Covid-19 has caused a lot of change. It may cause more. We know that people will not want to immediately go back to their old habits. They don’t seem to make sense anymore. But beyond that, some say we should evaluate everything we’re doing when we re-establish normal routines. They say we should evaluate what we’re doing, and throw out outdated or counterproductive behaviors. Brave new world.
One thing that will be different is that many of us will be somewhere else!
22% OF US HAVE MOVED OR KNOW SOMEONE
According to Pew Research:
Overall, around one-in-five U.S. adults (22%) say they either changed their residence due to the pandemic or know someone who did, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. . .
Experiences with coronavirus-related relocations vary by demographic characteristics. The age group most likely to have had at least one of these things happen to them are the nation’s young adults: Overall, 37% of those ages 18 to 29 say they moved, someone moved into their home or they know someone who moved because of the outbreak. By race and ethnicity, 28% of Hispanics have had one of these experiences, compared with 20% of white adults, 19% of Black adults and 24% of Asian Americans.
Those numbers include people who were away from home, and were not allowed to return, due to the pandemic. Others said that they moved to a larger home, because working at home was too cramped.
CHANGED DRUG RULES?
All the while that Big Pharma has been trying to come up with a vaccine (and Russians have been trying to steal the secrets), an Indian entrepreneur has been making agreements with the big pharmacy companies.
Adar Poonawalla. . .plans to save the world from coronavirus – and then radically remake the international pharma landscape. . .
Little known in the West until this year, the 39-year-old Poonawalla’s company is, by doses sold, the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, making 1.5 billion doses a year to protect against diseases including meningitis, measles and tetanus. . .
Poonawalla believes that the sheer urgency of the virus – and the fact that coronavirus anywhere is a threat to people everywhere – should prompt a reassessment of patent and intellectual property laws that limit access to immunizations in the developing world, while simultaneously jacking up their price in wealthier countries. . .
Poonawalla faces a big hurdle: The U.S. pharma industry, which has strong allies on both sides of the aisle in Congress, has successfully resisted most efforts to loosen patent and importation rules.
As noted in the article, Poonawalla’s job won’t be easy. Big Pharma has lots of money, and practically owns Congress, on both sides of the aisle. But the current crisis might help some legislators shake off their chains and vote for common sense.
WHAT ABOUT PREGNANT WOMEN?
We’ve heard that older adults are at most risk from Covid-19. But what about pregnant women?
In some ways, [Carissa Helmer] says, there are a few convenient aspects to being pregnant now – starting with being able to work from home. Before the pandemic, she and her husband both commuted 90 minutes each way to their jobs in the city — driving to the subway, then taking the train downtown. . .
How worried should expecting parents be about any extra risks the coronavirus might pose to the mom or developing fetus?. . . In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study showing pregnant women may be more likely to develop a severe case of COVID-19 than other women their age when they become infected with the virus. . .
There was one finding in the CDC data that does stand out to Riley as potentially worrisome: “It seemed pregnant women were more likely to need the mechanical ventilation, which suggests more severe disease.”
YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING CASH FOR GETTING SICK
Meanwhile, young people have been careless about the virus. In fact, some young people are having parties, intentionally infecting one another. They pay a cover charge, and the first one to get sick gets the cash prize.
“It makes me furious,” [Tuscaloosa. . .City Council member Sonya] McKinstry said. “Furious to the fact that something that is so serious and deadly is being taken for granted. Not only is it irresponsible, but you could contract the virus and take it home to your parents or grandparents.”
SMOKING KILLS
Are young people safe from Covid-19? No, according to UC San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospitals.
Their study shows that one out of three young adults may face a severe condition. Chief among the reasons is that young people (who think they are invulnerable) have a larger rate of cigarette smoking than the rest of the population:
“Recent evidence indicates that smoking is associated with a higher likelihood of COVID-19 progression, including increased illness severity, ICU admission or death,” said [researcher Sally Adams, PhD]. “Smoking may have significant effects in young adults, who typically have low rates for most chronic diseases.”
LIKE TYPHOID MARY
And, of course, the kids end up spreading the disease to more vulnerable populations.
Younger Americans eager to get back to their social lives are increasingly responsible for the spread of the coronavirus, risking their own health and that of their family and friends under what health experts say is the misguided impression that the virus cannot cause them harm. . .
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said this week the percentage of those under 35 testing positive for the virus is now 84 percent higher than it is for those over 35.
This Pandemic is as dangerous as the 1918 pandemic. It’s true that science has come a long way, so we may not have three years of illness and death. But that’s only if we heed the scientists. As we reported in the previous article, if everyone would wear a mask when they’re among other people, the CDC says the pandemic would end in as little as four weeks.
A Goldman Sachs analyst thinks it could be as little as two weeks. Can we seriously not be responsible adults for a couple of weeks?
