People gave up on flu pandemic measures a century ago when they tired of them – and paid a price

J. Alexander Navarro, University of Michigan (from The Conversation) Picture the United States struggling to deal with a deadly pandemic. State and local officials enact a slate of social-distancing measures, gathering bans, closure orders and mask mandates in an effort to stem the tide of cases and deaths. The public responds with widespread compliance mixed with more than a hint of grumbling, pushback and even…

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Into the future with COVID: stress, depression, endemic/pandemic … will there ever be “normal” again?

Will we ever return to the world of 2019? A time before COVID-19 dominated the education, work, mental and physical health–the very existence of billions of people. Globally, millions have died, hundreds of millions have tested positive, and those estimated numbers are surely all undercounts (Johns Hopkins University, Coronavirus Resource Center). The coronavirus is still with us and will continue to be into the future….

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Long COVID: what it is, impacts, and treatments

“Long COVID refers to a variety of symptoms affecting different organs reported by people following Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection” (Taquet, 2021). “The symptoms of Long Covid include fatigue, dyspnea, cardiac abnormalities, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, muscle pain, concentration problems, and headache” (Crook, 2021). Long Covid can be terribly debilitating and have profound effects on the people it impacts. See…

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Essential workers: economic and health vulnerability

We live in a very unequal society in the United States. Many have pointed this out for years and the COVID-19 pandemic has starkly illustrated this inequality. The poor, the sick, the old, the young, those who are “different”, those with little political power, and on and on … these people have borne the brunt for decades. These people have seen little benefit from economic…

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Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 and is spread person-to-person through close contact. This review investigated the effects of physical distance, face masks, and eye protection on virus transmission in health-care and non-health-care settings. The review covered “172 observational studies in health-care and non-health-care settings across 16 countries and six continents; 44 comparative studies were included in a meta-analysis, including 25 697 patients…

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The use of face masks/face shields to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases–are they effective?

How effective is wearing face masks and/or face shields in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases? Recommendations in the United States, at least, have varied often depending upon who issued them–politicians or medical professionals. Quick bibliography: What does the research say about the effectiveness of wearing face masks and/or face shields to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases? *Bhaskar ME, Arun S….

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