What does kindness look like? It wears a mask.
Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling has an important favor to ask of the American people.
16 October, 2020
- Michael Dowling is president and CEO of Northwell Health, the largest health care system in New York state. In this PSA, speaking as someone whose company has seen more COVID-19 patients than any other in the country, Dowling implores Americans to wear masks—not only for their own health, but for the health of those around them.
- The CDC reports that there have been close to 7.9 million cases of coronavirus reported in the United States since January. Around 216,000 people have died from the virus so far with hundreds more added to the tally every day. Several labs around the world are working on solutions, but there is currently no vaccine for COVID-19.
- The most basic thing that everyone can do to help slow the spread is to practice social distancing, wash your hands, and to wear a mask. The CDC recommends that everyone ages two and up wear a mask that is two or more layers of material and that covers the nose, mouth, and chin. Gaiters and face shields have been shown to be less effective at blocking droplets. Homemade face coverings are acceptable, but wearers should make sure they are constructed out of the proper materials and that they are washed between uses. Wearing a mask is the most important thing you can do to save lives in your community.
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'I hope he doesn't feel too lonely' — COVID-19 hits people with intellectual disabilities hard
Prior to COVID-19, 45% of people with intellectual disabilities reported feeling lonely.
29 April, 2020
MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images
My brother was supposed to move into his first "independent" home in mid-March. In his late 20s, and a person with an intellectual disability, he had finally gathered up the courage and the will to move out of our family home and live in a group home.
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Because of the coronavirus pandemic, my brother's move is now delayed indefinitely, and his world remains mostly his bedroom. He can't go to his part-time job, the library, or to church.
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My brother and many others with intellectual disabilities face the additional burden of increased loneliness during COVID-19. While many people are experiencing isolation, anxiety and loneliness during this challenging time, we know that prior to COVID-19,
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29441708" target="_blank">45% of people with intellectual disabilities reported feeling lonely</a> (that's compared to only <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5359916/" target="_blank">10.5% of the general population</a>). The <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/04/04/how-will-humans-by-nature-social-animals-fare-when-isolated" target="_blank">increased pressures living in quarantine</a> can result in challenges to mental health, sleep disruptions and mood swings.
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We know that
<a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/loneliness-has-same-risk-as-smoking-for-heart-disease" target="_blank">loneliness is correlated with serious health risks </a>such as heart disease, weakened immune systems and stroke. For people with intellectual disabilities who had already long experienced loneliness and social ostracization, what significant impacts might this have on their mental and physical health? <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/covid-19-prevents-people-mourning-lonely-deaths-surge-200407051334527.html" target="_blank">Many COVID-19 patients die alone</a>. For people with intellectual disabilities already experiencing severe loneliness, this fact seems particularly cruel.
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People with intellectual disabilities often
<a href="https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/04/california-coronavirus-developmentally-disabled-covid-autism-social-services-safety-net/" target="_blank">utilize resources such as home health aides</a>, day programmes, drop-in centres, family respite services and group homes. For health and safety reasons, many of these services are now unavailable or closed, increasing the responsibility of family members, affecting the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2020/03/19/updates-on-coronavirus-and-the-disabled-community/#486be504187a" target="_blank">routine of people with intellectual disabilities and significantly impacting their independence</a>. My brother is not able to go to his state-funded part-time job, removing his interaction with others outside of our immediate family and taking away the sense of purpose he felt by doing work.</p>
