Elemental: You report that the United States, which is responsible for 4% of the global population, has seen 22% of the Covid-19 deathsand of course that only accounts for numbers through September 2020. Apart from being incredibly sobering, what do these numbers tell us?
Nancy Krieger: I think a very important thing to point out is that with a lot of the Covid-19 data, people have resorted to counting cases and then looking at what percentage of the population they are. So, when you come up with statistics like 4% of the population and 22% of the deaths, it tells you something but it doesnt tell you enough. The better data, to really compare countries accurately, that isnt compromised by variables like how many people have access to testing, how accurate the testing is, how Covid-19 deaths are being defined, etc., is the data around excess deaths.
We calculated something on the order of 260,000 excess deaths for the United States for the period of January 1 through September 12, 2020. Soon after we published our findings, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (the main journal of the CDC) came out with its analysis showing upwards of 300,000 excess deaths in the United States.
So, the disproportion4% of the population responsible for 22% of the deathsis one part of understanding what were seeing in the United States during this pandemic. Another part is just how many excess deaths were seeing.
If you look at the excess death numbers by race/ethnicity, the percent increase has been 54% for Hispanics, 37% for Asian Americans, 33% for Black Americans, 29% for American Indians, and only 12% for white Americans.
For those unfamiliar with this measure, how do you define excess deaths?
You consider the number of deaths that occurred within the last two weeks of March 2020, for example, regardless of cause. Once you know how big the population is, you compute how many deaths per 100,000 people there were in that two-week interval. Then you compute the same thing for the same two weeks over the past five years and take the average. The final step is to determine if the number of deaths for the two-week period in 2020 is larger, the same as, or smaller than the number of deaths for the corresponding two-week period for the average of 20152019, and if it is larger, thats the excess number of deaths.
The value of this approach is that it immediately takes into account seasonality of deathsdeaths from the flu in winter, for instance. We measure excess deaths to understand not just the impact of epidemics, but of natural disasters as well.
Of the 300,000 deaths the CDC reported, about 100,000 dont show up as Covid-19 deaths. These are deaths that reflect the impact of the pandemic regardless of whether you were infected with the virus deaths from delayed surgeries or interrupted chemotherapy, for example. The data also shows that the percent increase of excess deaths is particularly high for people ages 25 to 44, which probably reflects workplace exposure. Even as a lot of elderly people have died from Covid-19, elderly people by definition die at higher rates to begin with.
If you look at the excess death numbers by race/ethnicity, the percent increase has been 54% for Hispanics, 37% for Asian Americans, 33% for Black Americans, 29% for American Indians, and only 12% for white Americans. The social patterning of this excess is incredibly stark in terms of the inequities that are revealed. Each and every death matters, period. And each one has enormous ripple effects. What is the impact on families? What is the impact of so much concentrated death on neighborhoods?
The other thing to remember here is that deaths are just one part of the picture. The work is only now underway looking at what happens if you have a serious case and survive, but then continue on with potentially debilitating symptoms as a long-hauler. If youre 25 years old and you recover from the virus, we have no idea how you will be impacted when youre 50 years old. If 8 million people are affected by the virus and 20% go on to be long-haulers, thats on par with the number of new cancer cases we see every year in our country (1.76 million). If only 7% become long-haulers, thats still on par with the number of cancer deaths per year (606,880), and cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States.
How do we swallow what were seeing in America when it comes to Covid-19 alongside the idea that the United States is a supposed world leader in medicine?
The United States has phenomenal resources available to some people with regard to biomedical advances, but the U.S. also leads, among industrialized nations, in the number of people who are uninsured. We can say the U.S. leads in terms of biomedical technology and expertise, but in terms of actual access of the population to health care itself, the U.S. does not leadit falls way, way behind.
Public health and clinical care should be complementary partners. In the United States, clinical care has gotten a lot more attention in terms of health dollars. Privatization has a lot to do with this. In the U.S., public health has long been underfunded. After the 2008 economic debacle, lots of public health was cut and then never recovered. And, of course, the functions of public health departments are very different from the functions of medical entities providing care to patients. The fact that there are some public health agencies across this country that still rely on pen and paper and fax machines is an indicator.
The other thing is that public health is a very fragmented system. The federal government has some responsibility, but the state and local governments have a lot of responsibility. And, of course, the virus couldnt care less about the fact that we have state boundaries, different jurisdictions, and various levels of government.
Thats why we needed to have a federal response that coordinated what the national response would be to set the tone and the rules and the protocol that would apply everywhere. Because thats how a virus works.
The virus couldnt care less about the fact that we have state boundaries, different jurisdictions, and various levels of government.
