COVID-19 – Page 19

America’s poorest children won’t get nutritious meals with school cafeterias closed due to the coronavirus

7Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

America’s poorest children won’t get nutritious meals with school cafeterias closed due to the coronavirus

Schools aren’t only places where kids learn. They are also places where kids eat. Thanks to the National School Lunch Program, 30 million U.S. children – some 60% of all school-aged kids – regularly eat some combination of breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks at school. Federal subsidies ensure that school meals are affordable for all children to stave off hunger and malnutrition. But what is happening to meals provided by the nation’s largest child nutrition program as public schools shut their doors to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic? Based on my research on how schools provide meals for poor children, I worry that these closures might leave some of the nation’s poorest children without access to nutritious meals. School meals address hunger Despite persistent concer...

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, SPORTS, VIDEO REELS

A world without sports

Baseball’s opening day came and went. The Olympics have been postponed. Football in the fall? Don’t count on it. With COVID-19 infections and deaths rising each day, the cancellation of live sporting events might seem like an afterthought. But in the coming weeks and months, their absence will undoubtedly be felt. This isn’t the first time sports have been put on hold. During previous crises and conflicts, sports have been stopped. But in the past, the reprieve was brief; sports went on to act as a way to bring Americans together, persevere and, ultimately, heal. This time’s different. An American ‘religion’ Sports are so important to so many of us that some have likened them to a modern religion, replete with rituals, saints and shrines. “Sports are more than games, meets and matches,...

Remote work amid the coronavirus pandemic: 3 solutions

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, WORK

Remote work amid the coronavirus pandemic: 3 solutions

As part of the fight against COVID-19, Canada is urging “employees at all work sites … to work remotely whenever and wherever possible.” Although we might find comfort in thinking switching between office and remote work is mostly an IT problem, three decades of management research on telecommuting tells us that the real challenges are just starting. Thousands of teams across Canada are going through the difficult transition of redefining the way they function. How teams tackle these challenges will have profound consequences on their productivity and the well-being of their members. Below are three challenges teams will face, and practical recommendations on how to mitigate their effects. Redefining communication norms Office workers share a large amount of information in person — they ...

Social media fuels wave of coronavirus misinformation as users focus on popularity, not accuracy

6Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media fuels wave of coronavirus misinformation as users focus on popularity, not accuracy

Over the past few weeks, misinformation about the new coronavirus pandemic has been spreading across social media at an alarming rate. One video that went viral claimed breathing hot air from a hair dryer could treat COVID-19. A Twitter post touted injecting vitamin C to the bloodstream to treat the viral disease. Other threads hyped unfounded claims that vaping organic oregano oil is effective against the virus, as is using colloidal silver. The sheer number of false and sometimes dangerous claims is worrying, as is the way people are unintentionally spreading them in ever wider circles. In the face of this previously unknown virus, millions of people have been turning to social media platforms in an attempt to stay informed about the latest developments and connected to friends and fam...

Doctors are making life-and-death choices over coronavirus patients – it could have long-term consequences for them

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Doctors are making life-and-death choices over coronavirus patients – it could have long-term consequences for them

As the coronavirus spreads and demand for medical gear far outstrips the supplies, doctors in the U.S. may have to choose who among their patients lives and who dies. Doctors in Italy have already been forced to make such moral choices. In a recent article in The New York Times, six doctors at five of the major city hospitals said they were worried they would soon have to make painful decisions regarding who should come off lifesaving ventilators. In addition to the moral anguish of this decision, they also outlined their concern about potential lawsuits or criminal charges if they went against the wishes of a patient or family. The nature of these decisions shares many parallels with those that we studied in soldiers. These decisions not only involve life-and-death consequences, but th...

Governors take charge of response to the coronavirus

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Governors take charge of response to the coronavirus

Just after every gubernatorial election, but before inaugurations, the National Governors Association organizes a two-day “New Governors School.” Current governors serve as the faculty for newly elected governors, offering a crash course in taking on states’ highest office from those with first-hand experience. It is not by chance that the first of about eight sessions focuses on “What do you do in a crisis?” One of the very first recommendations to all new governors during this session is to make their first appointment the state’s emergency preparedness agency director – not the chief of staff or even the governor’s liaison to the legislature. Those can wait. The nation’s governors know a crisis can happen the day after the inauguration and they need to be prepared. Today, the coronav...

Antibodies in the blood of COVID-19 survivors know how to beat coronavirus – and researchers are already testing new treatments that harness them

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Antibodies in the blood of COVID-19 survivors know how to beat coronavirus – and researchers are already testing new treatments that harness them

Amid the chaos of an epidemic, those who survive a disease like COVID-19 carry within their bodies the secrets of an effective immune response. Virologists like me look to survivors for molecular clues that can provide a blueprint for the design of future treatments or even a vaccine. Researchers are launching trials now that involve the transfusion of blood components from people who have recovered from COVID-19 to those who are sick or at high risk. Called “convalescent-plasma therapy,” this technique can work even without doctors knowing exactly what component of the blood may be beneficial. For the pioneering work of the first treatment using therapeutic serum in 1891 (against diphtheria), Emil von Behring later earned the Nobel Prize in medicine. Anecdotal reporting of the therapy d...

5 ways that the coronavirus will change college admissions this fall

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, EDUCATION

5 ways that the coronavirus will change college admissions this fall

The new coronavirus is spreading across the United States just as many high school seniors were applying to colleges or awaiting acceptance letters. Here, Robert Massa, who teaches about higher education at the University of Southern California and is a former admissions dean from Johns Hopkins University and Dickinson College, offers insights into five ways the COVID-19 pandemic could affect a student’s quest to attend the school of their choice. 1. More time Due to the uncertainties surrounding the health and financial implications of the pandemic, many colleges will not have filled their classes by the traditional May 1 deadline. Colleges that are concerned about not meeting their numerical enrollment goals will likely be flexible in allowing students to apply, even at this late date. ...

COVID-19 could shrink the earnings of 2020 graduates for years to come

1Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

COVID-19 could shrink the earnings of 2020 graduates for years to come

Before the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses and schools to close, high school and college graduates from the Class of 2020 could have expected to graduate into the strongest job market in 50 years. Now, due to massive economic fallout, the Class of 2020 is at risk of graduating into a recession. This souring economy has important implications for more than 3.5 million students expected to graduate from high school in 2020, and the more than 1.3 million students expected to graduate from a two-year or four-year college. The social distancing that has upended business as usual is causing a wave of layoffs and furloughs, with an unprecedented 3.3 million new unemployment claims filed in the week ending March 21. And that’s just the beginning. Experts predict the unemployment rate wi...

How to protect elections amid the coronavirus pandemic

1Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

How to protect elections amid the coronavirus pandemic

At least seven states have postponed their presidential primaries in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. That has raised concerns about the other states that have state elections and federal primary elections planned for later this summer – and of course the general election in November. The main concern, in terms of the pandemic, is that elections cause people to congregate at the polling places on Election Day. If it’s not safe to be within six feet of someone outside your immediate family, it’s seems ill-advised to line up with all your neighbors to check in, or to visit a small voting booth someone else was just in, or to pick up the same pen or touch the same touchscreen they used just moments ago. The solution so far has been to postpone elections until some future time when it’...