Some reservations are reporting infection rates many times higher than those observed in the general U.S. population. grandriver / Getty Images
By Lindsey Schneider, Joshua Sbicca and Stephanie Malin
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is novel, but pandemic threats to indigenous peoples are anything but new. Diseases like measles, smallpox and the Spanish flu have decimated Native American communities ever since the arrival of the first European colonizers.
<p>Now COVID-19 is having similarly devastating impacts in Indian country. Some reservations are reporting infection rates <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/how-covid-19-is-impacting-indigenous-peoples-in-the-u-s" target="_blank">many times higher</a> than those observed in the general U.S. population.</p><p>We are social scientists who study many aspects of <a href="http://environmentaljustice.colostate.edu/" target="_blank">environmental justice</a>, including <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=p3jvlSAAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">the politics of food access and food sovereignty</a>, the impacts of <a href="https://www.libarts.colostate.edu/people/samalin/" target="_blank">extractive resource industries</a> like uranium and fossil fuels, and how Indigenous communities <a href="https://ethnicstudies.colostate.edu/people/schneidl/" target="_blank">navigate relationships</a> with state and federal governments to maintain their traditional practices. As we see it, Native American communities face structural and historical obstacles related to settler colonial legacies that make it hard for them to counter the pandemic, even by drawing on innovative indigenous survival strategies.</p>
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History Reverberates on Native Lands
<p>Native communities in North America have been disrupted and displaced for centuries. Many face long-standing food and water <a href="http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/DocServer/2017-PWNA-NPRA-Food-Insecurity-Project-Grow.pdf?docID=7106" target="_blank">inequities</a> that are further complicated by this pandemic.</p><p>On the Navajo reservation, which covers more than 27,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, 76% of households already <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235390130_High_levels_of_household_food_insecurity_on_the_Navajo_Nation" target="_blank">have trouble affording enough healthy food</a>, and the nearest grocery store is often hours away. COVID-related restrictions have further curtailed access to food supplies.</p><p>Clean water for basic sanitary measures like hand-washing is also scarce. Native Americans are <a href="http://uswateralliance.org/sites/uswateralliance.org/files/Closing%20the%20Water%20Access%20Gap%20in%20the%20United%20States_DIGITAL.pdf" target="_blank">19 times more likely</a> to lack indoor plumbing than whites in the U.S. Nearly one-third of Navajo households <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-hits-indian-country-hard-exposing-infrastructure-disparities-n1186976" target="_blank">lack access to running water</a>.</p><p>Many <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6915e3.htm" target="_blank">health issues</a> that can increase COVID-19 mortality rates occur at high levels among Native Americans. These <a href="http://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2020/03/18/the-national-congress-of-american-indians-calls-for-more-attention-to-covid-19-impacts-to-indian-country" target="_blank">underlying</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30893-X" target="_blank">preexisting</a> conditions – things like hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease – are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6913e2.htm" target="_blank">linked to diet</a> and stem from <a href="https://www.oupress.com/books/15107980/indigenous-food-sovereignty-in-the-united-sta" target="_blank">disruption and replacement</a> of Indigenous food systems.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3MTU0NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTk2NTM0NX0.3CE9pzZY4kFQuxBt-qbXzL3k3eZ2kWECmfUQDuaXB1g/img.png?width=980" id="9280a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce361030764cdb944feafe177d19b2c1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) experience higher rates of chronic diseases than non-Hispanic Whites. Urban Indian Health Institute; data from CDC, CC BY-ND
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/828688372/overcrowding-makes-it-hard-for-native-americans-to-socially-distance" target="_blank">housing shortages</a> on reservations and <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/homeless-vulnerable-and-no-option-for-self-isolation--DGU3-v-FEWmTxrdIH73OA" target="_blank">homelessness</a> in urban Native communities make social distancing to reduce COVID-19 transmission impossible.</p>High Exposure Rates
<p>These factors have clear health impacts. On the Navajo reservation, for instance, through May 27, 2020, <a href="https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/News%20Releases/OPVP/2020/May/FOR%20IMMEDIATE%20RELEASE%20-%201620%20recoveries_102%20new%20cases%20of%20COVID-19_and%20one%20more%20death%20reported.pdf" target="_blank">4,944 people</a> out of a population of 173,000 had tested positive for COVID-19, and 159 had died.</p><p>This infection rate per capita exceeds those in hot spots such as <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/05/19/navajo-nation-has-most-coronavirus-infections-per-capita-in-us-beating-new-york-new-jersey/#11a4fac08b10" target="_blank">New York and New Jersey</a>. Importantly, however, it may also reflect a much <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/04/19/navajo-nation-has-higher/" target="_blank">more proactive approach to testing</a> on reservations than in many other jurisdictions.</p><p>The fact that elderly people are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 could worsen the pandemic's effects in Indian Country. Elders are the <a href="https://ais.washington.edu/research/publications/spirits-our-whaling-ancestors" target="_blank">keepers of traditional knowledge, tribal languages and culture</a> – legacies whose loss already threatens the persistence of indigenous communities.</p><p>Elders also play key roles in preserving traditional plant and medicine knowledge. In the absence of COVID-19 interventions from Western medicine, many elders have been called on to perform healing practices, which increases their exposure risk.</p>Little Help From Federal and State Governments
<p>Many tribal members rely on the federal government's <a href="https://www.ihs.gov/" target="_blank">Indian Health Service</a> for health care. But <a href="https://theconversation.com/tribal-leaders-face-great-need-and-dont-have-enough-resources-to-respond-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic-134372" target="_blank">lack of capacity</a> at the agency has hampered its response. Budget shortfalls, <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/report-grossly-inaccurate-data-used-to-divvy-up-relief-funds-for-tribes-9qkkHmeXj0uhRC42mXYqCA" target="_blank">inaccurate data</a>, the challenges of providing <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/coronavirus-risk-is-compounded-by-the-rural-DC-rMTUzzE6WDGee8jbENQ" target="_blank">rural health care</a> and ongoing personnel shortages in IHS clinics are compounded by staff being <a href="https://navajotimes.com/reznews/dikos-ntsaaigii-doodaa-nation-musters-defense-against-covid-19/" target="_blank">pulled away</a> to fight the virus in large cities.</p><p>And while many states have raised frustrations with the Trump administration's unwillingness to distribute protective supplies from the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/3/21206170/us-emergency-stockpile-jared-kushner-almost-empty-coronavirus-medical-supplies-ventilators" target="_blank">dwindling national stockpile</a>, IHS and tribal health care authorities <a href="https://www.azpm.org/p/home-articles-news/2020/3/17/167874-bill-calls-for-more-tribal-community-access-to-federal-stockpile-of-medical-supplies/" target="_blank">never had access</a> to the stockpile at all.</p><p>Although the federal government has begun <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/05/22/hhs-announces-500-million-distribution-to-tribal-hospitals-clinics-and-urban-health-centers.html" target="_blank">distributing relief funds</a> to IHS agencies, there have been serious problems with the accompanying supplies. The Navajo Nation has received <a href="https://www.indianz.com/News/2020/05/22/propublica-former-trump-aide-provided-fa.asp" target="_blank">faulty masks</a>, and a Seattle Native health center asked for tests but <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/native-american-health-center-asked-covid-19-supplies-they-got-n1200246" target="_blank">received body bags instead</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, federally imposed limits on tribal sovereignty have obstructed tribal governments' efforts to deal with the pandemic themselves. Federal and state governments are <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/makah-tribe-fights-coronavirus-with-self-reliance-and-extreme-isolation/" target="_blank">challenging tribes' jurisdictional authority</a> to <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/news/mayor-of-page-accused-of-racist-social-media-comment-toward-navajo-nation-president/article_e2e6efd6-8db4-11ea-a8a2-7f6976d702f6.html" target="_blank">close borders to tourists</a> who may carry the virus. South Dakota's governor has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/14/sioux-coronavirus-roadblocks-south-dakota-governor" target="_blank">threatened legal action</a> against two tribes who set up checkpoints to monitor incoming traffic on their reservations.</p><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1263623015209725952" id="twitter-embed-1263623015209725952" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1263623015209725952&created_ts=1590106178.0&screen_name=WestRiverEagle1&text=%23CheyenneRiverSiouxTribe+Chairman+Harold+Frazier%3A+Our+checkpoints+are+saving+lives+and+no+one%E2%80%99s+going+to+do+it+but%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FbAzHmY1CN6&id=1263623015209725952&name=West+River+Eagle+Official" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f93e7825d266dabf962ece41883a742"></iframe>