<p>These COVID-19-related service changes also reveal the complex interdependencies with families, caregivers and staff that most people with intellectual disabilities depend on in their day-to-day lives. In China, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3048208/left-home-six-days-disabled-chinese-boy-dies-after-carer-dad-and" target="_blank">a family made headlines when a teenager with cerebral palsy died</a> in Wuhan after his father and brother, diagnosed with coronavirus, were quarantined in a treatment facility and unable to care for him.</p><p>Some people with intellectual disabilities are not able to quarantine alone or stay with their families due to their enhanced medical or behavioural needs. Remaining in group homes or <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html" target="_blank">similar long-term care facilities can allow people with intellectual disabilities access to the care they need</a>, but may put them at a much greater risk of infection. For people with intellectual disabilities who live independently or semi-independently but rely on home health aides, they and their families <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/11/coronavirus-ill-disabled-people" target="_blank">weigh the risk of exposing themselves to infection or not receiving the daily life supports they need</a>.</p><p>In addition to all of the health and safety guidelines we all must decipher and follow, people with intellectual disabilities face increased challenges when it comes to staying safe during COVID-19. My brother and many like him have had their daily routine disrupted completely, a challenge for many people with intellectual disabilities. Understanding the rapidly changing information about COVID-19 or updates to public health guidance can be puzzling, and people with intellectual disabilities may struggle to communicate without non-verbal cues.</p>
<p>In Saskatoon, Canada, <a href="https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/advocates-say-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-left-behind-in-covid-19-response/" target="_blank">some people with intellectual disabilities were so confused about the public health guidance to social distance that they went without groceries or other necessities</a>. It is unlikely that my brother really understands the importance of washing his hands or remembers how to do so correctly, even after seeing a video or reading a detailed pamphlet.</p><p>Organizations that support and advocate on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities are working hard to continue to provide services and resources, even amid reduced revenue and logistical challenges. <a href="https://www.inclusion-europe.eu/easy-to-read-information-about-coronavirus/" target="_blank">Inclusion Europe has produced an easy-to-read instructional guide about coronavirus</a>, designed for people with intellectual disabilities, available in several languages. The UN <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2020/03/COVID-19_CommunityEngagement_130320.pdf" target="_blank">has produced resources about how to include marginalized and vulnerable people</a>, including those with intellectual disabilities, in risk communication and community engagement. The International Disability Alliance has issued <a href="http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/sites/default/files/ida_recommendations_for_disability-inclusive_covid19_response_final.pdf" target="_blank">specific recommendations for a disability-inclusive COVID-19 response</a>.<br></p><p>People with intellectual disabilities face the prospect of navigating a healthcare system that is rationing care. During a time of resource scarcity, like the one many countries are experiencing during COVID-19, there simply aren't enough resources for every patient that needs them. When this occurs, <a href="https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-covid19/2020/3/31/21199721/coronavirus-covid-19-hospitals-triage-rationing-italy-new-york" target="_blank">medical professionals need to decide which patients receive these resources, </a>thus rationing out the care that is available.</p><p>In Italy, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/who-gets-hospital-bed/607807/" target="_blank">there are many stories of hospitals too overwhelmed with patients</a> to ventilate every person who needs it – medical professionals are forced to make heartbreaking choices about who receives care.</p>
<p>In the United States, the disability community, including the <a href="https://www.aapd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19-Response-Package.pdf" target="_blank">American Association of People With Disabilities</a>, has advocated strongly against <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/people-disabilities-worry-they-wont-get-treatment/609355/" target="_blank">guidance in disaster preparedness plans such as those released by states</a> like Washington, Kansas, Tennessee and Alabama that recommend <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/coronavirus-washington-triage-disabled-handicapped.html" target="_blank">end-of-life decisions that could disadvantage people with disabilities</a>, including some that do not recommend providing ventilators to those with "severe mental retardation". Disability advocates assert that these policies directly impact civil rights. In response, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/us/coronavirus-disabilities-rationing-ventilators-triage.html" target="_blank">director of the federal health department's civil rights office has begun investigations</a>, and some of these states, including Washington and Kansas, are in the process of updating their guidelines to ensure they do not implicitly or explicitly condone discrimination.