What are some specific things that we could be doing in the United States to curb the spread of the virus that we arent yet doing or arent doing enough?
The data shows that there is lack of sufficient attention to how transmission is happening because people have to work. We should have a national standard for OSHA around Covid-19. Some states, California in particular, are setting up stricter rules around workplace complaints and conditions and safety that ought to be followed up with serious fines. A big issue is paid sick leave. People need both social protection and physical protection in the workplace. Both matter, and both ought be mandated.
When we analyzed the relationship between the frequency of workplace safety complaints and the occurrence of Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 deaths, we found a strong correlation of a lag time of 16 to 17 days between time of complaint and time of death. This proved to be true across the country. In other words, worker complaints preceded deaths. People werent complaining because deaths were happening around them. They were complaining and then the deaths happened. This speaks to the importance of paying attention when workers speak up about things not being safe. That is the proverbial canary in the coal mine and you dont wait until the canary dies.
For the virus to wreak havoc, it needs to be transmitted. To stop the spread, we cant just give people advicewear masks, wash your hands. We need to also give people resources. If people cannot afford masks or cant access them at work, thats a problem. If people are worried about being evicted, thats a problem. Because where, then, are they going to wash their hands, protect themselves, and be safe? These are the questions that need to be addressed.
Visit link:
How the U.S. Messed Up Covid-19 So Badly - Elemental - Elemental
- The 30 best classic horror movies of all time - Entertainment Weekly News - March 16th, 2024
- The 23rd Spring, Is Jeepers Creepers Coming Back To Michigan? - 102.5/104.9 The Block - March 16th, 2024
- Winnie The Pooh Horror Movie Dominates The Razzie Awards - 106.3 The Groove - March 16th, 2024
- This Underrated Blumhouse Horror Movie Is Unlike Any Other Creature Feature - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- 13 Horror Movies Where Everyone Dies by the End - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience Villain The Unknown Gets Its Own Horror Movie - TMZ - March 8th, 2024
- The 13 Scariest Horror Movies Streaming on Peacock: Alien, Leprechaun, The Exorcist: Believer and More - Syfy - March 8th, 2024
- Every Horror Movie Releasing in March 2024 - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- 10 Scariest Movies That Have Won Oscars - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The 10 Best New Horror Movies To Watch in March 2024 - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on Viral Willy Wonka Experience Coming Soon - Bloody Disgusting - March 8th, 2024
- Where To Watch Imaginary: Showtimes & Streaming Status - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Immaculate: Eveything You Need to Know About Sydney Sweeney's Upcoming Horror Movie That Will Give You ... - FandomWire - March 8th, 2024
- The 20 best horror movies on Peacock - Entertainment Weekly News - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on the Willy Wonka Experience Villain, The Unknown, Now in the Works - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Melissa Barrera's Scream 7 Replacement Actually Sounds Better Than Fighting Ghostface Again - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'Shaitaan' Movie 2024 Filming Locations: Shooting Spots Of The Horror Flick - TRAVEL + LEISURE INDIA - March 8th, 2024
- The Horror Movie Franchise With the Most Sequels Ever Is One You've Never Heard of - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Jimmy Fallon asked people to ruin a horror movie by adding a single word to its title - Upworthy - March 8th, 2024
- The Absolute Best Horror Movies on Hulu - CNET - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience creepy character 'The Unknown' handed role in new horror movie - The Mirror - March 8th, 2024
- The Best Sea Monster Movies, Ranked - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- The Borderlands Movie's Scary Behind The Scenes Drama That Has Us Worried - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- Netflix Just Quietly Added the Best Holiday Thriller of the Decade - Inverse - February 28th, 2024
- The 20 best scary movies streaming right now - Entertainment Weekly News - February 19th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - Rotten Tomatoes - February 19th, 2024
- 'Only Murders in the Building' Adds Molly Shannon to Season 4 Cast - Yahoo Eurosport UK - February 19th, 2024
- Why Lindsay Lohan Refused to Kiss Charlie Sheen in "Scary Movie 5" - Best Life - February 19th, 2024
- 15 Best Scary Movies To Stream - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- Eight Skin-Crawling Scary Films That Don't Have Any Jump Scares In Them - Digg - February 11th, 2024
- David Cronenberg names some of the scariest movies ever - Far Out Magazine - February 11th, 2024
- 12 Horror Movies That Will Give You the Biggest Jump Scares - Collider - February 3rd, 2024