Environmental Injustices on Native Land
<p>Energy development and resource extraction have had <a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/898-all-our-relations" target="_blank">disproportionate impacts</a> on tribes for many years. Today, many Native American leaders worry that ongoing energy production – <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/covid-19-essential-workers-in-the-states.aspx" target="_blank">an "essential" activity under federal guidelines</a> will bring outsiders into close contact with reservation communities, worsening COVID risks.</p><p>The owners of the Keystone XL oil pipeline have announced that they intend to continue construction, which will bring an influx of workers along the proposed route through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and Fort Belknap Indian community in Montana have filed for a <a href="https://www.narf.org/keystone-xl/" target="_blank">temporary restraining order</a>, and a key permit for the pipeline was <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2020/4/16/headlines/us_judge_revokes_crucial_permit_for_keystone_xl_pipeline" target="_blank">revoked in April 2020</a>, but work continues at the U.S.-Canada border.</p><p>Construction is accelerating on the <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2020/03/17/border-patrol-waives-laws-border-wall-construction-southern-arizona/5063618002/" target="_blank">southern border wall</a>, which bisects the <a href="http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/" target="_blank">Tohono O'odham reservation</a> in Arizona and Mexico. The Trump administration has <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/border-coronavirus-military-immigration/" target="_blank">increased patrols at the border</a>, despite the tribe's concern that the patrols' presence is <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/04/06/coronavirus-cbp-160-cases-covid-19-officers-agents/2958736001/" target="_blank">spreading coronavirus</a> on the reservation.</p><p>And in Bristol Bay, Alaska, a salmon fishing season that brings in thousands of temporary workers is <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/it-s-hard-when-you-love-something-xlS49l2N20KZjqumwfzZfQ" target="_blank">set to open in June</a> because the federal government has also deemed commercial fishing "<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA-Guidance-on-Essential-Critical-Infrastructure-Workers-1-20-508c.pdf" target="_blank">essential critical infrastructure</a>." Many local Native villages depend on the fishery for income, but have nonetheless pleaded with state regulators to <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/urgent-calls-to-close-the-massive-bristol-bay-fishery-8lYsGkUeDUyCBW7FMwpSfA?fbclid=IwAR1710u4rQnriq_MgH2ueQxOFtfGiGiH8I2ZdJRCZS9f28Zl-JNkPLpnzZo" target="_blank">cancel the season</a>. The regional hospital has just four beds for possible COVID-19 patients.</p>Bold Action in Native Communities
<p>Native communities are taking decisive action to reduce the spread of COVID-19. They're imposing aggressive <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/coronavirus-navajo-nation.html" target="_blank">quarantine</a> measures like lockdowns, curfews and border closures. Communities are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/18/covidcoronavirus-native-american-lummi-nation-trailblazing-steps" target="_blank">ramping up health care capacity</a> and elder support services, and banishing nontribal members who <a href="https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/oglala-sioux-council-banishes-non-member-with-covid-19-from-reservation/article_60b665c3-9d1b-5d48-a576-51774e4fb41a.html" target="_blank">violate travel restrictions</a>.</p><p>Other strategies include helping hunters <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/ammo-fuel-for-hunters-to-feed-others-Ki3zK6du-ky-UogoB9-aNQ" target="_blank">provide traditional foods</a> to their communities, <a href="https://ndncollective.org/indigenizing-and-decolonizing-community-care-in-response-to-covid-19/" target="_blank">mobilizing to support tribal health care workers</a>, and <a href="https://www.ehn.org/coronavirus-native-americans-2645923635.html" target="_blank">linking the pandemic and the climate crisis</a>. Looking ahead to a post-COVID future, we believe one priority should be attending to <a href="http://www.beacon.org/As-Long-as-Grass-Grows-P1445.aspx" target="_blank">front-line environmental justice struggles</a> that center tribes' sovereignty to act on their own behalf at all times, not just during national crises.</p>From Your Site Articles
- Keystone XL Pipeline Construction to Forge Ahead During ... ›
- 2 Million Americans Lack Clean Water Access, Especially Native ... ›
- Navajo Nation Has Highest Covid-19 Infection Rate in the U.S. ... ›
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Nationwide states struggle to recruit, hire and train game wardens. Jason Erickson / Getty Images
By Jodi Helmer
In Georgia there are just 213 game wardens to enforce state fish and wildlife laws, investigate violations, assist with conservation efforts and collect data on wildlife and ecological changes across 16,000 miles of rivers and 37 million acres of public and private lands. Statewide 46 counties have no designated game warden at all. The shortage could lead to wildlife crimes going undetected.
<p>"The more officers we have in the field, the more contact those officers have with the public, the more violations we'll find," says Major Mike England, a game warden with the Law Enforcement Division of the <a href="https://gadnr.org/" target="_blank">Georgia Department of Natural Resources</a>. "The locals in the counties without game wardens are very vocal about it; it's like living in a town with no police department."</p><p>Georgia is not an anomaly. Nationwide states struggle to recruit, hire and train game wardens. These law-enforcement officers — also known as conservation officers, forest rangers, gamekeepers or wildlife troopers — are on the frontlines of conservation, but significant staffing shortages, especially in rural communities, put wildlife and the environment at risk.</p><p>It's not just an issue in the United States. A 2018 United Nations <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/publication/state-knowledge-crimes-have-serious-impacts-environment" target="_blank">report</a> noted a worldwide increase in environmental crimes and cited a "lack of capacity in the enforcement chain" as one of the major gaps in ability to respond.</p><p>And the current COVID-19 pandemic could exacerbate the problem.</p>
The Environment Pays the Price
<p>Environmental crimes like poaching, overfishing and illegal dumping threaten healthy ecosystems, and without adequate patrols can lead to declining wildlife populations, disease spread, increases in invasive species, erosion and contaminated waterways.</p><p>"People who want to cheat resources know which [ranger] stations are vacant and know that the odds of seeing a warden in the field are rare because regular patrols aren't happening," explains Larry Bonde, chairman of the <a href="https://dnr.wi.gov/about/wcc/" target="_blank">Wisconsin Conservation Congress</a>, a group of elected delegates who advise the state department of natural resources. "It's not just fish and game violations; if no one is visiting sensitive sites…there are a lot of things that get overlooked that could be spotted by [a game warden] patrolling the area."</p><p>In California, for example, game wardens with the Department of Fish and Wildlife are often the first to spot illegal cannabis cultivation sites — called trespass grows — where growers raze paths through national forests to access secluded sites, divert significant amounts of water to irrigate cannabis plants, and apply massive amounts of pesticides to keep wildlife from gnawing on the crops. Too few game wardens in the field could lead to massive environmental degradation before trespass grows are spotted.</p><p>Even when issues are spotted, Rick Langley, wildlife program manager for the <a href="https://www.azgfd.com/" target="_blank">Arizona Game and Fish Department</a> and president of the <a href="https://www.naweoa.org/" target="_blank">North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association</a>, believes that having too few game wardens in the field could have a negative impact on investigations and enforcement.</p><p>"[Game wardens] work really hard to fill in the gaps to protect natural resources," he says. "In areas with less officer presence or where officers are spread thin to cover vacant districts, it has the potential to leave investigations incomplete or not responded to or followed up on as thoroughly as they would have been if you had one officer assigned to the area."</p><p>Bonde agrees, adding, "If the station is vacant and there's a complaint, it won't be ignored, but it certainly isn't going to get the amount of attention it would if it had been a full-time posted station."</p><p>But filling vacant stations isn't always easy.</p><p>Several factors, including shrinking conservation budgets, declining numbers of qualified applicants, long hours, low wages and rural locations have all contributed to the dearth of game wardens working in the field.</p><p>Those who want to pursue careers in the field often fail to make it past initial screenings. In 2019 the Georgia Department of Natural Resources hired just 10 game wardens from a pool of 350 applicants. England notes that most of the applicants failed their physical fitness exam or polygraph test, removing them from consideration. The <a href="https://dnr.wi.gov/" target="_blank">Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources</a> graduated a class of 12 game wardens from a pool of more than 400 applicants.</p><p>"There has been a longstanding concern about the number of vacancies," notes Bonde. "[With too few officers in the field] it's not even possible for proper enforcement to occur."</p>
COVID Challenges
