Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed

CNN: Meet 'Gen C,' The Covid Generation
Some experts have started to use a new term to talk about seismic changes they're seeing -- changes that could cause ripple effects in children's lives far into the future. They've given a new name to the world's newest generation: Gen C, or Generation Covid. "Covid is such a big mega-event in human history," says Haim Israel, head of thematic investing for BofA Global Research, who described Gen C in a widely cited report last year. "It's going to be the most defining moment for this generation." (Shoichet, 3/11)

The Washington Post: How The Coronavirus Devastated A Generation
In one of the hardest-hit parts of the West’s most aged nation, the coronavirus blitzed through a generation in a matter of weeks. It killed more than 100 of 400 residents in the local nursing home. It forced this city to rush-order eight refrigerated trailers to hold the corpses. It created a horrifying landscape of ambulances racing to the private homes of seniors, who were dying at a rate 400 percent above the norm. “The pain was atrocious,” said Gilberto Anelli, 82, who lost his wife of 57 years and now starts every morning speaking to her photograph. (Harlan and Pitrelli, 3/3)

The Atlantic: Unlocking The Mysteries Of Long COVID
The quest at mount sinai began with a mystery. During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City, Zijian Chen, an endocrinologist, had been appointed medical director of the hospital’s new Center for Post-COVID Care, dedicated both to research and to helping recovering patients “transition from hospital to home,” as Mount Sinai put it. One day last spring, he turned to an online survey of COVID‑19 patients who were more than a month past their initial infection but still experiencing symptoms. Because COVID‑19 was thought to be a two-week respiratory illness, Chen anticipated that he would find only a small number of people who were still sick. That’s not what he saw. (O'Rourke, 3/8)

The Atlantic: The Differences Between The Vaccines Matter
There’s a problem here. It’s certainly true that all three of the FDA-authorized vaccines are very good—amazing, even—at protecting people’s health. No one should refrain from seeking vaccination on the theory that any might be second-rate. But it’s also true that the COVID-19 vaccines aren’t all the same: Some are more effective than others at preventing illness, for example; some cause fewer adverse reactions; some are more convenient; some were made using more familiar methods and technologies. As for the claim that the vaccines have proved perfectly and equally effective at preventing hospitalization and death? It’s just not right. (Bastian, 3/7)

The Wall Street Journal: How Covid-19 Will Shape Sports—Even After The Pandemic Fades 
In the first major American sports event after a novel coronavirus shuttered sports last spring, millions watched NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announce draft picks from his basement while the league’s coaches and general managers made their decisions from home offices. Sports has changed a lot since the NBA shut down on a jarring night last March 11. Leagues rushed to change the way they operate in order to play through the spread of a deadly virus. Protocols were instituted. Bubbles were constructed. Stadiums were emptied. Rules were changed.  (Beaton, 3/9)

Politico: In 2018, Diplomats Warned Of Risky Coronavirus Experiments In A Wuhan Lab. No One Listened.
On January 15, in its last days, President Donald Trump’s State Department put out a statement with serious claims about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. The statement said the U.S. intelligence community had evidence that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory were sick with Covid-like symptoms in autumn 2019—implying the Chinese government had hidden crucial information about the outbreak for months—and that the WIV lab, despite “presenting itself as a civilian institution,” was conducting secret research projects with the Chinese military. The State Department alleged a Chinese government cover-up and asserted that “Beijing continues today to withhold vital information that scientists need to protect the world from this deadly virus, and the next one.” The exact origin of the new coronavirus remains a mystery to this day, but the search for answers is not just about assigning blame. Unless the source is located, the true path of the virus can’t be traced, and scientists can’t properly study the best ways to prevent future outbreaks. (Rogin, 3/8)

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The Washington Post: Black Women’s Health Problems During Menopause Haven’t Been A Focus Of Medicine. Experts And Activists Want To Change That. 
As they mark life’s milestones, Black women, by many measures, have worse health outcomes than White women. They experience higher rates of infant and maternal mortality, lower rates of cervical and ovarian cancer survival, and less access to hospice care. Even menopause is different, with Black women experiencing more hot flashes and night sweats than White women. Although a two-decade study of women of different races and ethnicities has provided insight into the health problems related to menopause and aging, questions persist about how the health of Black women during and after menopause, particularly their experience of hot flashes, is affected by their lived experience. (Vander Schaaff, 3/6)

The Washington Post: What Really Works To Help An Aging Brain. It’s Not Going To Function Like It Did In Your 20s, But There Are Things You Can Do. 
When you reach a certain age, every lost key or hard-to-conjure word comes with a nagging question — is my mind slipping? The answer, unfortunately, is probably yes, but that doesn’t mean that you’re becoming senile or have something to worry about, says Denise Park, distinguished university chair in behavioral and brain sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. Most people experience a little bit of forgetfulness as they get older, particularly in their 60s and 70s, Park says, and this is the result of subtle changes in processing speed that begin in your 20s. Initially, these changes are too small to perceive, but eventually they become noticeable. (Aschwanden, 3/7)

The New York Times: The Long, Sad Decline Of Mark Pavelich, A ‘Miracle On Ice’ Star 
C.T.E., which can be diagnosed only after death, has been found in dozens of former athletes who had mental difficulties later in life. The N.F.L. star Junior Seau, as well as other athletes who died by suicide, was found to have had the type of brain damage associated with C.T.E. The news of Mark Pavelich’s death angered at least one teammate who had tried to help him through his mental and legal difficulties — Barry Beck, a former Ranger. Since Pavelich was declared “mentally ill and dangerous” by a county court judge in 2019, Beck had used Facebook to provide updates on Pavelich’s condition, and to call on the N.H.L. to do more to help former players struggling with mental illness that might stem from head injuries. (Boudette, 3/9)