</p><p>Still, the fear and uncertainty associated with rationing of care is deeply disturbing to people with intellectual disabilities, who are worried that medical professionals, forced to make quick decisions and without a full understanding of their capacity and medical history, might prevent them from receiving medical resources.</p><p>People with disabilities and their advocates rightly point out that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/people-disabilities-worry-they-wont-get-treatment/609355/" target="_blank">doctors may make assumptions about people with disabilities</a> based on bias. These fears are supported by <a href="https://www.thehastingscenter.org/confronting-disability-discrimination-during-the-pandemic/" target="_blank">research that ableism in medicine does exist</a>. People with intellectual disabilities and their family members remember unethical medical research done on people with intellectual disabilities in the name of science, like those experiments done on unwilling participants at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/nyregion/coronavirus-disabilities-group-homes.html" target="_blank">Willowbrook State School in New York</a>. People with intellectual disabilities are still <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/11/10/sterilization-women-and-girls-disabilities" target="_blank">subject to forced sterilization</a> around the world.</p><p>For now, I am grateful that my brother doesn't seem to understand all the fuss around COVID-19 and I'm relieved that he's stuck at home. I hope that he doesn't feel too lonely. When I think of the inevitable time when we are allowed to return to our community, I wonder if my brother will follow hygiene guidelines. Will he stay away from people who are coughing? Will he tell us if he has a fever? For now, if he has to go to the hospital, I have to hope that his life is considered as valuable as someone without a disability.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid19-coronavirus-intellectual-disabilities-loneliness/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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Is COVID-19 really any worse than normal seasonal flu?
Answer: You don't want to get either.
05 March, 2020
Image source: twinsfisch/unsplash
- Many are suggesting coronavirus is just flu-season business as usual. It's not.
- No sensible comparison can be made anyway, for a few reasons.
- The one that's less bad — whichever that is — can still kill you.
<p>A lot of people are trying to get a sense of whether COVID-19 is any more dangerous than normal seasonal flu strains. Unfortunately, making meaningful comparisons between them is just not possible yet. From a "what should I do/worry about?" point of view, though, it's pretty pointless to compare the two.</p><p>Whichever one you select as the ultimate Big Bad, they're both out there: You have a decent chance of contracting either illness, and they both can be fatal for certain demographic segments. Trying to choose which one is worse is like trying to choose whether you'd rather be hit by a bus or a truck.</p><p>At this point, the best advice remains the same for both: Start washing those hands well and frequently, and follow the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html" target="_blank">CDC's recommendations</a> for avoiding infection.</p><p>John Oliver's <a href="https://youtu.be/c09m5f7Gnic" target="_blank"><em>Last Week Tonight</em></a> on HBO surfaced a mnemonic earworm from the Vietnamese Health Authority. Fittingly enough, it's contagious and currently infecting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUds1e8NBHE" target="_blank">TikTok</a>.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V9YirNgAzXI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Here’s why we can’t know which is worse
<p>There are some fundamental differences between the statistics available on seasonal flu and COVID-19, and they make a direct comparison impossible.</p><ul><li>Seasonal flu is an annual phenomenon (even though strains change). There's lots of multi-year data on rates of infection and mortality in the hands of numerous national health authorities. COVID-19, on the other hand, has been around for only about two months, and most of the available data comes from just one country, China, where it first emerged.</li><li>Related to this is that it's impossible to calculate the spread of COVID-19 from such a limited amount of data, both in terms of time and geography. The disease is now apparently racing around the globe outside China, but how fast will it circulate and what will be its final infection rate? It's impossible to know. </li><li>There are remedies and vaccines for seasonal flu strains — neither exist for COVID-19. While existing therapies are being tested for their efficacy against coronavirus, no silver bullet has yet been found and there's no way to know when/if one will. Hilary Marston, a medical officer and policy advisor at the <a href="https://www.niaid.nih.gov" target="_blank">National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases</a> says of a coronavirus vaccine, "If everything moves as quickly as possible, the soonest that it could possibly be is about one-and-a-half to two years. That still might be very optimistic." This makes a comparison of the death rates between seasonal flu and COVID-19 unfair.</li></ul><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg0MzMzNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDg2MjY1N30.N6M3YZvw1ViY1XoV-nnpH3vlv4gxu5Xbr-bBLYhVB_o/img.jpg?width=980" id="37c3e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cb393555f4de618c5a834e58569e8362" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Image source: Brynjar Gunnarsson/Shutterstock
Things people are saying, and what's real
<p><strong>You're more likely to get the seasonal flu.</strong></p><p>Um, maybe, <em>at the moment.</em> Be aware that COVID-19 is being found in new areas pretty much every day. Harvard epidemiologist Mark Lipstich says, "I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable." </p><p>On top of that, we don't know how <em>fast</em> it will spread in the wild. If it continues to travel at the rate it has in the last two months, hoo boy. However, contagion doesn't usually remain linear. So it could get better. Or worse. Will seasons affect it? Proper sanitation? Other factors? With only two months of data, we can't possibly know, but Lipstich predicts 40% to 70% of us will get it.</p><p><strong>COVID-19 is 20 times more deadly than seasonal flu.</strong></p><p>Sorry. It's likely a lot worse than that. Last week, COVID-19's mortality rate was thought to be 2.3%. Now it's considered to be 3.4%, or .034 of the total number of infections. The CDC estimates the seasonal flu mortality rate this year is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm" target="_blank">.001%</a> — the number of deaths divided by the number of total infections. So, as of March 4, the latest figure for COVID-19's mortality rate is <em>34 times greater</em> than seasonal flu, nearly double what you've been hearing.</p><p>Of course, the lack of effective treatment is a key factor in COVID-19's mortality rate. When/if one is identified, that rate will go down.</p><p><strong>Most people get through COVID-19 just fine.</strong></p><p>This is true, However, while in one sense it's great that the vast majority of people who contract COVID-19 get over it easily, it also means that a lot of people have the coronavirus without realizing it and are continuing to spread the infection. In stark — and tragic — contrast, one of the reasons Ebola eventually stopped infecting people was that most of its victims typically died before they could spread the disease. COVID-19, on the other hand, can travel quite invisibly far and wide before being recognized.</p><p>Epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo tells <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/northern-californian-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-in-first-us-case-with-no-link-to-foreign-travel/2020/02/26/b2088840-58fb-11ea-9000-f3cffee23036_story.html" target="_blank"><em>The Washington Post</em></a> that the recent U.S. diagnoses confirm "what we have long suspected — that there is a good chance there already are people infected in this country and that the virus is circulating undetected. It points to the need for expanded surveillance so we know how many more are out there and how to respond. It's also likely that person-to-person spread will continue to occur, including in the United States."</p><p><strong>BONUS: You should stop drinking Corona beer to avoid/protest COVID-19.</strong></p><p>Seriously, no.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg0MzM0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDYyOTAwMX0.tZrJ-q7xwTDm2vrQvUcqvE1KOUhpnDBDxVF3KPxv3TE/img.jpg?width=980" id="e9322" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0f128203dccc1484b5c51c684c577367" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Image source: DenisMArt/Shutterstock
So stop comparing and just be safe
<p>Regardless of which disease is worse, they're both potentially dangerous, so be safe and follow safety guidelines. Take hand-washing seriously: Rub your hands together with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. (Sing the alphabet at a moderate speed and you'll be about right.)</p><p>As for the question "How worried should I be about Coronavirus?" We'll let Oliver have the last word: "A bit."</p><p><em>Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated a cure exists for the flu. There is no cure for the flu.</em></p>
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Health care should be a basic human right in America, says Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon recently criticized the state of the U.S. healthcare system as part of his work with The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.
25 September, 2018
Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations Secretary General. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
- Ki-moon served as secretary general for the United Nations from 2007 to the end of 2016.
- He said special interests are blocking the American government from pursuing universal healthcare.
- 30 million Americans are not covered by insurance. A 2018 poll shows that more than half of Americans would support a single-payer healthcare plan.
