tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/covid-19-pandemic-84189/articlesCOVID-19 pandemic – The Conversation2024-03-22T02:10:41Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261182024-03-22T02:10:41Z2024-03-22T02:10:41ZConspiracy theorist tactics show it’s too easy to get around Facebook’s content policies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583342/original/file-20240321-26-joql1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C148%2C4257%2C2849&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kuala-lumpur-malaysia-august-25-2013-1168328122">MavardiBahar/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the COVID pandemic, social media platforms were swarmed by far-right and anti-vaccination communities that spread dangerous conspiracy theories.</p>
<p>These included the false claims that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/54893437">vaccines are a form of population control</a>, and that the virus was a <a href="https://theconversation.com/qanon-conspiracy-theories-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-are-a-public-health-threat-135515">“deep state” plot</a>. Governments and the World Health Organization redirected precious resources from vaccination campaigns to debunk these falsehoods. </p>
<p>As the tide of misinformation grew, platforms were accused of not doing enough to stop the spread. To address these concerns, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, made several policy announcements in 2020–21. However, it hesitated to remove “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/751449002072082/?hc_location=ufi">borderline</a>” content, or content that didn’t cause direct physical harm, save for one <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/04/covid-19-misinfo-update/">policy change</a> in February 2021 that expanded the content removal lists.</p>
<p>To stem the tide, Meta continued to rely more heavily on algorithmic moderation techniques to reduce the visibility of misinformation in users’ feeds, search and recommendations – known as shadowbanning. They also used fact-checkers to label misinformation.</p>
<p>While shadowbanning is widely seen as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-shadowbanning-how-do-i-know-if-it-has-happened-to-me-and-what-can-i-do-about-it-192735">concerningly opaque technique</a>, our <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1329878X241236984">new research</a>, published in the journal Media International Australia, instead asks: was it effective?</p>
<h2>What did we investigate?</h2>
<p>We used two measures to answer this question. First, after identifying 18 Australian far-right and anti-vaccination accounts that consistently shared misinformation between January 2019 and July 2021, we analysed the performance of these accounts using key metrics.</p>
<p>Second, we mapped this performance against five content moderation policy announcements for Meta’s flagship platform, Facebook.</p>
<p>The findings revealed two divergent trends. After March 2020 the <em>overall</em> performance of the accounts – that is, their <em>median</em> performance – suffered a decline. And yet their <em>mean</em> performance shows increasing levels after October 2020. </p>
<p>This is because, while the majority of the monitored accounts underperformed, a few accounts overperformed instead, and strongly so. In fact, they continued to overperform and attract new followers even after the alleged policy change in February 2021.</p>
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<h2>Shadowbanning as a badge of pride</h2>
<p>To examine why, we scraped and thematically analysed comments and user reactions from posts on these accounts. We found users had a high motivation to stay engaged with problematic content. Labelling and shadowbanning were viewed as motivating challenges.</p>
<p>Specifically, users frequently used “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221111923">social steganography</a>” – using deliberate typos or code words for key terms – to evade algorithmic detection. We also saw <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2021.1938165">conspiracy “seeding”</a> where users add links to archiving sites or less moderated sites in comments to re-distribute content Facebook labelled as misinformation, and to avoid detection.</p>
<p>In one example, a user added a link to a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/17/key-facts-about-bitchute/">BitChute</a> video with keywords that dog-whistled support for QAnon style conspiracies. As terms such as “vaccine” were believed to trigger algorithmic detection, emoji or other code names were used in their place:</p>
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<p>A friend sent me this link, it’s [sic.] refers to over 4000 deaths of individuals after getting 💉 The true number will not come out, it’s not in the public’s interest to disclose the amount of people that have died within day’s [sic.] of jab.</p>
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<p>While many conspiracy theories were targeted at government and public health authorities, platform suppression of content fuelled further conspiracies regarding big tech and their complicity with “Big Pharma” and governments.</p>
<p>This was evident in the use of keywords such as MSM (“mainstream media”) to reference QAnon style agendas: </p>
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<p>MSM are in on this whole thing, only report on what the elites tell them to. Clearly you are not doing any research but listening to msm […] This is a completely experimental ‘vaccine’.</p>
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<p>Another comment thread showed reactions to Meta’s <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/addressing-movements-and-organizations-tied-to-violence/">dangerous organisations policy update</a>, where accounts that regularly shared QAnon-content were labelled “extremist”. In the reactions, MSM and “the agenda” appeared frequently. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/qanon-is-spreading-outside-the-us-a-conspiracy-theory-expert-explains-what-that-could-mean-198272">QAnon is spreading outside the US – a conspiracy theory expert explains what that could mean</a>
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<p>Some users recommended that sensitive content be moved to alternative platforms. We observed one anti-vaccination influencer complain that their page was being shadowbanned by Facebook, and calling on their followers to recommend a “good, censorship free, livestreaming platform”.</p>
<p>The replies suggested moderation-lite sites such as <a href="https://rumble.com/">Rumble</a>. Similar recommendations were made for Twitch, a livestreaming site popular with gamers which has since attracted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/us/politics/twitch-trump-extremism.html">far-right political influencers</a>.</p>
<p>As one user said:</p>
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<p>I know so many people who get censored on so many apps especially Facebook and Twitch seems to work for them. </p>
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<h2>How can content moderation fix the problem?</h2>
<p>These tactics of coordination to detect shadowbans, resist labelling and fight the algorithm provide some insight into why engagement didn’t dim on some of these “overperforming” accounts despite all the policies Meta put in place. </p>
<p>This shows that Meta’s suppression techniques, while partially effective in containing the spread, do nothing to prevent those invested in sharing (and finding) misinformation from doing so.</p>
<p>Firmer policies on content removal and user banning would help address the problem. However, <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2022/07/oversight-board-advise-covid-19-misinformation-measures/">Meta’s announcement last year suggests</a> the company has little appetite for this. Any loosening of policy changes will all but ensure this misinformation playground will continue to thrive.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-researcher-asked-covid-anti-vaxxers-how-they-avoid-facebook-moderation-heres-what-they-found-186406">A researcher asked COVID anti-vaxxers how they avoid Facebook moderation. Here's what they found</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amelia Johns has received funding from Meta content policy award for some of the research presented in this article. She has also received funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Booth is supported by funding from the Australian Department of Home Affairs and the Defence Innovation Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francesco Bailo has received funding from Meta content policy award for some of the research presented in this article. He receives funding from the Defence Innovation Network. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marian-Andrei Rizoiu receives funding from the Australian Department of Home Affairs, the Defence Science and Technology Group, the Defence Innovation Network and the Australian Academy of Science.</span></em></p>New research shows that even after Facebook made changes to stem the tide of dangerous pandemic misinformation, some accounts continued to thrive.Amelia Johns, Associate Professor, Digital and Social Media, School of Communication, University of Technology SydneyEmily Booth, Research assistant, University of Technology SydneyFrancesco Bailo, Lecturer, Digital and Social Media, University of SydneyMarian-Andrei Rizoiu, Associate Professor in Behavioral Data Science, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254412024-03-20T13:59:10Z2024-03-20T13:59:10ZFashion needs stronger storytelling that is more inclusive, relevant and responsible<p>The fashion industry could not exist without storytelling. Compelling and aspirational stories conveyed through catwalks, campaigns and social media are the stuff that make garments fashionable, fostering a strong desire to be seen wearing them.</p>
<p>Fashion’s stories can spread positive messaging about issues that affect us all. In 2020, Stella McCartney’s Paris show featured models wearing cartoonish animal costumes. This humorous stunt emphasised a serious point about the “planet-friendly” brand’s <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a31191131/stella-mccartney-mascot-paris-fashion-week/">pledge</a> not to use leather, fur, skins, feathers or animal glues.</p>
<p>But more often, the darker, more unpalatable truth is that fashion’s storytelling drives overconsumption. And it defines unrealistic beauty expectations that exclude many by perpetuating western standards about what is normal and acceptable.</p>
<p>As a cultural historian who researches fashion, I believe the industry has to do better to effect change, and this can be achieved through stronger, more inclusive and responsible storytelling. </p>
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<h2>Fashion and world problems</h2>
<p>According to recent fashion industry <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/sustainable-fashion-communication-playbook">reports</a>, storytelling is becoming more prominent as brands seek to demonstrate their social responsibility by forging deeper relationships with consumers. The increased significance of storytelling within fashion can be linked to two themes that have defined social and political debate about the world’s post-COVID recovery: self and society.</p>
<p>Consumers want more meaningful experiences that enable them to explore their identities and connect with others. Fashion is the ideal medium for this, especially during a time of social and political unease. The industry’s global reach means that visual cues and messaging conveyed through clothing campaigns can be easily shared and understood.</p>
<p>The Business of Fashion’s report, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion">The State of Fashion 2024</a>, links the increased importance of storytelling to consumers being “more demanding when it comes to authenticity and relatability”. People want to buy brands that share and support their values.</p>
<p>The consumer group most concerned to align their lifestyle choices and beliefs with the companies that clothe them is Gen-Z – people born between 1996 and 2010 – who “value pursuing their own unique identities and appreciate diversity”. </p>
<p>The increasing prominence of storytelling in fashion is also linked to the industry’s global sway and corresponding social responsibility. Organisations like the UN are <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/sustainable-fashion-communication-playbook">increasingly clear</a> that the fashion industry will only help tackle the global challenges emphasised by COVID if it uses its influence to change consumers’ mindsets.</p>
<p>The uneven social impact of the pandemic, which <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2021/06/inequality-and-covid-19-ferreira.htm">emphasised longstanding inequalities</a>, provided a wake-up call to take action on many global problems, including climate change, overconsumption and racial discrimination. This makes the fashion industry, which <a href="https://fashinnovation.nyc/fashion-industry-statistics/">contributes 2% to global GDP</a>, a culprit but also a potential champion for driving change. </p>
<p>The British Fashion Council’s <a href="https://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk/Innovation/Diversity-Equity-Inclusion--Belonging">Fashion Diversity Equality & Inclusion Report</a>, published in January 2024, highlights “fashion’s colossal power to influence, to provide cultural reference and guide social trends”. Similarly, the UN’s <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/sustainable-fashion-communication-playbook">Fashion Communication Playbook</a>, published last year, urges the industry to use its “cultural reach, powers of persuasion and educational role to both raise awareness and drive a shift towards a more sustainable and equitable industry”.</p>
<p>To do this, the UN’s report urges storytellers, imagemakers and role models to change the narrative of the fashion industry. They are asked to educate consumers and inspire them to alter their behaviour if it can help create positive change. </p>
<h2>Fashion’s new stories</h2>
<p>Since the pandemic, there is evidence the fashion industry has begun to change the content and form of the stories it tells, chiefly by putting a human face on current global challenges. Large-scale, entrenched social problems are being explored through real-life stories. This can help people to understand the problems that confront them, and grasp their role in working towards overcoming them.</p>
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<p>One example is Nike’s <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/nike-move-to-zero-sustainability">Move to Zero campaign</a>, a global sustainability initiative which launched during the pandemic in 2020. Instead of endless statistics and apocalyptic warnings about crisis-point climate emergency, Nike encourages people to “<a href="https://www.nike.com/nl/en/product-advice/product-care">refresh</a>” sports gear with maintenance and repair. Old Nike products that have been recreated by designers are sold through pop-ups. When salvage is not possible, Nike provides ways for people to <a href="https://www.nike.com/nl/en/sustainability/recycling-donation">recycle and donate old products</a>.</p>
<p>By encouraging relatively small changes that align the lifecycle of a product with consumers’ everyday lives, Nike’s campaign challenges the traditional idea of clothes being new, immediate and ultimately disposable by making change aspirational. </p>
<h2>Narrative hang-ups</h2>
<p>While some fashion brands are rethinking the stories they tell, my <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hangups-9781350197268/">recent book</a>, Hang-Ups: Reflections on the Causes and Consequences of Fashion’s Western Centrism, explains that some of fashion’s most powerful and harmful stories are deep-rooted.</p>
<p>Concepts defined during the 18th and 19th centuries – civilisation, anthropology, sexology – still influence how the fashion industry engages with age, gender, race and sex. Its drive for newness and the way it pushes the idea that purchasing expensive brands brings automatic status is also based on traditional western social values that fit poorly with 21st-century perspectives and priorities.</p>
<p>The persistence of centuries-old attitudes is apparent too in Nike’s Move to Zero campaign, however well-intentioned. While the initiative is clearly conceived to influence consumer behaviour in a positive way, it still doesn’t fundamentally address what the fashion industry is and does. But at the very least, it accepts that fashion functions through high consumption and the sense of status that owning and wearing a brand confers.</p>
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<h2>Throwing everything out</h2>
<p>One of the key points I make in my book is that effective change will be more likely if we understand how the industry developed into what it is today. This calls for more audacious storytelling that critiques notions of normality, acceptability and inclusivity.</p>
<p>One example is Swedish brand <a href="https://avavav.com/en-gb/about">Avavav</a>, which commits itself to “creative freedom driven by humour, entertainment and design evolution”. In February 2024, the brand’s <a href="https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/gallery/avavav-fashion-show-trash-photos-1236222394/avavav-runway-milan-fashion-week-womenswear-fall-winter-2024-2025/">Milan catwalk show</a> concluded with models being pelted with litter. This experimental performance explored prevailing social media stories by calling out online trolls and highlighting the hurt of hate speech, within and beyond the fashion industry.</p>
<p>Naturally, it <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/62036/1/avavav-aw24-fw24-beate-karlsson-milan-fashion-week-mfw-trash">caused a sensation</a> and was widely covered in the media. A stunt perhaps, but it got people talking and drew attention to designer Beate Karlsson’s message about online hate. Clearly, compelling and innovative storytelling has the power to change minds and behaviour.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Wild does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Representing 2% of global GDP, the fashion industry must use its cultural reach to drive a shift towards a more sustainable and equitable industry.Benjamin Wild, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Narratives, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2258772024-03-19T12:22:46Z2024-03-19T12:22:46ZSupreme Court’s questions about First Amendment cases show support for ‘free trade in ideas’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582619/original/file-20240318-16-9btkbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C8218%2C5487&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Clouds float over the Supreme Court building on March 15, 2024.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-building-is-seen-in-news-photo/2079442702">Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This term, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in a total of five cases involving questions about whether and how the First Amendment to the Constitution applies to social media platforms and their users. These cases are parts of a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/us/politics/trump-disinformation-2024-social-media.html">larger effort by conservative activists</a> to block what they claim is government censorship of people who seek to spread false information online.</p>
<p>The most recently heard case, on March 18, 2024, was <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/murthy-v-missouri-3/">Murthy v. Missouri</a>, about whether the federal government’s direct communication with social media platforms, specifically about online content relating to the COVID-19 public health emergency, violated the First Amendment rights of private citizens. </p>
<p>The case stemmed from the Biden administration’s efforts to combat misinformation that spread online, including on social media, during the pandemic. The plaintiffs said White House officials “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-411/293780/20231219192259919_23-411ts%20Murthy.pdf#page=41">threatened platforms with adverse consequences</a>” if they didn’t take down or limit the online visibility of inaccurate information – and that those threats amount to the unconstitutional suppression of free speech from private individuals who shared content that contained debunked conspiracy theories and contradicted scientific evidence.</p>
<p>It is not uncommon for government officials to informally pressure private parties, like social media platforms, into limiting, censoring or moderating speech by third parties. As Justice Amy Coney Barrett seemingly implied during the Murthy v. Missouri oral arguments, “vanilla encouragement” by government officials would be constitutionally permissible. But when the informal pressure turns into bullying, threats or coercion, it may trigger First Amendment protections, as the Supreme Court ruled in another case called <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1962/118">Bantam Books v. Sullivan, from 1963</a>.</p>
<p>But the Biden administration said its effort to fight COVID misinformation was normal activity, in which the government is allowed to express its views to persuade others, especially in ways that advance the public interest. </p>
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<span class="caption">President Joe Biden and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy attend a meeting in 2022.</span>
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<p>Several justices seemingly agreed with the Biden administration and accepted its view that ordinary pressure to persuade is permissible. </p>
<p>More broadly, the Supreme Court has wrestled with the application of the First Amendment to cases involving social media platforms. Earlier this term, the court heard several cases that involved content moderation – both by the platforms themselves and by public officials using their own social media accounts. As Justice Elena Kagan put it during one round of oral arguments: “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2023/22-324_fe9g.pdf#page=22">That’s what makes these cases hard</a>, is that there are First Amendment interests all over the place.” </p>
<p>Perhaps most fundamentally, the court seeks to evaluate the relationship between social media platforms and public officials.</p>
<h2>A public official or a private social media user?</h2>
<p>On March 15, the Supreme Court released its <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-611_ap6c.pdf">unanimous decision in Lindke v. Freed</a> – another case involving social media platforms. The issue in that case was whether a public official can delete or block private individuals from commenting on the official’s social media profile or posts. </p>
<p>This case involved James Freed, the city manager of Port Huron, Michigan, and Facebook user Kevin Lindke. Freed initially created his Facebook profile before entering public office, but once he was appointed city manager, he began using the Facebook profile to communicate with the public. Freed eventually blocked Lindke from commenting on his posts after Lindke <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-611_ap6c.pdf">“unequivocally express(ed) his displeasure with the city’s approach to the (COVID-19) pandemic.”</a></p>
<p>The court ruled that on social media, where users, including government officials, often mix personal and professional posts, “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-611_ap6c.pdf">it can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private</a>.” But the court unanimously found that if an official possesses “actual authority to speak” on behalf of the government, and if the person “purported to exercise that authority when” posting online, the post is a government action. In that case, the official cannot block users’ access to view or comment on it. </p>
<p>The court ruled that if the poster either does not have authority to speak for the government, or is not clearly exercising that authority when posting, then the message is private. In that situation, the poster can restrict viewing and commenting because that is an exercise of their own First Amendment rights. But when a public official posts in their official capacity, the poster must respect the First Amendment’s limitations placed on government. The court sent <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-324_09m1.pdf">a similar case</a>, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2023/22-324">O'Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier</a>, back to a lower court for reconsideration based on the ruling in the Lindke case.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An illustration of a person surrounded by phone and computer screens spouting all manner of information and noise." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582623/original/file-20240318-28-nl95wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online information can be a cacophony from which it is hard to discern truth and accuracy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/information-attack-and-people-panic-negative-royalty-free-illustration/1347323610">Nadezhda Kurbatova/iStock / Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who controls what’s online?</h2>
<p>At the root of the plaintiffs’ claims in both these cases is content moderation – whether a public official can moderate another user’s content by deleting their posts or blocking the user, and whether the federal government can interact with social media platforms to mitigate the spread of debunked conspiracy theories and scientifically disprovable narratives about the pandemic, for instance.</p>
<p>Ironically, though conservatives argue that the federal government cannot interact with the social media platforms to influence their content moderation, Florida and Texas – states governed by Republican majorities in the statehouse and Republican governors – enacted state laws that seek to restrict the platforms’ own content moderation.</p>
<p>While the laws in each state differ slightly, they <a href="https://knightcolumbia.org/content/in-cases-involving-florida-and-texas-social-media-laws-knight-institute-urges-supreme-court-to-reject-extreme-arguments-made-by-states-and-platforms">share similar provisions</a>. First, both laws contain “must-carry provisions,” which “prohibit social media platforms from removing or limiting the visibility of user content in certain circumstances,” according to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.</p>
<p>Second, both laws require the social media platforms to provide individualized explanations to any user whose content is moderated by the platform. Both laws were passed to combat the false perception that the platforms <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/feb/01/facebook-youtube-twitter-anti-conservative-claims-baseless-report-finds">disproportionately silence conservative speech</a>.</p>
<p>The Florida and Texas laws were challenged in two cases whose oral arguments were heard by the Supreme Court in February 2024: <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2023/22-277">Moody v. NetChoice</a> and <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2023/22-555">NetChoice v. Paxton</a>, respectively. Florida and Texas argued that they can regulate the platforms’ content moderation policies and processes, but the platforms argued that these laws infringe on their editorial discretion, which is protected by well-established First Amendment precedent.</p>
<p>During oral argument in both cases, the justices appeared skeptical of both laws. As Chief Justice John Roberts stated, the First Amendment <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2023/22-555_omq2.pdf">prohibits the government, not private entities, from censoring speech</a>. Florida and Texas argued that they enacted these laws to protect the free speech of their citizens by limiting the platforms’ ability to moderate content. </p>
<p>But social media users do not have any First Amendment protections on the platforms, because private entities, like Facebook, are free to moderate the content on their platforms as they see fit. Roberts was quick to respond to Texas and Florida: “The First Amendment restricts what the government can do, and what the government’s doing here is saying you must do this, you must carry these people.” </p>
<h2>Where are the online boundaries of free speech?</h2>
<p>Collectively, these cases demonstrate the Supreme Court’s interest in defining the boundaries of First Amendment protections as they relate to social media platforms and their users. Moreover, the court seems focused on establishing the limits of the relationship between government and social media platforms.</p>
<p>The justices’ questions during the NetChoice cases suggest that they are skeptical of government regulation that forces social media platforms to carry certain content. In this way, the justices seem poised to affirm the principle that government cannot directly or formally force an individual or, in this case, a private company, to convey a message that it does not wish to carry. </p>
<p>But the justices’ questions during Murthy v. Missouri seem to suggest that it is not a violation of the First Amendment for government officials to informally interact or communicate with social media platforms in an attempt to persuade them not to carry material the government dislikes.</p>
<p>Considering all of these cases together, the court seems posed to further promote a robust “free trade in ideas,” which was a theory first invoked in 1919 by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/250/616/">Abrams v. United States</a>. In Lindke v. Freed, the court identified the distinction between private speech on social media platforms by a public official, which is protected by the First Amendment, and professional speech, which is subject to First Amendment limitations that protect others’ rights. </p>
<p>In the NetChoice cases, the court seems ready to limit a state’s ability to directly compel social media platforms to convey messages that they may moderate. And in Murthy v. Missouri, the justices seem ready to affirm that while indirect compulsion may be unconstitutional, ordinary pressures to persuade social media platforms are permissible. </p>
<p>This promotion of a robust marketplace of ideas appears to stem from neither giving the government extra powers to shape public discourse, nor excluding government from the conversation altogether.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225877/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wayne Unger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>These cases have asked the justices to consider how to apply some of the most sweeping constitutional protections – those of free speech – to an extremely complex online communication environment.Wayne Unger, Assistant Professor of Law, Quinnipiac UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144772023-12-26T20:29:43Z2023-12-26T20:29:43ZHow the retailing contest between CBDs, shopping centres and online will reshape our cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560940/original/file-20231122-15-dign1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2652&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul J. Maginn/@Planographer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Retail activity has been a defining facet of cities since antiquity. The Greek Agora and Roman Forum may be viewed as the original CBDs – central business districts, or what urban planners call activity centres.</p>
<p>Retail spaces have <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Managing-the-Marketplace-Reinventing-Shopping-Centres-in-Post-War-Australia/Bailey/p/book/9780367500559">evolved</a> over time. Urbanisation, mass production and the rise of conspicuous consumption led to the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049182.2019.1682317">high street</a> and CBD dominating the retail landscape across the Western world from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.</p>
<p>The 21st-century retail landscape has become more diverse and competitive. The range of physical and virtual retail spaces, retailers, products and prices leaves consumers spoilt for choice. </p>