- TAROT's Trailer Brings the Iconic Cards to Life and Things Get Weird - Nerdist - February 3rd, 2024
- Review: Baghead - Is the Movie as Scary as it Looks? - Blazing Minds - February 3rd, 2024
- Natasha Lyonne Says James Woods Hit On Her As A Teenager While Filming Scary Movie 2 - 106.3 The Groove - February 3rd, 2024
- The Witcher's Freya Allan explains the challenges of filming her first horror movie Baghead: "You have to surrender ... - Gamesradar - January 26th, 2024
- The 5 Best Uses of Popcorn in Scary Movies - Dread Central - January 26th, 2024
- 5 Horror Films That Transformed The Genre - Study Finds - January 26th, 2024
- Kristen Stewart Wants to Star in Another Horror Movie in the Future - ComingSoon.net - January 26th, 2024
- Best Home Invasion Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb - January 26th, 2024
- Presence Review: Steven Soderbergh Tells a Ghost Story from the Ghosts POV. It Is Scary? Not Quite. But the Family Demons Lure You In - Variety - January 26th, 2024
- 55 best horror movies that are actually good and terrifying - Digital Spy - January 18th, 2024
- She is a Real Housewife, was in a scary movie franchise, is pals with Bethenny Frankel, has a Hilton connectio - Daily Mail - January 18th, 2024
- The Scream cast talk about the legacy of Scary Movie - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- The 20 Best Horror Movies on Netflix: January 2024 - Vulture - January 9th, 2024
- Scream cast reveals their favorite scary movies - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- Horror fanatics are 'desperate' to watch the first scary movie of the year Night Swim after trailer leaves the - Daily Mail - January 9th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies That Are Too Disturbing to Re-Watch - Collider - January 1st, 2024
- Raging Grace review politicised critique of imperialism in horror movie form - The Guardian - January 1st, 2024
- 15 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - January 1st, 2024
- The 19 Best Horror Films of 2023 Best Life - Best Life - January 1st, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies of 2021, Ranked by Tomatometer - Rotten Tomatoes - December 23rd, 2023
- This Is What Takes 'The Descent' From Scary to Terrifying - Collider - December 23rd, 2023
- 15 Best Horror Movies Of 2023 - Screen Rant - December 23rd, 2023
- 25 Best Horror Movies Created in the Last 5 Years - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 12th, 2023
- 25 horror movies that were based on true stories - Yardbarker - December 12th, 2023
- The 30 best horror movies of all time - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movies In Theaters Now (2023/12/06)- Tickets to Movies in Theaters, Broadway Shows, London Theatre & More - Hollywood.com - December 12th, 2023
- What Is the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time? - Collider - December 12th, 2023
- The 27 Best Horror Films of 2023 - MarieClaire.com - December 12th, 2023
- Upcoming horror movies: new scary films coming in 2023 and beyond - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- 20 Best Horror Movies on Max (Formerly HBO Max): Dec. 2023 - Vulture - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movie (2000) - Plot - IMDb - December 3rd, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Netflix - Rotten Tomatoes - October 16th, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Prime Video to Watch Right Now - October 16th, 2023
- From Psycho to a new crop of horror movies, the genre has some mommy issues - The Seattle Times - May 13th, 2023
- Months After Hulu Controversy, Mike Tyson Makes Major Move in the World of Cinema - EssentiallySports - April 8th, 2023
- Best Horror Movies of 2023 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - March 31st, 2023
- Three cheers for the Moose: Everybody knows the name of beloved '80s sitcom star and 'Masked Singer' eliminee - Yahoo Entertainment - March 31st, 2023
- The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever - Rotten Tomatoes - February 26th, 2023
- Films Turning 10 in 2013: Oz the Great and Poweful The Croods Oblivion Labor ... - Latest Tweet by Pop - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- Family of slain Idaho student from Skagit County relieved to hear of suspect's arrest - KPIC News - January 1st, 2023
- The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time - Reader's Digest - December 24th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy ... - December 24th, 2022
- "I was a side piece and you're a str*pper": Nia Long spills tea about Regina Halls role in The Best Man: The Final Chapters - Sportskeeda - December 24th, 2022
- Mother says scary movie guy wanted to kidnap her child in Spains Castellon area - The Olive Press - December 16th, 2022
- The Daily Show To Replace Trevor Noah with Chelsea Handler, Kal Penn, Al Franken, Sarah Silverman & Leslie Jones - Television - December 8th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy: 'We don't want to try to educate' - Fox News - November 11th, 2022
- 20 Scary Horror Movies to Watch on HBO Max - Harper's BAZAAR - October 2nd, 2022
- Best scary movies of 2022 to watch for Halloween - Dexerto - October 2nd, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero