in the respiratory therapeutics, specialist medicine, and rare disease areas. Its R&D organization is headquartered in Parma (Italy), and is integrated with R&D groups in France, the USA, the UK, and Sweden to advance Chiesi's pre-clinical, clinical, and registration programs. Chiesi employs nearly 6,000 people. Chiesi Group is a certified Benefit corporation. For more information, please visitwww.chiesi.com.

Chiesi Group Media ContactValentina BiaginiSenior Group Communication Manager Chiesi Groupv.biagini@chiesi.com

Chiesi USA Media ContactJenna UrbanBERRY & COMPANY PUBLIC RELATIONS, LLCT: 212 253-8881jurban@berrypr.com

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PDF available:http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/efd466cf-658c-4f9e-b113-e976dbace967

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Chiesi Global Rare Diseases Announces First Patient Treated in Expanded Access Program for Pegunigalsidase Alfa for Proposed Treatment of Fabry...

After months of expedited clinical trials, several coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are now nearing market distribution, and a few are already out for public use.

One of these is Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SEs messenger RNA-based vaccine which was used in the mass immunization campaign of the United Kingdomthe first country to vaccinate its citizens.

On Dec. 8, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan made history as the first to receive the vaccine.

In the Philippines, at least four pharmaceutical companies are currently undergoing evaluation for independent clinical trials, minus AstraZeneca which recently withdrew its application according to news reports saying they already have enough data. (SEE VERA FILES FACT SHEET: Getting to know the COVID-19 vaccine prospects in the Philippines)

Meanwhile, at least 17 other vaccine candidates are being considered for procurement as of Nov. 27 according to Jaime Montoya, executive director of the Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.

But to get vaccinated, one has to deal with another COVID-19 related epidemic.

Apart from the obvious health threats the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, the outbreak was also accompanied by a global infodemic, which the World Health Organization (WHO) described as an overabundance of information, both online and offline, accurate and false.

As the first pandemic in the social media era, the stakes are higher. The same technology which helps enlighten the public is also responsible for the proliferation of misinformation.

The WHO said mis- and disinformation can be harmful to peoples physical and mental health; increase stigmatization; threaten precious health gains; and lead to poor observance of public health measures.

In fact, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies President Francesco Rocca identified misinformation as a parallel pandemic of mistrust in a Nov. 30 press release.

The WHO also likened the spread of misinformation to the way a virus is transmitted.

One person might share fake news with their friends and family, and then a handful of them share it with more of their friends and family, and before you know it, potentially harmful or dangerous information is taking over everyones newsfeed, it said in its information sheet on navigating misinformation and disinformation.

By implanting fear through misinformation, vaccine participation may be affected. Immunization campaigns for the promotion of safe and effective vaccines may not reach their targets, continuing the survival of the virus, according to a Sept. 23 joint statement by the WHO and other global partners.

To help flatten the infodemic curve, VERA Files spoke to Nat Gyenes from global nonprofit Meedan, who writes and researches about the intersection of health and technology and is a guest lecturer on health at the Harvard School of Public Health. She said these are the red flags to look out for in COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.

Furthermore, if it is a true claim, it should also be a massive, breaking news event! added Gyenes.

Avoid posts or content which promote conspiracy theories and falsely debunk evidence-based scientific research. Many of those who dive into vaccine conspiratorial thinking are vaccine deniers - these refer to individuals who have a very negative attitude towards vaccination and not open to a change of mind no matter what the scientific evidence says, according to the WHO.

They may choose to ignore, reject and twist the scientific consensus or be selective about the information.

Vaccine-safety knowledge may be influenced by culture and beliefs, but each country has specific credible government- and expert-backed sources of information. Local government units may help locals better understand considering the familiarity of the living environment.

Lack of knowledge about the vaccines adverse effects may increase health risks, which could lead to a degradation of trust and confidence in health experts, immunization campaigns and governments.

Close relatives of people who will receive a vaccine also deserve to know the details about the vaccine, such as its name, expected or potential adverse effects, and health-related response in the occurrence of a side effect.

There are cases of safety and efficacy concerns for traditional medicine, said Gyenes, citing health experts from Meedan's Digital Health Lab who claim there is currently no scientific evidence to support using home or traditional therapies to prevent COVID-19.

In cases where individuals may prioritize alternative medicine above science-based conventional medical care, it can cause harm by, for example, contributing to delayed adherence to effective treatments, or putting individuals at unnecessary risk, she added.

Vaccine roll-out is an important global priority. And in 2021, more COVID-19 vaccines will be ready for public use. But not everyone trusts these health organizations and even governments that promote vaccines.

It is important for the global public health community to acknowledge that there is legitimate mistrust that communities experience in health institutions, said Gyenes.

