Vietnam turns Danang stadium into field hospital amid virus outbreak

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HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam is close to completing the conversion of a sports stadium into a 1,000-bed field hospital in its new coronavirus epicentre Danang, the health ministry said on Thursday, as it battles an outbreak that has spread to at least 11 locations.

Aggressive contact-tracing, targeted testing and strict quarantining had helped Vietnam halt an earlier contagion, but it is now racing to control infections in the central city and beyond after a new outbreak ended a run of more than three months without domestic transmission.

Danang’s Tien Son Sports Palace will from Saturday be used to treat an overflow of infected patients should the city’s hospitals become overwhelmed, said the company behind the project, Sun Group.

Danang has reported more than 200 cases since the virus reappeared there on July 25. Authorities have said the situation was “under control” and the outbreak would likely peak in the next 10 days.

If infection numbers stabilise, the facility would be used to isolate people who were in direct contact with a positive case, as part of Vietnam’s centralised quarantine programme, Sun Group said.

The health ministry reported 34 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, taking Vietnam’s total cases to 747, with 10 deaths.

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Senators introduce bill to aid veterans who were exposed to cancer-causing toxins at 'K2'

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WASHINGTON — A group of senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would kickstart medical studies of veterans who served at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, and were exposed to multiple cancer-causing toxins.

Veterans assigned to the post in southeastern Uzbekistan described a toxic environment there in the early 2000s, with pond water that glowed green and black sludge that oozed from the ground. Some veterans assigned to K2 testified to Congress in February, saying they were aware of hundreds of cases of cancer among K2 veterans. Thirty people have died, they said. 

The Defense Department shared documents with Congress in July that revealed the Pentagon knew troops there were exposed to hazards. The Soviet base contained chemical weapons, enriched uranium and soil saturated with fuels and other solvents that formed a “black goo,” documents from 2001, 2002 and 2004 show.

Though there is mounting evidence to prove toxic exposure, the veterans remain ineligible for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. 

Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who introduced the bill, said their legislation is the first step toward securing benefits.

The bill “lays the groundwork for ensuring that service members who were deployed to K2 in Uzbekistan are covered and compensated for exposure to toxic substances at the base,” Baldwin said.  

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Major women veterans' care bill heads to Senate floor after key committee vote

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What could be the most significant legislation for women veterans so far this Congress now heads to the Senate floor for a vote after passing a key committee on Wednesday and a House vote late last year.

The Deborah Sampson Act is an omnibus bill intended to remove barriers and improve women veterans’ care and is in major part the effort of the House Women Veterans Task Force.

The Deborah Sampson Act includes measures to:

1. Provide gender-specific healthcare equipment such as mammography machines at each VA;
2. Mandate a VA-wide sexual harassment and assault policy, including training for employees;
3. Ensure women veterans' primary care is available during regular VA business hours;
4. Establish an Office of Women's Health;
5. Improve communications of women veterans' services;
6. Establish and improve care standards;
7. Provide more funding for women veteran programs;
8. Permanently authorize PTSD counseling for women veterans in retreat settings;
9. Expand eligibility for military sexual trauma counseling;
10. Provide extended care for newborns;
11. Require reporting on women veterans' services and benefits.

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Multi-national chemical firm Corteva closing manufacturing operation at New Plymouth site

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As a young man Brian Zimmerman worked at one of New Plymouth’s largest and most controversial industrial sites – now the 62-year-old lives less than 100 metres away and can’t wait to see it close.

On Tuesday Corteva announced it was closing its crop protection manufacturing operations in New Plymouth.

Manufacturing at the Paritutu facility would stop over the next six to 12 months. The decision impacts 35 employees.

In a media statement the company said there was no decision on how the site and land would be used in the future, but it would work closely with local authorities to ensure the appropriate management of the site.

The decision could bring an end to chemical manufacturing at the site, which has been an industrial facility for decades.

Between 1962 and 1987, the site was used by Ivon Watkins, later Ivon Watkins Dow, which made most of the herbicide 2,4,5-T used in New Zealand.

A byproduct of 2,4,5-T is dioxin, a known cause of cancer.