<p>Retailing is more than just about consumption. It’s Australia’s fourth-largest employment sector and plays a major role in shaping our cities. Retail helps define a city’s identity and brand and thus attract visitors. But the retail landscape and consumer behaviour are changing, and changing fast!</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-an-ideal-main-street-this-is-what-shoppers-told-us-214554">What makes an ideal main street? This is what shoppers told us</a>
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</em>
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<h2>The place to be and be seen</h2>
<p>In Australia (and elsewhere), the CBD was at the epicentre of the evolution of discrete retail spaces. It offered a smorgasbord of independently owned shops, national and international chain stores and department stores. These were located in laneways, shopping arcades, main streets and multistorey shopping centres. </p>
<p>Centrality, easy public transport access and a largely suburban-based commuter workforce explain the dominance of the CBD in the 20th century. </p>
<p>A visit to the CBD on a Saturday was <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/the-karrinyup-creep-how-mega-malls-took-over-retail-and-changed-perth-20230913-p5e4do.html">more than just a utilitarian shopping trip</a>. It could be an urban exploration, a leisure pursuit, a pleasure-seeking adventure, a social event. </p>
<p>Children accompanying their parents were mesmerised by the intensity of urbanism and retail choice. Teenagers and young people, much like 19th-century <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/10/17/in-praise-of-the-flaneur/">flaneurs</a>, paraded with their peers, their fashion denoting their subcultural affiliation.</p>
<p>For adults, the CBD offered a chance to indulge in retail therapy via window shopping and pleasurable consumption. For others a trip to the CBD allowed them to treat themselves and meet friends at the department store cafe. </p>
<p>In short, the CBD was the place to see and be seen.</p>
<h2>CBD’s retail crown slips</h2>
<p>The dominance of the CBD began to slip with the emergence of suburban shopping centres in the late 1950s – thank you, <a href="https://theconversation.com/triumph-of-the-mall-how-victor-gruens-grand-urban-vision-became-our-suburban-shopping-reality-172393">Victor Gruen</a>. Rapid suburban growth, social mobility and increased car use drove an explosion in suburban shopping centres from the 1960s through to the 1980s. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://scca.org.au/industry-information/australian-shopping-centre-industry/#:%7E:text=The%20first%20modern%20shopping%20centre,in%20a%20lake%20of%20parking%E2%80%9D.">Shopping Centre Council of Australia</a>, an average of 22 shopping centres a year have been built since the first centre, Brisbane’s Chermside, appeared in 1957.</p>
<p>Competition between CBD retailers and shopping centres intensified in the 1980s and 1990s. With the rise of online retailing in the past decade or so, these bricks-and-mortar retailers have had to lift their game again. </p>
<p>Retailing matters. Aussie consumers spent a whopping <a href="https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/ecommerce-industry-report-2023.pdf">A$353 billion on retail goods in 2022</a> compared with <a href="https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/inside-australian-online-shopping-ecommerce-report.pdf">$275.3 billion in 2018</a> – a 28.2% increase. </p>
<p>Over the same period, online retail spending increased by 132% from $27.5 billion to $63.8 billion. It now accounts for just over 18% of retail spending in Australia, up from 10% in 2018.</p>
<p>The “4 Cs” underpin the rise of online shopping: convenience, choice, competitive prices and COVID-19 (which ramped up the shift). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/big-bigger-biggest-black-friday-cyber-monday-and-singles-day-107492">Big, bigger, biggest: Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles Day</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>COVID and working from home led to Australian CBDs, especially Melbourne and Sydney, losing considerable ground, while suburban shopping centres gained in terms of shopper numbers and spending.</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/zombified-business-districts-are-getting-their-lives-back-20210408-p57hk1">zombified CBDs</a> at the height of pandemic restrictions are in the rear-view mirror, working from home lingers. This is especially true for Melbourne where <a href="https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/only-just-over-half-of-melbourne-has-returned-to-the-office-20231121-p5elk3">office occupancy averages 53%</a> – way behind Perth (91%), Adelaide (85%), Sydney and Brisbane (both 75%).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-melbourne/melbourne-is-open/Pages/covid-19-recovery.aspx#:%7E:text=Melbourne%20City%20Recovery%20Fund,-%E2%80%8BIn%20partnership&text=It%20will%20invest%20in%20programs,visitors%20back%20to%20the%20city.">Capital city councils</a>, <a href="https://www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au/funding/cbd-revitalisation-grant-program">state governments</a> and bodies such as the <a href="https://sydney.org.au/FutureSydneyCBD/findings/">Committee for Sydney</a>, <a href="https://udiavic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/200924-Revive-Melbourne-CBD-Final.pdf">Urban Development Institute of Australia</a> and the <a href="https://www.propertycouncil.com.au/submissions/cbd-vip">Property Council of Australia</a> have taken or advocated action to draw people back to the CBD. </p>
<p>Actions include everything from free parking and public transport, <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/informal-urbanism/projects/temporary-and-tactical-urbanism">tactical urbanism</a> or temporary changes to the streetscape such as pedestrian plazas, pop-up bike lanes, and parklets, outdoor dining, public events and vouchers, through to changes in planning regulations to speed up high-density residential development.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-covid-all-but-killed-the-australian-cbd-147848">How COVID all but killed the Australian CBD</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Cathedrals of consumption … and then some</h2>
<p>Before and since COVID-19 major shopping centres across Australia have undergone multi-million-dollar refurbishments and redesign. They include centres in Adelaide (<a href="http://westfield.com.au/marion/">Marion</a>), Brisbane (<a href="https://www.westfield.com.au/chermside">Chermside</a>, <a href="http://pacificfair.com.au/">Pacific Fair</a>), Melbourne (<a href="https://www.chadstone.com.au/,">Chadstone</a>, <a href="http://westfield.com.au/fountaingate">Fountain Gate</a>), Perth (<a href="https://www.westfield.com.au/carousel">Carousel</a>, <a href="https://www.karrinyupcentre.com.au/">Karrinyup</a>) and Sydney (<a href="http://westfield.com.au/">Parramatta</a>, <a href="http://macquariecentre.com.au/">Macquarie Centre</a>). The centres have increased floorspace and diversified retail, entertainment and food and beverage offerings.</p>
<p>Suburban shopping centres are more than <a href="https://sk.sagepub.com/books/enchanting-a-disenchanted-world-3e">cathedrals of consumption</a>. Mega-malls such as Chadstone (215,000m²), Fountain Gate (178,000m²) and Chermside (177,000m²) <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00420980221135418">stand out as major hubs</a> of economic activity and employment, tourist attractions and social and community spaces. </p>
<p>To help secure a ready customer base, <a href="https://www.chadstone.com.au/hotel-chadstone">upmarket hotels</a> and <a href="https://www.blackburne.com.au/collection/west-village/">luxury residential developments</a> have been built, or are earmarked for development, as part of major shopping centres. Many more such <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2017/12/04/why-malls-should-add-residential-to-their-repurposing-plans/">residential developments</a> in Australia (and the US) are likely over the next decade or so.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-suburbs-are-the-future-of-post-covid-retail-148802">The suburbs are the future of post-COVID retail</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A proposed luxury apartment development, West Village, next to Karrinyup Shopping Centre in Perth, WA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul J. Maginn/@Planographer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Devil in the retail</h2>
<p>The competition between bricks-and-mortar retailers in CBDs, suburban shopping centres and online retailers peaks each year with the onset of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in late November, closely followed by the Christmas shopping season and New Year sales.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/really-need-those-new-shoes-why-you-might-spend-up-big-at-the-black-friday-sales-218241">Really need those new shoes? Why you might spend up big at the Black Friday sales</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Whatever big changes come next – in terms of what we buy, where and how – will have implications well beyond the retail sector. The structure and function of cities, plus our relationship with the city and retail spaces, are likely to change. </p>
<p>With the rise of online shopping and on-demand delivery, can we, for example, expect to see our streets and skies soon filled with autonomous robots and drones?</p>
<p>Autonomous delivery raises major questions about retail, urban and residential design, infrastructure provision, employment, human behaviour and, ultimately, regulation. Therein lies the devil in the retail.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214477/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The four Cs – convenience, choice, competitive prices and COVID-19 – will decide the retail battle and how it affects the structure and function of our cities.Paul J. Maginn, Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western AustraliaLouise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189062023-12-20T13:25:27Z2023-12-20T13:25:27ZFor many who are suffering with prolonged grief, the holidays can be a time to reflect and find meaning in loss<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566537/original/file-20231219-25-tw0fa5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=28%2C9%2C6348%2C4235&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the post-pandemic world, many people are facing the holidays without their loved ones by their side. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/holiday-wreath-on-a-burial-gravesite-royalty-free-image/1792035475?phrase=grief+holidays">Douglas Sacha/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The holiday season is meant to be filled with joy, connection and celebration of rituals. Many people, however, are starkly reminded of their grief this time of year and of whom – or what – they have lost.</p>
<p>The added <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-holidays-and-your-brain-a-neuroscientist-explains-how-to-identify-and-manage-your-emotions-218251">stress of the holiday season doesn’t help</a>. Studies show that the holidays <a href="https://sesamecare.com/blog/lowering-holiday-stress-2021">negatively affect many people’s mental health</a>. </p>
<p>While COVID-19-related stressors may have lessened, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1957272">grief from change and loss</a> that so many endured during the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0030222820966928">pandemic persists</a>. This can cause difficult emotions to resurface when they are least expected. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://som.cuanschutz.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/29355">licensed therapist and trauma-sensitive yoga instructor</a>. For the last 12 years, I’ve helped clients and families manage grief, depression, anxiety and complex trauma. This includes many health care workers and first responders who have recounted endless stories to me about how the pandemic <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/2/364">increased burnout</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15175">affected their mental health</a> and quality of life.</p>
<p>I developed an online program that research shows has <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1227895">improved their well-being</a>. And I’ve observed firsthand how much grief and sadness can intensify during the holidays. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BQAE7BVMp6U?wmode=transparent&start=5" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Grief expert David Kessler discusses five coping mechanisms to get through the holidays.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Post-pandemic holidays and prolonged grief</h2>
<p>During the pandemic, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2022.08.011">family dynamics</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221115387">close relationships</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221113365">social connections</a> were strained, <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/352189/WHO-2019-nCoV-Sci-Brief-Mental-health-2022.1-eng.pdf">mental health problems increased or worsened</a>, and most people’s holiday traditions and routines were upended. </p>
<p>Those who lost a loved one during the pandemic may not have been able to practice rituals such as holding a memorial service, further delaying the grieving process. As a result, holiday traditions may feel more painful now for some. Time off from school or work can also trigger more intense feelings of grief and contribute to feelings of loneliness, isolation or depression.</p>
<p>Sometimes feelings of grief are so persistent and severe that they interfere with daily life. For the past several decades, researchers and clinicians have been grappling with how to clearly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F00048674231154206">define and treat complicated grief</a> that does not abate over time. </p>
<p>In March 2022, a new entry to describe complicated grief was added to the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</a>, or DSM, which classifies a spectrum of mental health disorders and problems to better understand people’s symptoms and experiences in order to treat them.</p>
<p>This newly defined condition is called <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/prolonged-grief-disorder">prolonged grief disorder</a>. About <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.01.030">10% of bereaved adults are at risk</a>, and those rates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4201">appear to have increased</a> in the aftermath of the pandemic. </p>
<p>People with prolonged grief disorder experience intense emotions, longing for the deceased, or troublesome preoccupation with memories of their loved one. Some also find it difficult to reengage socially and may feel emotionally numb. They commonly avoid reminders of their loved one and may experience a loss of identity and feel bleak about their future. These symptoms persist nearly every day for at least a month. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4201">Prolonged grief disorder can be diagnosed</a> at least one year after a significant loss for adults and at least six months after a loss for children.</p>
<p>I am no stranger to complicated grief: A close friend of mine died by suicide when I was in college, and I was one of the last people he spoke to before he ended his life. This upended my sense of predictability and control in my life and left me untangling the <a href="https://doi.org/10.5964%2Fejop.5439">many existential themes</a> that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-those-who-have-lost-loved-ones-to-suicide-cope-with-grief-during-the-holidays-172750">suicide loss survivors</a> often face. </p>
<h2>How grieving alters brain chemistry</h2>
<p>Research suggests that grief not only has negative consequences for a person’s <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/03/10/how-grief-rewires-the-brain-and-can-affect-health-and-what-to-do-about-it">physical health</a>, but <a href="https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/grieving-changes-brain">for brain chemistry</a> too. </p>
<p>The feeling of grief and intense yearning may disrupt the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.pscychresns.2020.111135">neural reward systems in the brain</a>. When bereaved individuals seek connection to their lost loved one, they are craving the chemical reward they felt before their loss when they connected with that person. These reward-seeking behaviors tend to operate on a feedback loop, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00784.2009">functioning similar to substance addiction</a>, and could be why some people get stuck in the despair of their grief.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A podcast on understanding grief and loss.</span></figcaption>
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<p>One study showed an <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9030851">increased activation of the amygdala</a> when showing death-related images to people who are dealing with complicated grief, compared to adults who are not grieving a loss. The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537102/">amygdala</a>, which initiates our fight or flight response for survival, is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2012.14.2/snakajima">associated with managing distress when separated from a loved one</a>. These changes in the brain might explain the great impact prolonged grief has on someone’s life and their ability to function.</p>
<h2>Recognizing prolonged grief disorder</h2>
<p>Experts have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20823">developed scales</a> to help measure symptoms of prolonged grief disorder. If you identify with some of these signs for at least one year, it may be time to reach out to a mental health professional. </p>
<p>Grief is not linear and doesn’t follow a timeline. It is a dynamic, evolving process that is different for everyone. There is no wrong way to grieve, so be compassionate to yourself and don’t make judgments on what you should or shouldn’t be doing. </p>
<p>Increasing your social supports and engaging in meaningful activities are important first steps. It is critical to address any preexisting or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100140">co-occurring mental health concerns</a> such as anxiety, depression or <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd">post-traumatic stress</a>.</p>
<p>It can be easy to confuse grief with depression, as some symptoms do overlap, but <a href="https://tidsskriftet.no/en/2017/04/klinisk-oversikt/what-distinguishes-prolonged-grief-disorder-depression">there are critical differences</a>. </p>
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<p>If you are experiencing symptoms of depression for longer than a few weeks and it is affecting your everyday life, work and relationships, it may be time to talk with your primary care doctor or therapist.</p>
<h2>A sixth stage of grief</h2>
<p>I have found that naming the stage of grief that someone is experiencing helps diminish the power it might have over them, allowing them to mourn their loss. </p>
<p>For decades, most clinicians and researchers have recognized <a href="https://grief.com/the-five-stages-of-grief/">five stages of grief</a>: <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/five-stages-of-grief-4175361">denial/shock, anger, depression, bargaining and acceptance</a>. </p>
<p>But “accepting” your grief doesn’t sit well for many. That is why a sixth stage of grief, called “<a href="https://brenebrown.com/podcast/david-kessler-and-brene-on-grief-and-finding-meaning/">finding meaning</a>,” adds another perspective. Honoring a loss by reflecting on its meaning and the weight of its impact can help people discover ways to move forward. Recognizing how one’s life and identity are different while making space for your grief during the holidays might be one way to soften the despair.</p>
<p>When my friend died by suicide, I found a deeper appreciation for what he brought into my life, soaking up the moments he would have enjoyed, in honor of him. After many years, I was able to find meaning by spreading mental health awareness. I spoke as an expert presenter for <a href="https://www.lrjfoundation.com/">suicide prevention organizations</a>, wrote about <a href="https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/expert-untangles-complexities-of-grief-for-suicide-loss-survivors">suicide loss</a> and became certified to teach my local community how to respond to someone experiencing signs of mental health distress or crisis through <a href="https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/">Mental Health First Aid</a> courses. Finding meaning is different for everyone, though.</p>
<p>Sometimes, adding a routine or holiday tradition can ease the pain and allow a new version of life, while still remembering your loved one. Take out that old recipe or visit your favorite restaurant you enjoyed together. You can choose to stay open to what life has to offer, <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/david_kessler_how_to_find_meaning_after_loss?language=en">while grieving and honoring your loss</a>. This may offer new meaning to what – and who – is around you. </p>
<p><em>If you need emotional support or are in a mental health crisis, <a href="https://988lifeline.org/">dial 988</a> or <a href="https://988lifeline.org/chat/">chat online</a> with a crisis counselor.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218906/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mandy Doria's position with the University of Colorado is partially funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) for her work with the CO-CARES initiative, which offers resources at no cost to Colorado health care and public health workers.</span></em></p>A trauma-informed therapist discusses how grief affects the brain and highlights the role of a sixth stage of grief – finding meaning – in the healing process.Mandy Doria, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183372023-12-10T14:30:54Z2023-12-10T14:30:54ZImproved employment policies can encourage fathers to be more involved at home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564397/original/file-20231207-15-xwseva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4131%2C3083&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Too few Canadian fathers take parental leave. That's because parental leave is framed as an employment policy rather than as care/work policy that promotes greater sharing of both paid and unpaid care work between parents. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/improved-employment-policies-can-encourage-fathers-to-be-more-involved-at-home" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>While the COVID-19 pandemic had many detrimental <a href="https://theconversation.com/income-inequality-and-covid-19-we-are-in-the-same-storm-but-not-in-the-same-boat-173400">socio-economic</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-is-not-the-great-equalizer-race-matters-133867">health</a> impacts, one silver lining has been the influence of remote work on men’s involvement in unpaid work at home. </p>
<p>Since the first pandemic lockdowns in 2020, between 25 and 40 per cent of the Canadian labour force has shifted to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2022008/article/00001-eng.htm">working remotely</a>. Evidence suggests <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2021010/article/00001-eng.htm">remote and hybrid work arrangements are here to stay</a>; 80 per cent of those who work remotely want to continue working at least several days per week at home. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2023.2271646">Our research</a> finds that Canadian fathers who worked remotely during the pandemic reported higher levels of involvement in household work and child care. Remote work and other flexible work policies may play a crucial role in encouraging a more equitable distribution of household and care work within families.</p>
<p>Remote work isn’t the only policy pathway that facilitates men’s involvement at home. Our research finds that fathers who have previously taken parental leave report sharing a wider set of household work and child-care tasks with their partners.</p>
<p>But there is a catch: access to these policies is limited in ways that diminish their full potential. Part of the problem stems from the way parental leave and remote work policies are structured.</p>
<p>They are framed as employment policies, rather than as care/work policies that can promote greater sharing of both paid and unpaid care work between parents. This framing limits access to both sets of policies.</p>
<h2>Parental leave in Canada</h2>
<p>While Canada is regarded as a country with generous parental leave provisions, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/03/canada-us-maternity-leave-policy-differences">especially when compared to the United States</a>, its parental leave policies can be exclusionary. </p>
<p>Outside of Québec, parental leave programs have low wage replacement rates and restrictive eligibility criteria. Paternity leave is both low-paid (five to eight weeks at a 33 to 55 per cent wage-replacement rate) and contingent on mothers (or birthing parents) also taking leave rather than being designed as an individual entitlement. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-one-province-got-80-per-cent-of-fathers-to-take-paternity-leave-118737">How one province got 80 per cent of fathers to take paternity leave</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27081267">These differences</a> exclude many low-income parents from receiving <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-091">parental leave benefits</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, top-up wages are highly uneven throughout Canada. Some employers don’t enhance the wage replacement rates for parental leave (70 to 75 per cent in Québec and 33 to 55 per cent in the rest of Canada). </p>
<p>Others, especially those in federally regulated industries, the public sector and large private sector companies, top-up wage replacement rates to as high as 93 per cent. In many contexts, however, top-ups are limited solely to mothers, which disincentivizes fathers from taking parental leave.</p>
<h2>Flexible work arrangements in Canada</h2>
<p>Flexible work arrangements have a less complex policy architecture than parental leave policies, but they share its drawback of uneven access. Aside from those who are self-employed, the decision-making power for remote work lies with employers.</p>
<p>As of December 2017, employees in all federally regulated sectors in Canada can <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/portfolio/labour/programs/labour-standards/flexible-work-arrangements.html#h2.3">request a flexible work arrangement under the Canada Labour Code</a> after six months of continuous employment.</p>
<p>However, managers maintain the right to refuse requests for flexible work arrangements if they believe their use will be detrimental to the quality or quantity of an employee’s work. This results in different standards being applied to different employees and means that access depends on managers’ opinions about remote work and its effect on productivity.</p>
<p>While there is no <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/business/remote-work-effects.html">clear-cut evidence</a> that working remotely hinders productivity, stereotypes of remote workers as unambitious persist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12015">and prevent men</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2036-7">and women</a> alike from gaining access.</p>
<h2>Who benefits from these policies?</h2>
<p>Constraints around policy access and eligibility mean parental leave and remote work are set up to benefit those who already enjoy socio-economic privileges, such as those who receive hefty wage top-ups and those in high-ranking positions who don’t need to worry about managerial biases. </p>
<p>To ensure more people benefit from parental leave and flexible work policies, our study suggests they must provide greater support for more people’s work and care lives.</p>
<p>In terms of flexible work arrangements, the right to remote work should acknowledge the diverse caregiving needs and responsibilities of all individuals, including fathers. One step in this direction would be to frame flexible work policies as a human right available to all workers, <a href="https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/Connect/Rotman-MAG/Issues/2023/Spring-2023/Spring-2023-Feature-Articles/Spring_23_Equality">regardless of parental or gender status</a>, to mitigate the stigma associated with working remotely and encourage widespread use.</p>
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<img alt="A baby in a mint-green sleeper sits in her father's lap while he reads her a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564384/original/file-20231207-21-zdsr71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5000%2C3323&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564384/original/file-20231207-21-zdsr71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564384/original/file-20231207-21-zdsr71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564384/original/file-20231207-21-zdsr71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564384/original/file-20231207-21-zdsr71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564384/original/file-20231207-21-zdsr71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564384/original/file-20231207-21-zdsr71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Remote work privileges should take into account the caregiving obligations of everyone, including fathers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span>
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<p>When it comes to parental leave, the evidence is clear: from 2019 to 2020, <a href="https://www.leavenetwork.org/fileadmin/user_upload/k_leavenetwork/annual_reviews/2023/Canada2023.pdf">only 23.5 per cent of recent fathers</a> living outside of Québec took (or intended to take) parental or paternity leave, compared to 85.6 percent of fathers in Québec. If the rest of Canada adopted Québec’s more inclusive policy framework, we could narrow the gendered gap in parental leave access.</p>
<p>While the COVID-19 pandemic created extraordinary uncertainty and unpredictability in employment, it also introduced new ways of thinking about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12315">paid and unpaid work</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-077">how to support people’s work and care lives</a>. </p>
<p>If more Canadians are to harness the benefits of parental leave and remote work, we need to design employment and care policies in ways that recognize individuals of all gender identities as not just workers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-091">but as caregivers and care receivers</a> throughout their lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim de Laat receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alyssa K Gerhardt receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Doucet receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>If more Canadian fathers are to harness the benefits of parental leave and remote work, we need to design employment and care policies in ways that recognize every family’s unique needs.Kim de Laat, Sociologist and Assistant Professor at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, University of WaterlooAlyssa K Gerhardt, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie UniversityAndrea Doucet, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Gender, Work, and Care, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2191672023-12-05T17:24:38Z2023-12-05T17:24:38ZLow PISA math scores post-pandemic: Policies need to consider both academic excellence and equity<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/low-pisa-math-scores-post-pandemic-policies-need-to-consider-both-academic-excellence-and-equity" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>There will be a collective gasp as governments and policymakers <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-math-scores-of-canadian-students-are-declining-raising-concern-about/?login=true">reckon with drops in 15 year olds’ math skills</a> in the wake of the pandemic, as captured by <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/">the OECD’s release</a> of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 results.</p>