<p>These existing challenges are poised to get worse. The COVID-19 global health pandemic has triggered major budget cuts, further threatening funding for environmental conservation and could result in additional cuts to conservation districts that are already cash-strapped and understaffed.</p><p>"For agencies that receive funding [through state taxes and revenues], the repercussions from reduced tourism and businesses closing could have a very serious effect," says Langley. "We're hearing rumors about budget cuts and, in many areas, budget is one of the main reasons these positions go unfilled."</p><p>In 2019 the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources had 21 open positions across its 155 patrol areas; the number decreased (from 27 vacancies in 2019) but the state is facing a <a href="https://mn.gov/mmb-stat/budget/may-interim-budget-projection-slides.pdf" target="_blank">projected $2.42 billion budget deficit</a> as a result of the pandemic, which could threaten funding for the department.</p><p>In Montana the wardens working for Fish, Wildlife & Parks wrote 2,194 citations in 2018 compared to 4,027 a decade earlier. Game wardens suspect that there are not fewer wildlife crimes, just fewer officers to catch perpetrators. That number could drop again. The state, anticipating "significant revenue shortfalls" due to the pandemic, led legislators to request reducing state spending; the department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks could feel the sting.</p><p>To complicate matters, stay-at-home orders have led people to spend more time outdoors, hiking in national forests and boating and fishing on lakes. States like Vermont, North Dakota, Minnesota and New York have reported significant increases in the number of fishing licenses being issued, which means more anglers to monitor and too few game wardens to ensure no one is violating catch limits.</p>Targeting Solutions
<p>The seriousness of the issue has led some states to implement strategies to increase the number of game wardens in the field and provide additional support to keep them in their roles.</p><p>In fiscal year 2018-2019, the Minnesota legislature allocated an additional $2.8 million to help the Department of Natural Resources recruit, hire and train additional game wardens to help fill 28 vacant positions. The Arizona Fish and Game Department, which has 16 vacancies across its 80 conservation districts, ramped up recruitment efforts too, adding three classes to the law enforcement academy in 2020 (up from just one in previous years). It also hired an advisor to educate students graduating from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona about conservation careers.</p><p>Most departments also have ranger "tip lines" where the public can report violations. In addition to the hotlines, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources also installed 400 cameras across the state to help catch wildlife violations.</p><p>"Instead of a game warden sitting out at night for eight hours to watch for hunters spotlighting deer [an illegal practice that involves using a flashlight or headlights to locate wildlife while hunting after hours], we use cameras," England explains. "If we have problems with people dumping trash, sneaking in certain areas and fishing after hours or illegal hunting, we can hide one of these cameras and it sends the game warden a picture or a video of what's going on."</p><p>While Bonde supports the use of high-tech tools and hotlines to report potential conservation violations to help protect wildlife and the environment, he believes additional funding to get more game wardens in the field is essential, adding, "Without proper enforcement, there will always be people who cheat our natural resources."</p>
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People are having a hard time trying to understand what information is reliable and what information they can trust. Aekkarak Thongjiew / EyeEm / Getty Images
By Cathy Cassata
With more than 1.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and more than 100,000 deaths from the virus, physicians face unprecedented challenges in their efforts to keep Americans safe.
They also encounter what some call an "infodemic," an outbreak of misinformation that's making it more difficult to treat patients.
<p>"The most prevailing theme regardless of misinformation on a website or someone sharing a Facebook post is eroding trust. Medical experts and doctors who are trying to help patients, whether in general or in the office, [are seeing] the doctor-patient relationship being broken down over time and especially during this pandemic," <a href="https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/find-a-doctor/profiles/david-r-stukus" target="_blank">Dr. David Stukus</a>, associate professor of pediatrics in the division of allergy and immunology at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, told Healthline.</p><p>Stukus says people are having a hard time trying to understand what information is reliable and what information they can trust.</p><p>"Oftentimes their personal doctor may give them information that contradicts what they heard online or from someone else, and that really puts the patient in a tough position as they try to determine the best path forward for their own health," he said.</p><p>While misinformation online has been around for a while, Stukus says it has increased during the pandemic.</p>
<p>"Previously, there were different focuses of misinformation, such as anti-vaccine groups or conspiracy theorists or unsubstantiated claims about supplements. Now all those different areas are focused on one area, and that's COVID-19," he said.</p><p><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/experts/joe-pierre-md" target="_blank">Dr. Joseph M. Pierre</a>, health sciences clinical professor of psychiatry at University of California, Los Angeles, says the damage that misinformation can have depends on how much people's belief in the misinformation leads to behaviors that increase the risk of infection, worsen the course of the illness, or pose other risks in their own right.</p><p>"Most of the evidence falls into the first category: By not observing proper social distancing and not wearing masks, the risk of infection is greater. More cases mean more morbidity and more death and the potential to overwhelm medical resources," Pierre told Healthline.</p><p>Lack of understanding when it comes to proper use of masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers poses a challenge.</p><p>"If some people are not wearing masks, but others are stockpiling N95 masks and other PPE, that puts healthcare workers at risk," Pierre said.</p>
When Leaders and Doctors Spread Misinformation
<p>When people in charge of towns, cities, states, and countries spread misinformation, the potential for belief in misinformation to result in policies can have harmful effects.</p><p><a href="https://www.northwell.edu/find-care/find-a-doctor?q=Bruce+E.+Hirsch%2C+MD&insurance=&location=&query_type=provider&physician_partners=false&default_view=list&gender=&language=&sort=relevancy" target="_blank">Dr. Bruce E. Hirsch</a>, attending physician and assistant professor in the infectious disease division of Northwell Health in Manhasset, New York, says an example of this is when President Trump informed the public he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure.</p><p>"To approach this enormous challenge, we need some intellectual honesty and clarity, and to disregard expertise and to make decisions and model decisions based on hunches is inviting us to handle challenges on the basis of rumor and uninformed opinion. The magnitude of that error is epic," Hirsch told Healthline.</p><p>Stukus agrees, noting that the harm of this proclamation is documented.</p><p>"Early on when the president touted the benefits of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, people started to hoard this medicine, and state boards had to shut it down because they were getting so many prescriptions for this unproven therapy that it was not available for those who truly needed it, such as those who have lupus and autoimmune conditions," Stukus said.</p><p>He adds that calls to poison control centers increased after the president suggested using disinfectant to prevent contracting the new coronavirus.</p><p>"When people in charge who have large platforms make recommendations regarding treating and/or public health policies, their words absolutely matter because people will follow their advice. It's imperative that they base their recommendations upon evidence and expertise of doctors and other medical professionals," Stukus said.</p><p>Same goes for doctors spreading information that's contrary to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p><p>Stukus says as videos and dialogue from naysayer doctors spread on social media, it can be difficult to navigate.</p><p>"This is the next wave of misinformation. Certain political ideologies are using doctors to promote their agendas, so now you have someone who is qualified, and maybe they are giving information to counteract the CDC for instance. It's hard to reconcile that," he said.</p><p>His best suggestion is to research what studies and data they're sharing. Ensure that the studies are peer reviewed or published, and that the medical experts don't have a financial motive.</p><p>"If the source of information is also selling a product and/or service, they are by definition conflicted, so that should be a giant red flag. There are well-established tricks and marketing ploys that people will use often in the realm of pseudoscience where they will offer these explanations that aren't backed by evidence," Stukus said.</p><p>"As a general rule, if information is an extreme outlier, it's probably not accurate, or if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't," he added.</p>
Listen to Science, Even When it Changes
<p>When recommendations change or evidence flip-flops, skepticism may arise. However, Stukus says change is the beauty of science.</p><p>"That shows us that we can evolve, and if the evidence shows that our prior thoughts were incorrect, we need to be able to change our recommendations and advice based upon the best quality of evidence at the time," he said.</p><p>Pierre agrees.</p><p>"Science is an iterative process, whereby we arrive at facts and truth through repeated and controlled observations. That means that it's inherently self-correcting as we revise conclusions based on ongoing research. Scientific facts aren't immutable dogma chiseled on a tablet. They change based on the best available evidence we have at a given point in time," he said.</p><p>Because research of COVID-19 has only been underway for 6 months, information is evolving rapidly, and new information may contradict old.</p><p>"There's still much we don't know about exactly how [COVID-19] spreads, what effects it has on the body, or how to best treat it. That means that the best available evidence is preliminary, but that doesn't mean that we should ignore it or turn to other sources of information or opinion as if they're just as valid," Pierre said.</p><p>He explains that conspiracy theories based on mistrust lead to vulnerability to misinformation.</p><p>If people mistrust science because it sometimes "changes its mind," Pierre said, "that shouldn't be used to embrace other opinions based on no evidence at all, which are typically selected based on confirmation bias: what we want to believe rather than what the objective evidence supports."</p>Where to Find the Best Information