To remedy the situation, Gyenes suggests more accessible content in a variety of languages, with localized health information available across health and information literacy levels.

Use of the native tongue in disseminating information helps skeptics rebuild their confidence in public health experts and institutions.

Sources

BBC News, Covid-19 vaccine: First person receives Pfizer jab in UK, Dec. 9, 2020

CNN, First Britons receive Covid-19 vaccine, a landmark moment in the pandemic, Dec. 8, 2020

The Manila Times, Vaccine developer drops PH trials, Dec. 13, 2020

The New York Times, Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker

NPR, U.K. Begins Nationwide Coronavirus Immunization, Largest In Nation's History, Dec. 8, 2020

Philstar.net, AstraZeneca backs out of planned vaccine trials in the Philippines, Dec. 11, 2020

Rappler, AstraZeneca no longer conducting COVID-19 vaccine trials in Philippines, Dec. 11, 2020

World Health Organization, Managing the COVID-19 infodemic: Promoting healthy behaviours and mitigating the harm from misinformation and disinformation, Sept. 23, 2020

World Health Organization, MODULE 6 Communication

World Health Organization, Responsible media reporting on COVID-19 vaccines, Dec. 7, 2020

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Best practice guidance: How to respond to vocal vaccine deniers in public

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION OF IMMUNIZATION DATA

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YEARENDER: Five red flags to look out for in COVID-19 vaccine misinformation - Vera Files - Vera Files

SINGAPORE - Patients with lower back and neck pain are now eligible for subsidised acupuncture treatment at public sector specialist outpatient clinics.

This pilot programme will provide referred patients with means-tested subsidies that can cover up to 70 per cent of treatment costs, announced the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday (Dec 29).

About 2,000 patients per year, or 70 per cent of all who visit public specialist outpatient clinics for pain in the lower back and neck area, are set to benefit under this pilot.

Merdeka Generation and Pioneer Generation seniors will enjoy an additional 25 per cent and 50 per cent off the remaining healthcare bill respectively.

All patients, regardless of their subsidy status, will also be able to pay for acupuncture services to relieve lower back and neck pain using their Flexi-MediSave scheme.

The scheme, introduced by the Health Ministry in 2015, aimed to reduce out-of-pocket costs for older Singaporeans at polyclinics, general practitioner clinics on the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas), and public specialist outpatient clinics.

Seniors can begin to benefit from the Flexi-MediSave scheme once they are 60 years of age.

Those who qualify can withdraw up to $200 per year from their own MediSave account or that of their spouse to pay for outpatient treatments.

"The pilot will not cover acupuncture used to treat other pain indications, and other forms of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine currently offered at public healthcare institutions," said MOH.

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Patients with lower back, neck pain to get subsidised acupuncture treatment under pilot programme - The Straits Times

The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine is pushing for the use of medical cannabis in traditional Thai medicines, with plans to cultivate the cannabis plant at 150 Tambon Health Promoting Hospitals nationwide.

Director-General of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Amporn Benjaponpitak, has declared the department's use of cannabis with Thai traditional medicine in the 2020 fiscal year a success.

Dr Amporn said the Public Health Ministry had included medical cannabis in its service plan for the 2020 fiscal year.

This was in line with the government's policy to make further use of local wisdom and knowledge to develop innovative processed agricultural products.

It is also the government's policy to promote research and development on medical cannabis to add economic value to the plant, said Dr Amporn.

For the 2021 fiscal year, the department will focus on developing quality cannabis farms to generate income for people and ensuring there is a sufficient supply of medication made with medical cannabis in the national healthcare scheme.

According to the department's chief, the department has piloted a project to cultivate cannabis at Tambon Health Promotion Hospitals in collaboration with community enterprises.

In the project's first phase, medical cannabis will be cultivated for the production of traditional Thai medicine. Three hospitals have already cultivated cannabis plants.

The second phase is aimed at increasing the number of medical cannabis farms to 150 nationwide.

Presently, 54 hospitals in 20 provinces and 11 health areas have received a licence to cultivate cannabis from the narcotic drugs committee.

In the third phase, medical cannabis will be used to treat palliative care patients. The goal of this phase is to promote the cultivation of medical cannabis by community enterprises.

Dr Amporn added that the department's medical cannabis plan for the 2021 fiscal year had the objective of developing legal cannabis farms for the production of traditional Thai medicine, educating people about legal medical cannabis and increasing health options for people.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin disclosed that the draft of the Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) Act is in its second reading stage by a committee chaired by himself.

The Kratom Act draft is expected to be reviewed by parliament in early 2021.

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Dept pushing for cannabis use in Thai traditional medicines - Bangkok Post