<p>The global results capture mathematics skills based on 2022 testing. PISA typically tests math (as well as science and literacy skills) every three years, but a <a href="https://www.oecd.org/publications/new-pisa-results-strengthening-education-systems-in-the-wake-of-the-pandemic-62fc50a3-en.htm#">2021 test was postponed</a> because of the pandemic. </p>
<p>Governments <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/28/primary-schools-pandemic-causing-significant-learning-loss-england">anticipated there would be</a> a drop in test scores due <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/new-supports-students-math-reading-writing-1.6812345">to COVID-19 disruption</a>. But few would have predicted such significant learning losses. </p>
<p>Canada was not immune from the learning challenges caused by the pandemic. Canada’s results indicate a significant drop of <a href="https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=CAN&treshold=10&topic=PI#:%7E:text=In%20reading%20literacy%2C%20the%20main,30%20points%20higher%20for%20girls">15 score points</a> in mathematics — a score of 497, down from <a href="https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=CAN&treshold=10&topic=PI#">512 in 2018</a>. Since PISA was first administered in 2000, Canada has <a href="https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=CAN&treshold=10&topic=PI#:%7E:text=In%20reading%20literacy%2C%20the%20main,30%20points%20higher%20for%20girls">never experienced a drop of 15 score points in any area</a> as has happened this year.</p>
<p>As provinces across Canada take stock of test scores, and likely face weaponization of these scores by those seeking <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197570685.013.9">to gain political points</a>, both policymakers and the public need to know there’s no quick fix. To address academic learning, a multi-dimensional approach is needed that promotes the success of the whole child: academic, physical and socio-emotional.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/student-achievement-depends-on-reducing-poverty-now-and-after-covid-19-153523">Student achievement depends on reducing poverty now and after COVID-19</a>
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<h2>Significant drop in mathematics scores</h2>
<p>Canada’s math scores on the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_CAN.pdf">last three administrations of PISA</a> have been fairly stable, <a href="https://oecdch.art/a40de1dbaf/C903">albeit showing</a> a slight <a href="https://www.oecd.org/publication/pisa-2022-results/country-notes/canada-901942bb#chapter-d1e11">downward performance trend</a>.</p>
<p>Still, Canadian students have consistently performed <a href="https://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/396/PISA2018_PublicReport_EN.pdf">above the OECD average as the top English speaking jurisdiction in mathematics, science and reading achievement</a>. While Canada is still a top-performing nation and these drops closely align with <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/PISA%202022%20Insights%20and%20Interpretations.pdf">average OECD performance declines</a>, they are sure to provoke calls for system reform, given the trajectory of the decline.</p>
<p>What should governments do (and not do) to address significant performance declines?</p>
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<img alt="Students seated at desks writing tests." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563470/original/file-20231204-21-n52i6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563470/original/file-20231204-21-n52i6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563470/original/file-20231204-21-n52i6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563470/original/file-20231204-21-n52i6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563470/original/file-20231204-21-n52i6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563470/original/file-20231204-21-n52i6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563470/original/file-20231204-21-n52i6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Making up two years of lost learning is a daunting challenge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Education policies and academic learning loss</h2>
<p><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8723-6774">My research with colleagues</a> suggests educational policymakers in Canadian provinces have taken a number of important steps to address challenges created by the pandemic. </p>
<p>No less than 62 policy documents and related supports were developed and issued across Canada’s 10 provinces from January 2020 to December 2021. Academic supports tended to focus on maintaining continuity of learning, synchronous learning during school closures and, finally, recovery catch-up strategies.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/covid-19-and-the-learning-loss-dilemma/">Catch-up policies</a> need to consider students’ mental and physical health — domains largely untested by large-scale assessment programs, but equally important.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pause-pisa-international-standardized-student-testing-its-been-two-years-of-pandemic-schooling-stress-179945">Pause PISA international standardized student testing — it's been two years of pandemic schooling stress</a>
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<h2>Resist temptation to narrow curriculum</h2>
<p>Similarly, provincial policymakers must resist the temptation to narrow the curriculum to focus on the mathematics domain at the expense of other subjects. Narrowing the curriculum often accompanies significant test score drops, which unfortunately contribute to <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-school-dropouts-cost-countries-a-staggering-amount-of-money-115396">school failure</a> and negatively impact countries’ future economic prosperity.</p>
<p>Clearly, a generational challenge like COVID-19 requires a multi-year approach that takes a long-view based on the best available evidence. And yet, PISA results have routinely been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197570685.013.9">politicized by policymakers</a> globally, including in Canada. </p>
<p>Yes, it is early days, but if the past is a good predictor, a host of education reforms such as greater privatization and <a href="https://www.ourkids.net/blog/public-schools-fraser-institute-9075">school choice will likely be offered as a remedy for our “failing schools.</a>”</p>
<p>Collectively, these types of reforms, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-exactly-is-neoliberalism-84755">modelled on notions that the state should promote markets and competition</a> to meet social needs, have consistently shown their negative effects around the world.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-choice-policies-are-associated-with-increased-separation-of-students-by-social-class-149902">'School choice' policies are associated with increased separation of students by social class</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Moving forward in a post-COVID world</h2>
<p>Education is a social science concerned <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-science">with human behaviour in its social and cultural aspects</a>. What works in one context isn’t guaranteed to work in another. Looking to countries that perform high in PISA math performance like Singapore (and other Asian nations) to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-019-09367-x">borrow policies</a> and strategies in the hopes of emulating their success, is naïve. </p>
<p>Success in a post-COVID world will depend on local innovation and an ability to address the unique challenges of Canada’s <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htm">ethnically and linguistically diverse population</a>. Indeed, the share of immigrant students in Canada increased <a href="https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=CAN&treshold=10&topic=PI#:%7E:text=In%20reading%20literacy%2C%20the%20main,30%20points%20higher%20for%20girls">to 34 per cent in 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Although Canada can and should consider the efficacy of education policies in similar international education contexts, it also possesses unique educational governance structures. Provincial autonomy in administering education means provinces can learn from each other as much as from other countries. </p>
<p>In many instances, performance variations are larger <a href="https://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/396/PISA2018_PublicReport_EN.pdf">across Canadian provinces</a>, than between Canada and other high-performing nations.</p>
<p>For example, the difference between Saskachewan and Québec’s PISA math scores is 46 points, approximately one-and-a-half grade levels, with the former at <a href="https://a.storyblok.com/f/81332/x/ad9bf10292/oecd_pisa_2022_results-volume-i_53f23881-en.pdf">the lower and the latter at the higher end</a>. A range of education policy and other factors, including the <a href="https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/Saskatchewan%20Office/2019/02/Failing%20Report%20Card%20on%20Child%20Care%20(01-23-19).pdf">availability of early childhood education</a>, have been and should continue to be explored to account for such differences.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/generation-c-why-investing-in-early-childhood-is-critical-after-covid-19-157095">'Generation C': Why investing in early childhood is critical after COVID-19</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Push for online learning</h2>
<p>It would also be naive to expect technology to offer easy solutions to enhancing students’ access to quality education. </p>
<p>For example, in Ontario, a shift to online learning and less in-class hours, undoubtedly <a href="https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/sciencebrief/covid-19-and-education-disruption-in-ontario-emerging-evidence-on-impacts/">contributed to pandemic learning losses</a>. Yet online learning is now <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/education-ontario-policy-and-program-direction/policyprogram-memorandum-167">being offered as a strategy to improve education</a> — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/high-school-students-mandatory-online-courses-graduation-1.5368305">as it was also prior</a> to the pandemic. </p>
<p>This is despite the fact <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/learning-curve-transitions-1.6482719">that students</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/fed-up-parents-call-for-boycott-of-online-classes-as-province-shifts-to-virtual-learning-to-fight-covid-19-1.6304352">parents have</a> both voiced their concerns with online education. </p>
<p>Equally important is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1789672">that research</a> highlights the social challenges associated with a reliance on online education.</p>
<h2>Two pillars of success: excellence and equity</h2>
<p>Ultimately, Canadian policymakers should be judged on their ability to promote academic resilience in a post-COVID world that is both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103211069002">multi-dimensional</a> and also attentive to marginalized student groups, particularly <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-13-9863-6">those from lower socio-economic backgrounds</a>. </p>
<p>Policies designed to promote high achievement must also carefully consider the success of students living in poverty. The <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Equity-and-Excellence-in-Education-Towards-Maximal-Learning-Opportunities/Branden-Avermaet-Houtte/p/book/9780415847452">best-performing education systems</a> embody both of these characteristics, and PISA scores represent only one piece of a complex puzzle to help spur system reform. </p>
<p>The countries that equally attend to these two pillars, excellence and equity, will be the leaders of the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louis Volante receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p>To boost post-pandemic math learning, a multi-dimensional approach is needed that promotes the success of the whole child: academic, physical and socio-emotional.Louis Volante, Professor, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166492023-11-02T14:20:44Z2023-11-02T14:20:44ZBird flu could be eradicated by editing the genes of chickens - our study shows how<p>Recent advances in gene editing technology could potentially be used to create disease-resistant animals. This could curtail the spread of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. </p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41476-3">gene editing</a> study, my colleagues and I showcased the potential of gene editing to protect chickens from the threat of bird flu. This disease is caused by an ever-evolving virus that gets around numerous <a href="https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/biosecurity#:%7E:text=Biosecurity%20is%20the%20prevention%20of,quality%20of%20a%20food%20product.">biosecurity</a> measures such as good hygiene, restricting bird movements, surveillance through appropriate testing, and selective elimination of infected birds.</p>
<p>A gene editing breakthrough would stem the huge economic losses currently suffered as a result of bird flu outbreaks. It would also be a significant step in controlling a disease that can cause serious sickness and death in humans.</p>
<h2>Why managing bird flu matters</h2>
<p>Outbreaks of bird flu around the world cost <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03322-2">billions of dollars</a> in losses. The United States Department of Agriculture reported that up to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/avian-flu-outbreak-wipes-out-5054-mln-us-birds-record-2022-11-24/">50 million birds</a> died from bird flu in 2022. Recently, the South African Poultry Association said more than <a href="https://www.thepoultrysite.com/news/2023/10/avian-influenza-forces-south-africa-to-cull-2-5-million-broilers">7 million</a> chickens were destroyed after outbreaks were detected in the first half of 2023.</p>
<p>Beyond the economic implications, bird flu outbreaks also pose a risk to <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/12-07-%202023-ongoing-avian-influenza-outbreaks-in-animals-pose-risk-to-humans">human health</a>.</p>
<p>Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, bird flu was considered a possible trigger for a devastating human pandemic. This prompted international surveillance led by the <a href="https://www.woah.org/en/home/">World Organisation for Animal Health</a>, the <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a> and the <a href="https://www.fao.org/home/en">Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations</a>.</p>
<p>The fear is well-founded as the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291411/#:%7E:text=Three%20worldwide%20(pandemic)%20outbreaks%20of,and%20Hong%20Kong%20influenza%2C%20respectively.">three flu pandemics</a> of the 20th century – including the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/timeline/avian-timeline-1880-1959.htm">1918 flu pandemic</a> that
claimed tens of millions of lives – originated from birds.</p>
<h2>Vaccinations can only do so much</h2>
<p>Vaccination is a primary method for preventing bird flu outbreaks in chickens. </p>
<p>However, the effectiveness of vaccines is limited because the bird flu virus rapidly evolves. This makes existing vaccines less effective over time. Also, there are multiple strains of the bird flu virus but a vaccine is effective against a specific strain only. </p>
<p>It’s necessary to match a <a href="https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8271">vaccine</a> with the prevailing strain causing an outbreak. Using vaccines may also involve substantial costs and practical hurdles of distribution.</p>
<h2>Gene editing to improve animal welfare</h2>
<p>In contrast to vaccinations, gene editing targets a protein or proteins within chickens that are vital for all strains of bird flu, effectively stopping the virus in its tracks.</p>
<p>Gene editing refers to the process of making a precise change in a specific gene in an animal to introduce <a href="https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-018-1583-1">traits</a> such as resistance to a particular disease, increased productivity and characteristics that enhance animal welfare. </p>
<p>A beneficial genetic change introduced into an animal using gene editing may already occur naturally in another animal. </p>
<p>For example, gene editing was used to make dairy cattle hornless by introducing into them a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.3560">genetic change</a> found in naturally hornless cattle. This is important as many dairy cattle have horns, resulting in the painful practice of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090023304000486">dehorning</a> calves to reduce the risk of injury to the animal and the farmer.</p>
<p>It’s important not to confuse gene editing with genetic modification, which entails transferring a gene from one species to another. This distinction is necessary for regulatory purposes, especially as the older genetic modification technology has faced <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956713522003863?via%3Dihub">stringent regulations</a> in many countries, hampering its development.</p>
<p>To produce the gene-edited chickens in our study, we used the powerful molecular scissors known as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4975809/#:%7E:text=Go%20to%3A-,Overview%20of%20CRISPR%2FCas9,genome%20(see%20figure%201).">CRISPR/Cas9</a> to make a single gene edit. We targeted the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/8125">ANP32A</a> protein in chickens. </p>
<p>Compared to normal chickens hatched simultaneously, these gene-edited chickens reached maturity without any discernible adverse consequences on their health and wellbeing.</p>
<p>To test their resistance, we exposed the gene-edited chickens to a low dose of the bird flu virus. Remarkably, 9 out of 10 of these birds displayed complete resistance, and no transmission occurred to other chickens. </p>
<p>Taking a more ambitious step, we inoculated the gene-edited chickens
with a high, unnatural dose of the virus – 1,000 times the low dose. This time, 5 out of the 10 inoculated gene-edited chickens became infected. </p>
<p>We also found that the bird flu virus was capable of adapting to use the edited ANP32A protein, as well as two related proteins – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/10541">ANP32B</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/81611">ANP32E</a>. But we demonstrated through experiments in cells that simultaneously editing all three proteins could completely suppress the virus. </p>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>Ongoing research aims to identify the specific combination of gene edits needed to create the next generation of gene-edited chickens, providing complete and permanent protection against bird flu.</p>
<p>Gene editing should be regarded as an essential tool for preventing and controlling deadly animal diseases. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-019-0035-y">Supportive government regulations</a> will be required to promote the development of gene editing aimed at enhancing animal health and welfare. </p>
<p>The potential for disease resistant animals to protect global food security and public health is a compelling reason to pursue this innovative path in biotechnology.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216649/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alewo Idoko-Akoh was supported in the highlighted study by funding from the UK Research & Innovation's BBSRC </span></em></p>The three flu pandemics of the 20th century originated from birds, making it critical to fight bird flu. Breakthroughs in gene-editing chickens show promise for eliminating the disease in the future.Alewo Idoko-Akoh, Research associate, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141062023-10-23T22:16:05Z2023-10-23T22:16:05ZListening to youth voices was missing in the COVID-19 pandemic response<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554558/original/file-20231018-25-ozrg72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C318%2C4916%2C3431&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One student in a study said they would have loved to receive emails about school closures: 'I always had to ask my parents. Sometimes they don’t read the emails.'
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/listening-to-youth-voices-was-missing-in-the-covid-19-pandemic-response" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The new school year has brought about <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9914128/canada-covid-fall-wave-2023/">another increase in COVID-19 cases</a>. </p>
<p>As we face the future, it’s important to reflect on the past. Learning from how we weathered the pandemic can help improve our response to the ongoing presence of COVID-19 and the potential emergence of other diseases. </p>
<p>By examining youths’ experiences during the pandemic, especially the cycles of school closures and re-openings, we can shed light on policies and protocols during the COVID-19 response. </p>
<p>Government and school communication was a key part of the pandemic response. Based on research with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2023.2239327">youth about their experiences in the pandemic, we found that communication and meaningful discussions</a> with youth were noticeably missing from this response.</p>
<p>We have an opportunity to improve how we support youths’ rights. An appropriate pandemic response requires more than <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HLTH0121-001523">promoting healthy habits to protect against infection</a>. Youth voices need to be included and taken seriously on the matters that impact them.</p>
<h2>The school context</h2>
<p>School communities are key for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2022.2088593">delivering public health initiatives and connecting youth to mental-health resources, especially during recovery from disasters</a>. </p>
<p>Research during the pandemic response highlighted both negative and positive experiences of school closures. </p>
<p>Some students expressed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsab107">concerns about grades, school workload</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584231151902">loss of routine</a>, yet some enjoyed a lighter school workload, having more time to spend with family, and for relaxation and hobbies or creative pursuits. Others experienced symptoms of anxiety, depression and loneliness, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22453">along with increases in family conflict and loss of important life milestones</a>. </p>
<h2>Youths’ rights</h2>
<p>Article 12 of the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child">United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child</a> states <a href="https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/52405">children have the right to have a voice in all matters that affect them</a>. </p>
<p>Therefore, ensuring youth voices are a central focus of all policies, programs and research that targets them should be a priority. </p>
<p>In collaboration with a youth committee, who ensured the methods and interview guide would be relevant to youth experiences, we conducted research interviews. We asked youth participants about their daily lives during the pandemic, and their experiences of the cycles of school closures and re-openings and safety protocols.</p>
<p>We also asked them about changes to their mental health, and the availability of support during the pandemic.</p>
<p>Lastly, we asked youth about the changes they hoped to see in the future and their recommendations for schools and policymakers.</p>
<h2>Interviews with teens</h2>
<p>We conducted 30 one-on-one interviews with secondary school students (spanning Grades 8-12) in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Québec. We recruited participants through Instagram posts in English and French. Participants ranged in age from 13 to 18 years old. Sixteen participants self-identified as female and 14 as male. Fourteen students self-identified as white and 16 students self-identified in a variety of ways we coded as IBPOC (Indigenous, Black or a person of colour). The names of participants in the study were replaced with pseudonyms to protect participant anonymity.</p>
<p>Two of our main findings were focused on a lack of direct communication and engagement with youth in decision-making during the pandemic and the challenges youth faced in accessing appropriate mental-health support. </p>
<h2>Lack of youth voice</h2>
<p>Many students in the study discussed the results of sudden pandemic-related decisions (like virtual or in-person school learning mode) and how they were left out of the conversation. </p>
<p>Most students felt overlooked due to the lack of direct communication with them, which impacted students’ awareness and understanding of the protocols and policies that were necessary for their participation in school. </p>
<p>One Québec student, Jeanne, explained, “I would have loved to receive emails about school, the closures … I always had to ask my parents. Sometimes they don’t read the emails.” </p>
<p>Youth also stressed the lack of youth voice in pandemic-related decisions, particularly on school formats. </p>
<p>Hamza, also from Québec, explained, “Usually, youths want to control everything and be part of the decision-making, but with COVID, it was different … we had to sit and listen to suggestions without being able to speak.”</p>
<h2>Need for appropriate mental-health support</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A youth seen with a baskeball and an empty court." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554561/original/file-20231018-21-jsdhtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554561/original/file-20231018-21-jsdhtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554561/original/file-20231018-21-jsdhtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554561/original/file-20231018-21-jsdhtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554561/original/file-20231018-21-jsdhtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554561/original/file-20231018-21-jsdhtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554561/original/file-20231018-21-jsdhtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some students described facing challenges accessing appropriate mental-health support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unsurprisingly, most students in the study noted a decline in their mental health, regardless of whether they had mental-health concerns or diagnoses prior to the pandemic. </p>
<p>When asked if or how their pandemic experiences and subsequent lifestyle changes had impacted their mental health, students generally described feeling “frustrated,” “angry,” “overwhelmed,” “burnt out,” “hopeless” and “helpless.”</p>
<p>They also faced limitations to independence and faced challenges accessing appropriate mental-health support.</p>
<p>Drew, from Ontario, explained: </p>
<p>“Nobody really helps … specifically with finding someone to help you out with [mental-health problems] … It’s not easy to find support.” </p>
<p>While some students in the study felt they had trusted adults (like teachers and parents) to whom they could talk to, others discussed concerns around: confidentiality in the school environment; a lack of knowledge of how or where to access support; limited school staff for mental-health support; and whether the available supports would be helpful. </p>
<p>Parents were discussed as potential barriers to services that students were aware of. Many students worried their parents would not approve of them accessing mental-health services, and some required parental support to access services (for example, for transportation or payments).</p>
<h2>Meet youth where they’re at</h2>
<p>The challenges that youth discussed are not restricted to the pandemic context. We can learn from these experiences by prioritizing the meaningful involvement of youth in decision-making processes. </p>
<p>Meaningful youth engagement can result in more relevant and effective policies, programs and services. Our findings emphasize the need to meet youth where they’re at, by providing them with accurate information in spaces they access most often (like social media or school contexts). </p>
<p>When we asked youth for their recommendations for adults, the overwhelming response was: talk to youth. As Rebecca from Alberta noted: If it’s a matter that is affecting us, it’s important that we have input on it.</p>
<p>This is also their right, and is protected <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/divorce/crc-crde/conv2a.html">in international law</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214106/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen A. Patte received funding from SickKids Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for this research.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terrance J. Wade has received funding from the Canadian federal Tri-Council funding agencies including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). He has also received funding from the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Valerie Michaelson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fund, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the New Frontiers in Research Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica A. Goddard and Negin Riazi do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Insights from youth about COVID-19 school closures and youth exclusion from pandemic-related decisions suggest we have an opportunity to improve how we support youths’ rights.Negin Riazi, Health Promotion Specialist - Knowledge Translation and Exchange, University of British ColumbiaJessica A. Goddard, PhD Student Investigating Child and Youth Mental Health, Brock UniversityKaren A. Patte, Canada Research Chair in Child Health Equity and Inclusion and Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Brock UniversityTerrance J. Wade, Professor of Health Sciences, Brock UniversityValerie Michaelson, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139632023-09-25T12:23:39Z2023-09-25T12:23:39ZTraditional downtowns are dead or dying in many US cities − what’s next for these zones?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549791/original/file-20230922-15-jpru1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C3964%2C2646&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sign advertises retail spaces for lease at Union Square in San Francisco on June 21, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SanFranciscoDowntownRetailingWoes/60ec81b9b8aa4787869fe1284d6d2303/photo">AP Photo/Eric Risberg</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The hollowing out of U.S. cities’ office and commercial cores is a national trend with serious consequences for millions of Americans. As more people have stayed home following the COVID-19 pandemic, foot traffic has fallen. Major retail chains are closing stores, and even prestigious properties are having a hard time retaining tenants. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/us/san-francisco-whole-foods-crime-economy.html">shuttering of a Whole Foods market</a> after only a year in downtown San Francisco in May 2023 received widespread coverage. Even more telling was the high-end department store Nordstrom’s decision to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/28/business/nordstrom-san-francisco-closure/index.html">close its flagship store there in August</a> after a 35-year run. </p>
<p>In New York City, office vacancy rates have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/business/office-vacancies-gural-gfp.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">risen by over 70%</a> since 2019. Chicago’s <a href="https://www.themagnificentmile.com/">Magnificent Mile</a>, a stretch of high-end shops and restaurants, had a <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-loop-michigan-avenue-shopping-mag-mile/12968289/">26% vacancy rate</a> in spring 2023. </p>