<p>Stukus says to start with the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html" target="_blank">CDC</a> and <a href="https://www.nih.gov/health-information/coronavirus" target="_blank">NIH</a>. Then check with your local health officials, because COVID-19 guidelines may vary depending on where you live.</p><p>If you can't find information you need or have questions specifically related to you, call your primary care doctor.</p><p>"Your personal doctor should always be a resource for individual specific questions because they know best how to apply all the nuances retaining to your health, and how to incorporate all the other general [COVID-19] recommendations," Stukus said.</p><p><a href="https://www.eehealth.org/find-a-doctor/b/boyd-laura-b/" target="_blank">Dr. Laura Boyd</a>, primary care physician at Edward-Elmhurst Health Center in Elmhurst, Illinois, says her clinic receives a lot of calls about COVID-19.</p><p>"Most doctors' offices are receiving calls and answering questions, and doing phone or video visits to help clarify and/or order testing over the phone based on patients' symptoms. It is always best to call your doctor's office first instead of worrying about symptoms and waiting too long to seek treatment," she told Healthline.</p><p>If your primary care doctor has limited testing, she suggests looking on your state's public health website for available testing sites.</p><p>With a lot of unknowns related to this virus and disease, Boyd says many patients are feeling overwhelmed and anxious for a treatment.</p><p>"Unfortunately, there is no specific medication recommended for COVID for outpatient. There are a lot of ongoing studies with various drugs going on within the hospital setting. Patients should always contact their doctors about their specific symptoms as they can treat the symptoms that go along with COVID, but there is no cure," Boyd said.</p><p>While we wait for treatment and a vaccine, Hirsch, who treats patients hospitalized for COVID-19 complications on a daily basis, says everyone can do their part by washing hands, wearing a mask, and staying 6 feet apart.</p><p>"As an infectious disease doctor working in the hospital, I see the damage of the pandemic and the worst cases of what's happening. We are trying to get the best possible outcome and confronting this overwhelming biologic reality of this terrible epidemic the best we can," Hirsch said.</p><p>Everyone at home can help in the fight too, he adds.</p><p>"Follow information that is science- and evidence-based, and avoid that which is not," he said.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Dr. Mark Brunswick (2R), Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality, walks through the lab at Sorrento Therapeutics in San Diego, California on May 22. ARIANA DREHSLER / AFP / Getty Images
By Julia Ries
Around the world, there have been several cases of people recovering from COVID-19 only to later test positive again and appear to have another infection.
<p>Such cases have had doctors and researchers puzzling over whether recovered people continue to be contagious, and if they could get a second infection.</p><p>Now, new <a href="https://www.cdc.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a30402000000&bid=0030" target="_blank">research</a> published by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that recovered COVID-19 patients who test positive again aren't infectious.</p><p>The study also found that most patients who recover have neutralizing antibodies — the type of antibody that confers immunity and protects people from getting sick again.</p><p>"This study addresses the question of whether patients who have recovered from COVID-19 are still infectious, and which is a question that has been troubling us for some time," said <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/doctors/heidi_zapata/" target="_blank">Dr. Heidi J. Zapata</a>, a Yale Medicine infectious disease doctor. "This study suggests that patients that are recovered are no longer contagious."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><a href="https://www.healthline.com/" target="_blank"><em>Healthline</em></a><em>. For detailed source information, please view the original article on </em><em><a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/people-reinfected-with-covid-19-werent-infectious" target="_blank">Healthline</a></em><em>.</em></p>
The Viral Material in Re-Positive Cases Isn’t Infectious
<p>The Korean study examined 285 patients who tested positive again for the new coronavirus after they recovered from COVID-19, which had been confirmed via a negative test result.</p><p>The researchers swabbed the patients and examined the viral material to determine whether it was still actively infectious.</p><p>The team was unable to isolate live viral material, indicating that the positive diagnostic tests were picking up dead virus particles.</p><p>"[This] may speak for the fact that the virus may be dead or not be fit enough to grow — therefore the virus may not be fit enough to infect a new host," said <a href="http://www.providence.org/doctors/profile/1099717-andres-romero" target="_blank">Dr. Andres Romero</a>, an infectious disease specialist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.</p><p>The researchers also tested 790 people who'd been in close contact with the "re-positive" patients. Of the 27 who tested positive, no cases appeared to be caused from exposure to someone who appeared to have a reinfection.</p><p>The report also found that the vast majority of recovered patients (96 percent) had neutralizing antibodies, indicating that they conferred immunity.</p><p>"Whether this is indicative of a completely protective response remains to be proven. If this study holds true, then people who have recovered can get back to work," Zapata said.</p><p>In response to the new findings, South Korea eliminated a policy requiring discharged patients to isolate for 2 weeks.</p>Conducting and Interpreting PCR Tests
<p>The tests widely used to diagnose COVID-19 are called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.</p><p>The tests swab a person's nose or throat and try to pick up the virus's genetic material, or RNA.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/faq.html" target="_blank">guidance</a> from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a positive result on a PCR test doesn't "necessarily mean infectious virus is present or that the patient is contagious."</p><p>Infectious disease experts have suspected that the test kits aren't picking up actively infectious viral material in recovered patients who test positive again, but rather dead remnants of the virus.</p><p>We see this occur with other viruses, too.</p><p>"We know other viruses like parainfluenza, human metapneumovirus, or RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] may linger for months in certain patients, and that does not represent infectious state," Romero said. "Coronavirus may be the same."</p>We Still Need to Practice Caution
<p>While the findings are promising, infectious disease experts say we still need to practice caution.</p><p>More research is needed to validate these findings and determine whether they apply to distinct parts of the population, such as those who are immunocompromised.</p><p>It's common for immunocompromised patients — such as those with cancer — to continue testing positive for a virus for longer, since it takes their immune system more time to clear the virus out of their body.</p><p>"I don't think we can be 100 percent certain of whether each recovered person is no longer contagious. Again, this may differ with distinct population groups," Zapata said.</p><p>Physicians are seeing some hospitalized patients testing positive for a month after they were first swabbed for COVID-19. It's unclear whether these patients still shed infectious virus, according to Zapata.</p><p>Everyone's body mounts a distinct immune response based on their age and overall health. Different individuals will clear the virus out at different speeds, according to Zapata.</p><p>Until we have more data and a preventive vaccine, it's crucial to continue adhering to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html" target="_blank">safety precautions</a> laid out by the CDC.</p><p>"The reality is that moving forward, the best approach will be keeping social/physical distancing, wearing a mask, and frequent hand hygiene in order to control the spread of the virus," Romero said.</p>The Bottom Line
<p>Doctors and researchers have been unsure whether people who recover from COVID-19 who test positive again continue to be contagious, or if they could get a second infection.</p><p>New <a href="https://www.cdc.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a30402000000&bid=0030" target="_blank">research</a> published by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that recovered COVID-19 patients who test positive again aren't infectious.</p><p>The study also found that most patients who recover have neutralizing antibodies that protect them from getting sick again.</p><p>Though the study is promising, health experts say we need more data to validate the findings and determine whether they apply to all patient populations.</p>From Your Site Articles
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with industry executives on the reopening of the U.S. economy in the State Dining Room May 29 in Washington, DC. Erin Schaff-Pool / Getty Images
By Jon Queally
President Donald Trump at a White House press conference on Friday announced he was "terminating" ties to the World Health Organization, even as the global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic nears 363,000 — including the more than 100,000 dead from the virus in the U.S., many attributed to his own mismanagement of the crisis.