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Better-Fitting Prosthetics for Female Veterans Funded in $241 Billion VA Proposal

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A $241 billion Department of Veterans Affairs funding bill passed by the House on Friday requires VA to buy prosthetics designed to fit women veterans and conduct research on medical devices more suitable for the female frame.

The issue has been a priority for Reps. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who sponsored legislation to solve the issue of female veterans who have encountered pain and mobility limitations by being fitted with prostheses made for men.

“The face of our military has changed, and so have the needs of the VA,” Pappas said in introducing his original legislation. “It is incumbent upon us to ensure that women that have answered the call to service have access to the same quality care as their male counterparts.”

The proposed legislation includes $840 million for medical research that must also address military toxic exposures such as burn pits, radiation, depleted uranium, chemicals and cancer-causing agents. At $241 billion, it would give VA the second largest pot of discretionary spending funds of any federal government organization.

“This year's Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill makes critical and serious investments in veterans and military families and reinforces our national security infrastructure," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies subcommittee.

The VA funding bill, which must be reconciled with the Senate before it moves to President Donald Trump for signature, includes other provisions to improve the lives of former service members, including funding to ensure that veterans unable to have children as the result of severe combat injuries have access to adoption services or advanced reproductive technologies.

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'I do not care': Report says VA doctor rejected suicidal patient, who died 6 days later

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Department of Veterans Affairs hospital staff dismissed a suicidal patient who died six days after a visit in which a doctor shouted that the patient "can go shoot (themself). I do not care,” a new report finds.

The patient in their 60s had a history of panic attacks and addiction to opioids and tranquilizers and sought treatment at the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C., but was released before being given required suicide prevention planning, the department's inspector general said in the report released Tuesday. The patient, who isn't identified by name or gender, later died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

In a statement, the medical center's director, Mike Heimall, called the instance an isolated incident that "does not represent the quality health care tens of thousands of D.C.-area veterans have come to expect from our facilities." He said the center "grieves the loss of this veteran."

The hospital, Heimall said, has made improvements that include random audits of 20% of suicide-related emergency room visits to make sure staff followed policy and checking that staff monitors emergency-room patients who express suicidal thoughts.

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"We love our vets." - After 8-year struggle for benefits, VA tells Hudson veteran there’s no end in sight to his wait

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HUDSON, Fla. (WFLA) — Nearly a year ago, a Board of Veterans Appeals judge told 69-year-old Air Force Veteran Bill Davis of Hudson that he needed a letter from a doctor stating his illnesses are service-related.

He received two. But what he hasn’t received is a decision from that judge about his claim for disability benefits.

In 1972, the Air Force shipped Davis, then just 21 years old, to Nakhon Phanom Air Base in Thailand.

Air Force Veteran Bill Davis worked with carcinogenic chemicals and was exposed to toxic herbicide while in Southeast Asia

Davis maintained OV-10s, fighters designed to photograph the enemy, destroy them or call in airstrikes.

“When I was in there, I gave them everything I had,” he explained.

When and if the time came, Davis only hoped the government would do the same for him.

Davis followed orders. He never asked about a weed killer sprayed on the flight line where he worked and the nearby base perimeter.

Bill Davis says he gave the Air Force everything he had while serving

“At that point in time, everyday, I was on that flight line, I was exposed to Agent Orange,” he claimed.

He never questioned – until his lungs later filled with tumors – cleaning fighter jet engine parts with Trichloroethylene.

“You filled the sink up with it and then you stuck your hands in there to move the parts around,” he recalled.

And never for a minute did Davis consider that when the Air Force sent the OV-10s, along with Davis, to Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, it would be left off his military record.

In 2012, Davis connected the dots linking Agent Orange and carcinogenic cleaners to his heart disease and Sarcoidosis of the lungs. The VA said none of that is service-connected.

“I put a claim in and they denied it,” Davis said.

The VA even told him with no record of him in Vietnam, he wasn’t exposed to Agent Orange.

“They just disgrace you,” he explained.

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Are You an Alaska Native Vietnam War Era Veteran? If So, You May be Entitled to up to 160 Acres of Land.

The Alaska Native Veterans Program of 2019 allows Alaska Native veterans who served in the Vietnam era, or an heir of theirs, to claim between 2.5 and 160 acres of land in Alaska. The BLM website hosts information about the program, including contact information, proposed rules for the program, a link to available lands, answers to frequently asked questions, and video from virtual public meetings about the program. Potentially eligible veterans should update their contact information with the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Realty Tribal Service Provider and with BLM.