<p>A recent study from the University of Toronto found that across North America, downtowns are recovering from the pandemic <a href="https://downtownrecovery.com/death_of_downtown_policy_brief.pdf">more slowly than other urban areas</a> and that “older, denser downtowns reliant on professional or tech workers and located within large metros” are struggling the hardest.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G5qBZrj6Rt8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Like many U.S. cities, Portland, Oregon, is losing downtown businesses. This is cutting into urban revenues and creating a perception of decline.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over more than 50 years of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oMPNYhQAAAAJ&hl=en">researching urban policy</a>, I have watched U.S. cities go through many booms and busts. Now, however, I see a more fundamental shift taking place. In my view, traditional downtowns are dead, dying or on life support across the U.S. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/05/it-has-lost-its-appeal-canary-wharf-faces-an-uncertain-future">and elsewhere</a>. Local governments and urban residents urgently need to consider <a href="https://www.philosophersmag.com/essays/302-cities-after-covid">what the post-pandemic city will look like</a>. </p>
<h2>Decades of overbuilding</h2>
<p>U.S. downtowns were in trouble <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-office-glut-started-decades-before-pandemic-11661210031">before the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. Today’s overhang of excess commercial space was years in the making. </p>
<p>Urban property markets are speculative enterprises. When the economy is booming, individual developers decide to build more – and the collective result of these rational individual decisions is excess buildings. </p>
<p>In the 1980s, the Reagan administration allowed a <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/1980s-tax-reform-cost-recovery-and-the-real-estate-industry-lessons-for-today/">quicker depreciation of commercial real estate</a> that effectively lowered tax rates for developers. With financial globalization, foreign money <a href="https://homeabroadinc.com/foreign-home-buyers-statistics/">flowed into the U.S. property sector</a>, especially to very big development projects that could absorb large pools of liquid capital looking for relatively safe long-term investments. </p>
<p>Years of low interest rates meant cheap money for developers to finance their projects. City governments were eager to greenlight projects that would generate tax revenues. In many downtowns, office space now takes up between <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/07/07/upshot/downtown-office-vulnerable-even-before-covid.html">70% and 80%</a> of all real estate.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A construction worker on a movable scaffold in a gutted office building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A former office building at 160 Water St. in New York City’s financial district undergoing conversion into 600 apartments in March 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-construction-of-the-former-office-building-being-news-photo/1248220271">Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>The pandemic push</h2>
<p>COVID-19 finally burst this 40-year bubble. During pandemic lockdowns, many people worked from home and became comfortable with virtual meetings. Telecommuting grew as <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-recovering-from-covid-19-us-public-transit-tries-to-get-back-on-track-193437">conventional commuting declined</a>. Workers with the resources and job flexibility moved from cities to so-called “<a href="https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/zoom-town">zoom towns</a>” where housing was more affordable and parks and outdoor activities were close at hand.</p>
<p>Now, many employers want their staffs to return to the office. However, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/14/dc-remote-work-poll-downtown/">workers are pushing back</a>, especially against spending full five-day weeks in the office. New technologies have made it easier to work from home, and a tight labor market has strengthened employees’ bargaining power. </p>
<p>There are significant knock-on effects. A range of businesses, including restaurants, retail stores and services, rely on downtown office workers. <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2021/10/21/downtowns-are-still-biggest-job-centers-most-regions">At least 17% of all leisure and hospitality sector jobs</a> are in the downtowns of the 100 largest U.S. cities. </p>
<p>In San Francisco, for example, a typical office worker <a href="https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/BLA.DowntownSF.Economy%20Tax.022423.pdf">used to spend $168 near their office per week</a>. Now, with nearly 150,000 fewer office workers commuting downtown, about 33,000 people in the service and retail sectors have lost their jobs.</p>
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<h2>Terminal decline?</h2>
<p>Today, many cities are confronting the prospect of an <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/breaking-the-urban-doom-loop-the-future-of-downtowns-is-shared-prosperity/">urban doom loop</a>, with a massive oversupply of office and retail space, fewer commuters and a looming urban fiscal crisis. Washington, D.C., is an illustration.</p>
<p>In December 2022, the city had approximately 27,000 fewer jobs than in February 2020, and it faced a growing <a href="https://cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ocfo/publication/attachments/February%202023%20Revenue%20Estimate%20Letter_rev%20032723.pdf">financial shortfall</a> from declining property taxes due to downtown business closures and fewer property purchases. The District of Columbia government projects that city revenues will decline by US$81 million in fiscal year 2024, $183 million in 2025 and $200 million in 2026. Washington’s Metropolitan Transit Authority faces a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/07/28/dc-metro-funding-money/">$750 million shortfall</a> because of a sharp decline in ridership.</p>
<p>In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels famously wrote that under the pressures of dynamic capitalism, “<a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm">all that is solid melts into air</a>.” They could have been describing the ever-changing built form of the United States, with people and money flowing to Main Street stores through the 1960s, then to suburban malls in the 1970s and 80s, then <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/capturing-americas-fading-shopping-malls-through-a-photographers-lens">abandoning malls</a> for revived downtowns and online shopping. Now, traditional downtowns may be in similar terminal decline. </p>
<h2>Repurposing office space</h2>
<p>What can cities do with their surplus office spaces? In some cities, such as <a href="https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/how-columbus-downtown-skyline-could-soon-change/">Columbus, Ohio</a>, investors are purchasing deeply discounted buildings, demolishing them and finding more profitable uses for the land, such as residential and mixed-use buildings. Other options include <a href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/vacant-offices-housing-conversion/">converting commercial space into residences</a> or more specialized applications such as <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23376441/office-real-estate-remote-work-lab-conversions">biotech labs</a>. </p>
<p>But conversion is no panacea. There are many regulatory hurdles, although cities are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/upshot/american-cities-office-conversion.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">changing zoning laws</a> to make the process easier. Many office buildings have large internal floor spaces that makes it expensive to divide them into individual residential units that all receive outdoor light. And glass-sheathed buildings with windows that don’t open are prone to overheating.</p>
<p>Another approach is making downtowns more alluring, through steps such as <a href="https://eu.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/05/12/food-vendors-slowly-returning-to-downtown-peoria-illinois/70013015007/">waiving fees for food trucks</a> and small businesses, offering <a href="https://311.sanantonio.gov/kb/docs/articles/transportation/free-downtown-parking">free parking at night and on weekends</a> and promoting events and eateries. The city of Columbus gives out <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/08/07/columbus-economic-development.html">lunch coupons</a> for downtown restaurants. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvsvdlGJDAd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Worcester, Massachusetts, offers financial aid for small businesses that <a href="https://www.worcesterma.gov/business-community-development/financial-assistance/ma-vacant-storefront-program">move into vacant storefronts</a>. San Francisco is considering a proposal to convert its downtown Westfield Centre Mall, formerly home to Nordstrom and other retailers, into a <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/08/23/downtown-san-francisco-soccer-stadium-plans-for-former-westfield-mall-revealed/">soccer stadium</a>. </p>
<p>In my view, the growth of commercial office complexes that has long been promoted by investors, developers and federal and city governments has probably come to an end. The nation no longer needs so much office space. It will require <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-06-11/los-angeles-cities-downtowns-decline-recovery">more community involvement</a> to find out what people want instead. Some communities may focus on housing, while others opt for more recreational opportunities or green spaces. </p>
<p>The downtown filled with acres of banal office blocks, with accompanying ground-level retail stores and shopping malls, is a relic of the 20th century. It’s daunting but exciting to envision what will take its place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Rennie Short does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Developers have overbuilt office and commercial space in US cities for decades. Now, in the wake of pandemic shutdowns, many downtowns face hard choices about the future.John Rennie Short, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2111202023-08-28T02:37:04Z2023-08-28T02:37:04ZThink curbing overseas migration will end the housing crisis? It won’t – and we can’t afford to do it<p>With the nation feeling the pressures of a housing crisis, some believe the Australian government needs to ease housing demand by limiting international migration. </p>
<p>To others, this sentiment comes across as xenophobic. They dismiss it outright, based on moral grounds. How can a <a href="https://www.des.qld.gov.au/multicultural-queensland-month">nation of settlers</a>, built on <a href="https://acij.org.au/about-us/acknowledgement-of-country/">unceded Indigenous land</a>, contemplate the notion of closing its borders to new migrants?</p>
<p>Leaving the moral arguments aside, it is worth looking at the data to find out if there is any merit to the idea of limiting housing demand by curbing migration – as opposed to increasing housing supply to make housing more affordable. </p>
<p>The evidence from pandemic-era data and longer-term migration and housing trends provides little support for the idea that curbing migration is a solution. And the future impacts on the economy and an ageing population would be costly for Australia, as the latest <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/intergenerational-report">Intergenerational Report</a> reminds us. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-missing-500-000-migrants-but-we-dont-need-visa-changes-to-lure-them-back-182322">Australia is missing 500,000 migrants, but we don't need visa changes to lure them back</a>
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<h2>Why does Australia take in migrants?</h2>
<p>First off, it is crucial to understand that Australia’s international migration program is not driven by charity. For a start, the percentage of humanitarian migrants is minuscule, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/permanent-migrants-australia/latest-release">about 10%</a> of Australia’s permanent migrant intake. And, compared to other OECD countries, it is <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=251988">very difficult</a> for migrants to bring family members, such as parents or siblings, to Australia.</p>
<p>Among non-refugees, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/permanent-migrants-australia/latest-release">younger and highly skilled migrants dominate</a> the lot. They provide much-needed labour skills and sustain the economy. Migrants help Australia as much as Australia helps them achieve their life goals. </p>
<p>Clearly, limiting international migration is not a realistic policy option. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-we-open-up-open-up-big-economists-say-we-need-more-migrants-177359">When we open up, open up big: economists say we need more migrants</a>
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<h2>What’s the level of international migration?</h2>
<p>The level of overseas migration is very high at present so, yes, migrants are contributing to housing demand in the short term. </p>
<p>However, this situation is only temporary. Much of it is so-called “recuperation migration” to make up for border closures that all but halted immigration during the pandemic. In 2020-21, Australia experienced a veritable exodus, with a net population <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/overseas-migration/latest-release">loss of 85,000 people</a>. Very few migrants were allowed in until late 2022. </p>
<iframe title="Net annual migration to Australia since 1990" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-x4q3L" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/x4q3L/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400" data-external="1"></iframe>
<p>The annual overseas migration intake is expected to <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Budget/reviews/2023-24/Immigration">peak at 400,000 people</a> in 2022-23 before returning to 260,000 in 2024-25. This will be close to the long-term average before the pandemic. It will not fully make up for the lost population growth during the pandemic. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-recent-surge-in-australias-net-migration-and-will-it-last-203155">What's behind the recent surge in Australia's net migration – and will it last?</a>
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<h2>Housing supply is the long-term problem</h2>
<p>The housing crisis has been decades in the making. Housing prices were on an upward trend while the annual overseas migration intake remained constant in the decade leading to COVID-19. </p>
<p>Tellingly, even as Australia lost population during the pandemic, the real estate industry <a href="https://www.mortgagebusiness.com.au/property/17774-the-property-market-3-years-after-covid">estimates</a> that “from September 2020 to April 2022, the nation experienced the sharpest recorded upswing in home values (28.6%)”. </p>
<p>This shows that factors other than migration have been at play. </p>
<p>Let’s look beyond international migration numbers and compare the net population growth to the housing supply. According to <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/how-to-solve-australia-s-housing-crisis-20230502-p5d4w9">former senior Reserve Bank economist Tony Richards</a>, the national dwelling stock stopped expanding in line with overall population growth in 2001. That’s also when the number of property investors <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/04/a-quarter-of-australias-property-investments-held-by-1-of-taxpayers-data-reveals">began to increase</a>. </p>
<p>Since 2001, the demand for housing has far exceeded the supply. The shortfall has been especially marked in the most populous states – New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. By 2021, the national dwelling shortfall was <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/how-to-solve-australia-s-housing-crisis-20230502-p5d4w9">more than 1.3 million units</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-market-has-failed-to-give-australians-affordable-housing-so-dont-expect-it-to-solve-the-crisis-192177">The market has failed to give Australians affordable housing, so don't expect it to solve the crisis</a>
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<h2>Is most population growth due to migrants?</h2>
<p>Yes, but not by much. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, about 40% of population growth in Australia was through natural increase and 60% through international migration. Recuperation migration means migrants are contributing a bit more to the mix now.</p>
<p>Overall in Australia, the average number of children per woman reached a <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/births-australia/latest-release">historical low of 1.58</a> in 2021. Birth rates among international migrants are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12134-020-00767-0">similar to the national average</a>. This is because migrants tend to be highly skilled, particularly in cities, and people in that group are more career-focused and have fewer children. </p>
<p>Low birth rates might be good news for those holding <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/22/pro-extinctionis-longtermim-effective-altruism-human-extinction-emile-torres">pro-extinctionist views</a>. Others may see it as an <a href="https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/04/04/china-sees-first-population-decline-in-six-decades-where-does-the-eu-stand">economic disaster in the making</a>. </p>
<p>However, the nation is recording about <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/latest-release">300,000 births a year</a>. This figure has been constant for a decade. Our population is youthful relative to other OECD countries, with a median age of 42. This means housing demand is not about to stop. </p>
<h2>What about internal migration?</h2>
<p>In some regions, like South-East Queensland, the internal migration of Australian residents is compounding the impact of immigration. This is not new. </p>
<p>The graph below shows data from 2021-22. At the time, Brisbane and its surroundings were particularly attractive as other states struggled to contain the pandemic. </p>
<iframe title="Breakdowns of changes in capital city populations 2021-22 " aria-label="Stacked Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-1rHjA" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/1rHjA/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400" data-external="1"></iframe>
<p>But <a href="https://population.gov.au/sites/population.gov.au/files/2021-09/anticipating_the_impact_of_covid-19_on_internal_migration.pdf">historic data</a> from the 1980s onward show Queensland has long been a net population receiver. The state owes its longstanding popularity to its warmer climate and lower housing prices.</p>
<p>The recent spike in interstate migration to South-East Queensland combined with international migration to create a perfect storm. While Sydney’s and Melbourne’s housing markets have been <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/sydney-melbourne-among-top-five-least-affordable-cities-in-the-world-to-buy-a-home-20220316-p5a574.html">notoriously unaffordable</a> for a while, Brisbane is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-post-covid-crisis-hit-queensland-hardest-with-100-000-households-needing-low-cost-housing-heres-how-it-can-recover-199514">latest arrival</a> on the front lines of the housing affordability battle.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-post-covid-crisis-hit-queensland-hardest-with-100-000-households-needing-low-cost-housing-heres-how-it-can-recover-199514">The post-COVID crisis hit Queensland hardest. With 100,000 households needing low-cost housing, here's how it can recover</a>
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<h2>The bottom line</h2>
<p>International migration contributes to the housing demand but it’s hardly the only, or even the main, cause of the housing crisis. The problem cannot be solved by curbing migration. </p>
<p>To make Australian housing affordable again, we need to increase housing supply in line with demand. We also need to stop <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-real-reason-housing-supply-isn-t-keeping-up-with-demand-20230821-p5dy40.html">inflationary investments</a> in existing housing by abolishing tax rules such as negative gearing and capital gains tax.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-crisis-is-deepening-here-are-10-policies-to-get-us-out-of-it-204026">Australia’s housing crisis is deepening. Here are 10 policies to get us out of it</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211120/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dorina Pojani has received research grant funding from a variety of domestic and international organisations, including the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aude Bernard currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>COVID-19 halted immigration and housing affordability got much worse. We’d feel the impacts of internal migration and undersupply of affordable housing even if we again blocked migrants from overseas.Dorina Pojani, Associate Professor in Urban Planning, The University of QueenslandAude Bernard, Senior Lecturer, Queensland Centre for Population Research, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2060522023-08-04T12:30:20Z2023-08-04T12:30:20ZMore adults than ever have been seeking ADHD medications – an ADHD expert explains what could be driving the trend<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534656/original/file-20230628-23-d348x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=101%2C0%2C5516%2C4211&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media was awash with promotions for ADHD as an explanation for people's overwhelmed state of mind.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/woman-suffers-from-obsessive-thoughts-royalty-free-illustration/1412359050?phrase=ADHD+adults&adppopup=true">useng/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a woman in my 30s who was constantly typing “ADHD” into my computer, I had something interesting happen to me in 2021. I started receiving a wave of advertisements beckoning me to get online help for ADHD, or <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html#">attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a>. One was a free, one-minute assessment to find out if I had the disorder, another an offer for a digital game that could help “rewire” my brain. Yet another ad asked me if I was “delivering” but still not moving up at work. </p>
<p>The reason the term ADHD litters my digital life is because I am a clinical psychologist who exclusively treats patients with ADHD. I’m also a <a href="https://psychiatry.uw.edu/profile/maggie-sibley/">psychiatric researcher</a> at the University of Washington School of Medicine who studies ADHD trends across the life span. </p>
<p>But these advertisements were a striking new trend.</p>
<p>The following year, in October 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-announces-shortage-adderall">nationwide shortage of mixed amphetamine salts</a>, a drug that is marketed as Adderall. The brand name Adderall and its generic counterparts have become one of the most <a href="https://theconversation.com/misuse-of-adderall-promotes-stigma-and-mistrust-for-patients-who-need-it-a-neuroscientist-explains-the-science-behind-the-controversial-adhd-drug-198223">common medication treatments for ADHD</a>. Over the next several months, additional ADHD medications joined Adderall on the list of prescription drugs in short supply. </p>
<p>As of August 2023, the U.S. is still experiencing a <a href="https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/drugshortages/dsp_ActiveIngredientDetails.cfm?">shortage of several ADHD medications</a>, with some not expected to be resolved for at least a few more months.</p>
<p>The shortage appears to have been triggered by a combination of <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/02/18/1157832613/adderall-shortage-forces-some-patients-to-scramble-ration-or-go-without">high demand and access to key ingredients</a>. In recent months, millions of Americans have found themselves with no <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/health/adderall-shortage-adhd.html">guarantee of access to their daily medications</a>. </p>
<p>In March 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7213a1.htm">an unprecedented spike in stimulant prescriptions</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/03/30/adhd-stimulants-adults/">between 2020 and 2021</a>. Perhaps most surprising was that the demographic showing the greatest increases in stimulant use – an increase of almost 20% in one year – were in women in their 20s and 30s.</p>
<p>The CDC’s findings, along with the stimulant shortage, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547231164155">raise some interesting</a> – and still unanswered – questions about what factors are driving these trends.</p>
<p><iframe id="98fSQ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/98fSQ/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>The challenge of diagnosing adult ADHD</h2>
<p>Despite the growth in awareness of ADHD over the past couple of decades, many people with ADHD, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13480">particularly women</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-2390">people of color</a>, go undiagnosed in childhood. </p>
<p>But unlike depression or anxiety, ADHD is quite complicated to diagnose in adults. </p>
<p>Diagnosing ADHD in either kids or adults first involves establishing that ADHD-like traits, which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4618695/">exist on a continuum</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21010032">can fluctuate</a>, are severe and chronic enough to prevent a person from living a normal, healthy life.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.13260">The average person has a couple of symptoms of ADHD</a>, so it can be hard to draw the line between ADHD-like tendencies – such as a tendency to lose keys, having a messy desk or often finding your mind wandering during a dull task – and a diagnosable medical disorder. There is no objective test to diagnose ADHD, so doctors typically conduct a structured patient interview, ask family members to fill out rating scales and review official records to come up with an actual diagnosis.</p>
<p>Diagnostic challenges can also arise for psychiatrists and other health care practitioners because ADHD shares features with many other conditions. In fact, difficulty concentrating is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/u56p2">second most common symptom</a> across all psychiatric disorders. </p>
<p>Further complicating things, ADHD is also a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1463-3">risk factor for many of the conditions that it resembles</a>. For example, years of negative feedback may lead some adults with ADHD to develop secondary depression and anxiety. Zeroing in on the correct diagnosis requires a well-trained clinician who is able to take enough time to thoroughly gather necessary patient history.</p>
<h2>Stress of the COVID-19 pandemic</h2>
<p>Looking back, some clear factors have been at play, but it remains unclear the degree to which they are driving the spike in stimulant prescriptions.</p>
<p>In 2021, the U.S. was still deep in the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. People were <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/tracking-the-covid-19-economys-effects-on-food-housing-and">still losing jobs</a>, facing financial strains and juggling work-from-home challenges such as having children at home doing online schooling. Many <a href="https://theconversation.com/losing-a-grandmother-can-have-long-lasting-mental-health-effects-for-kids-and-adolescents-a-new-study-finds-186106">families were losing loved ones</a>, and there was a huge sense of uncertainty over when normal life would return.</p>
<p>The demands of the pandemic took a toll on everyone, but research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492221076516">women may have been disproportionately affected</a>. This may have led to a greater proportion of adults seeking stimulant treatments to help them keep up with the demands of daily life.</p>
<p>In addition, without access to in-person recreational spaces, the pandemic increasingly drove many people to spending more time on digital media. </p>
<p>In 2021, a social justice movement focused on “neurodiversity” was gaining momentum online. <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/23154-neurodivergent#:">Neurodiversity is a nonmedical term</a> that refers to the wide diversity of brain processes that diverge from what has traditionally been considered “typical.” In this moment, #ADHD became the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007648">seventh most popular health topic on TikTok</a>. Relatable anecdotes of missing keys, procrastination, romantic mishaps and secret signs of ADHD began to flood the internet. </p>
<p>But while the internet exploded with ADHD content, researchers in Canada began sorting #ADHD TikTok videos into categories based on their accuracy and helpfulness. They <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/07067437221082854">reported something important</a>: A majority of #ADHD content was misleading. Only 21% of the posts provided useful and accurate information.</p>
<p>So, amid the growing online community of newly self-diagnosed people with ADHD, many probably did not actually have the condition. For some, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01179-8">cybochondria</a> – or health-focused anxiety after online searching – may have been creeping in. Others may have mistaken ADHD for another condition, which is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/well/mind/tiktok-mental-illness-diagnosis.html">surprisingly easy to do</a>. Still others may have had mild attentional issues that do not rise to the severity of ADHD.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two blue and white Adderall capsules lie the in the foreground with a medicine bottle sitting behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537552/original/file-20230714-25-rbv5ib.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adderall and its generic counterparts have been in short supply in recent months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/DrugShortagesExplainer/7383f39153cb40c884c42971b3176711/photo?Query=drug%20shortage&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=180&currentItemNo=1">AP Photo/Jenny Kane</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What ADHD care looked like in 2021</h2>
<p>In 2021, the U.S. mental health system was overloaded. Most traditional ADHD providers such as psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health therapists and psychiatric nurse practitioners, had monthslong wait lists for new patients. People who were newly seeking help for ADHD found faster appointments with their primary care providers, who may or may not <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1256-3">be comfortable diagnosing and treating adult ADHD</a>. Since demand for ADHD care exceeded capacity, new options were needed to meet patient needs.</p>
<p>Around that time, <a href="https://time.com/6225361/telehealth-startups-cerebral-done-ahead/">online ADHD care startups</a> began to pop up, reaching prospective consumers with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/telehealth-cerebral-done-ads-mental-health-adhd-11672161087">appealing digital ads</a> like the ones I received. </p>
<p>Compared with traditional care, the startup models were <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cerebral-adderall-adhd-prescribe-11654705250">reportedly using cost-cutting methods</a>, such as favoring quick assessments and a low-cost workforce. The startups were also reported to be relying on a uniform care model that did not adequately personalize treatments, often prescribing stimulants over treatments that may have been better indicated.</p>
<p>Some of these companies are now <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cerebral-receives-subpoena-from-federal-prosecutors-11651950307">under investigation</a> by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dea-cerebral-questions-license-issues-2022-5">the federal government</a>.</p>
<p>Although they were controversial in the medical community, these models may also have reduced barriers to ADHD care for many people.</p>
<h2>The verdict is still out</h2>
<p>Until the CDC releases its 2022 and 2023 stimulant prescription data, researchers like me will not know whether the 2021 trends of increased prescribing to adults and high demand for ADHD medications will continue.</p>