<p>While bashing China for "having total control" over the international organization that is based in Geneva, Trump said that because of its refusal to submit to reforms demanded by the White House, "we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs."</p><p>Watch:</p>
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<p>Not surrounded by his Covid-19 Task Force that includes trusted public health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump made the announcement surrounded by top cabinet members, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.</p><p><a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">According</a> to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center's database, the global death toll from the pandemic sat at 362,554 on Friday afternoon just as Trump was speaking, with 102,201 of those in the U.S. — the country with the highest number of deaths, by far.</p><p>Trump has repeatedly deflected blame onto the WHO to mask his own failures, according to critics, many of whom pointed to Friday's development as the logical conclusion of what the U.S. president has been doing since the pandemic began nearly three months ago:</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1266443644803977217" id="twitter-embed-1266443644803977217" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1266443644803977217&created_ts=1590778668.0&screen_name=ThePlumLineGS&text=Now+that+Trump+is+terminating+our+relationship+with+WHO+and+blaming++them+for+his+own+failures%2C+here%27s+a+comparison%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FQJUdH0rgLI&id=1266443644803977217&name=Greg+Sargent" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="bf313f6832a04f7d61bd26b7e7ab5ccd"></iframe>
<p>"There is one rogue state in the world, and humanity would be better off if it terminated its relationship with existence," <a href="https://twitter.com/ajitxsingh/status/1266445907932798977" target="_blank">said</a> journalist Ajit Singh in terse response to Trump's announcement.</p><p>"When every single country in the world is able to work with the WHO, except for one whose president advocates treating coronavirus with bleach and UV light," Singh added, "who do you think is at fault?"</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/29/amid-global-pandemic-nearly-363000-dead-trump-terminates-us-ties-world-health" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Esben Østergaard, co-founder of Lifeline Robotics and Universal Robots, takes a swab in the World's First Automatic Swab Robot, developed with Thiusius Rajeeth Savarimuthu, professor at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute at The University of Southern Denmark. The University of Southern Denmark
By Richard Connor
The University of Southern Denmark on Wednesday announced that its researchers have developed the world's first fully automatic robot capable of carrying out throat swabs for COVID-19.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The equipment uses a 3D-printed disposable arm that is automatically swapped after each patient. The robot takes a swab with a specially designed disposable tool that hits the exact part of the throat from which the sample should be taken.</p><p>It then drops the swab into a jar and seals the sample by screwing the lid.</p><p>A team of ten researchers has been working around the clock to develop the prototype as quickly as possible.</p><p>"I was one of the first to be swabbed by the robot, project leader Professor Thiusius Rajeeth Savarimuthu told the university website "It went really well. I'm still sitting here."</p><p>"I was surprised at how softly the robot managed to land the swab at the spot in the throat where it was supposed to hit, so it was a huge success."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1265508926222741508" id="twitter-embed-1265508926222741508" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1265508926222741508&created_ts=1590555814.0&screen_name=TheEinarkist&text=A+Danish+robotics+research+team+headed+by+Professor+Thiusius+Rajeeth+Savarimuthu+from+SDU+Robotics+have+developed+a%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F0QAgY3ARsr&id=1265508926222741508&name=Einar+Petersen" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="8cb285f4499e0064625c4be2f61c988c"></iframe>
<p>The invention could help relieve healthcare workers from the monotonous work of testing. But crucially, it could also reduce their risk of exposure.</p><p>The team had found out about the demand for such equipment after speaking to research colleagues at Odense University Hospital.</p><p>Hospital medical director Kim Brixen said there was a great advantage in the fact that robots don't get tired and bored of monotonous work.</p>
<p>"Currently, healthcare professionals are carrying out throat swabs for Covid-19; but working conditions can be a challenge," said Brixen. "The task entails long working days of monotonous work. At the same time, the employees are in great demand in other functions."</p><p>A prototype to swab patients is expected by the end of June, with plans to have the robots ready for the market by autumn in the event of a second or third wave of the coronavirus.</p><p>It's also expected that the technology might be adapted to help with testing for other viruses, such as flu.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/danish-robot-swabs-throats-for-coronavirus/a-53592080?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646125352#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Former Federal Reserve Governor Rebukes Fed for Using Covid-19 Funds to Bail Out Fossil Fuel Industry
29 May
Politics
A former Federal Reserve board of governors member on Thursday called on her former colleagues to stop using Covid-19 relief funds to bail out the "dying" fossil fuel industry. Douglas Sacha / Getty Images
By Eoin Higgins
A former Federal Reserve board of governors member on Thursday called on her former colleagues to stop using Covid-19 relief funds to bail out the "dying" fossil fuel industry, calling the decision a threat to the planet's climate and a misguided use of taxpayer money.
<p>"These concessions to the fossil fuel industry are a risky investment in the past," Sarah Bloom Raskin <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/opinion/fed-fossil-fuels.html" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a <em>New York Times</em> op-ed. "The Fed is ignoring clear warning signs about the economic repercussions of the impending climate crisis by taking action that will lead to increases in greenhouse gas emissions at a time when even in the short term, fossil fuels are a terrible investment."</p>
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<p>Raskin's opinion piece sparked praise from climate campaigners like 350.org co-founder Jamie Henn.</p><p>"This should cause some waves," Henn <a href="https://twitter.com/jamieclimate/status/1266002932626886658" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p><p>Henn on Thursday <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/28/big-oil-pretending-it-doesnt-want-bailout-thats-bullshit" target="_blank">penned</a> an opinion piece for <em>Common Dreams</em> arguing that Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API), is spewing lies to the public when he claims the industry doesn't want—and hasn't actively pushed for—a bailout from the Fed.</p><p>As Henn wrote:</p><blockquote>The truth is that despite Sommer's best efforts to spin a fairytale about oil companies tightening their belts and lifting themselves up by their bootstraps, corporate socialism is exactly what API wants. In fact, the fossil fuel industry, and the American Petroleum Institute in particular, have been at the forefront of corporate efforts to profit off the coronavirus pandemic and government relief efforts.<br></blockquote>
<p>Climate advocacy group Friends of the Earth program manager Lukas Ross, in a statement Wednesday, also <a href="https://foe.org/news/api-ceo-spews-double-talk-on-polluter-bailout/" target="_blank">rejected</a> Sommers' protestations.</p><p>"Oil lobbyists are spewing blatant lies, and we have the receipts," said Ross. "Big Oil has already nabbed $1.9 billion in giveaways thanks to corporate tax cuts from the last stimulus."</p><p>"If polluters want to deny the existence of the ongoing bailout," Ross added, "Congress should swiftly repeal these blatant corporate tax giveaways and make fossil fuels ineligible for stimulus lending programs."</p>
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<p>The bailout is presenting taxpayers with a burden, Raskin wrote, citing the industry's debt and unsustainable business model.</p><p>"For taxpayers, shouldering these liabilities is a bad deal," wrote Raskin. "Buying this bad debt is not likely to support the creation of jobs or even ensure that existing jobs survive."</p><p>Friends of the Earth <a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/status/1265674388499763202" target="_blank">agreed</a>. </p><p>"Trump's administration has been exploiting this pandemic to bailout Big Oil companies that have been struggling long before coronavirus," the group tweeted.</p><p>The pandemic, wrote Raskin, "provides an unexpected opportunity to build an economy that is stronger in the long term."</p><p>"The decisions that the Fed makes today will go a long way to determining whether tomorrow's economy is one that remains susceptible to more chaos and vulnerability or builds economic security and resilience," she wrote.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/28/former-federal-reserve-governor-rebukes-central-bank-using-covid-19-lending-power" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Lyme Disease Symptoms Could Be Mistaken for COVID-19, With Serious Consequences
29 May
Health + Wellness
This summer, the global emergence of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 is presenting a whole new set of challenges for diagnosing Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. fhm / Getty Images
By Jory Brinkerhoff
Summer is field season for ecologists like me, a time when my colleagues, students and I go out into fields and woods in search of ticks to study the patterns and processes that allow disease-causing microbes – primarily bacteria and viruses – to spread among wildlife and humans.
