Category: Psychological and Sociological Impact
Our Desire for Inexpensive Food Is Putting Us in Danger
NYT/Opinion A dairy worker in Texas contracts H5N1 bird flu after contact with infected cows, and suffers eye inflammation. Weeks later, a dairy worker in Michigan begins to cough and then tests positive for the virus. A ferret in a cage (ferrets are often used as study proxies for humans) becomes infected with the virus by airborne […]
Jun 12, 2024
‘Uncertainty’ Is Indeed a Bad Word: A Second Opinion on Pandemic Communication
MedPageToday In a MedPage Today op-ed earlier this week, the authors made a plea for the government to “communicate about [H5N1] more efficiently and effectively.” Who could disagree? But their title opens with a dogmatic statement, “Uncertainty Isn’t a Bad Word,” and the piece calls for our federal agencies to “communicate what they don’t know as clearly as […]
Jun 12, 2024
Raw milk is the latest health fad. Experts worry it may spread bird flu.
Washington Post On her farm in Utah, Hannah Neeleman makes herself a turmeric latte with a special ingredient: raw milk, fresh and frothy from the udder of a cow. Her young daughter squeezes some into her cup, too. The video of Neeleman’s raw milk latte has been viewed 8 million times on her Instagram and TikTok accounts, Ballerina Farm, since it […]
May 28, 2024
Despite Bird Flu Risk, Raw-Milk Drinkers Are Undaunted
Wired As H5N1 continues its spread among US cow herds, raw milk enthusiasts remain utterly unfazed. To drink raw milk at any time is to flirt with dangerous germs. But, amid an unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in US dairy cows, the risks have ratcheted up considerably. Health experts have stepped up warnings against drinking raw […]
May 15, 2024
Study describes more severe pediatric mental health crises during pandemic
CIDRAP Children visiting the emergency department (ED) for mental health crises during the pandemic had longer stays and more severe diagnoses, according to a new study in Academic Emergency Medicine. The study was based on ED visits to nine US hospitals participating in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Registry from 2017 to 2022. The authors […]
Apr 2, 2024
How US life expectancy rates changed as COVID deaths wane, drug overdoses persist
USA Today Life expectancy rose to 77.5 years on average in 2022, a slight increase of 1.1 years from 2021, according to new studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Life expectancy at birth increased 1.1 years…largely because of decreases in mortality due to COVID-19, heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, and homicide,” the report […]
Mar 27, 2024
Breaking down the effects of remote learning on students during Covid
NBC News Video New research found that shutdowns and remote learning for students during the pandemic resulted in students falling behind. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson reports on the effects shutdowns had on students and the spread of Covid-19.
Mar 19, 2024
What the Data Says About Pandemic School Closures, Four Years Later
New York Times The more time students spent in remote instruction, the further they fell behind. And, experts say, extended closures did little to stop the spread of Covid. Four years ago this month, schools nationwide began to shut down, igniting one of the most polarizing and partisan debates of the pandemic. Some schools, often […]
Mar 19, 2024
Photo Essay: Under COVID lockdown: How we lived four years ago
Reuters Four years ago our lives changed forever as much of the world locked down to curb the spread of the COVID pandemic. Click here to see photo essay
Mar 19, 2024
Four years after the pandemic began, a mental health crisis continues across the country
Pittsburgh Post Empty roadways. Empty restaurants. Empty movie theaters and shopping malls and schools. On March 19, 2020, the world was grappling with the newly emerging Sars-CoV-2 virus. A day earlier, the state had seen its first COVID-related death. Then-Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto announced the city was further restricting “face-to-face interactions” between city employees and […]
Mar 19, 2024