The COVID-19 pandemic is an unparalleled example of systems failure, with adverse impacts on education, health and economic opportunity.
Category: Policy
Stocks Fall, Dow Loses 300 Points After Coronavirus Job Losses Surpass 30 Million
Dismal economic data sent stocks lower.
Elon Musk Rants About `Fascist’ COVID-19 Closures As Another Tesla Call Veers Off Course
The billionaire CEO angrily vented about extended stay-at-home efforts that are curbing the spread of COVID-19, amping up frustration he’d expressed earlier on Twitter.
The burden of essential business: How independent pharmacies are struggling to stay open
My parents’ pharmacy is a low slung, white brick building on the corner of East and Main. The front door is strung with silver bells; a jar of red licorice sits by the cash register; automatic scooters line the front of the shop, gleaming like cars at…
Strategies for lifting COVID-19 mitigation restrictions
Over the last 100 years, the U.S. has had to respond to five avian flu pandemics. The most severe was the 1918 avian influenza infecting 1/3 of the world’s population and killing 650,000 Americans. It was also the last time wide-spread containment, mit…
Our foundation as a nation and the care for the sick, poor, and injured are inextricably linked
As Americans, we rarely question the authenticity or relevance of our constitution. Although segments are hotly debated, and parts are amended over time, the document stands as a light of legal and ethical truism. The foundation of our country and its …
COVID-19 shows why we need health insurance
“How much will this cost me?” This is the last thing that a patient with COVID-19 should have to think about, but this is a major concern for the at least 27 million Americans facing the pandemic without health insurance. These individuals include cons…
The harsh reality of social distancing in rural America
“They stole my shoes!” she told me with tears streaming down her face. It was 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and the woman in front of me at the food pantry only had the clothes on her back, walking around town barefoot. In addition to taking her shoes…
Approach the gun violence epidemic like we do with coronavirus
Among industrialized nations, only the United States endures the current public health epidemic of firearm-assisted injury and death. In 2018, nearly 40,000 people were shot to death in the U.S., while proponents of the Second Amendment continue to pro…
Beyond volunteering to help with COVID-19 relief, medical students must also advocate for a change to our health care system
As if it were a typical Monday afternoon, my anatomy instructor asked my medical school classmates to lean in a little closer. “Do you see the left gastric artery?” He asked, as he zoomed in on a 3D online visualization of a stomach. Instead of leaning…
