Author: TheConversation

By Neil Shortland, Director, Center for Terrorism and Security Studies; Assistant Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell As the coronavirus spreads and demand for medical gear far outstrips the supplies, doctors in the U.S. may have to choose who among their patients lives and who dies. Doctors in Italy have already been forced to make such moral choices. In a recent news report, six doctors at five of the major city hospitals said they were worried they would soon have to make painful decisions regarding who should come off lifesaving ventilators. In addition to the...

By Adam Kamradt-Scott, Associate professor, University of Sydney President Donald Trump has announced the US is cutting its funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) – a decision that will have major implications for the global health response to the coronavirus pandemic. The United States contributes more than $400 million to the WHO per year, though it is already $200 million in arrears. It is the organization’s largest donor and gives about 10 times what China does per year. Trump has accused the organization of mishandling and covering up the initial spread of COVID-19 in China, and of generally...

By Roshanak Mehdipanah, Assistant Professor in Public Health, University of Michigan; and Gregory Sallabank, Clinical Research Project Manager, University of Michigan Millions of Americans are suddenly out of work as the financial and economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic deepens. Without an income, most of these people will have a hard time covering their expenses, including keeping a roof over their heads. But even before the current crisis, tens of millions of Americans struggled to pay for housing, spending more than 30% – or even half – of their income on housing-related expenses. This leaves less money for...

By Abram Wagner, Research Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Michigan The last few weeks have brought previously unimaginable changes to the lives of people throughout the United States. Americans everywhere are waking up to a new reality in which they cannot go to work or school outside the home and they have to stay six feet away from others. More than 80% of Americans are under such stay-at-home orders. People are also seeing charts in the news showing rapidly increasing case counts. This is likely to continue to occur. The United States surpassed Italy and China to have...

By Thomas Perls, Professor of Medicine, Boston University It turns out there is good science out there that helps us know what masks we need to wear and when to wear them. That being said, some of the following advice could change as scientists learn more about why some people get a bad or even lethal case of this virus while many more get through it OK. One of the areas of greatest confusion seems to be about masks. Much of the decision about wearing masks depends on what the essential businesses that remain open are doing to ensure...

By Lars Dzikus, Associate Professor in Sport Studies, University of Tennessee Baseball’s opening day came and went. The Olympics have been postponed. Football in the fall? Don’t count on it. With COVID-19 infections and deaths rising each day, the cancellation of live sporting events might seem like an afterthought. But in the coming weeks and months, their absence will undoubtedly be felt. This isn’t the first time sports have been put on hold. During previous crises and conflicts, sports have been stopped. But in the past, the reprieve was brief; sports went on to act as a way to...