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<p>The U.S. healthcare system is politically and morally wrong, according to former United Nations secretary general <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ban-ki-moon" target="_blank">Ban Ki-moon.</a> </p><p>In a recent interview with <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/25/ex-un-chief-ban-kioon-says-us-healthcare-system-is-morally-wrong" target="_blank">The Guardian</a></em>, Ban criticized the state of U.S. healthcare as part of his work with The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela whose work focuses in part on advocating for universal healthcare across the world. He urged American leaders to deliver fully funded healthcare as a "human right".</p><p>"It's not easy to understand why such a country like the United States, the most resourceful and richest country in the world, does not introduce universal health coverage," said Ban. "Nobody would understand why almost 30 million people are not covered by insurance."</p><p>Ban, a South Korean politician who served 10 years as the eighth secretary general of the U.N. until 2017, has been a vocal proponent of other progressive causes like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jan/27/ban-ki-moon-un-climate-change-talks" target="_blank">climate change</a> and LGBTQ rights. </p><p>"While swearing in as secretary general, I pledged I would make this world better for all," he said. "Nobody would imagine that there should be so many people – 30 million people – who would be left behind" in the U.S.</p>
A snapshot of the U.S. healthcare system
<p style="">The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world, even though, as Ban mentioned, some 12.2% percent of American adults <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-health-insurance-survey-20180116-story.html" target="_blank">lacked health insurance at the end of 2017</a>, up from 10.9% at the close of 2016. According to 2016 data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:</p><ul> <li>The U.S. spent $3.3 trillion, or $10,348 per person, on healthcare.</li><li>Healthcare spending accounts for about 18% of U.S. GDP.</li><li>Americans spent about $1.1 trillion on private health insurance and $328.6 billion on retail prescription drugs.</li></ul><p><img src="https://assets.rbl.ms/18657636/980x.png"></p>Corporate interests inhibit quality of life in America
<p style="">Ban told <em>The Guardian</em> that the sectoral interests of pharmaceutical companies and hospitals "inhibit the American government" and prevent it from working toward universal health coverage.<br></p><p>"Here, the political interest groups are so, so powerful... Even president, Congress, senators and representatives of the House, they cannot do much so they are easily influenced by these special interest groups," adding that he hopes some progressive states pave the way for publicly financed healthcare.</p><p>"It will be either California or New York who will introduce this system," he said. "Then I think there will be many more states who will try to follow suit. I think that's an encouraging phenomenon we see."</p>Do Americans want single-payer healthcare?
<p>In recent years, there have been growing calls from the left and from some progressive politicians to implement <a href="https://bigthink.com/brandon-weber/new-study-claims-medicare-for-all-would-ruin-the-usa-financially-ummm" target="_blank">Medicare For All</a>, a single-payer plan that would guarantee <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/single-payer-healthcare-pluses-minuses-means-201606279835" target="_blank">health insurance and necessary healthcare to all Americans</a>. And while most Democratic lawmakers have shown mixed feelings about pursuing a single-payer plan, a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2018/04/12/National-Politics/Polling/release_517.xml?" target="_blank">Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation</a> poll from February showed that 51 percent of Americans would support a single-payer plan.</p><p>However, passing such legislation remains virtually impossible as long as both chambers of Congress are controlled by Republicans, many of whom not only oppose Medicare For All outright but also have tried to chip away at the less expansive Affordable Care Act.</p>
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What’s your commitment? How to become an effective change-maker.
Having a goal to change the world for the better is great. But what's more important, says Chelsea Clinton, is having a plan to make it happen.
26 February, 2018
As an activist, public health professor, mom, author, and Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea Clinton sure is pretty busy. Here, she explains to us that there is a divide between wanting to make the world a better place and actually having a direction and a unique goal to make it happen. In order to help others both see and meet their goals, the Clinton Foundation launched Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) to give mentorship to those looking to make positive change. This video, part one in a series, is a great introduction to CGI U and to Chelsea's overall worldview. You can find out more about CGI U right here.
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