Lax VA Oversight Led to Coronavirus Outbreaks at State Veterans Homes, House Lawmakers Say

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WASHINGTON — House lawmakers criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday for its lax oversight of state veterans homes, arguing the department was partially to blame for deadly outbreaks of the coronavirus at some facilities.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said during a hearing on the matter that the epidemic exposed a “critical shortage of oversight” at state veterans homes.

State veterans homes receive some funding from the VA and undergo yearly inspections by the department. However, they’re operated by state governments. About 20,000 veterans reside in 157 state veterans homes nationwide. The homes receive about $1 billion total in federal funding.

The Government Accountability Office investigated the VA’s oversight of state veterans homes in 2019. The GAO found, in some cases, the VA was the only federal entity to inspect the homes to see whether they met standards of care.

The department contracted with a third party to perform all of its inspections in 2018, said Sharon Silas, who is with the GAO. The VA allowed contractors to ignore some deficiencies at the homes, and in some cases contractors permitted leaders of state veterans homes to fix problems during inspections to avoid being cited. The VA still has not completed all of the recommendations that the GAO made in 2019 to improve inspections, Silas said Wednesday.

“As it stands now, I have to wonder how many lives could’ve been saved at state veterans homes during this pandemic if there had been stronger, more consistent oversight on the part of the VA,” Takano said.

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After 99 days of success, virus returns to haunt Vietnam

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HANOI, Vietnam -- For 99 days, Vietnam seemed to have defeated the coronavirus. There wasn’t a single reported case of community transmission. Not a single death. A handful of cases were caught and isolated at the border, but otherwise people were returning to their normal lives. The country of 96 million people was hailed globally as a standout success.

But then a week ago, an outbreak began that has now grown to 48 cases in six parts of the country, including three of the largest cities, and forced authorities to reimpose restrictions many thought they had put behind them. And experts worry the outbreak could be much larger than currently known.

The outbreak began last Thursday in the picturesque coastal city of Da Nang, where thousands of tourists were taking their summer vacations on golden beaches. A 57-year-old man was hospitalized with a fever and tested positive. His condition soon worsened and he was put on a ventilator.

Health authorities swung into action. But the man’s case was puzzling. He hadn’t left his hometown for over a month and tests on his family and 100 other possible contacts all came back negative.

Then health workers found three other infections in Da Nang over the weekend. And then on Monday, another 11. All of those were other patients or health workers at the Da Nang Hospital, where the man remains in critical condition.

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Sick K2 veterans left out of Senate NDAA bill

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Post-9/11 veterans sickened by toxic chemicals and radiation at an Uzbek airbase used for staging the war in Afghanistan are again absent from must-pass defense legislation, Senate aides told the Washington Examiner.

“There was no comparable amendment offered to the Senate NDAA by any senators,” a Senate Armed Services Committee aide told the Washington Examiner of the $740.5 billion legislation.

The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act included an amendment requiring the Department of Defense to study the effects of contaminants that were present at the airbase known as K2, where some 10,000 veterans served between 2001 and 2005.

“A study will show what we already know: People are dead, dying, and chronically ill at rates several factors higher than similar populations,” said K2 veteran and retired Army Staff Sgt. Mark Jackson, who has chronic thyroid and gastrointestinal problems. “It is a start.”

As violence flares in Afghanistan, Pentagon watchdog denied data on Taliban attacks

The amendment was sponsored by Reps. Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican, himself a veteran of the contaminated Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan.

“The House-passed version would require the Department of Defense to conduct an epidemiological study of health effects and exposures at K2,” Lynch told the Washington Examiner.

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More than 2,000 Veterans Affairs patients have now died from coronavirus

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The Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday passed 2,000 patient deaths from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, even as the number of seriously ill cases at their hospitals continued to decline.

More than 2,040 VA patients have died from complications related to the virus since early March, when the first death at a department medical center was reported. That total translates into about 17 patient deaths a day for the last four months.

Despite recent increases in states like Texas, Florida and Arizona, VA hospitals in New York and New Jersey have still seen the most patient deaths from the fast-spreading illness.

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