<p>That field work means we're also at risk of getting the very diseases we study. I always remind my crew members to pay close attention to their health. If they get a fever or any other signs of sickness, they should seek medical treatment immediately and tell their doctor that they may have been exposed to ticks.</p><p>When summer <a href="http://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01680-06" target="_blank">flu-like illnesses</a> develop in anyone who spends time outdoors in areas where ticks are common, tick-transmitted diseases like Lyme disease should be considered a likely culprit.</p><p>This summer, however, the global emergence of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 is presenting a whole new set of challenges for diagnosing Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.</p><p>Lyme disease <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html" target="_blank">shares a number of symptoms</a> with COVID-19, including fever, achiness and chills. Anyone who mistakes Lyme disease for COVID-19 could unknowingly delay necessary medical treatment, and that can lead to severe, potentially debilitating symptoms.</p>
Delaying Medical Treatment Can Be Dangerous
<p>As we move from spring into summer, and into the peak period of tick activity in much of the Northern Hemisphere, time spent outdoors will increase, as will risk of tick-transmitted disease.</p><p>In some cases, there are key symptoms of a tick-transmitted disease that can help with diagnosis. For example, early Lyme disease, which is caused by the bite of an infected black-legged tick, sometimes called the deer tick, is commonly associated with an expanding "bull's-eye rash." <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html" target="_blank">Seventy percent to 80% of patients have this symptom</a>.</p><p>However, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html" target="_blank">other symptoms</a> of Lyme disease – fever, head and body aches and fatigue – are less distinctive and can be easily confused with other illnesses, including COVID-19. This can make it more difficult to diagnose a patient who did not notice a rash or was unaware that they ever had a tick bite. As a result, Lyme disease cases can be <a href="http://doi.org/10.4081/or.2011.e14" target="_blank">misdiagnosed</a>. Nationally, Lyme disease may be undercounted to the point that only <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/index.html" target="_blank">one in 10 cases is reported to the CDC</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0NjgyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDA5OTY3M30.9JOKMOkEGl8NKGYZVQ2EiZdM-EOJSGik1RQcXzOLGYc/img.jpg?width=980" id="7dd4c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="44310f09395ac721821ec8b304d4b213" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A student plucks samples off a drag cloth used to collect ticks. Jory Brinkerhoff/University of Richmond, CC BY-SA
<p>If Lyme disease is identified and treated quickly, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/treatment/index.html" target="_blank">two to four weeks of antibiotics</a> can usually knock out <em>Borrelia burgdorferi</em>, the species of spirochete bacteria that causes it.</p><p>But delays in the treatment of Lyme disease <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2016.90" target="_blank">can lead to more severe and persistent symptoms</a>. If Lyme disease goes untreated, <a href="https://www.columbia-lyme.org/signs-and-symptoms" target="_blank">neurological and cognitive problems</a> and <a href="https://www.healio.com/cardiology/practice-management/news/online/%7Bcb44ad64-eb7c-4ccd-b320-ac529225468a%7D/cardiologists-know-the-signs-of-lyme-disease" target="_blank">potentially fatal heart problems</a> can develop, and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2015.02.004" target="_blank">painful arthritis that is much more difficult to treat</a> can set in.</p>Lyme Disease Isn’t the Only Tick Problem
<p>Lyme disease is most common in the Northeast and North Central U.S., but that does not mean that people in areas without Lyme disease are free from worry about tick-transmitted disease. Ticks throughout North America can spread a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/index.html" target="_blank">wide range of diseases,</a> many of which also present with flu-like symptoms, leading to the potential for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.06.005" target="_blank">misdiagnosis</a>, especially when these diseases are not especially common in the general population.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0NjgyNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODY4MzA0OX0.mFe7XWGsjXcq9L8gluGa78LpPsR8Dfu2agIkRGdonLo/img.jpg?width=980" id="015b6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="54c6dcce90aafe4dbcf9a4ae0851de17" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A closeup of a tick's head under an electron microscope. Fernando Otalora-Luna/University of Richmond, CC BY 4.0
<p>Spotted fevers are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/otherspottedfever/index.html" target="_blank">another group of tick-transmitted diseases</a>. The most severe of these is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can be fatal. Spotted fevers, as the name suggests, are typically associated with a rash. But the rash may not show until after fever and other flu-like symptoms, creating the same risk of being mistaken for COVID-19. Like Lyme disease, spotted fevers <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/otherspottedfever/treatment/index.html" target="_blank">can be treated with anitibiotics</a>, and early treatment can head off more severe infections, so quick, accurate diagnosis is critical.</p>Is COVID-19 Increasing Chances of Tick Bites?
<p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-coronavirus-has-changed-animals-landscape-of-fear/" target="_blank">Recent reports</a> from across the nation and around the globe suggest that wildlife have become more bold this spring, wandering into suburbs and cities where human and vehicle traffic are reduced because of COVID-19.</p><p>Whether this phenomenon is being driven by changes in animal behavior or is simply an artifact of humans spending <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/wildlife-in-cities-covid-shutdown/" target="_blank">more time in their homes and becoming more aware of their surroundings</a> is not clear, but changes in wildlife behavior and habitat use could affect tick-transmitted disease. For example, white-tailed deer are important hosts to multiple human-biting tick species in eastern North America, including black-legged ticks, and more deer around our homes and in our neighborhoods could lead to more ticks that have a chance to bite humans.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0NjgyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTk5OTQ0OH0.Ap0XdjFIZ_4RmgLP345lKNAAWogwM9mkGqGywRs_GvI/img.jpg?width=980" id="0ea86" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="870987f90607651d8c947501320138dd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A closeup of a tick's mouth parts under an electron microscope shows the barbs that allow it to hang on after it penetrates skin. Fernando Otalora-Luna/University of Richmond, CC BY-SA
<p>Ticks do not move very far by themselves – <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1948-7134.2009.00034.x" target="_blank">perhaps about a foot per day for some species</a> – but can be dispersed dozens of miles or more while hitching a ride on a highly mobile host like a deer, coyote or bird. Thus, the wildlife we observe exploring our neighborhoods while we are encouraged to stay at home may be leaving behind ticks that are carrying pathogens, or that could acquire infection from the more common wildlife already near our homes.</p>Staying Safe
<p>Awareness is a key component of preventing and treating tick-borne disease. People should be aware of the activities that could <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/prev/index.html" target="_blank">expose them to ticks</a>, and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10780095/" target="_blank">physicians should consider the possibility of tick-borne disease</a>, especially given the potential overlap in symptoms with COVID-19.</p><p>As with COVID-19, mitigation efforts can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/prev/on_people.html" target="_blank">substantially reduce the risk</a> of tick-borne diseases. Wear long sleeves and long pants and use an <a href="https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents" target="_blank">EPA-registered repellent</a> when you are in tick habitat, and check yourself thoroughly for ticks when you get home.</p><p>It is important to be aware of ticks when spending time outside, but fear of ticks should not stop people from enjoying nature. </p>From Your Site Articles
- Ticks Spread Plenty More for You to Worry About Beyond Lyme ... ›
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Trending
World Health Organization Launches WHO Foundation, Allowing Public Donations
28 May
Health + Wellness
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says this is a historic step for the group. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / Getty Images
By Linda Lacina
World Health Organization officials today announced the launch of the WHO Foundation, a legally separate body that will help expand the agency's donor base and allow it to take donations from the general public.
