Pentavalent Vaccines Promoted by WHO Despite Deaths of Healthy Children – Part II, Haiti | Le vaccin pentavalent promu par l’OMS malgré des décès des enfants en bonne santé – 2ème Partie, Haïti

By Emmanuel Bruno Marino, AlterPresse | All-India Drug Action Network | Translations by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Within two months of the start of a campaign of vaccination with pentavalent vaccine in India by the World Health Organization (WHO), four healthy inoculated children died. Nevertheless, on April 16, 2012 Haiti announced that it would introduce the pentavalent vaccine Quinvaxem into its national immunization program at a cost $11 million. (English | French)

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Pentavalent Vaccines Promoted by WHO Despite Deaths of Healthy Children – Part I, Asia

All-India Drug Action Network open letter | Ranjit Devraj, IPS | Haiti Chery. Despite widespread concern over their safety, efficacy and cost, India’s central health ministry approved the inclusion of pentavalent vaccines in its universal immunization program for seven provinces. Dr. Jacob Puliyel likened the deaths in vaccinated children to the penicillin sensitivity reaction and said it borders on criminality to administer pentavalents to children without first testing them for hypersensitivity.

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Haitians Emigrating to Brazil Undocumented

iBy Staff, Listín Diario | By Najla Passos, Carta Maior | Translated from Spanish and Portuguese by David Holmes Morris for lo-de-alla. Some 500 undocumented Haitian immigrants entered the Brazilian city of Brasileia, in the last three days of 2011. The illegal entry might have been dangerous and mediated by human traffickers. On Feb 2, 2012, during a visit to Haiti, Brazilian President Dilma Rousef said her country would grant Haitians 1,200 visas per year for the next five years. (English | Spanish | Portuguese)

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Eight U.S. States Raise Minimum Wage

By Dick Meister, Truthout | Brock Haussamen blog | US Dept of Labor. When the minimum wage is adjusted for inflation, one can see that its real value has dropped since 1978. So these increases in the minimum wage are overdue. Unlike the rich, minimum-wage workers spend virtually all that they earn on necessities. So when the minimum wage is increased, this raises the demand for goods and services and leads to job creation.

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Wealth Gap Between Minorities and White Americans Doubles After Housing Crisis, Recession

By Amy Goodman, Roderick Harrison, Juan Gonzalez, and Paul Taylor, Democracy Now! | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The average net worth of Blacks and Latinos in the U.S. is 20 times lower than the net worth of Whites: a racial disparity worse than when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive.

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In the Heart of Europe, Undocumented Immigrants Organize

By Dan La Botz, Labor Notes. Undocumented Latino immigrants in Switzerland are battling many of the same issues as in the United States, and they’re organizing to call for creative solutions to common problems.

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Thai, Argentine Textile Workers Unite Against Slave Labour

By Marcela Valente, IPS. Buenos Aires – Textile cooperatives founded by former slave labourers from Argentina and Thailand will jointly launch a new brand of clothing in June to raise awareness about exploitation and promote decent jobs in the garment industry.

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