during – Page 3

During The Summer Of COVID, Dementia Deaths Rise Leading To Concern

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

During The Summer Of COVID, Dementia Deaths Rise Leading To Concern

Deaths from dementia during the summer of 2020 are nearly 20% higher than the number of dementia-related deaths during that time in previous years, and experts don’t yet know why. An estimated 61,000 people have died from dementia, which is 11,000 more than usual within that period. “There’s something wrong, there’s something going on and it needs to be sorted out,” Robert Anderson, chief of mortality statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a recent interview with Politico. “This is highly unusual.” As a geriatrician, I find this statistic sad but not shocking. I care for dementia patients in my clinical practice. I see firsthand how the isolation caused by the pandemic has changed their lives, whether they’re home alone, living with a caregiver, or in ...

Your child’s vaccines: What you need to know about catching up during the COVID-19 pandemic

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS, Journalism

Your child’s vaccines: What you need to know about catching up during the COVID-19 pandemic

This spring, after stay-at-home orders were announced and schools shut down across the nation, many families stopped going to their pediatrician. As a result, kids have fallen behind on important childhood vaccinations. Vaccination rates declined starkly after mid-March, with up to 60% reductions in some areas of the country. Nationwide, vaccination rates dropped by 22% among Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program recipients under 2. Now that kids are coming back to pediatricians like me, many parents have questions about catching up. Why is it a problem that my child is behind on vaccines? Vaccines protect your child from serious communicable diseases including brain infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections and, in the case of the HPV and hepatitis B vaccines, even some t...

Pregnancy during a pandemic: The stress of COVID-19 on pregnant women and new mothers is showing

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Pregnancy during a pandemic: The stress of COVID-19 on pregnant women and new mothers is showing

Pregnancy is stressful, to say the least, but COVID-19 brings new challenges to parents of newborns. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified pregnant women as a vulnerable population. If infected, they are more likely to be hospitalized and require ventilation and their risk of preterm birth goes up. Economists predict that the U.S. may have at least 500,000 fewer births because of the pandemic. Deciding not to become pregnant during a pandemic is understandable, particularly in the U.S., as it is one of five countries worldwide and the only country classified as high-income by the World Bank, that does not mandate paid maternity leave for non-federally employed workers. As scholars who study prenatal and postnatal stress, maternal nutrition and the brain developmen...

Keeping coronavirus vaccines at subzero temperatures during distribution will be hard, but likely key to ending pandemic

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Keeping coronavirus vaccines at subzero temperatures during distribution will be hard, but likely key to ending pandemic

Just like a fresh piece of fish, vaccines are highly perishable products and must be kept at very cold, specific temperatures. The majority of COVID-19 vaccines under development – like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines – are new RNA-based vaccines. If they get too warm or too cold they spoil. And, just like fish, a spoiled vaccine must be thrown away. So how do companies and public health agencies get vaccines to the people who need them? The answer is something called the vaccine cold chain – a supply chain that can keep vaccines in tightly controlled temperatures from the moment they are made to the moment that they are administered to a person. Ultimately, hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. and billions globally are going to need a coronavirus vaccine – and potentially two dos...

Ultraviolet light can make indoor spaces safer during the pandemic – if it’s used the right way

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

VIDEO REELS

Ultraviolet light can make indoor spaces safer during the pandemic – if it’s used the right way

Ultraviolet light has a long history as a disinfectant and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is readily rendered harmless by UV light. The question is how best to harness UV light to fight the spread of the virus and protect human health as people work, study, and shop indoors. The virus spreads in several ways. The main route of transmission is through person-to-person contact via aerosols and droplets emitted when an infected person breathes, talks, sings or coughs. The virus can also be transmitted when people touch their faces shortly after touching surfaces that have been contaminated by infected individuals. This is of particular concern in health-care settings, retail spaces where people frequently touch counters and merchandise, and in buses, trains and planes. As an e...

5 ways families can enjoy astronomy during the pandemic

26Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

5 ways families can enjoy astronomy during the pandemic

This is a challenging time for families. Schools across the U.S. are struggling to provide a meaningful online experience. The coronavirus pandemic has cut off or restricted many entertainment options. As an astronomer, I believe a great way for families to fill the void and have a meaningful science experience in the time of COVID-19 is to turn their attention to the stars they can see right outside their homes. The night sky is, and always has been, safe and free. Here are five ways you can get started. Naked eye You can see a lot with just your eyes. But the night sky is a strange landscape to most people. Just as you would when traveling somewhere unfamiliar, you’ll need a map. Sky and Telescope – an astronomy news publication – has a guide to get started, with printable sky maps for...

How the images of John Lewis being beaten during ‘Bloody Sunday’ went viral

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

VIDEO REELS

How the images of John Lewis being beaten during ‘Bloody Sunday’ went viral

On March 7, 1965, Alabama state troopers beat and gassed John Lewis and hundreds of marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. TV reporters and photographers were there, cameras ready, and the violence captured during “Bloody Sunday” would go on to define the legacy of Lewis, who died on July 17. I’m a media historian who has written about television and the civil rights movement. One of the remarkable features of the era’s media environment, dominated by the relatively new medium of television news, is how quickly certain events could roil the conscience of the nation. Confrontations between police and protesters happened frequently during the 1960s. But a particular set of circumstances ensured that the images coming out of Selma galvanized politicians and citizens with r...

Low-wage service workers are facing new emotional hazards in the workplace during COVID-19

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

WORK

Low-wage service workers are facing new emotional hazards in the workplace during COVID-19

The big idea Low-wage service workers increasingly are facing new physical and emotional hazards in the workplace as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to interviews with workers we conducted in April. We found that in addition to being afraid and anxious about their own health and possible exposure to COVID-19 while working, these employees said dealing with unpredictable customer emotions was taking an additional toll. The workers we spoke with reported that interactions with customers were becoming emotionally charged over issues such as mask requirements and other safety guidelines. Workers of color said they were experiencing increased racial harassment. Exposure to these emotional hazards was widespread among the workers we interviewed and was also spilling over into t...

Massive online open courses see exponential growth during COVID-19 pandemic

24Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Massive online open courses see exponential growth during COVID-19 pandemic

Massive open online classes, or MOOCs, have seen a surge in enrollments since March. Enrollment at Coursera – an online platform that offers MOOCs, has skyrocketed and was 640% higher from mid-March to mid-April than during the same period last year, growing from 1.6 to 10.3 million. The surge was driven in part by giving free catalog access for 3,800 courses to their university partners. Enrollment at Udemy – another MOOC provider – was up over 400% between February and March. These surges correspond to lock downs across the world as the pandemic started to rage. As an astronomy professor who teaches and studies MOOCs, I believe there will be a continued shift toward these types of courses as the pandemic forces educators and students alike to rethink the risks associated with in-person...

Black churches have lagged in moving online during the pandemic – reaching across generational lines could help

3Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Religion

Black churches have lagged in moving online during the pandemic – reaching across generational lines could help

From online campaigns for justice to popular TikTok challenges, Black young adults are at the forefront of social media trends. But when it comes to the Black Church, the same cannot be said – it has lagged behind in the rush to go digital. There is a reason for that. But as a scholar of online religious practices, I believe that ascribing the problem to a generational divide and declining church engagement among young people is overly simplistic. Such a view, I argue, fails to understand the complex dynamic between Black young adults and the Black Church. The digital gap The pandemic is one case in point. Early in March, before state and federal guidelines were handed down, Black churches were split over whether to remain open or close their doors to congregants during the pandemic. So...