<p>If the trends stabilize, it may mean that patients who have been unable to access care may finally be getting the help they need. </p>
<p>If ADHD prescribing returns to pre-pandemic levels, we may learn that a perfect storm of COVID-19-related factors caused a momentary blip in people seeking ADHD treatment. </p>
<p>What is clear is that the <a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/over-one-third-of-americans-live-in-areas-lacking-mental-health-professionals/#">current shortage of mental health care workers</a> who feel comfortable diagnosing and treating ADHD in adults will continue to affect the ability of new patients to get proper diagnostic evaluation for ADHD.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In the past 12 months, Margaret Sibley has consulted with Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Tris Pharma, and Tieffenbacher Pharmaceuticals. She receives funding from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Institute of Education Sciences. She is a professional advisory board member for Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) and the secretary of the American Professional Society for ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD). </span></em></p>The COVID-19 pandemic may have played a considerable role in the uptick of adults being treated for ADHD. But more data is needed to determine whether the trends will continue.Margaret Sibley, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106282023-08-02T19:59:43Z2023-08-02T19:59:43ZWild bird feeding surged worldwide during lockdowns. That’s good for people, but not necessarily for the birds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540341/original/file-20230801-17-ue73zh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4265%2C2845&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/65749227@N00/4308184842">Robyn Jay/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Feeding wild birds in backyards was already known to be extremely popular in many parts of the northern hemisphere and in Australia, despite being <a href="https://wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au/Portals/0/Documents/FactSheets/Avian/Biosecurity_concerns_associated_with_feeding_wild_birds.pdf">strongly discouraged</a>. But the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns led to a dramatic increase in wild bird feeding around the world, our <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0287116">research</a> published today shows. There was a surge in interest beyond traditional bird-feeding countries in North America, Europe and Australia: 115 countries in total, including many where feeding was assumed not to occur.</p>
<p>Those opposed to feeding wild birds cite a plethora of reasons: </p>
<ul>
<li>the spread of diseases (well-documented in the <a href="https://extension.usu.edu/archive/your-bird-feeder-may-be-spreading-disease">US</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/12/garden-bird-feeders-help-spread-disease-among-wild-birds">UK</a>)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7984256/">poor nutrition</a> as a result of an unbalanced diet</li>
<li><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2017.00081/full">advantaging</a> already <a href="https://theconversation.com/garden-bird-feeders-are-boosting-blue-tit-numbers-but-leaving-other-species-hungry-161568">abundant species</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1501489112">changing</a> <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0480">community</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10111-5">structure</a> (birds that visit feeders prosper at the cost of those that don’t)</li>
<li>even <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1410&context=natrespapers">altering migration patterns</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p>These impacts occur everywhere wild birds are fed and are potentially serious.</p>
<p>On the other hand, engaging with wild birds in this way is now <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0158717">recognised</a> as one of the most effective ways people can connect with nature. There is strong evidence that spending time in natural settings is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2020.00018/full">good for people’s wellbeing</a> and mental health. This becomes increasingly important as more and more of the world’s people <a href="https://unhabitat.org/wcr/">live in large cities</a>. </p>
<p>These trends mean the simple, common practice of attracting birds to your garden by feeding them is taking on much greater significance for the welfare of both birds and people.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-may-need-to-encourage-social-distancing-around-your-bird-feeder-137134">Why you may need to encourage social distancing around your bird feeder</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What did the study look at?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7579058/">Previous</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/birdwatching-increased-tenfold-last-lockdown-dont-stop-its-a-huge-help-for-bushfire-recovery-141970">studies</a> documented a global increase in birdwatching during lockdowns. We wondered whether interest in feeding birds might have increased similarly as well. That usually means buying seed mixes and providing a feeder. To be included in our study, some cost was required; discarded food scraps were not counted as feeding.</p>
<p>It was important to go beyond the countries where we already knew feeding was common. We wanted to compare the interest levels for more than 100 countries during and after lockdowns. We also examined whether the level of interest in bird feeding was related to the diversity of birds in each country, a measure known as “species richness”.</p>
<p>We assessed the weekly frequency of search terms, including “bird feeder”, “bird food” and “bird bath”, using Google Trends for all countries with sufficient search volumes from January 1 2019 to May 31 2020. We wanted to see if these searches increased during each country’s specific lockdown period (generally around February-April 2020). We drew on bird species richness data for each nation from the <a href="http://datazone.birdlife.org/home">BirdLife International</a> database.</p>
<p>Comparing the interest volume for 52 weeks leading up to the lockdown with the week immediately before, we found no discernible change. Within only two weeks, however, the frequency of searches showed a surge in bird feeding interest during the general lockdown period across 115 of the countries surveyed. This happened in both the northern and southern hemispheres.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-and-our-brains-how-ecology-and-mental-health-go-together-in-our-cities-126760">Biodiversity and our brains: how ecology and mental health go together in our cities</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>What explains the change?</h2>
<p>There are several possible reasons for this change. People throughout the world were forced to remain close to home. The backyard or nearby park became the focus of attention, perhaps for the first time. </p>
<p>Lockdowns were a time of high anxiety and stress. Aspects of life that seemed to be carrying on regardless, such as birds arriving each day to be fed, may have been a course of comfort and reassurance. </p>
<p>Feeding birds has been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4948881/">found to enhance</a> feelings of personal worth and peace. Presumably, it’s because of the relative intimacy associated with being able to attract wild, unrestrained creatures to visit by simply providing some food.</p>
<p>Bird feeding is also cheap, simple and available to virtually everyone. Birds will visit a feeder in a private garden, a public park or even a balcony on a residential tower. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/birdbath-food-or-water-how-to-attract-your-favourite-birds-to-your-garden-70258">Birdbath, food or water? How to attract your favourite birds to your garden</a>
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</p>
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<h2>And what difference does bird diversity make?</h2>
<p>We found a clear association between the level of interest in feeding and species diversity. Countries that lacked bird-related search interest had an average of 294 bird species. In contrast, those countries with clear interest had an average of 511 species. </p>
<p>This clear difference suggests that having a greater variety of species prompts more bird feeding. It may also mean places with more species have a larger number of bird types living in their cities (where most feeders live). This remains to be be investigated. We do know that feeding birds leads to <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1501489112">more birds overall</a>, but not more species.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="World map showing numbers of bird species for each country or region" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540332/original/file-20230801-238580-vky10c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Total number of bird species for each country or region.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0287116">Doremus, Li & Jones (2023)/PLOS ONE</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because we used Google searches as the proxy measurement for bird-feeding interest, bird-feeding practices in countries with lower income or less internet access may not have been adequately captured. Nonetheless, our method was able to detect a surge of interest in bird feeding in countries such as Pakistan and Kenya.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 lockdowns seemed to encourage people all over the world to seek connection and interaction with their local birds. We hope future studies can further analyse the global extent of bird feeding and capture more data in previously understudied countries.</p>
<p>Feeding birds is obviously very popular. For people. But it can lead to problems for the birds. To minimise the risks, keep in mind some simple rules: </p>
<ul>
<li>keep the feeder extremely clean (disease is always a concern)</li>
<li>don’t put out too much food (they don’t need it)</li>
<li>provide food that is appropriate for the species (never human food – buy wild bird food from pet food companies). </li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-its-okay-to-feed-wild-birds-in-your-garden-as-long-as-its-the-right-food-92919">Yes it's okay to feed wild birds in your garden, as long as it's the right food</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210628/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darryl Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Interest in bird feeding surged soon after COVID lockdowns began in more than 100 countries. While this activity boosts people’s wellbeing, care must be taken to ensure it’s also good for the birds.Darryl Jones, Deputy Director of Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2081462023-06-23T12:28:57Z2023-06-23T12:28:57ZMore than 1.5 million Americans lost Medicaid coverage in the spring of 2023 due to the end of pandemic policies – and paperwork problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533251/original/file-20230621-15460-7pdgnh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1802%2C134%2C6377%2C4574&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Medicaid helps millions of low-income Americans get health care.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/sad-girl-having-a-medical-appointment-with-her-royalty-free-image/1448475165?adppopup=true">skynesher/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
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<p>At least 1.5 million Americans lost Medicaid coverage in <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/">April, May and the first three weeks of June 2023</a>, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that tracks health data. </p>
<p>Because only 25 states had publicly reported this data as of June 22, the actual number of people who lost coverage through Medicaid, the government’s main health insurance program for low-income people and people with certain disabilities, is surely much higher.</p>
<p>This swift <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-the-unwinding-of-the-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-provision/">decline in Medicaid enrollment follows a huge increase</a> that started in early 2020 and was brought about by <a href="https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/3-essential-questions-the-end-of-medicaid-continuous-enrollment/">temporary policy changes</a> in effect for the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/medicaid-enrollment-soared-by-25-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-but-a-big-decline-could-happen-soon-190494">federal government didn’t let states</a>, which administer Medicaid, drop anyone from the program – even if their income grew too high to qualify.</p>
<p>As of January 2023, the most recent month for which full data is available, a <a href="https://data.medicaid.gov/dataset/6165f45b-ca93-5bb5-9d06-db29c692a360/data">total of 93 million Americans were insured</a> through either Medicaid or the <a href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/understanding-the-difference-between-medicaid-and-chip-4137934">Children’s Health Insurance Program</a>, known as CHIP, a related program. That marked a 30.7% increase from February 2020.</p>
<p>The federal government has estimated that <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/a892859839a80f8c3b9a1df1fcb79844/aspe-end-mcaid-continuous-coverage.pdf">15 million people will lose their coverage</a>, including 5.3 million children, by mid-2024 due to the end of the continuous enrollment policy.</p>
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<h2>Public health emergency over</h2>
<p>The sharp spike in Medicaid enrollment stopped abruptly because the U.S. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-ending-the-emergency-status-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-the-us-mean-in-practice-4-questions-answered-205165">COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency status has expired</a>.</p>
<p>States now must phase out <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-the-unwinding-of-the-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-provision/">their continuous enrollment policies</a>, but they are doing it on different schedules. Some began in April 2023; others started to send out termination letters in May or June. There are also states that will not begin this process until later in the year or <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/unwinding-and-returning-regular-operations-after-covid-19/covid-19-phe-unwinding-section-1902e14a-waiver-approvals/index.html">are taking steps to minimize</a> the number of people losing their coverage.</p>
<p>For about 3 in 4 of the people who lost their Medicaid coverage, it was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/26/us/politics/medicaid-coverage-pandemic-loss.html">for procedural reasons</a>, such as not filing required paperwork. The remaining 1 in 4 probably became ineligible due to an <a href="https://www.policygenius.com/health-insurance/a-state-by-state-guide-to-medicaid/">increase in their income</a>.</p>
<h2>Gains from Medicaid</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716219874772">mounting evidence</a> that Medicaid has many benefits for society – especially children.</p>
<p>For example, when low-income families <a href="https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.54.3.0816.8173R1">remain in the program for long periods of time</a>, they tend to have <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2138939">lower child mortality rates</a>. Medicaid coverage is also associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12614">kids faring better in school</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers have also determined that the federal government and state governments can get <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00633">boosts in tax revenue</a> when families obtain this health insurance coverage through Medicaid and CHIP that exceed government spending on these programs. That’s because having better access to health care in the long term is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaa006">associated with being healthier</a>, staying in school longer and eventually earning a higher income.</p>
<p>The toll that the steep decline in health insurance coverage now underway will take on Americans remains to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maithreyi Gopalan has received funding from the Spencer Foundation, American Educational Research Association, Russell Sage Foundation, and the Student Experience Research Network. She is an Impact Fellow (2023-24) at the Federation of American Scientists. </span></em></p>The health coverage program’s enrollment soared during the three years after March 2020 due to temporary policies adopted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Maithreyi Gopalan, Assistant Professor of Education and Public Policy, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073122023-06-21T02:20:41Z2023-06-21T02:20:41ZCOVID didn’t change internal migration as much as claimed, new ABS data show<p>At its height, the COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/population-change-2020">disrupted</a> well-established patterns of migration within Australia. Reports of a <a href="https://newsroom.kpmg.com.au/covid-19s-impact-population-growth-regional-renaissance-melbourne-sydney-decline/">regional renaissance</a> suggested city dwellers were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-02/abs-data-confirms-city-exodus-during-covid/13112868">moving to regional areas</a> in droves. The governments of Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory were also keen to promote new migration flows to reverse long-standing declines in their shares of the national population.</p>
<p>Advice from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) that internal migration numbers were “<a href="https://population.gov.au/data-and-forecasts/key-data-releases/national-state-and-territory-population-september-2021">implausibly high</a>” received less attention. The ABS suspended these data releases due to this concern. Its latest <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/dec-2022#states-and-territories">population data release</a> uses a revised model for <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/detailed-methodology-information/information-papers/2021-census-update-net-interstate-migration-mode">net interstate migration</a>. </p>
<p>These data indicate a new normal rather than a renaissance for South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. </p>
<p>Internal migration losses for capital cities have also slowed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-just-do-it-how-do-e-changers-feel-about-having-left-the-city-now-lockdowns-are-over-188009">'Let's just do it': how do e-changers feel about having left the city now lockdowns are over?</a>
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<h2>So what was going on?</h2>
<p>In reality, the data present a different story to the popular narrative. Pandemic-era <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-internal-migration-estimates-provisional/latest-release">ABS data</a> for 2020 showed increased growth in non-metropolitan areas was due more to retaining residents than attracting new ones. </p>
<p>This is unsurprising. Much of Australia was in lockdown, restricting movement, and case numbers were highest in the capital cities. The historical main reasons for leaving regional areas – education and/or jobs – were no longer viable options. </p>
<p>In 2020, interstate migration fell by 29%. In 2021, it increased on paper by 45% compared with 2020. </p>
<p>However, the ABS advised this large increase was mainly due to people updating their addresses with Medicare during mass vaccination rollouts. The distorting effect of these belated updates prompted the ABS to suspend the release of regional internal migration estimates. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/2021-census-overcount-and-undercount/latest-release">under-counts and over-counts</a> identified from the 2021 census show just how far off estimates of population and migration were for some areas. The ABS has <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/detailed-methodology-information/information-papers/2021-census-update-net-interstate-migration-model">revised its methodology</a>, based on the census findings and updated Medicare data. </p>
<p>Last week, the ABS released details of its new assumptions for modelling interstate migration with the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/dec-2022#states-and-territories">latest population data</a> for the last quarter of 2022. Under this model, total interstate migration for 2022 fell 21%, compared with 2021, to levels similar to those of 2016. </p>
<p>As for movement between capital cities and regional areas within states, we have <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-release#key-statistics">data for four quarters</a> since March 2022 when the ABS resumed releases. (“Regional areas” include large centres like the Gold Coast, Geelong and Newcastle.) The numbers moving to greater capital cities have been increasing, and the numbers leaving have been declining. Even so, more people are still leaving capital cities than arriving (excluding overseas arrivals). </p>
<iframe title="Population changes by capital city for year to June 30 2022" aria-label="Grouped Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-ByYH4" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ByYH4/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400" data-external="1"></iframe>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/has-covid-really-caused-an-exodus-from-our-cities-in-fact-moving-to-the-regions-is-nothing-new-154724">Has COVID really caused an exodus from our cities? In fact, moving to the regions is nothing new</a>
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<h2>What does this mean for state and territory populations?</h2>
<p>The revised data allow us to assess migration flows between states and territories for the last quarter of 2022 as well as back through time, including the pandemic. </p>
<p>In the peak pandemic year of 2020, South Australia recorded a net gain from interstate migration. The then premier <a href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/brain-drain-from-south-australia-reverses-again-abs-figures-show/news-story/3c7ebb08c67603a5f050dbcab2368d26">attributed</a> the reversal of the state’s brain drain to its “performance in containing COVID, accelerating industrial transformation and strong jobs growth”. </p>
<p>A closer look at the data shows the upward trend began well before the pandemic. The net loss due to interstate migration had decreased from -7,693 in 2017 to -2,885 in 2019. </p>
<p>The pandemic did accelerate this trend. Early in the pandemic, the net gain of 2,348 people in SA was driven by retention of people. Arrivals fell by 21.7%, but the decrease in departures was larger at 35.4%. In 2021, the net gain of 2,310 people was slightly smaller as arrivals increased by 43.6% and departures by 48.5%. </p>
<p>In 2022, however, the net gain was only 670 people. This suggests a return to net interstate migration losses is possible. </p>
<p>The revised data for the Northern Territory show a consistent net population loss to interstate migration of about 2,100 in the five years leading up to the pandemic. Then, in 2020, interstate arrivals fell considerably but departures fell even more. The result was a small net gain of 110. </p>
<p>When the territory’s borders reopened in 2021, both arrivals and departures surged to 1.5 times the average of the five years to 2020 at 16,992 arrivals and 19,298 departures. But in 2022 both figures wound back to 14% below the five-year pre-COVID average. Departures once again outstripped arrivals, by 2,120, very close to the average net loss of 2,306 for those five years.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/you-cant-boost-australias-north-to-5-million-people-without-a-proper-plan-125063">You can't boost Australia's north to 5 million people without a proper plan</a>
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<p>The Tasmanian government is refreshing its <a href="https://www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/policies_and_strategies/populationstrategy">2015 Population Growth Strategy</a> and plans to appoint a <a href="https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/speeches/state-of-the-state-address">state demographer</a>. In November 2021, the then premier <a href="https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/speeches/ceda_state_of_the_state_address3">declared</a> people were “knocking on the door, and knocking loudly” to move to the state. This was not the case. </p>
<p>In 2020, interstate arrivals fell by 18% and departures by 28%. The state’s net gain was 2,633. For 2021, at the time of the vaccination rollout, arrivals increased by 39% and departures by 53%, resulting in a smaller net gain. For 2022, arrivals fell by 30% and departures by 16%, for a net loss of 941 people. </p>
<p>This reverses a seven-year period of interstate migration gains for Tasmania. With the lowest growth since 2015, the state has returned to the times before a population growth strategy. The level of natural increase (births minus deaths) is the lowest on record. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tasmania-cant-only-rely-on-a-growing-population-for-an-economic-boost-91236">Tasmania can't only rely on a growing population for an economic boost</a>
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<h2>Getting the numbers right matters for us all</h2>
<p>Claiming a <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/covidinduced-renaissance-for-regional-property-spikes/news-story/2a2dc5295aa0c28decc3a76579668bea">population resurgence</a> may help promote confidence for regions experiencing challenges from population ageing, economic performance and/or remoteness. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-small-rural-communities-often-shun-newcomers-even-when-they-need-them-199984">Why do small rural communities often shun newcomers, even when they need them?</a>
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<p>The problem with such populist narratives is they may also jeopardise the development of good policy, programs and infrastructure for key services such as housing, health and education. Funding could end up going to areas with less relative need. </p>
<p>These narratives may also muddy the already <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/andrews-fires-warning-at-albanese-over-sweetheart-gst-deals-20230314-p5cryx.html">contentious distribution</a> of GST revenue to the states and territories. In addition, population numbers affect how many seats each state and territory has in the House of Representatives. </p>
<p>We need reliable and robust data to make informed decisions. This is why we should all take personal responsibility for promptly updating our home addresses with Medicare when we move. Although this might not seem urgent for individuals, not doing so may mean their share of services and infrastructure falls short of what it might otherwise be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Denny has received funding from the Tasmanian Department of State Growth in the past. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Taylor receives funding from the Northern Territory Department of Treasury and Finance. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Tan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The latest revised data challenge the popular narrative about a population renaissance for regional Australia and for states and territories that were losing residents to other parts of the country.Lisa Denny, Adjunct Associate Professor, Institute for Social Change, University of TasmaniaAndrew Taylor, Associate Professor, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin UniversityGeorge Tan, Lecturer in Population Geography, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2046222023-06-13T12:29:56Z2023-06-13T12:29:56ZAnnual numbers of excess deaths in the US relative to other developed countries are growing at an alarming rate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527599/original/file-20230522-14385-h3se2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C15%2C5100%2C3802&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Homicides and the opioid epidemic both contribute to the rising U.S. death rates.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/people-at-a-funeral-royalty-free-image/104302939?phrase=U.S.+cemetery&adppopup=true">Rubber Ball Productions/Brand X Pictures via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>People in the U.S. are dying at higher rates than in other similar high-income countries, and that difference is only growing. That’s the key finding of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283153">new study that I published</a> in the journal PLOS One.</p>
<p>In 2021, more than 892,000 of the 3,456,000 deaths the U.S. experienced, or about 1 in 4, were “<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm#">excess deaths</a>.” In 2019, that number was 483,000 deaths, or nearly 1 in 6. That represents an 84.9% increase in excess deaths in the U.S. between 2019 and 2021. </p>
<p>Excess deaths refer to the actual number of deaths that occur in a given year compared with expected deaths over that same time period based on prior years or, as in this study, in other countries.</p>
<p>In my study, I compared the number of U.S. deaths with those in the five largest countries in Western Europe: England and Wales, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Those five countries make for a good comparison because they are nearly, if not quite, as wealthy as the U.S. and their combined population is similar in size and diversity to the U.S. population.</p>
<p>I also chose those countries because they were used in an earlier study from another research team that documented a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2024850118">34.5% increase in excess deaths</a> in the U.S. between 2000 and 2017. </p>
<p>The acceleration of this already alarming long-term trend in excess deaths in the U.S. was exacerbated by the fact that the U.S. experienced higher death rates from COVID-19 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1343">compared with similar countries</a>. However, <a href="https://theconversation.com/279-700-extra-deaths-in-the-us-so-far-in-this-pandemic-year-147887">COVID-19 alone does not account</a> for the recent increase in the number of excess deaths in the U.S. relative to comparison countries.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Rising living standards and medical advances through the 20th century have made it possible for people in wealthy countries to live longer and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.20.3.97">with a better quality of life</a>. Given that the U.S. is the largest economic power in the world, with cutting-edge medical technology, Americans should have an advantage over other countries in terms of life span and death rates.</p>
<p>But in the last 50 years, many countries around the world have outpaced the U.S. in how fast death rates are declining, as revealed by <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220831.htm#">trends in life expectancy</a>.</p>
<p>Life expectancy is an average age at death, and it represents how long an average person is expected to live if current death rates remain unchanged throughout that person’s lifetime. Life expectancy is based on a complex combination of death rates at different ages, but in short, when death rates decline, life expectancy increases. </p>
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<p>Compared to about 20 other high-income countries, since around the mid-1970s <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/25/1164819944/live-free-and-die-the-sad-state-of-u-s-life-expectancy#">the U.S. life expectancy</a> has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/13497">slipping from about the middle, or median, to the lowest rungs</a> of life expectancy. So the relative stagnation in life expectancy in the U.S. compared with other countries is directly related to the fact that death rates have also declined more slowly in the U.S.</p>
<p>The U.S. has higher death rates than its peer countries due to a variety of causes.
