Sunday, December 22

Tag: covid

Ending the pandemic will take global access to COVID-19 treatment and vaccines – which means putting ethics before profits
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COVID-19

Ending the pandemic will take global access to COVID-19 treatment and vaccines – which means putting ethics before profits

As COVID-19 surges in the United States and worldwide, even the richest and best insured Americans understand, possibly for the first time, what it’s like not to have the medicines they need to survive if they get sick. There is no coronavirus vaccine, and the best known treatment, remdesivir, only reduces hospital recovery time by 30% and only for patients with certain forms of the disease. Poorer people have always had trouble accessing essential medicines, however – even when good drugs exist to prevent and treat their conditions. In the U.S., where there is no legal right to health, insurance is usually necessary for medical treatment. Remedesivir costs about US$3,200 for a typical treatment course of six vials, though critics argue its manufacturer, Gilead, could make a profit off m...
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How ‘good’ does a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine need to be to stop the pandemic? A new study has answers
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COVID-19

How ‘good’ does a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine need to be to stop the pandemic? A new study has answers

The U.S. is pinning its hopes on a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine, but will a vaccine alone be enough to stop the pandemic and allow life to return to normal? The answer depends on a how “good” the vaccine ends up being. In a study published July 15 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, my colleagues and I used a computer simulation of every person in the country to show how effective a vaccine would have to be and how many people would have to get vaccinated to end the pandemic. We found that a coronavirus vaccine’s effectiveness may have to be higher than 70% or even 80% before Americans can safely stop relying social distancing. By comparison, the measles vaccine has an efficacy of 95%-98%, and the flu vaccine is 20%-60%. That doesn’t mean a vaccine that offers less protectio...
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COVID-19 has resurrected single-use plastics – are they back to stay?
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ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

COVID-19 has resurrected single-use plastics – are they back to stay?

COVID-19 is changing how the U.S. disposes of waste. It is also threatening hard-fought victories that restricted or eliminated single-use disposable items, especially plastic, in cities and towns across the nation. Our research group is analyzing how the pandemic has altered waste management strategies. Plastic-Free July, an annual campaign launched in 2011, is a good time to assess what has happened to single-use disposable plastics under COVID-19, and whether efforts to curb their use can get back on track. California banned single-use plastic bags in 2016, but state officials waived the ban during COVID-19 quarantines because plastic was perceived as more sanitary. From plans to pandemic Over several decades leading up to 2020, many U.S. cities and states worked to reduce waste from s...
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Your coping and resilience strategies might need to shift as the COVID-19 crisis continues
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COVID-19

Your coping and resilience strategies might need to shift as the COVID-19 crisis continues

As people in the U.S. mark six months of coronavirus, the challenges of coping with life during a pandemic continue to evolve. Most recently, reopening of parts of society under unsettled conditions and lingering threat are creating formidable demands on individuals and communities. Keeping your equilibrium can be a challenge in times of uncertainty. Léonard Cotte/Unsplash, CC BY By looking at how people have reacted to mass traumas in the past – think the terrorist attacks of 9/11 or the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – psychology researchers like us can learn about which coping strategies have historically been effective. For instance, people were able to boost their self-esteem and curtail negative thinking in the wake of 9/11 if they engaged in activities that fit their personal value...
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Is the COVID-19 pandemic cure really worse than the disease? Here’s what our research found
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COVID-19

Is the COVID-19 pandemic cure really worse than the disease? Here’s what our research found

The coronavirus pandemic catapulted the country into one of the deepest recessions in U.S. history, leaving millions of Americans without jobs or health insurance. There is a lot of evidence that economic hardship is associated with poor health and can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, cognitive dysfunction and early death. All of that raises a question: Is the U.S. better off with the public health interventions being used to keep the coronavirus from spreading or without them? In a new working paper, I and a team of health economists from U.S. universities set out to answer that question from a humanitarian perspective. To do that, we reviewed the latest data and scientific research about the virus to evaluate the number of lives saved if public healt...
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COVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs
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COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

COVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the U.S. recycling industry. Waste sources, quantities and destinations are all in flux, and shutdowns have devastated an industry that was already struggling. Many items designated as reusable, communal or secondhand have been temporarily barred to minimize person-to-person exposure. This is producing higher volumes of waste. Grocers, whether by state decree or on their own, have brought back single-use plastic bags. Even IKEA has suspended use of its signature yellow reusable in-store bags. Plastic industry lobbyists have also pushed to eliminate plastic bag bans altogether, claiming that reusable bags pose a public health risk. As researchers interested in industrial ecology and new schemes for polymer recycling, we are concerned about challenges f...
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America’s Black female mayors face dual crises of COVID-19 and protests – but these women are used to uphill battles
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POLITICS

America’s Black female mayors face dual crises of COVID-19 and protests – but these women are used to uphill battles

Mayors are elected to govern their cities, serve and protect citizens, maintain law and order and bring about economic prosperity. Those are tall orders today, as American cities are wracked by COVID-19 and anti-racism protests. One effect of these simultaneous crises has been to thrust Black female mayors onto the national stage. That’s because, for the first time in U.S. history, Black women lead several of the United States’ largest cities, including Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco. Black women make up just 14% of women in the United States, and their mayoral history is a short one. But it’s a history of achievement worth exploring. My upcoming book, an edited volume called “Political Black Girl Magic: The Elections and Governance of Black Female Mayors” examines the background of ...
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1 In 10 HBCUs Were Financially Fragile Before COVID-19 Endangered All Colleges And Universities
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COVID-19, EDUCATION

1 In 10 HBCUs Were Financially Fragile Before COVID-19 Endangered All Colleges And Universities

By reducing enrollment and disrupting instruction, the COVID-19 pandemic is generating financial distress for all colleges and universities. Schools that were already financially fragile before this health emergency and economic recession began could soon face even greater risks. That includes several historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. Based on my economic research regarding HBCUs and as a Morehouse College graduate, I’m concerned about the long-term prospects of these institutions for many reasons. One is that HBCUs like my alma mater have long served as vehicles of upward social and economic mobility for African Americans denied opportunities elsewhere. Federal watchlist The Department of Education tracks which colleges and universities are most at risk of closure ...
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Doctors can’t treat COVID-19 effectively without recognizing the social justice aspects of health
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COVID-19, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Doctors can’t treat COVID-19 effectively without recognizing the social justice aspects of health

Recent data shows that black, Latino, indigenous and immigrant communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, due in large part to the persistent legacy of structural racism – practices and policies that systematically benefit white people and harm people of color. From the Bronx and Queens, New York to the Mission District in San Francisco, to the Navajo Nation and black communities of New Orleans, Detroit and Oakland, the message is clear: COVID-19 highlights our societal failures at the intersections of public health, health care and social justice. If health inequities weren’t severe and oppressive enough, add on the layer of police brutality that takes black lives on a regular basis. No matter where we look, our system has continually devalued black bodies and lives. As an...
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During COVID-19 A Community Rallies to Change Prison Rules
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COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

During COVID-19 A Community Rallies to Change Prison Rules

Here at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe, four living units—each housing roughly 200 prisoners—share one recreation yard. And around this time of year, I could watch as teams gathered almost daily to compete on the soccer field or practice around the baseball diamond, as countless residents strolled the quarter-mile track, which surrounds both. Outside the track, some played horseshoes, bocce, handball, basketball, and used the array of pullup and dip bars, while others sat at cement tables slapping cards and banging dominoes. Needless to say, our yard isn’t small. All this changed in early April, after news that the first cases of COVID-19 inside a state prison had been confirmed at Monroe Correctional Complex, where the reformatory is. Courageous fellow residents, refusing to...
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