<p>The foundation will accept funding from non-traditional sources, including individual major donors, corporate partners and the general public. Until now the WHO has been one of the few international organizations which has not traditionally received donations from the general public.</p><p>"This is a historic step," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.<br></p>
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<p>The group's funding has gained unprecedented scrutiny in recent weeks after US President Trump has paused funding to the WHO.</p><p>While the group has a relatively modest budget for its scope ($<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-foundation/who-creates-foundation-to-boost-funding-in-coronavirus-fight-idUSKBN2332GY" target="_blank">2.3 billion</a>, similar to a mid-sized hospital in the developed world, as<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/0520-who-briefing/" target="_blank"> explained last week</a>), flexible funding sources have been needed for some time, said the Director-General.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/fact-sheet/the-u-s-government-and-the-world-health-organization/" target="_blank">agency's funding comprises</a> contributions from member states, which are flexible, and voluntary contributions earmarked for fixed purposes. Whereas 40 years ago, 80% of the funding was flexible and could be used at the organization's discretion, now that share has shrunk to 20%, the Director-General <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/0520-who-briefing/not%20received%20donations%20from%20the%20general%20public." target="_blank">said recently</a>.</p><p>"In effect, that means WHO has little discretion over the way it spends its funds, almost 80% of its funds," he said at today's briefing. "In order to improve flexibility, we need to have additional resources and un-earmarked resources."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMyNzY0My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODg1Njg0OX0.Bmzp5no4Mun-lxr3rGuBKAHhWjsQZPN52__pTpZo22g/img.png?width=980" id="66f7f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76bd3567f39608fc3d64af3143dc95b2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
<p>The foundation has been in <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/world-health-organization-who-coronavirus-press-conference-may-27" target="_blank">development since February 2018</a>, said the Director-General, and was not created in response to the recent US funding pause. The idea surfaced through a regular 'Open Hour" session where WHO staff are encouraged to come to the Director-General and "generate crazy ideas" to transform the organization.</p><p>A COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, launched this spring, helped serve as a proof of concept for the foundation. The fund, created in response to the coronavirus crisis, has raised $214 million USD from more than 400,000 individuals and companies in just two and a half months.</p><p>The Response Fund will continue to assist the coronavirus effort, buying lab diagnostics, personal protective equipment, and funding research and development. The WHO Foundation, meanwhile, will have a broader mission, funding all elements of WHO's public health work including: mental health, noncommunicable diseases, emergency preparedness, and health system strengthening.</p><p>"The foundation will enhance and complement the global health's ecosystem by providing agility flexibility in receiving contributions and grant making, accelerating WHO-led evidence-based interventions, and focusing on high impact intervention and partnerships," explained Professor Thomas Zeltner, a Swiss physician who serves as chair of the board of the WHO Foundation.</p>
<p>A WHO representative will attend foundation board meetings and report to member states on its interaction with the foundation and funds received from it.</p><p>The foundation will ultimately help the WHO focus efforts on promoting good health, rather than just grappling with disease. Additional funding can help the agency invest in some of its least funded areas such as diet or air quality.</p><p>"Our focus should not be in managing disease," said the Director-General, "but in preventing it from happening and in helping people to lead a healthy life."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/new-who-foundation-will-help-broaden-the-agency-s-donor-base-covid-19-who-briefing/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>
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Because of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, in-person sessions are less possible. Merlas / Getty Images
By Nicholas Joyce
The coronavirus has resulted in stress, anxiety and fear – symptoms that might motivate a person to see a therapist. Because of social distancing, however, in-person sessions are less possible. For many, this has raised the prospect of online therapy. For clients in need of warmth and reassurance, could this work? Studies and my experience suggests it does.
<p><a href="https://www.usf.edu/student-affairs/counseling-center/about-us/joyce-nick.aspx" target="_blank">I am a psychologist</a> and counselor at the University of South Florida. When <a href="https://www.usf.edu/student-affairs/counseling-center/" target="_blank">our center</a> named me its online assisted therapies coordinator, many of the staff initially pushed back at the notion of providing services through the screen. These negative attitudes toward telehealth should have surprised me. After all, its antecedent, telephone crisis lines, have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.338" target="_blank">accepted and effective</a> for decades.</p><p>But my field of therapy <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/over-simulated/201003/be-warned-online-therapy-is-not-therapy-not-really" target="_blank">has often been disdainful</a> of telehealth, opposed to "warm" psychotherapy work performed via a "cold" screen. Its resistance to the concept <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gy344w/a-psychologists-take-on-why-online-therapy-isnt-as-effective-as-the-real-thing" target="_blank">has changed little</a> over the years.</p><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100206" target="_blank">Research suggests</a>, however, that online therapy works just as well as traditional face-to-face therapy. Studies, looking at outcomes for clients and the quality of their relationships with therapists, found them equal across telehealth and in-person conditions. Since this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15228830802094429" target="_blank">meta-analysis</a> (92 studies and 9,000 clients), <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2014.854675" target="_blank">many other studies</a> have confirmed the value of teletherapy.</p>
Telehealth Versus Traditional Therapy
<p><a href="https://www.cigna.com/hcpemails/telehealth/telehealth-flyer.pdf" target="_blank">Private insurance companies</a> like Cigna and Aetna, have come around; they now provide coverage for what they see as a "legitimate" service. And <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-wells-2019-consumer-survey-finds-majority-of-consumers-open-to-telehealth-adoption-continues-to-grow-300906438.html" target="_blank">surveys show</a> consumers are receptive to telehealth counseling: no driving to an appointment, no searching for a parking space, no worries about childcare while they're away, no need to switch providers if they move, and no problem if the specialist happens to be far away.</p><p>Online therapy opens doors for clients who wouldn't otherwise seek help, <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/empirical-examination-of-the-influence-of-personality-gender-role-conflict-and-self-stigma-on-attitudes-and-intentions-to-seek-online-counseling-in-college-students/oclc/941976505" target="_blank">particularly patients</a> who feel stigmatized by therapy or intimidated by a stranger sitting across the room from them. Often, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/1094931041291295" target="_blank">people open up</a> more easily in telehealth sessions. Firsthand accounts have detailed <a href="https://www.romper.com/p/i-tried-online-therapy-for-a-month-this-is-what-happened-13630" target="_blank">positive experiences from consumers</a>.</p>Overcoming Prejudices About Online Counseling
<p>Now COVID-19 is forcing most traditional psychotherapists to adapt their practice to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/expressive-trauma-integration/202003/covid-19-etherapy-in-times-isolation" target="_blank">online counseling</a>. After experiencing the medium, they are <a href="https://www.wecounsel.com/blog/why-every-therapist-in-private-practice-needs-a-telehealth-option/" target="_blank">overcoming their prejudices</a>. Many will convert some or all of their caseloads to telehealth after the pandemic ends. Most of our clients seem to be good with it: responding to a satisfaction survey, 85% of USF students strongly or somewhat agreed their telehealth experience was comparable to an in-person visit.</p><p>All this allows a continuity of care for clients that before was impossible; there is, however, a caveat. Because of the coronavirus, some of my clients at USF who live out-of-state have moved back home. That means, legally, I can no longer serve them. Even though they are still USF students, my license is valid only in Florida.</p><p>For telehealth to work effectively, our national system of licensing and regulation law needs to adapt. Although the federal government temporarily halted HIPAA regulations to promote telehealth during this time, not all states are allowing out-of-state practice. The coronavirus may not be here forever, but spring break and Christmas holidays always will. We need seamless telehealth across state lines.</p><p>That said, my own counseling center quickly transitioned to remote-only. Although most of the therapists can't wait to get back into the office, they are appreciative they can serve students in need. Certainly many clients and therapists will gladly return to face-to-face sessions, but now they know the tool of telehealth will always be available, if and when needed.</p><p>So much is changing. Now, consumers can easily access online therapy. Free e-books are available; one dealing directly with the pandemic is "<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/117HY4z4mY5izJpR44ejuZ8rhTyoWEGEG/view" target="_blank">FACE COVID</a>," by Russ Harris. Apps are around too – some free, some paid. Check out <a href="https://www.psyberguide.org/" target="_blank">the website psyberguide.org</a> to vet them. Asking for suggestions online will help as well.</p><p>Your insurance may allow you to talk to a licensed professional who does online therapy. Most major insurers have a list of them on their website. If you're uninsured, most communities have free or low-cost mental health clinics. Many universities have them too. Also, <a href="https://openpathcollective.org/" target="_blank">online directories</a> can point you to places that <a href="https://www.coronavirusonlinetherapy.org/" target="_blank">offer services</a> on a sliding scale, depending on your income, from pro bono to US$60 a session.</p><p>After years of dismissing telemedicine, practitioners are getting past their biases in barely a few weeks. Telehealth has allowed psychotherapy to continue unabated. More people who need help will now get it. I'm sad our profession needed COVID-19 to address telehealth, but the benefits will last for generations. </p>
<p>
<em>Nicholas Joyce is a Psychologist at University of South Florida.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: Nicholas Joyce is affiliated with USF and his private practice.</em><br/>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-therapy-having-its-moment-bringing-insights-on-how-to-expand-mental-health-services-going-forward-136374" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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"Most of this fossil fuel finance flowed to wealthier countries," the report says, noting that China (pictured), Canada, Japan, and Korea provided the most public finance for dirty energy projects from 2016 to 2018.