Cardiovascular disease prevalence has been an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.309115">important driver of life expectancy changes across the globe</a> in recent decades. But while death rates from cardiovascular disease have continued to decline in other parts of the world, those <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920391117">rates have stagnated in the U.S.</a>. </p>
<p>A key reason for this trend is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1716802115">rise in obesity</a>, as research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000973">obesity increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease</a>. High prevalence of obesity in the U.S. also likely contributed to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1343">relatively high death rates from COVID-19</a>. </p>
<p>Another cause is that the U.S. has disproportionately high death rates from intentional injuries in the form of homicides, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e3181dbaddf">in particular those caused by firearms</a>. Moreover, it also has high death rates from unintentional injuries, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12228">in particular drug overdoses</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">People are being exposed to fentanyl without knowing it, and because the synthetic opioid is so highly potent, people are dying in unprecedented numbers.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>While these specific causes of deaths should clearly be health policy priorities today, there might be more fundamental causes to the elevated U.S. death rates. </p>
<p>In the early 1990s, young people in the U.S. between the ages of 15 and 34 were already dying at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(01)00329-9">higher rates than their peers in other countries</a> from a combination of homicides, unintentional injuries – in large part from motor vehicle accidents – and <a href="https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline/">deaths from HIV/AIDS</a>. </p>
<p>Research is underway to understand the more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001626">fundamental societal causes</a> that may explain the vulnerability of the U.S. population to successive epidemics, from HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 to gun violence and opioid overdoses. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2014750117">include racial</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.139469">economic inequalities</a>, which combined with a weaker social security net and lack of health care access for all may help explain larger health and death disparities compared to European countries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Heuveline does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows that preventable deaths are increasing in the US at the same time that life expectancy keeps dropping.Patrick Heuveline, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los AngelesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2005192023-05-23T12:26:55Z2023-05-23T12:26:55ZWhat Greek mythology teaches us about women’s resistance and rebellion<p>After some hard-fought victories, women’s rights are threatened again in many parts of the world. In the United States, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-shifting-battle-over-abortion-rights-50-years-after-roe">overturned women’s right to abortion</a> in June 2022; women have also been <a href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/how-have-women-workforce-fared-three-years-pandemic">leaving the workforce</a> since the COVID-19 pandemic, in many cases to care for children and elderly relatives. In other parts of the world, especially in developing countries, <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2022/02/explainer-how-gender-inequality-and-climate-change-are-interconnected#:%7E:text=The%20climate%20crisis%20is%20not,less%20access%20to%2C%20natural%20resources">women are disproportionately affected by climate change</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://as.tufts.edu/classicalstudies/people/faculty/marie-claire-beaulieu">As a scholar of ancient mythology</a>, I’m aware of many female characters in Greek mythology who offer us models for today’s challenges. This may be a little surprising, because ancient Greece was under <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Women_in_Ancient_Greece.html?id=Xfx1VaSIOgQC">strict patriarchal rules</a>: Women were considered minors under the guardianship of their fathers or husbands for their whole lives and not allowed to vote. Yet women in these myths spoke truth to power and fiercely resisted injustice and oppression. </p>
<h2>Rebel goddesses</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A painting showing a scary looking figure with long hair eating a child whose torso has blood trickling down." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1102&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1102&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1102&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520854/original/file-20230413-24-uceh0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The god Saturn devouring his child. A painting by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saturn/18110a75-b0e7-430c-bc73-2a4d55893bd6">Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Female rebellion is at the heart of the Greek story <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:104-138">about the creation of the world</a>. Gaia, the Earth goddess, rebels against her husband Ouranos, the Sky, who smothers her and refuses to let her children be free. She orders her son Kronos to castrate his father and take his throne. Once Kronos comes to power, however, he becomes afraid of being dethroned by his children, so <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg001.perseus-eng1:6a">he swallows all the babies his wife Rhea gives birth to</a>. </p>
<p>Rhea rebels against this horrific act. She gives Kronos <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247308?ft=06.1021.144&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=1">a stone wrapped in a blanket</a> to trick him into thinking that he is going to devour this baby as well. Rhea then hides her child, the god Zeus, who grows up and throws his father down into the depths of the Underworld. But history repeats itself, and the new leader of the gods again fears that his wife may plot to overthrow him. As the king of the gods, Zeus is forever afraid of his wife Hera, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888479">who exacts vengeance for all his transgressions</a>, especially his innumerable affairs. </p>
<p>Similarly, the story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone shows a powerful goddess holding her ground in the face of male deities. When Persephone is abducted by Hades, the king of the Underworld, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:2">refuses to let the crops grow until Persephone is returned</a>. Despite Zeus’ pleading, Demeter does not relent. The entire world is barren of fruit, and humans starve. </p>
<p>Eventually Zeus is forced to negotiate, and Persephone <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/252973">rises from the Underworld</a> to be with her mother for a part of each year. During the months when Persephone is with Hades, Demeter holds back vegetation and it is winter on the Earth. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A painting showing a man carrying a woman away in a chariot being driven by a white horse" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520857/original/file-20230413-26-8ppfh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mural with Hades abducting Persephone in a chariot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hades_abducting_Persephone.jpg">From Le Musée absolu, Phaidon, via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mortal women</h2>
<p>Greek culture, however, was suspicious of strong-willed women and portrayed them as villains.</p>
<p>Classical scholar <a href="https://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/directory/mary-beard">Mary Beard</a> explains that women are characterized in this way by male writers to justify women’s exclusion from power. She argues that the Western definition of power applies intrinsically to males. Therefore, <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631494758">Beard explains</a>, “[Women] are, for the most part, portrayed as abusers rather than users of power. They take it illegitimately, in a way that leads to the fracture of the state, to death and destruction. … In fact, it is the unquestionable mess that women make of power that justifies their exclusion from it in real life.”</p>
<p>Beard uses the stories of Clytemnestra and Medea, among others, to illustrate her point. Clytemnestra punishes her husband, Agamemnon, for <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg018.perseus-eng1:506-542">sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia</a> at the beginning of the Trojan War. She seizes power in his kingdom of Mycenae while Agamemnon is still at war, and when he returns, <a href="https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010277267">she murders him in cold blood</a>. </p>
<p>Medea makes her husband, Jason, <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg003.perseus-eng1">pay the ultimate price</a> for deserting her – <a href="https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010274318">she kills their children</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black bowl from 400 B.C.E. with several figures painted on it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520860/original/file-20230413-18-u8i33o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Painting on a bowl of Medea fleeing in a chariot pulled by dragons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.1">Cleveland Museum of Art</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Medea, as a foreign princess in the Greek city of Corinth, a powerful sorceress, and a Black individual, is marginalized in multiple ways. Yet she refuses to back down. Classical scholar and Black feminist intellectual <a href="https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/our-faculty/directory/faculty-detail/shelley-haley">Shelley Haley</a> stresses that Medea is proud, a characteristic that is viewed as typically masculine in Greek culture. </p>
<p>Haley sees Medea’s actions as a way to assert her individuality in the face of Greek societal expectations. Medea is not willing to give Jason the freedom to start a relationship with another woman, and she negotiates asylum on her own terms with the king of Athens. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=kjup9bBv168C&lpg=PA177&pg=PA177#v=onepage&q&f=true">According to Haley, Medea</a> “resists the cultural norms that inscribe child-bearing as the only raison d'être of female existence. Medea loves her children, but like a man, her pride comes first.”</p>
<h2>Comedy and tragedy</h2>
<p>In a more humorous way, in “Lysistrata,” the playwright Aristophanes imagines the women of Athens protesting the destructive <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.perseus-eng3">Peloponnesian War</a> by going on a sex strike. Under such dire pressure, their husbands quickly give in and peace is negotiated with Sparta. </p>
<p>Lysistrata, the leader of the striking women, explains that <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg007.perseus-eng1:551-597">women suffer doubly in war</a>, even though they have no say in the decision to enter warfare. They suffer first by bearing children and then by seeing them sent out as soldiers. They can be widowed and enslaved as well as a consequence of war.</p>
<p>Finally, in a famous tragedy by Sophocles, <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0011.tlg002.perseus-eng1">Antigone fights for human decency</a> in the face of autocracy. When Antigone’s brothers Eteocles and Polyneices fight for the throne of Thebes and ultimately kill one another, the new king, Creon, orders that only Eteocles, whom he considers to have been the rightful king, be buried with honor. Antigone revolts and says that she must uphold divine law <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9-W66xB-fM">rather than Creon’s tyrannical human law</a>. She sprinkles Polyneices’ body with a little dust, a symbolic gesture that allows the dead man to move on to the afterlife.</p>
<p>Antigone takes action knowing full well that Creon will kill her to enforce his edict. Yet she is prepared to offer the ultimate sacrifice for her beliefs. </p>
<h2>Women and moral justice</h2>
<p>Throughout these stories, female figures stand for moral justice and as an embodiment of the resistance of disempowered people. Perhaps for this reason the figure of Medusa, traditionally viewed as a terrifying female monster <a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4">defeated by the male hero Perseus</a>, has recently been reinterpreted as a symbol of strength and resilience.</p>
<p>Acknowledging that the <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi006.perseus-eng1:4.706">mythological Medusa was turned into a monster</a> as a result of her rape by Poseidon, many survivors of sexual assault <a href="https://twitter.com/emberlilly_/status/1640423393806696469">have adopted the image of Medusa</a> as an image of resilience. </p>
<p>Sculptor <a href="https://www.lucianogarbati.com/">Luciano Garbati</a> turned the myth on its head. In a new take on the traditional image of the victorious <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseus_with_the_Head_of_Medusa#/media/File:Persee-florence.jpg">Perseus with the head of Medusa</a>, Garbati gave Medusa a powerful new stance with his statue “Medusa with the Head of Perseus.” Medusa’s thoughtful and determined demeanor became a symbol for the #MeToo movement <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/arts/design/medusa-statue-manhattan.html">when the statue was set up outside the courtroom</a> where Harvey Weinstein and many others accused of sexual assault stood trial. </p>
<h2>What does this mean in today’s world?</h2>
<p>Echoes of all these stories resonate strongly <a href="https://www.boldtypebooks.com/titles/helen-morales/antigone-rising/9781568589343/">today in the words of fearless young female activists</a>. </p>
<p>Malala Yousafzai spoke up for girls’ education in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan although she knew the potential repercussions could be dire. In an interview for a podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-accomplishment-podcast-with-sir-michael-barber/id1605826027?i=1000601684803">she said</a>: “We knew that nothing would change if we remained quiet. Change comes when somebody is willing to step up and speak out.” </p>
<p>Greta Thunberg, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763452863/transcript-greta-thunbergs-speech-at-the-u-n-climate-action-summit">addressing world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in 2019</a>, did not miss a beat: “You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line.”</p>
<p>For the women who continue to fight against oppression, it can be both a comfort and a catalyst for action to know that they have been doing so for millennia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marie-Claire Beaulieu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Female characters in Greek mythology lived under strict patriarchal rules, but they spoke truth to power and resisted injustice.Marie-Claire Beaulieu, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2057222023-05-17T12:41:07Z2023-05-17T12:41:07ZPivotal points in the COVID-19 pandemic – 5 essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526612/original/file-20230516-37571-gp5zr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C28%2C9547%2C5161&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has evolved over time into multiple variants and sublineages. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/coronavirus-royalty-free-image/1366654397?phrase=covid+virus&adppopup=true">loops7 / E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Experts have made it clear that the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-ending-the-emergency-status-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-the-us-mean-in-practice-4-questions-answered-205165">end of the COVID-19 national emergency</a>, which was lifted on May 11, 2023, <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2023/05/10/public-health-emergency-ashish-jha/">does not mean an end to the pandemic</a>. But this shift signals a remarkable turning point in a pandemic that is well into its fourth year – something that few could have imagined when the U.S. national emergency went into effect in March 2020. </p>
<p>Likewise, the World Health Organization’s announcement on May 5 that it was <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2023/05/05/who-declares-end-to-covid-global-health-emergency/">ending the COVID-19 public health emergency of international concern</a> that had been in place since January 2020 is indicative that the pandemic has entered a new chapter. </p>
<p>It’s daunting to look back at our coverage and narrow it down to just a handful of standout stories amid all the twists and turns of the pandemic. But here are five stories from The Conversation’s archives that resonated with us, written by scholars who helped to illuminate complex issues at pivotal moments in the pandemic.</p>
<h2>1. A whole new vocabulary</h2>
<p>It’s a little hard to remember the days when words like pandemic, endemic diseases, mRNA, variant and spike proteins were not a part of our vernacular or everyday conversations. But I vividly recall the day that the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and a friend asked me “What exactly is a pandemic?” It turns out a lot of people were asking that question and wondering about the difference between an outbreak of an infectious disease, an epidemic and a pandemic.</p>
<p><a href="https://public-health.tamu.edu/directory/fischer.html">Rebecca S.B. Fischer</a>, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Texas A&M University, <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-pandemic-epidemic-and-outbreak-133048">put it in straightforward terms</a>: An outbreak is a small but unusual increase in the expected number of cases of a given disease, while the term epidemic is used when an infectious disease outbreak is getting bigger and spreading over a broader geographic area. A pandemic, on the other hand, is used when a disease is “international and out of control.”</p>
<p>She went on to say that some epidemiologists reserve the term pandemic for when a disease is being sustained in newly affected regions through local transmission – a good characterization of the state of COVID-19 in March 2020.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-pandemic-epidemic-and-outbreak-133048">What's the difference between pandemic, epidemic and outbreak?</a>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Epidemic, pandemic and endemic viruses explained.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>2. Comparisons to the 1918 flu ran rife</h2>
<p>From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was impossible to miss the haunting similarities between it and the 1918 flu pandemic, which led to at least 50 million deaths worldwide between 1918 and 1920. Health care experts and the media made frequent comparisons between the two, pointing to similarities in attitudes about mask-wearing and school closures as well as in the patterns of disease waves, spikes and surges.</p>
<p>But while the two once-in-a-century events have shared plenty of likenesses, the comparison also sometimes <a href="https://theconversation.com/compare-the-flu-pandemic-of-1918-and-covid-19-with-caution-the-past-is-not-a-prediction-138895">led to public misunderstandings about how the COVID-19 pandemic could play out</a>, wrote historian <a href="https://www.history.pitt.edu/people/mari-webel">Mari Webel</a> and pediatric infectious disease specialist <a href="https://www.pediatrics.pitt.edu/people/megan-culler-freeman-md-phd">Megan Culler Freeman</a>, both from the University of Pittsburgh. They explain that key differences in the sociopolitical context of the 1918 flu period, as well as marked differences between the virology behind the two diseases, set the 1918 flu and COVID-19 on different paths.</p>
<p>“People seek answers from the experiences of influenza in 1918-19 for a fundamental reason: It ended.”</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/compare-the-flu-pandemic-of-1918-and-covid-19-with-caution-the-past-is-not-a-prediction-138895">Compare the flu pandemic of 1918 and COVID-19 with caution – the past is not a prediction</a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men wearing and advocating the use of flu masks in Paris with a crowd of people behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526295/original/file-20230515-19800-9b9897.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">French men in 1919 Paris holding signs urging others to wear masks and to fight the flu. Much like in the COVID-19 era, wearing masks to protect against the deadly influenza was embraced by some, while others resisted and refused.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/two-men-wearing-and-advocating-the-use-of-flu-masks-in-news-photo/3333532">Topical Press Agency / Hulton Archive via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>3. How and when pandemics end</h2>
<p>In late 2020, people were naturally wondering when and how the COVID-19 pandemic would end, and how we would know it was over.</p>
<p><a href="https://sasn.rutgers.edu/about-us/faculty-staff/nukhet-varlik">Nükhet Varlik</a>, a historian from Rutgers University who studies disease, medicine and public health, wrote an astute piece in October 2020 about the difficulties of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-pandemics-end-history-suggests-diseases-fade-but-are-almost-never-truly-gone-146066">predicting how the pandemic might play out</a>. She presciently noted that “whether bacterial, viral or parasitic, virtually every disease pathogen that has affected people over the last several thousand years is still with us, because it is nearly impossible to fully eradicate them.” These include diseases like tuberculosis, leprosy, measles and plague.</p>
<p>“Hopefully COVID-19 will not persist for millennia,” Varlik wrote. But she went on to say that politics are crucial, noting how when vaccination programs are weakened, infections can “come roaring back.”</p>
<p>“Given such historical and contemporary precedents, humanity can only hope that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 will prove to be a tractable and eradicable pathogen. But the history of pandemics teaches us to expect otherwise.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-pandemics-end-history-suggests-diseases-fade-but-are-almost-never-truly-gone-146066">How do pandemics end? History suggests diseases fade but are almost never truly gone</a>
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<h2>4. The midway point</h2>
<p>The summer of 2021 felt like a particularly grueling moment in time – when excitement and optimism over the launch of the first vaccines to protect against COVID-19 had given way to despair over the stronghold of vaccine resistance and general exhaustion with all things COVID. And then came the delta variant. </p>
<p>Epidemiologist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t3nqdNQAAAAJ&hl=en">Katelyn Jetelina</a>, formerly from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, captured <a href="https://theconversation.com/18-months-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-retrospective-in-7-charts-166881">18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in a series of seven retrospective charts</a> that put all of the high and low points into stark relief. “The race between vaccination and variant spread was upon us,” Jetelina wrote. “The fight was far from over.” </p>
<p>The same may still be true today.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/18-months-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-retrospective-in-7-charts-166881">18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic – a retrospective in 7 charts</a>
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<h2>5. How omicron altered the course of the pandemic</h2>
<p>When the omicron variant arrived on the scene in late 2021 and spread globally in early 2022, it soon became clear that it could bring about a shift in the pandemic. With its ability to spread easily and to also cause milder disease than prior variants, omicron had the potential to act as a natural vaccine of sorts – producing widespread immunity with the help of the existing COVID-19 vaccines.</p>
<p>But the omicron variant had plenty of surprises in store. For one, it gave rise to a family of variants and sublineages that to this day are keeping researchers guessing, with the latest omicron subvariant, XBB.1.16, gaining ground across the U.S. and worldwide as of mid-May 2023.</p>
<p>In January 2022, immunology researchers <a href="https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/medicine/about_the_school/faculty-staff/nagarkatti_prakash.php">Prakash Nagarkatti</a> and <a href="https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/medicine/about_the_school/faculty-staff/nagarkatti_mitzi.php">Mitzi Nagarkatti</a>, from the University of South Carolina, <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-omicron-variant-mother-natures-way-of-vaccinating-the-masses-and-curbing-the-pandemic-175496">explained how the immune system responds to infections</a> and how it remembers those threats through “immunological memory.” </p>
<p>This left room for hope, they wrote, that “when new variants of SARS-CoV-2 inevitably arise, omicron will have left the population better equipped to fight them. So the COVID-19 vaccines combined with the omicron variant could feasibly move the world to a new stage in the pandemic – one where the virus doesn’t dominate our lives and where hospitalization and death are far less common.” </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-omicron-variant-mother-natures-way-of-vaccinating-the-masses-and-curbing-the-pandemic-175496">Is the omicron variant Mother Nature’s way of vaccinating the masses and curbing the pandemic?</a>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205722/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
With the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror, at least for now, we look back on a handful of stories that provided sharp insights at key moments in the pandemic.Amanda Mascarelli, Senior Health and Medicine EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2052182023-05-17T02:00:02Z2023-05-17T02:00:02ZHow can we bolster Australia’s depleted army of volunteers to match the soaring demand for their services?<p>The COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/2020/6/The_experience_of_volunteers_during_the_early_stages_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_0.pdf">hit volunteering very hard</a>. By June 2021, volunteer numbers in Australia had <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/household-impacts-covid-19-survey/jun-2021#key-statistics">fallen by 37%</a> from the start of the pandemic. </p>
<p>In the first two years of the pandemic, <a href="https://volunteeringstrategy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Volunteering-in-Australia-2022-The-Volunteer-Perspective.pdf">around 1.86 million people</a> left volunteering, according to Volunteering Australia. Last year, <a href="https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/National-Strategy-for-Volunteering-2023-2033.pdf">26.7%</a> of the population did formal volunteer work. That’s well down from the pre-COVID level of <a href="https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/National-Strategy-for-Volunteering-2023-2033.pdf">36%</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>Many depleted volunteer services are now feeling the strain of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-16/food-relief-demand-doubles-melbourne-bayside-suburbs/102347386">increasing demand</a> due to the cost-of-living crisis. They are also facing the <a href="https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/National-Strategy-for-Volunteering-2023-2033.pdf">compounding effects</a> of an <a href="https://www.headsup.org.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/combining-work-and-care-the-benefits-to-carers-and-the-economy-report.pdf">ageing population</a>, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-the-1-5-million-australians-getting-rent-assistance-need-an-increase-but-more-public-housing-is-the-lasting-fix-for-the-crisis-200908">unaffordable housing</a> and the <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health">mental health epidemic</a>.</p>
<p>To try to rebuild the ranks of volunteers, Volunteering Australia recently released a government-funded <a href="https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/National-Strategy-for-Volunteering-2023-2033.pdf">national strategy</a>. It outlines 11 strategic objectives for the next ten years to secure the future of volunteering in Australian communities. </p>
<p>The strategy is based on input from across the volunteering sector. Some 83% of organisations reported they need more volunteers. As the strategy observes, volunteering in Australia is facing a sustainability crisis.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/loss-of-two-thirds-of-volunteers-delivers-another-covid-blow-to-communities-159327">Loss of two-thirds of volunteers delivers another COVID blow to communities</a>
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<h2>COVID accelerated a long-term decline</h2>
<p>Australia’s most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, have suffered the biggest declines in volunteering. This is likely linked to the extent of disruptions by COVID lockdowns in those states. </p>
<p>Volunteering rates in rural Australia remain higher than in metropolitan areas. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016716304776?via%3Dihub">Research</a> shows this is likely driven by need. Rural areas often have no alternative to the services volunteers provide.</p>
<p>Work and family commitments are the most common reasons for not volunteering. For those who had left volunteering, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049182.2020.1813949">perceived over-regulation</a> – the “red tape” – had caused many to step away. </p>
<p>Volunteers are also having to re-assess if they can afford to continue. Many have to cover out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel costs, meals, training and, increasingly, specialist software for their volunteering activities. <a href="https://www.volunteeringvictoria.org.au/advocacy-policy-research/stateofvolunteering/">Volunteering Victoria</a> has found the costs per volunteer average <a href="https://www.volunteeringvictoria.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/8_Reduce-financial-costs-of-volunteeringFINAL.pdf">$1,500</a> a year.</p>
<p>Those volunteers face a difficult choice. Most of them gain great <a href="https://volunteeringstrategy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Volunteering-in-Australia-2022-The-Volunteer-Perspective.pdf">personal satisfaction from volunteering and helping others</a>. </p>
<p>It’s also a critical social outlet. Volunteering is a way to engage with people who share common interests and values. </p>
<p>The national strategy also identifies a significant mismatch between the volunteering opportunities being offered and what non‑volunteers are interested in. This applies to both the types of organisations and the types of roles.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-helping-others-during-major-life-transitions-could-be-a-path-to-greater-well-being-189186">How helping others during major life transitions could be a path to greater well-being</a>
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<h2>Informal volunteering is on the rise</h2>
<p>While more and more people are moving away from volunteering in formal organisations, <a href="https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/2022/5/Volunteers_and_volunteering_during_the_COVID-era_in_Australia.pdf">research</a> has shown informal volunteering is increasing. The strategy reports just under half the population (46.5%) took part in informal volunteering in 2022.</p>
<p>This form of volunteering is not associated with a volunteer organisation. <a href="https://www.volunteeringsa-nt.org.au/assets/resources/sa/Informal-Volunteering.pdf">Informal volunteering</a> can include anything from organising local garden clean-ups and running a street library to helping out neighbours, updating Wikipedia pages and running community “buy nothing” pages on Facebook.</p>
<p>Informal volunteering may take as much time as formal volunteering. However, its informal nature allows people to be more flexible about when they offer their time. They are also able to pick and choose activities that best suit their interests and skills. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/volunteer-on-a-dig-for-the-thrill-of-digging-up-the-past-youll-also-learn-to-hate-buckets-171214">Volunteer on a dig for the thrill of digging up the past (you'll also learn to hate buckets)</a>
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<p>Informal and local-scale volunteering is not new, of course. But the COVID pandemic did result in an increase in informal volunteering. <a href="https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/2022/5/Volunteers_and_volunteering_during_the_COVID-era_in_Australia.pdf">Up to half of all Australians</a> did it in some form. </p>
<p>Throughout the pandemic stories emerged of local communities rallying together to support each other. There were ad-hoc social events, community choirs, food drives and other local initiatives. <a href="https://www.macquarie.com/au/en/about/community/our-stories/the-pivotal-role-of-place-based-giving-during-the-covid19-pandemic.html">Philanthropic funding</a> helped support these informal local efforts. </p>
<p>The growth of informal volunteering is a “good news” story. More people are getting involved in a more diverse range of activities, in ways that fit with their busy lives. </p>
<p>However, the need to curb the decline in formal volunteering remains pressing. Formal volunteering underpins essential services such as emergency work and social care and support. Sporting and cultural events also rely on regular, volunteer-provided services. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/time-is-their-secret-weapon-the-hidden-grey-army-quietly-advancing-species-discovery-in-australia-175189">'Time is their secret weapon': the hidden grey army quietly advancing species discovery in Australia</a>
