Category: Psychological and Sociological Impact
1.5 Million People in Japan Are Living as ‘Recluses’ After Covid
Bloomberg About 1.5 million people of working age in Japan are estimated to be living as recluses, with some 20% citing the Covid pandemic for their withdrawal, a government survey showed. Hikikomori, as they are called in Japanese, are defined as those who rarely leave their room or house, and only to shop at a […]
Apr 4, 2023
Long COVID Is Making Some People Choose Not to Have Kids
Time For a long time, Tessa thought about freezing her eggs once she turned 30, so she and her partner could have a child when they felt ready. But her 30th birthday came and went in March, and she’s made no moves to act on her plan. Tessa, who lives in Massachusetts and asked to be identified […]
Apr 4, 2023
End of Covid Emergency Will Usher in Changes Across the US Health System
KHN The Biden administration’s decision to end the covid-19 public health emergency in May will institute sweeping changes across the health care system that go far beyond many people having to pay more for covid tests. In response to the pandemic, the federal government in 2020 suspended many of its rules on how care is delivered. That […]
Mar 28, 2023
Science of forgetting: Why we’re already losing our pandemic memories
Washington Post Because of information overload and the monotony of pandemic life, your brain may already be forgetting parts of the covid years. How much do you remember about the past three years of pandemic life? How much have you already forgotten? A lot has happened since the “Before Times.” Canceled proms, toilet paper shortages, nightly applause […]
Mar 28, 2023
House votes unanimously to declassify U.S. intelligence on covid origins
Washington Post In a rare show of bipartisanship near the third anniversary of the pandemic, the House voted unanimously Friday to declassify all U.S. intelligence information on the origins of the coronavirus. The 419-0 vote in favor of the bill, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent last week,sends it to President Biden’s desk. If the bill […]
Mar 14, 2023
Is the COVID-19 pandemic over? Here’s why the answer is political, social, scientific, and complex
Fast Company The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic three years ago today, but experts disagree about how and when pandemics end. It’s been three years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. So we know when the pandemic officially began. But what must happen for it to officially end? Who even makes the […]
Mar 14, 2023
Association of healthcare worker behaviors with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk during four pandemic periods and characteristics associated with high-risk behaviors
(Cambridge Press) In a large healthcare worker cohort, we quantified the association between behaviors and risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during different pandemic phases, adjusting for prior infection and vaccination. Individual characteristics, including personal concerns, were associated with these behaviors. Public health messaging should target high-risk populations and behaviors as the pandemic evolves. Transmission […]
Mar 14, 2023
Some parents misled others about their kids’ covid status, study finds
Washington Post Some also did not follow quarantine guidelines. The parents’ behaviors could have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus, the study’s authors said. Some parents in the United States were dishonest about their children having the coronavirus or did not follow testing and quarantine guidelines, according to a study published Monday. The parents’ behaviors could have contributed […]
Mar 7, 2023
What is Long COVID? The Physical and Psychological Symptoms and Management
(UCSF) This expertise is provided by Lauri Pasch, PhD, a UCSF psychologist who has worked with and studied the psychological experiences of many COVID-19 patients, and Lekshmi Santhosh, MD, MA, a pulmonologist and founder and medical director of the UCSF OPTIMAL Clinic, a specialized clinic for COVID-19 patients who have been hospitalized or have persistent symptoms. What […]
Feb 21, 2023
New study tallies excess physician deaths during early pandemic
(AMA) When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the world was caught off guard and left unprepared with how to handle this novel infection. As a result, it exacted a toll many would never have imagined possible. COVID-19 has killed nearly 1.1 million people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data tracker. Yet […]
Feb 7, 2023