Kevin Frayer / Stringer / Getty Images
Kevin Frayer / Stringer / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Even after the world's largest economies adopted the landmark Paris agreement to tackle the climate crisis in late 2015, governments continued to pour $77 billion a year in public finance into propping up the fossil fuel industry, according to a report released Wednesday.
<p>The new <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2020/05/27/g20-still-digging/" target="_blank">report</a>, from Oil Change International and Friends of the Earth (FOE) U.S., focuses on financing for oil, gas, and coal projects from members of the Group of 20 (<a href="https://g20.org/en/about/Pages/whatis.aspx" target="_blank">G20</a>), which comprises governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union.</p><p>Although U.S. President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/11/04/delivering-catastrophic-message-moment-great-urgency-trump-formally-begins-ditching" target="_blank">began</a> the one-year withdrawal process for ditching the Paris accord in November 2019 after years of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/01/destructive-fossil-fuel-puppet-trump-ditches-climate-deal-fact-free-speech" target="_blank">threats</a>, other G20 nations remain committed to the agreement, which aims to keep global temperature rise well below 2°C (35.6 F) and further limit it to 1.5°C (34.7 F) by 2100.</p><p>Despite their public commitments to the Paris agreement, "G20 countries continue to subsidize the fossil fuel industry even as it makes bad business decisions that hurt people and the planet," FOE U.S. senior international policy analyst Kate DeAngelis <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/27/report-g20-governments-bankrolling-fossil-fuel-industry-least-77-billion-year" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement.</p><p>"Our planet is hurtling towards climate catastrophe and these countries are pouring gasoline on the fire to the tune of billions," she said. "We must hold G20 governments accountable for their promises to move countries toward clean energy. They have an opportunity to reflect and change their financing so that it supports clean energy solutions that will not exacerbate bad health outcomes and put workers at greater risk."</p>
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<p>The new report—<a href="http://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2020/05/G20-Still-Digging.pdf" target="_blank"><em>Still Digging: G20 Governments Continue to Finance the Climate Crisis</em> </a>(pdf)—warns that "with the health and livelihoods of billions at immediate risk from Covid-19, governments around the world are preparing public spending packages of a magnitude they previously deemed unthinkable."</p><blockquote>In normal times, development finance institutions (DFIs), export credit agencies (ECAs), and multilateral development banks (MDBs) already had an outsized impact on the overall energy landscape and more capacity than their private sector peers to act on the climate crisis. In the current moment, their potential influence has multiplied, and it is imperative that they change course. The fossil fuel sector was showing long-term signs of systemic decline before Covid-19 and has been quick to seize on this crisis with requests for massive subsidies and bailouts. We cannot afford for the wave of public finance that is being prepared for relief and recovery efforts to prop up the fossil fuel industry as it has in the past. Business as usual would exacerbate the next crisis—the climate crisis—that is already on our doorstep.<br></blockquote><p>As Oil Change International research analyst Bronwen Tucker put it: "Fossil fuel corporations know their days are numbered. Their lobbyists are using the Covid-19 crisis as cover to try to secure the massive new government handouts they need to survive."</p><p>Echoing <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/26/hundreds-medical-professionals-and-groups-say-covid-19-stimulus-plans-must-be" target="_blank">recent calls</a> from climate campaigners, advocacy groups, progressive policymakers, and healthcare professionals, the report urges G20 governments and multilateral development banks to support a global, just recovery to the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>"Government money must instead support a just transition from fossil fuels that protects workers, communities, and the climate—both at home and beyond their borders," said Tucker. "Instead of bankrolling another major crisis—climate change—our governments should invest in a resilient future."</p><p>Based on information from Oil Change International's Shift the Subsidies database, the report details financing from public institutions controlled by G20 governments—DFIs, ECAs, and MDBs. Key findings include that support for the fossil fuel industry has "stayed steady" since the Paris agreement and ECAs are "the worst public finance actors."</p><p>"Most of this fossil fuel finance flowed to wealthier countries," the report says, noting that China, Canada, Japan, and Korea provided the most public finance for dirty energy projects from 2016 to 2018.</p>
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<p><em>Still Digging</em> examines just one way these nations support planet-wrecking oil, gas, and coal projects, acknowledging that "unlike the 2017 version of this report, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/05/talk-cheap-g20-told-end-public-subsidy-all-dirty-fuels-2020" target="_blank"><em>Talk is Cheap</em></a>, it does not include public finance directly from G20 government departments due to a gross lack of transparency."</p><p>The report also doesn't cover "majority government-owned banks without a clear policy mandate, sovereign wealth funds, or public finance institutions with subnational governance," or "subsidies to fossil fuel production at the national level in G20 state budgets, which previous analysis has indicated may provide an additional $80 billion per year in support to fossil fuel production."</p><p>However, <em>Still Digging</em> suggests that G20 public finance institutions—as entities owned by governments party to the Paris accord—could be catalysts for more climate-friendly financing decisions "due to their economic and political power."</p><p>"Private and public financial investors alike will need to shift rapidly," the report says, "but the role of public institutions is unique because of both their outsized influence on energy finance and their capacity and mandate to lead on climate action."</p>
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<p>More than 30 groups from across the globe endorsed the report—including Justica Ambiental, or FOE Mozambique, which has worked to raise alarm about international public finance supporting the expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in southern African country.</p><p>"It is unacceptable that such a high investment, which will provide billions of profits for foreign companies like Total, is contributing to the impoverishment and oppression of already vulnerable local communities," said Justica Ambiental director Anabela Lemos.</p><p>"Peasant and fishing families have lost their livelihoods for a lifetime," Lemos added. "The discovery of gas has stolen their identity and failed to provide them with the conditions stipulated in the so-called community consultation processes."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/27/new-report-details-how-g20-nations-spend-77-billion-year-destroy-climate" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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