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<h2>So what can volunteer organisations do?</h2>
<p>It is not a lack of goodwill that is driving the decline in formal volunteering; the growth of informal volunteering clearly attests to this. </p>
<p>To reverse the decline, <a href="https://lens.monash.edu/@business-economy/2022/10/18/1385173/what-happened-to-australias-volunteer-army">researchers argue</a> the sector has to innovate to improve its diversity and inclusiveness. </p>
<p>More flexible models of volunteerism are needed too. Organisations should make greater use of remote engagement via the internet and hybrid collaboration. For example, having meetings online enables participation by volunteers who are not necessarily located in the same place. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/National-Strategy-for-Volunteering-2023-2033.pdf">National Strategy for Volunteering 2023-2033</a> makes clear the quality of volunteers’ experience of this work is critical to attracting and retaining more volunteers. To improve this experience, volunteering organisations need to develop avenues for engaging diverse cohorts and provide opportunities for ad-hoc and alternative modes of volunteering. </p>
<p>Volunteering Australia also highlights that volunteers are not looking to replicate the experience of paid work. While they might draw on knowledge and skills from their workplace, volunteering is about more than simply the labour they are providing. </p>
<p>To sustain volunteering in Australia, it is essential to recognise and value the intrinsic desire that volunteers have to make a difference. It’s equally essential to make it easier for people to undertake diverse forms of volunteering. These options will better enable them to balance family, work and volunteering commitments. </p>
<p>The growth of informal volunteering shows Australians are still willing to volunteer, if volunteering can fit in with the other demands of their busy lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205218/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Davies receives funding from The Australian Research Council, Volunteering Australia, Cooperative Research Centre for the Transition of Mining Economies, The Australian Government, The Western Australian Government. </span></em></p>With a surge in people seeking help amid a cost-of-living crisis, volunteer groups urgently need to rebuild their numbers to meet the demand for their services.Amanda Davies, Professor of Human Geography, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051652023-05-10T18:49:55Z2023-05-10T18:49:55ZWhat does ending the emergency status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US mean in practice? 4 questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524939/original/file-20230508-197326-1kuk6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=181%2C142%2C8465%2C5418&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">COVID-19 hasn't vanished, but at this point it's doing less damage.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-erasing-red-covid-19-virus-with-paint-roller-royalty-free-image/1292684629?phrase=covid-19&adppopup=true">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The COVID-19 pandemic’s public health emergency status in the U.S. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/11/1169191865/biden-ends-covid-national-emergency">expires on May 11, 2023</a>. And on May 5, the World Health Organization declared <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2023/05/05/who-declares-end-to-covid-global-health-emergency/?">an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency of international concern</a>, or PHEIC, designation that had been in place since Jan. 30, 2020.</em> </p>
<p><em>Still, both the WHO and the White House have made clear that while the emergency phase of the pandemic has ended, the virus is here to stay and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/05/05/covid-forecast-next-two-years/">could continue to wreak havoc</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that, over that time, the virus has taken the lives of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/05/who-covid-global-health-emergency/">more than 1 million people in the U.S.</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01559-z">about 7 million people globally</a> based on reported cases, though he said the true toll is likely <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/05/05/1174269442/who-ends-global-health-emergency-declaration-for-covid-19">closer to 20 million people worldwide</a>. While the global emergency status has ended, COVID-19 is still an “<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic">established and ongoing health issue</a>,” he said.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked public health experts <a href="https://cph.osu.edu/people/mjones">Marian Moser Jones</a> and <a href="https://cph.osu.edu/people/afairchild">Amy Lauren Fairchild</a> to put these changes into context and to explain their ramifications for the next stage of the pandemic.</em> </p>
<h2>1. What does ending the national emergency phase of the pandemic mean?</h2>
<p>Ending the federal emergency reflects both a scientific and political judgment that the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has ended and that special federal resources are no longer needed to prevent disease transmission across borders. </p>
<p>In practical terms, it means that two declarations – the <a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/2019-nCoV.aspx">federal Public Health Emergency</a>, first declared on Jan. 31, 2020, and the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/02/18/notice-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-concerning-the-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-pandemic-2/">COVID-19 national emergency</a> that former President Donald Trump announced on March 13, 2020, are expiring.</p>
<p>Declaring those emergencies enabled the federal government to cut through mountains of red tape to respond to the pandemic more efficiently. For instance, the declarations allowed <a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Public-Health-Emergency-Declaration.aspx">funds to be made available</a> so that federal agencies could direct personnel, equipment, supplies and services to state and local governments wherever they were needed. In addition, the declarations made funding and other resources available to launch investigations into the “<a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Public-Health-Emergency-Declaration.aspx">cause, treatment or prevention</a>” of COVID-19 and to enter into contracts with other organizations to meet needs stemming from the emergency. </p>
<p>The emergency status also allowed the federal government to make health care more widely available by <a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Public-Health-Emergency-Declaration.aspx">suspending many requirements</a> for accessing Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Program, or CHIP. And they made it possible for people to receive free COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines and <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/downloads/medicaid-telehealth-services.pdf">enabled Medicaid</a> and Medicare to <a href="https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/billing-and-reimbursement/">more easily cover telehealth services</a>. </p>
<p>Finally, the Trump administration used the national emergency to invoke <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/01/05/dhs-continues-prepare-end-title-42-announces-new-border-enforcement-measures-and">Title 42</a>, a section of the Public Health Service Act that allows the federal government to <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-trump-era-law-used-to-restrict-immigration-is-nearing-its-end-despite-gop-warnings-of-a-looming-crisis-at-the-southern-border-194971">stop people at the nation’s borders</a> to prevent introduction of communicable diseases. Asylum seekers and others who normally undergo processing when they enter the U.S. have been turned away under this rule. </p>
<h2>2. What domestic policies are changing?</h2>
<p>An estimated 15 million people are likely to lose Medicaid or CHIP coverage, <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/a892859839a80f8c3b9a1df1fcb79844/aspe-end-mcaid-continuous-coverage.pdf">according to the federal government</a>. <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/how-many-people-might-lose-medicaid-when-states-unwind-continuous-enrollment/">Another analysis projected</a> that as many as 24 million people will be kicked off the Medicaid rolls.</p>
<p>Before the pandemic, states required people to prove every year that they met income and other eligibility requirements. This <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-growth-estimates-by-state-and-eligibility-group-show-who-may-be-at-risk-as-continuous-enrollment-ends/">resulted in “churning”</a> – a process whereby people who did not complete renewal paperwork were being periodically disenrolled from state Medicaid programs before they could reapply and prove eligibility. </p>
<p>In March 2020, Congress enacted a continuous enrollment provision in Medicaid that prevented states from removing anyone from their rolls during the pandemic. From February 2020 to March 31, 2023, <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-growth-estimates-by-state-and-eligibility-group-show-who-may-be-at-risk-as-continuous-enrollment-ends/">enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP grew by nearly 23.5%</a> to a total of more than 93 million. In a December 2022 appropriations bill, Congress passed a provision that ended continuous enrollment on March 31, 2023.</p>
<p>The Biden administration <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SAP-H.R.-382-H.J.-Res.-7.pdf">defended this time frame as sufficient</a> to ensure that patients did not “lose access to care unpredictably” and that state Medicaid budgets – which received emergency funds beginning in 2020 – didn’t “face a radical cliff.” </p>
<p>But many people who have Medicaid or who enrolled their children in CHIP during this period may be unaware of these changes until they actually lose their benefits over the next several months.</p>
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<p>At least five states already <a href="https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2023/04/01/state-unwinding-tracker/">began disenrolling Medicaid members in April</a>. Other states are <a href="https://medicaid.ohio.gov/stakeholders-and-partners/covidunwinding/covidunwinding">sending out termination letters</a> and <a href="https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/health/medicaid-chip/end-continuous-medicaid-coverage">renewal notices</a> and will <a href="https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2023/04/01/state-unwinding-tracker/">disenroll members starting in May, June and July</a>.</p>
<p>Only Oregon has set up a comprehensive program to minimize disenrollments. That state is running a <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HSD/Medicaid-Policy/Documents/2022-2027-1115-Demonstration-Approval.pdf">five-year federal demonstration program</a> that allows it to temporarily let people stay on Medicaid if their income is up to 200% of the federal poverty level and lets eligible children stay on Medicaid through age 6. Many other states are <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/covid-19-phe-unwinding-section-1902e14a-waiver-approvals/index.html">trying more limited strategies</a> to improve the renewal process and decrease churning.</p>
<p>The array of telehealth services that Medicare began <a href="https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/billing-and-reimbursement/billing-and-coding-medicare-fee-for-service-claims/?">covering during the pandemic</a> will continue to be covered through December 2024. Medicare is also making coverage for <a href="https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/policy-changes-during-the-covid-19-public-health-emergency/policy-changes-after-the-covid-19-public-health-emergency">behavioral and mental telehealth services a permanent benefit</a>.</p>
<p>The end of the emergency also means that the federal government is no longer covering the costs of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for everyone. However, in April, the Biden administration announced a new $1.1 billion <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/04/18/fact-sheet-hhs-announces-hhs-bridge-access-program-covid-19-vaccines-treatments-maintain-access-covid-19-care-uninsured.html">public-private “bridge access program</a>” that will provide COVID-19 vaccines and treatments free of charge for uninsured people through state and local health departments and pharmacies. Insured individuals may have out-of-pocket costs depending on their coverage.</p>
<p>The end of the emergency lifts the pandemic restriction on border crossing. Large numbers of migrants <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/08/us/title-42-expires-border-immigration/index.html">have gathered at the Mexico-U.S. border</a> and are expected to enter the country in the coming weeks, further straining already overwhelmed staff and facilities. </p>
<h2>3. What does this mean for the status of the pandemic?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143061">A pandemic declaration</a> represents an assessment that human transmission of a disease, whether well known or novel, is “extraordinary,” that it constitutes a public health risk to two or more U.S. states and that controlling it requires an international response. But declaring an end to the emergency doesn’t mean a return to business as usual.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-WHE-SPP-2023.1">New global guidelines for long-term disease management</a> of COVID-19, released on May 3, 2023, urged countries “to maintain sufficient capacity, operational readiness and flexibility to scale up during surges of COVID-19, while maintaining other essential health services and preparing for the emergence of new variants with increased severity or capacity.”</p>
<p>Former White House COVID-19 response coordinator <a href="https://fortune.com/well/2023/04/29/covid-antiviral-paxlovid-evade-deborah-birx-double-deaths/">Deborah Birx recently warned</a> that the omicron COVID-19 variant continues to mutate and may become resistant to existing treatments. She called for more federally funded research into therapeutics and durable vaccines that protect against many variants. </p>
<p>Birx’s warnings come as <a href="https://www.krem.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/washington-covid-final-press-conference/293-3f109a05-5e8a-4c80-8868-18f8cd9d3fbe">remaining states have ended their COVID-19 press briefings</a> and <a href="https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/CANotify/CANotifyMain.aspx">shut down their exposure notification systems</a>, and the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-home-test-78960c4c36422907a2eab3eb0dcdfadd">federal government has ended its free COVID-19 at-home test program</a>. </p>
<p>With the end of the emergency, the CDC is also changing the way it presents its COVID-19 data to a “<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html">sustainable national COVID-19 surveillance” model</a>. This shift in COVID-19 monitoring and communication strategies accompanying the end of the emergency means that the virus is disappearing from the headlines, even though it has not disappeared from our lives and communities.</p>
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<h2>4. How will state and local pandemic measures be affected?</h2>
<p>The end of the federal emergency does not affect state-level or local-level emergency declarations. These declarations have allowed states to allocate resources to meet pandemic needs and have <a href="https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/policy-changes-during-the-covid-19-public-health-emergency/telehealth-licensing-requirements-and-interstate-compacts/">included provisions</a> allowing them to respond to surges in COVID-19 cases by allowing out-of-state physicians and other health care providers to practice in person and through telehealth. </p>
<p>Most U.S. states, however, have ended their own public health emergency declarations. Six states – Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Texas – still had emergency declarations in effect as of May 3, 2023, that will expire by the end of the month. So far, <a href="https://nashp.org/states-covid-19-public-health-emergency-declarations/">Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey</a> stands alone in having indicated that she will “extend key flexibilities provided by the public health emergency” related to health care staffing and emergency medical services.</p>
<p>While some states may choose to make permanent some COVID-era emergency standards, such as looser restrictions on telemedicine or out-of-state health providers, we believe it could be a long time before either politicians or members of the public regain an appetite for any emergency orders directly related to COVID-19. </p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article that was <a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-plan-for-ending-the-emergency-declaration-for-covid-19-signals-a-pivotal-point-in-the-pandemic-4-questions-answered-199060">originally published</a> on Feb. 3, 2023.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205165/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marian Moser Jones receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and The American Public Health Association. In the past she has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the American Association for the History of Nursing, as well as the State of Maryland.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Lauren Fairchild has received funding from NIH, NSF, NEH, the RWJ Foundation, and the Greenwall Foundation. </span></em></p>The emergency status allowed the federal government to cut through a mountain of red tape, with the goal of responding to the pandemic more efficiently.Marian Moser Jones, Associate Professor of Health Services Management, Policy and History, The Ohio State UniversityAmy Lauren Fairchild, Dean and Professor of Public Health, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2042632023-04-26T12:28:46Z2023-04-26T12:28:46ZChallenging the FDA’s authority isn’t new – the agency’s history shows what’s at stake when drug regulation is in limbo<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522817/original/file-20230425-28-sxmbmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2048%2C1370&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In addition to evaluating new drug applications, the FDA also inspects drug manufacturing facilities.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/bCZpCD">The U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Political pressure is nothing new for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fdas-big-gamble-on-the-new-alzheimers-drug-162396">frequently come under fire</a> for its drug approval decisions, but attacks on its decision-making process and science itself have increased <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/27/trump-has-launched-an-all-out-attack-on-the-fda-will-its-scientific-integrity-survive/">during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>Recent challenges to the FDA’s authority have emerged in the context of reproductive rights.</p>
<p>On Nov. 18, 2022, a group of anti-abortion doctors and medical groups <a href="https://adflegal.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/Alliance-for-Hippocratic-Medicine-v-FDA-2022-11-18-Complaint.pdf">filed a lawsuit</a> against the FDA, challenging its approval from more than 20 years ago of <a href="https://theconversation.com/mifepristone-is-under-scrutiny-in-the-courts-but-it-has-been-used-safely-and-effectively-around-the-world-for-decades-204163">mifepristone</a>, a drug taken in combination with another medication, misoprostol, to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-the-supreme-courts-decision-on-mifepristone-affect-abortion-access-4-questions-answered-204172">treat miscarriages</a> and used to induce <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/02/medication-abortion-now-accounts-more-half-all-us-abortions">more than 50% of abortions</a> in early-stage pregnancies in the U.S.</p>
<p>It is widely believed that the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas so District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/us/politics/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill.html">well-known abortion opponent</a>, could oversee the litigation. While Kacsmaryk did issue a preliminary injunction ruling that the FDA lacked the authority to approve mifepristone, an appeal <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca5.213145/gov.uscourts.ca5.213145.183.2_1.pdf">partially reversed</a> the decision and the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22a901_3d9g.pdf">stayed Kacsmaryk’s order</a>. The case now sits at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and will likely return to the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>The FDA is the government’s oldest consumer protection agency. The effects of this lawsuit could reach far beyond mifepristone – undermining the agency’s authority could threaten its entire drug approval process and change access to commonly used drugs, ranging from amoxycillin and Ambien to prednisone and Paxlovid.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Yeg0EUgAAAAJ&hl=en">legal scholar</a> whose research focuses in part on the law and ethics of the FDA’s drug approval process. Examining the FDA’s history reveals the unprecedented nature of the current challenges to the agency’s authority.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart titled 'Data for Decisions' depicting sources the FDA considers in its decision-making" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522844/original/file-20230425-14-2hs75n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Then FDA Commissioner George Larrick used this chart during 1964 Senate testimony to illustrate the range of sources the agency uses in evaluating proposals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/dv6CFV">The U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Events shaping FDA’s focus on safety</h2>
<p>In its early years, the FDA focused primarily on balancing the competing goals of consumer safety with access to experimental treatments. The priority was strengthening consumer protection to prevent tragedy from recurring. </p>
<p>For instance, at the turn of the 20th century, Congress passed the <a href="https://ncjolt.org/articles/volume-23/volume-23-issue-4/fdas-accelerated-approval-emergency-use-authorization-and-pre-approval-access-considerations-for-use-in-public-health-emergencies-and-beyond/">Biologics Control Act of 1902</a>, providing the federal government the authority to regulate vaccines. This law was introduced after 13 children died from inadvertently contaminated diphtheria antitoxin, which was made from the blood of a horse infected with tetanus. </p>
<p>A few years later, after investigative journalists publicized the unsanitary conditions and food-handling practices in meatpacking plants, Congress passed the <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3237889">Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906</a>, which prohibited the marketing and sale of misbranded and contaminated foods, drinks and drugs.</p>
<p>Similarly, in 1937, approximately 71 adults and 34 children died from ingesting <a href="https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-122-6-199503150-00009">S.E. Massengill’s antibacterial elixir</a>, which contained a poisonous raspberry flavoring added to sweeten the taste. In response, Congress passed the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-history/milestones-us-food-and-drug-law">Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938</a>, requiring manufacturers to show that drugs are safe before they go on the market. This act marked the beginning of modern drug regulations and the birth of the FDA as a regulatory agency. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4wIBCoxuOJ0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">FDA scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey’s decision to not approve thalidomide for use in the U.S. protected Americans from the birth defects that swept newborns in other countries.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then, in 1962, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, a pharmacologist, physician and medical officer working at the FDA, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-history/milestones-us-food-and-drug-law">refused to approve thalidomide</a>, a drug marketed in Europe, Canada, Japan and other countries to alleviate morning sickness in pregnant women but later found to cause severe birth defects. Shocking revelations of children born without limbs or suffering from other debilitating conditions motivated Congress to pass the <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-thalidomide-happen-again-46813">Kefauver-Harris Drug Amendments of 1962</a>, which ushered in a more cautious approach to the drug approval process.</p>
<h2>FDA’s turn toward expanding access</h2>
<p>During the 1970s, questions about the limits of safety versus an individual’s right to access arose when cancer patients who wanted access to an unapproved drug derived from apricots, Laetrile, sued the FDA. The agency had blocked the drug’s shipment and sale because it was not approved for use in the U.S. At that time, the Supreme Court <a href="https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep442/usrep442544/usrep442544.pdf">upheld the FDA’s protective authority</a>, holding that an unproven therapy is unsafe for all patients, including the terminally ill.</p>
<p>The 1980s, however, marks the FDA’s shift toward increasing access following reports of an emerging disease – AIDS – which primarily affected gay men. In the first nine years of the AIDS epidemic, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001880.htm">over 100,000 Americans died</a>. AIDS patients and their advocates became <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2739121">vocal critics of the FDA</a>, arguing that the agency was too paternalistic and restrictive following events like the thalidomide scare.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="ACT UP protestors lying on the ground with tombstone-shaped signs demanding the FDA allow access to experimental HIV/AIDS drugs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522846/original/file-20230425-3279-zhlvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protests from HIV/AIDS activists like ACT UP spurred the FDA to develop expedited drug approval tracks to meet urgent public health needs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/protesters-close-the-federal-drug-administration-building-news-photo/1213566352">Mikki Ansin/Peter Ansin via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After massive protests, Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, proposed a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/29/fight-against-aids-has-shaped-how-potential-covid-19-drugs-will-reach-patients/">parallel track program</a> allowing eligible patients access to unapproved experimental treatments. This, along with other existing FDA mechanisms, helped lay the path for other alternative approval pathways, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-emergency-use-authorizations-and-do-they-guarantee-that-a-vaccine-or-drug-is-safe-151178">Emergency Use Authorization</a>, which played a large role in permitting use of vaccines and medications pending full FDA approval during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<h2>Future of the FDA</h2>
<p>Despite the FDA’s shift toward increased access, the <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2018/05/31/right-to-try-ron-johnson/">political right has in recent years argued</a> that the agency remains too bureaucratic and paternalistic and should be deregulated – an argument seemingly contrary to the reasoning underlying Kacsmaryk’s recent order that the FDA did not sufficiently evaluate the safety of mifepristone in its approval.</p>
<p>Mifepristone, which has <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/ama-court-don-t-overturn-fda-approval-mifepristone">overwhelming data supporting its safety</a>, could remain available to some people in some states regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit. While the FDA approves drugs for consumer use, it does not regulate the general practice of medicine. Doctors can <a href="https://www.fda.gov/patients/learn-about-expanded-access-and-other-treatment-options/understanding-unapproved-use-approved-drugs-label">prescribe FDA-approved drugs off-label</a>, meaning they could prescribe a drug with a different dose, in a different way or for a different use than what the FDA has approved it for.</p>
<p>The mifepristone case has broad implications for the FDA’s future and could have devastating effects on health in the U.S. Due in part to FDA involvement, public health interventions have led to a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6019a5.htm#">62% increase in life expectancy</a> in the 20th century. These include vaccines and medications for childhood illnesses and infectious diseases such as HIV, increased regulation of tobacco, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/fda-approval-of-over-the-counter-narcan-is-an-important-step-in-the-effort-to-combat-the-us-opioid-crisis-198497">over-the-counter Narcan</a> to combat the opioid crisis, among others.</p>
<p>The FDA needs to be able to use its scientific expertise to make data-driven decisions that balance safety and access, without the ability of a single judge to potentially gut the system. The agency’s history is an important reminder of the need for strong administrative agencies and ongoing vigilance to protect everyone’s health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Coughlin is affiliated with the Foundation for Prosecutorial Accountability.</span></em></p>As the government’s oldest consumer protection agency, the FDA has long butted up against drugmakers, activists and politicians. But undermining its work could be harmful to patient health and safety.Christine Coughlin, Professor of Law, Wake Forest UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981312023-03-21T12:42:53Z2023-03-21T12:42:53ZIncreases in opioid overdoses in Pennsylvania varied by county during the COVID-19 pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516095/original/file-20230317-26-u4bttz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C14%2C1964%2C1416&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pills are one of the more common ways of ingesting opioids.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/OpioidGuidelines/b14b1e15c96b42f782bebfdf60a359c9/photo">AP Photo/Keith Srakocic</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the opioid epidemic, according to our new research, which finds that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102938">opioid overdoses increased in Pennsylvania</a> in 2020 compared with 2018 and 2019. </p>
<p>Yet general trends obscure critical local variations. Specifically, 19 Pennsylvania counties saw statistically significant increases in opioid overdose rates. The people who live in those 19 counties are both socially and economically diverse, signaling that overdoses did not just worsen for one group of people.</p>
<p>In our study, we analyzed age-adjusted rates of opioid-related overdose incidents, reported by emergency services personnel, at the county level in Pennsylvania from 2018 to 2020. This measure is based on the number of overdose incidents to which EMS responded during the study period. We also interviewed public health providers to identify the key factors influencing opioid misuse.</p>
<p>Opioid overdoses are the leading cause of <a href="https://www.ddap.pa.gov/overdose/Pages/Overdose_Overview.aspx">accidental death in Pennsylvania</a>, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2010 to 2019, rates of opioid-related deaths in Pennsylvania almost quintupled, rising from <a href="http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html">5 per 100,000 people</a> to 23.7 per 100,000 people. In 2020, it rose to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/2020.html">42.4 per 100,000 people</a>.</p>
<p>In earlier work, we showed that the <a href="https://theconversation.com/opioid-overdoses-spiked-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-data-from-pennsylvania-show-161635">initial four months of the COVID-19 pandemic</a> saw an increase in opioid overdoses in Pennsylvania. Our latest study extended this analysis through 2020.</p>
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<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Since the early 1990s, the opioid epidemic has gone through several waves. First, high death rates were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.13776">caused by prescription opioids</a>, particularly among white rural populations. The epidemic then shifted to heroin use, and expanded to include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354920968806">urban and non-Hispanic Black populations</a>. More recently, synthetic opioids like fentanyl have been the <a href="https://doi.org/10.15585%2Fmmwr.mm675152e1">main cause of overdoses</a>.</p>
<p>Overdose rates increased in Pennsylvania at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This initial increase occurred at the same time as a mandatory stay-at-home order that was designed to reduce the spread of the virus. While this order was a necessary response, it resulted in a range of social effects, including job losses, mental illness, isolation and reduced access to inpatient addiction treatment services.</p>
<p>In our newest study, we examined the longer-term trends and spatial patterns for the opioid epidemic. Our research shows statistically significant county-level changes in the age-adjusted rates of opioid-related overdose incidents before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Pennsylvania counties saw a significant increase in opioid overdose rates, including some with small populations, while others saw a significant decrease. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Heroin injections can lead to heart infections that can kill.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Health care providers agree that while opioid misuse has increased across the state, local conditions matter and directly affect the epidemic. As one health provider told us in an interview, “There’s a lot of variation between counties. You can drive 20 minutes across the line, and it almost seems like a different state. I think the rates of use are similar, but you see different sorts of associated factors with substance use in these counties.”</p>
<p>In order to understand social factors, we examined differences in opioid overdose rates between men and women and between Black and white people. Our research shows overdose rates among men and women were declining from 2018 to 2019 but jumped in 2020. These trends were also declining among Black and white individuals from 2018 to 2019, but those groups also experienced a large increase from 2019 to 2020. A benefit of our research is that it shows that broader segments of the population are now being affected by the opioid epidemic.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Our work is finding that the stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic was overwhelming for many people, resulting in an increase in substance misuse or relapses. We believe research and policy attention to these factors is urgently needed, especially in states like Pennsylvania that were experiencing high rates of substance use prior to the pandemic. </p>
<p>Future work could evaluate whether funds are effectively distributed to address the effects of social isolation and the social inequities surrounding opioid misuse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198131/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian King receives funding from the Department of Geography and College of Earth and Mineral Science at the Pennsylvania State University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Rishworth, Louisa M. Holmes, and Ruchi Patel do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pennsylvania has long had one of the highest death rates from drug overdose in the US. But new studies suggest counties throughout the state have different rates of opioid deaths.Brian King, Professor of Geography, Penn StateAndrea Rishworth, Postdoctoral Fellow in Geography, University of TorontoLouisa M. Holmes, Researcher of Geography, Penn StateRuchi Patel, Doctoral Student in Geography, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1925812023-03-15T19:56:59Z2023-03-15T19:56:59ZLooting and decay: how the pandemic wrought real damage to African heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513930/original/file-20230307-24-28xi43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C278%2C3321%2C1928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Street market and the Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali, which was designated a world heritage site by Unesco in 1988. During the pandemic, the town was hard hit by illegal excavations and looting.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101618250">Giv/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole, particularly among the elderly. A recent <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000377667&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_623bf641-f9e0-48fa-9e49-6f16e743308d%3F_%3D377667eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000377667/PDF/377667eng.pdf#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A138%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C0%2C842%2Cnull%5D">Unesco report</a> shows that it has also took a subtle yet large toll on our world heritage properties.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377667">new research</a>, world heritage sites in certain regions have suffered significant economic impacts of the pandemic, with those in Africa bearing the biggest brunt. In 2021, 52% of African world heritage properties reported Covid-related threats, including looting and insufficient materials to conserve sites. In comparison, 34% of properties in Asia and the Pacific reported similar issues, and only 15% of European and North American sites.</p>
<h2>Choked off conservation revenues</h2>
<p>The abrupt cut-off of tourism revenue is first to blame for these impacts. Several African countries are <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/34348/Rebuilding-Tourism-Competitiveness-Tourism-response-recovery-and-resilience-to-the-Covid-19-crisis.pdf">highly dependent on the sector</a>, with tourism accounting for 10 to 20% of GDP in Botswana, Gambia and Namibia and over 20% in Cabo Verde and the Seychelles.</p>
<p>In 2020, international tourist arrivals dropped by 97% compared to 2019, and by 2021 were still 73% less than pre-pandemic levels. At its <a href="https://wttc.org/research/economic-impact">worst point in the pandemic</a>, Africa’s travel and tourism sector lost $85.9 billion and 5.8 million jobs.</p>
<p>After global travel came to a halt, sites had to grapple with a sudden decrease in cash and an many temporary staff they could no longer keep on. Public subsidies, which cover the bulk of expenditures incurred by the management, staffing, conservation and maintenance of the sites, took a plunge in 44% of subsidized African world heritage sites. Only 8% saw their subsidies increase.</p>
<h2>Looted treasures</h2>
<p>Adding to the pain was the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/01/08/from-lockdowns-to-looting-how-Covid-19-has-taken-a-toll-on-worlds-threatened-heritage-sites">increased looting of world heritage sites</a> during lockdowns. In Africa, one of the oldest cities of the continent, Djenné-Djenno, Mali, which is known to have been <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Djenne-Djenno/">inhabited from 250 BC</a>, has been heavily affected by illegal excavations and the looting of statues and other artifacts.</p>
<p>The logic is simple: the loss of income during the pandemic exacerbated the situation of those already living in poverty. Although this did not directly affect cultural property, many lost their incomes and some resorted to subsistence looting to survive. In such instances, the pandemic was the epicentre of a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-cultural-property/article/from-the-past-to-the-future-protecting-afghanistans-cultural-heritage-progress-fears-and-hopes/2CDCD9DAFD262B3347DD9C076EB30E91">compounding impact on cultural heritage</a>.</p>
<p>The risk of looting and illegal trade of cultural objects was found to have increased significantly during the pandemic. In March and April 2020, “online illicit trade in looted objects spiked”, according to the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/01/08/from-lockdowns-to-looting-how-Covid-19-has-taken-a-toll-on-worlds-threatened-heritage-sites">Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research Project</a>. Insufficiently protected archaeological sites became an easy target for looting or <a href="https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/conservation-in-the-time-of-Covid/">other forms of illegal access</a>. The <a href="https://atharproject.org/">Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research Project</a> (ALTHAR), which monitors Facebook groups that serve as marketplaces for cultural antiquities – many often looted – found that many gained <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/illegal-excavations-and-online-trade-cultural-property-looted-midst-Covid-19">hundreds of thousands of new members</a> during the pandemic, raising concerns. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Konso Cultural Landscape is made up of dry-stone terraces that retain soil, collect and manage water and thus facilitate agriculture. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the fall in tourism and reduced security led to some of the terraces being scavanged for building supplies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1333/">Yonas Beyene/Unesco</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Beyond objects that could be looted, the Covid-19 pandemic also posed a threat to the world heritage sites themselves. For example, lockdowns brought a halt to 400-year-old social and cultural rituals for the maintenance of the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1333/">Konso Cultural Landscape</a>, which is made up of stone-walled terraces and fortified settlements in South Ethiopia’s Konso Highlands. Retaining the soil from erosion and collecting water that is vital for agriculture, the terraced fields represents not only a central cultural tradition, but also an infrastructural necessity. Prior to the pandemic, tourism as the largest income stream and even then, provided only the bare necessity of support. </p>
<p>The precipitous drop in tourism thus worsened the population’s already precarious financial situation. Because the price of building materials also climbed during the pandemic, locals began to use stones from the terraces for constructions. The dire situation was aggravated by absence of on-site site security, allowing some looting to occur.</p>
<p>The (mis)use of terrace stones for house construction in the Konso Highlands demonstrates the real threat to the preservation of cultural heritage sites posed by crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. It is worth recalling the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, in which all signatories recognised “that the task of ensuring the identification, protection and conservation of the cultural and natural heritage rests primarily with the state” (Art. 4).</p>
<h2>How to stop this from happening in future</h2>
<p>The severe impacts of the pandemic on tangible and intangible cultural heritage have highlighted the fragility of world heritage, especially in the Global South. To build the resilience required to manage future health crises, conflicts, and natural disasters brought on by climate change, a more sustainable approach is needed.</p>
<p>First, existing political and international legal instruments must be strengthened. At present, governments rely on a range of legislative measures to protect their World Heritage Sites. In 2017, the UN Security Council unequivocally condemned the <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000249838">looting and smuggling of cultural good during armed conflict</a> from Iraq and Syria. Nearly a half century earlier, Unesco’s 1970 convention on the <a href="https://en.unesco.org/about-us/legal-affairs/convention-means-prohibiting-and-preventing-illicit-import-export-and">Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property</a> prohibits the “illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property”.</p>
<p>Currently, 32 countries in the African region are parties to the 1970 convention, which is binding on all parties and requires that they abide by the legal standards set forth. However, its effectiveness depends heavily on local implementation and enforcement. Implementation through national laws and enforcement structures <a href="https://www.iccrom.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019-11/iccrom_ics05_legalframeworkafrica_en.pdf">varies greatly from country to country</a>. Nevertheless, there have been efforts in the African region to strengthen and harmonize cultural policies, and thus also to <a href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/37305-treaty-Charter_for_African_Renissance_ENGLISH_digital_0.pdf">better protect African cultural properties</a>.</p>
<p>Despite being under a legal obligation to ensure the protection and preservation of their nation’s cultural heritage, in times of crises, states didn’t seem to be fully able to fulfil their duties. To fill the gap, international support programs and private initiatives have stepped in to support world heritage sites. The initiative <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/fr/actualites/2291">#SOSAfricanHeritage</a> by the German Commission to Unesco (DUK) has supported 34 projects in 22 African countries in 2020/2021 with up to 25,000 euros with the specific goal. Still, we must guarantee steadier public funding for sites, rather than relying on emergency responses. </p>
<p>As detailed, the Covid-19 pandemic had numerous negative impacts on cultural heritage. While primarily a health crisis, the pandemic hit cultural heritage hard, inflicting significant damage. during the pandemic period can be traced to the pandemic at its core and its social and economic consequences. Be it the neglect of world heritage sites, the decline and absence of tourism, or looting in its various forms.</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/next50/">50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention</a> (16 November 2022): World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity and innovation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole. A recent Unesco report reveals that it has also took a large toll on world heritage sites.Clemens Schleupner, UNESCO Chair in International Relations , Technische Universität DresdenFelix Schmermer, Researcher in international law, Technische Universität DresdenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2011812023-03-09T19:05:56Z2023-03-09T19:05:56ZThree years into the pandemic, it’s clear COVID won’t fix itself. Here’s what we need to focus on next<p>On March 11 2020 the World Health Organization classified COVID as a <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">pandemic</a>. Three years on, it remains just that.</p>
<p>As much as we don’t want it to be, and as much as it is off the front pages, COVID is still very much with us.</p>
<p>But how bad has it really been? And, more importantly, what have we learned that could help us accelerate a real and sustained exit?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-covid-in-ten-photos-145318">Friday essay: COVID in ten photos</a>
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<h2>COVID has hit us hard</h2>
<p>There was a <a href="https://theconversation.com/too-late-already-bolted-how-a-faster-who-response-could-have-slowed-covid-19s-spread-160860">slow initial</a> global response to what we now call SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. This allowed the virus to get a foothold, contributing to unexpectedly rapid <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-so-many-new-omicron-sub-variants-like-ba-4-and-ba-5-will-i-be-reinfected-is-the-virus-mutating-faster-182274">viral evolution</a>.</p>
<p>Three years into the pandemic, with the removal of almost all mitigation measures in most countries, it’s clear the virus has hit the world very hard. <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">So far</a>, almost 681 million infections and more than 6.8 million deaths have been reported.</p>
<p>This is perhaps best visualised by its impact on life expectancy. There were <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/padr.12477">sharp declines</a> seen across the world in 2020 and 2021, reversing 70 years of largely uninterrupted progress. </p>
<p>The excess mortality driving this drop in life expectancy has continued. This includes in Australia, <a href="https://www.actuaries.digital/2023/03/06/almost-20000-excess-deaths-for-2022-in-australia/">where over 20,000 more lives</a> than the historical average are estimated to have been lost in 2022.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-more-australians-died-in-2022-than-expected-covid-was-behind-the-majority-of-them-196281">Thousands more Australians died in 2022 than expected. COVID was behind the majority of them</a>
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<h2>Not just COVID deaths</h2>
<p>The indirect impacts on the health systems in rich and poor countries alike continue to be substantial. Disruptions to health services have led to <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00079-6/fulltext">increases</a> in stillbirths, maternal mortality and postnatal depression.</p>
<p>Routine <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/15-07-2022-covid-19-pandemic-fuels-largest-continued-backslide-in-vaccinations-in-three-decades">child immunisation coverage</a> has decreased. Crucial malaria, tuberculosis and HIV programs have been <a href="https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/2021/2021-09-08-global-fund-results-report-reveals-covid-19-devastating-impact-on-hiv-tb-and-malaria-programs/#:%7E:text=GENEVA%20%E2%80%93%20The%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic,history%20of%20the%20Global%20Fund">disrupted</a>. </p>
<p>A paper out this week highlights the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1107560/full">severe impact</a> of the pandemic on mental health globally.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/my-kids-are-behind-with-their-vaccines-how-do-they-catch-up-199595">My kids are behind with their vaccines. How do they catch up?</a>
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<h2>Then there’s long COVID</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, more evidence of long COVID has emerged around the world. At least <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2">65 million people</a> were estimated to be experiencing this debilitating syndrome by the end of 2022. </p>
<p>The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/covid-19/long-covid-in-australia-a-review-of-the-literature/summary">estimates</a> 5-10% of people who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 will develop long COVID, with symptoms persisting more than three months. That’s between 550,000 and 1.1 million Australians, based on the more than 11 million cases reported <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/australia/">so far</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-got-some-key-things-wrong-about-long-covid-here-are-5-things-weve-learnt-199974">We got some key things wrong about long COVID. Here are 5 things we've learnt</a>
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<h2>COVID highlighted inequalities</h2>
<p>The pandemic has also had a huge economic impact, both directly and indirectly. </p>
<p>The United States alone spent <a href="https://impact.economist.com/perspectives/economic-development/understanding-economic-consequences-covid-19-pandemic">US$4 trillion</a> on its response. Economists have estimated the pandemic will contribute an average 0.75% reduction in GDP in countries with high infection rates and high productivity in 2025.</p>
<p>Studies in the <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/health-inequalities-deprivation-and-poverty-and-covid-19">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/04/us-covid-devastating-toll-poor-low-income-communities">US</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/25/disease-of-disadvantage-melbournes-lower-socioeconomic-areas-suffer-most-covid-deaths-amid-omicron">Australia</a> show COVID has had a disproportionate impact – including higher death rates – in disadvantaged communities and ethnic minorities. </p>
<p>The causes range from high exposure in low-paid jobs to inadequate access to health care. And <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/05/27/covid-19-is-a-developing-country-pandemic/">poorer countries</a> have fared terribly on all fronts from COVID, including inequitable access to vaccines.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wealthy-nations-starved-the-developing-world-of-vaccines-omicron-shows-the-cost-of-this-greed-172763">Wealthy nations starved the developing world of vaccines. Omicron shows the cost of this greed</a>
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<h2>There’s no end in sight</h2>
<p>We cannot assume there will be a natural exit to the pandemic, where the virus reaches some benign endemicity, a harmless presence in the background. </p>
<p>In fact, there is little indication anything like that is imminent.</p>
<p>In Australia, since the beginning of January, <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/australia/">more than 235,000 COVID cases</a> have been reported, almost as many as in 2020 and 2021 combined. Since the start of January, there have been 2,351 COVID-related deaths, more than twice as many as in the whole of 2020 and around the same as in the whole of 2021.</p>
<h2>What needs to happen next?</h2>
<p>The future response can be practically distilled into three overlapping actions.</p>
<p><strong>1. Politicians need to be frank</strong></p>
<p>Our political leaders need to communicate frankly with the public that the pandemic is not over. They need to stress we still have an exceptional problem on our hands with acute disease as well as worrying concerns about long COVID. It’s crucial politicians acknowledge sufferers and those who have died. They need to do this while delivering the good news that addressing COVID does not require lockdowns or mandates. </p>
<p>If our politicians did this, the public would be more likely to have their booster vaccines, get tested and treated, and adopt measures such as improving indoor ventilation and wearing high-quality masks.</p>
<p>The health system also needs to be greatly strengthened to deal with long COVID.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-masks-reduce-the-risk-of-spreading-covid-despite-a-review-saying-they-dont-198992">Yes, masks reduce the risk of spreading COVID, despite a review saying they don't</a>
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<p><strong>2. Avoiding infections is still important</strong></p>
<p>Suppressing the virus is still important. We still can and should reduce the burden of newly acquired COVID and, therefore, long COVID. We have the tools to do this. </p>
<p>We need full recognition that COVID is transmitted largely through the air. As this just-published article in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00642-9">Nature</a> discusses, there are things we can do right now to ensure we all breathe air that is safer, not just from SARS-CoV-2 but from other respiratory viruses.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ventilation-reduces-the-risk-of-covid-so-why-are-we-still-ignoring-it-194820">Ventilation reduces the risk of COVID. So why are we still ignoring it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p><strong>3. Adopt new knowledge and technology</strong></p>
<p>We should be focusing on the science and be ready to adopt new knowledge and products rapidly. </p>
<p>Just a few days ago we had trials of a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4375620&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">promising new approach</a> to treat long COVID with the diabetes drug metformin. </p>
<p>There is also intriguing research that has identified <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2">persistent infection</a> as a potential underlying cause of organ damage and disease after COVID and in long COVID. This suggests anti-viral drugs such as Paxlovid may have an important role to play in reducing the impact of chronic disease. </p>
<p>Many types of new COVID vaccines are being trialled, such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02824-3">versions administered by nasal sprays</a>, which may be game changers.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-nasal-sprays-may-one-day-prevent-and-treat-infection-heres-where-the-science-is-up-to-193840">COVID nasal sprays may one day prevent and treat infection. Here's where the science is up to</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The virus won’t fix itself</h2>
<p>As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, we must not leave it up to the virus to fix itself. </p>
<p>The biggest lesson of the past three years is there’s little chance that is going to work, at least without an intolerably high cost. </p>
<p>Rather, we can end the pandemic by choice. We know <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-covid-control-to-chaos-what-now-for-australia-two-pathways-lie-before-us-174325">what to do</a>. But we are simply not doing it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201181/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Toole receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Crabb and the Institute he leads receives research grant funding from the National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia, the Medical Research Future Fund, DFAT's Centre for Health Security and other Australian federal and Victorian State Government bodies. He is the Chair of The Australian Global Health Alliance and the Pacific Friends of Global Health, both in an honorary capacity. And he serves on the Board of the Telethon Kids Institute, on advisory committees of mRNA Victoria, the Sanger Institute (UK), the Institute for Health Transformation (at Deakin University), The Brain Cancer Centre (Australia), the WHO Malaria Vaccine Advisory Committee; MALVAC, and is a member of OzSAGE, all honorary positions.</span></em></p>As much as we don’t want it to be, as much as it is off the front pages, COVID is still very much with us. We can end this pandemic, if we choose to.Michael Toole, Associate Principal Research Fellow, Burnet InstituteBrendan Crabb, Director and CEO, Burnet InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2007992023-03-07T21:35:27Z2023-03-07T21:35:27ZThe pandemic exposed gender inequality: Let’s seize the opportunity to remedy it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513052/original/file-20230301-22-9hzm2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=520%2C179%2C5380%2C3808&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While COVID-19 affected everyone, it did not impact everyone equally. Some, like women, were hit harder than others.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year, we are commemorating <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women’s Day</a> alongside the three-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>While COVID-19 affected everyone, <a href="https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/inequalities-deaths/">it did not affect everyone equally</a>. The pandemic <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/5-things-covid-19-has-taught-us-about-inequality/">exposed many aspects of inequality</a>, including socioeconomic inequality, accessibility and gender inequality.</p>
<p>The pandemic <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/women-and-pandemics/">destroyed the momentum</a> towards more emancipatory gender relations by disproportionately harming women and gender diverse people, according to the <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/04/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women">United Nations</a> and <a href="https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en/resources/canadas-social-and-economic-recovery-efforts-must-take-a-feminist-approach">Canadian Human Rights Commission</a>.</p>
<p>As the world reopens after the global catastrophe, I <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/resetting-normal/">join in on the urgent call to reset “normal”</a> in a more emancipatory way. There is an opportunity to capitalize on the potential offered by the pandemic to rebuild our professional, business and personal lives.</p>
<p>To <a href="https://www.focuscfo.com/blog/never-let-a-good-crisis-go-to-waste">echo Winston Churchill’s words from the Second World War</a>: we cannot “let a good crisis go to waste.” We will waste the COVID-19 crisis if we don’t address the inequalities — specifically the gender inequalities — the pandemic both exacerbated and revealed.</p>
<h2>Burden of unpaid labour</h2>
<p><a href="https://canadianscholars.ca/book/more-than-a-labour-of-love/">Women do an unequal share of unpaid labour in Canada</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/patriarchy-and-accumulation-on-a-world-scale-9781350348189/">as they do around the world</a>.</p>
<p>The term “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700701880981">silent partner</a>” has been used to refer to the unpaid work spouses — usually wives — do behind the scenes to support the paid careers of their husbands and male co-parents.</p>
<p>Another term, “double shift,” has been used to refer to women’s combined paid an unpaid labour, as has been documented by <a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/life-pmn/gender-gap-in-unpaid-labour-means-women-work-double-shift-experts-say">Statistics Canada</a>.</p>
<p>Usually, unpaid and paid labour was done sequentially, with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1354570042000332597">double shift of unpaid work</a> occurring before and after the paid workday. This second shift grows longer as time passes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman holds a baby while typing on the computer and talking on the phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513042/original/file-20230301-3349-zt784a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C6659%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513042/original/file-20230301-3349-zt784a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513042/original/file-20230301-3349-zt784a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513042/original/file-20230301-3349-zt784a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513042/original/file-20230301-3349-zt784a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513042/original/file-20230301-3349-zt784a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513042/original/file-20230301-3349-zt784a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The pandemic made it so women’s unpaid domestic work was no longer silent or invisible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/for-mothers-in-the-workplace-a-year-and-counting-like-no-other">The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this</a> by creating a context where both paid and unpaid work occurred simultaneously.</p>
<p>The pandemic compounded the impossibility of women’s professional lives — especially those of professionals and academics, like myself, who are mothers. It also made women’s unpaid work more visible than it had ever been before. Speaking figuratively as well as literally, no digital Zoom background could hide this reality. </p>
<h2>Potential for change</h2>
<p>As the lockdowns progressed, businesses and governments began to acknowledge the unpaid care labour done largely by women in unprecedented ways, as myself and other authors discussed in this <a href="https://demeterpress.org/books/mothers-mothering-and-covid-19-dispatches-from-the-pandemic/">anthology of feminist writing about the pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>The Canadian government, for example, has announced a plan to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/child-care.html">bring $10-a-day child care to every province and territory by 2026</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A women with shoulder-length blonde hair and glasses, wearing a blazer and turtleneck, gestures while speaking in the House of Commons" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513027/original/file-20230301-22-vlp4c8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513027/original/file-20230301-22-vlp4c8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513027/original/file-20230301-22-vlp4c8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513027/original/file-20230301-22-vlp4c8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513027/original/file-20230301-22-vlp4c8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513027/original/file-20230301-22-vlp4c8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513027/original/file-20230301-22-vlp4c8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in February 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The pandemic also demonstrated how changeable and contingent things are: we stopped doing many normal activities, creating space for possibility and changing the future of how certain things, like work, are done.</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work">hybrid work has become widely practiced around the world</a>, there has been little or no change to the accommodations offered in relation to unpaid work. </p>
<p>Hybrid work, <a href="https://theconversation.com/working-one-day-a-week-in-person-might-be-the-key-to-happier-more-productive-employees-195076">while beneficial</a>, is no panacea for those with caregiving roles whose care work can be made invisible by hybrid work itself.</p>
<h2>Resetting normal</h2>
<p>As we mark International Women’s Day, we remain in a limitless space of possibility resulting from the pandemic, but we won’t remain here for long. </p>
<p>While we are still re-establishing norms, we need to work within businesses, governments, and our own personal lives to reset — not replicate — gender relations, doing <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/resetting-normal/">as the Canadian Women’s Foundation recommends</a> and building gender equality into our new normal.</p>
<p>It is not enough to return to the way things were because <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/topics-start/gender_diversity_and_inclusion">social and gender inequality</a> was already rampant in Canada before the pandemic.</p>
<p>We must undertake policy actions to subsidize childcare, ensure flexible work schedules, identify opportunities to promote equitable health care, close gender wage gaps, normalize male parental leave, and provide mental health support for employees.</p>
<p>As gender consultants <a href="https://www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/covid-19-demands-we-rethink-gender-roles">Stephenie Foster and Susan Markham wrote of gender equity and the pandemic</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We can use this as an opportunity to reimagine a different future, one that values gender equality, women’s participation and women’s leadership. Women must be part of COVID-19 response and recovery planning and decision making. We must value the unseen work done by women.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The radical shifts that result from crises like the pandemic invite us not to just restore old patterns when the calamity has passed, but to learn from them and move meaningfully forward. We urgently need to make meaningful change now, before the potential for us to learn from the lessons offered by the pandemic disappears.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200799/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We will waste the potential of the pandemic if we don’t address the inequalities — specifically the gender inequalities — that it exacerbated and revealed.Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich, Academic Co-Director, Desautels Centre, Robson Hall Law School, University of Manitoba, Adjunct Professor, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.