Viewpoints: Start To Get Ready Now For Upcoming Mental Health Crisis; Gathering Data On People Who Get Sick Could Help With Reopenings

Los Angeles Times: How To Prepare For Second Pandemic — Of Mental Health Issues 
When she was in her late 70s, my late grandmother Henrietta became an unofficial mental health provider. Often housebound because of physical ailments, Grandma needed a volunteer effort she could do from her living room, so she became involved with the Jewish Family Services agency, calling half a dozen seniors every week. The people she was assigned needed a sympathetic ear, and she’d talk for hours with them — about family, memories and the things that mattered in their lives. My grandmother was the “service provider,” but she received as much as she gave. She had no formal training or license, just the gift of connecting and the will to help. (Darrell Steinberg, 5/11)

Dallas Morning News: Coronavirus’s Next Victim? Our Mental Health
The coronavirus has delivered traumatic blows to our collective mental well-being that are as invisible as the virus itself, and in many ways, just as damaging. Devastating job losses and the coronavirus’s lethal toll have led to increased anxiety, depression, addiction and other psychological trauma. While it may not be as obvious as job losses and coronavirus fatalities, the nation is on the cusp of a spiraling mental health crisis, experts say. These warnings should not go unheeded, mostly because history is a good teacher. The World Trade Center attacks, mass shootings, the Great Recession and massive hurricanes all triggered serious depression, anxiety, domestic violence, child abuse and other behavioral disorders. In each instance, the negative impact on mental health persisted over long time periods, and there is no reason to think that this crisis will be different. (5/11)

The Wall Street Journal: More Covid-19 Patient Data, Please
President Trump said last week that he plans to refocus the White House coronavirus task force on reopening the economy, and one area that deserves more attention is data collection. More states are starting to gather information on the underlying health conditions of people who get sick with coronavirus. That will help doctors identify and treat high-risk patients, but information on the habits of infected individuals will also be important to guide reopening plans. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed hospitals to begin asking new coronavirus patients for their occupation, usual transportation mode and neighborhood. Although New York has been shut down for seven weeks, several thousand people are still testing positive and hundreds are being hospitalized each day. (5/10)

The New York Times: Leave NYC's Coronavirus Contact Tracing To The Pros 
Much is uncertain about New York City’s future amid coronavirus — the timeline for reopening, the timeline for development of treatments and a vaccine. But one thing has remained clear: In order to safely reopen, cities like New York must develop the capacity to regularly test portions of the population, trace the spread of the virus and isolate those who have been exposed. And as the count of those struggling both in health and finances continues to mount, time is of the essence. New York needs contact tracing quickly. (5/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Antibody Knowledge Can Be Power
Covid-19 may be here for a long time. As work and activities begin to resume, there will continue to be risk and many new precautions. But for people who were exposed to the virus and recovered, the risk is much lower. Knowing if you had the infection and recovered will soon take on added importance. There are two main types of immunity to an infection. Innate immunity comes from circulating cells that attack any invader the body views as foreign. Adaptive immunity is specific to the pathogen presented. Through adaptive response, immune cells are programmed to secrete antibodies that are primed to target a viral invader. (Scott Gottlieb, 5/10)

Stat: A Global Pathogen Shield: The Health Security Step To 'Never Again' 
In the name of strategic defense, the world’s nations have amassed enough nuclear weapons to destroy human civilization. We accept the massive financial investment involved. Yet no country has developed the capacity to protect itself against a novel, lethal infectious disease. It’s time to start. (Ara Darzi and Noubar Afeyan, 5/11)

The New York Times: The Hunger Pains Of A Pandemic
Have you ever been hungry? Truly hungry? Not the hunger one gets in anticipation of a meal, but the kind that pinches the stomach when you know no food is forthcoming. It is the kind of pang you take to bed with you, the kind that greets you when you rise. It is a bitter physical deprivation that gnaws at not only the gut but the spirit. It makes you sad. It makes you angry. I grew up having to stay one step ahead of hunger. It was like running ahead of tireless hounds through a dark wood. (Charles M. Blow, 5/10)

The Hill: Disruption — The New Normal 
Dictionary definitions of “disruption” cast the term in a negative light, while the late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, in his seminal work “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” applies “disruption” to the creation of new markets and value networks, shaking up the existing order. Airbnb’s challenges to the hotel industry and Uber’s and Lyft’s to the taxi industry are prime examples. As the world contends with the galloping spread of COVID-19, one is hard-pressed to identify which regions, communities, sectors, firms and peoples have not been slammed by this plague. While there are many major and far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus worldwide, several merit special attention, as they are directly related to post-pandemic economic recovery. (Jerry Haar and Altug Ulkumen, 5/10)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Just When It Seemed The Anti-Vax Movement Was Dead, It Rises Anew 
Logic suggests that the anti-vaccination movement would be a spent force after the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the nation and ended any doubt that preventive measures are essential to fend off this global contagion. Even the normally sensationalistic New York Post declared last month that the current pandemic could deal a death blow to the “anti-vax” movement. But no. The movement has united with promoters of wild government conspiracy theories in organizing protests to reopen state economies, leading to a resurgence of uninformed assertions that vaccines are the problem rather than the cure. (5/10)

The Hill: Federal Health IT Rules Remain On Track To Improve Care And Public Health 
At a time when the novel coronavirus has made visiting a doctor’s office a risky proposition, more patients than ever are turning to telemedicine to get the care they need without leaving their homes. This rapid shift has shined a spotlight on an ongoing problem that both hampers routine care and introduces challenges in fighting a pandemic: the inability to effectively share health data across medical organizations and with patients. (Ben Moscovitch and Lisa Bari, 5/10)

Boston Globe: Giving Birth During A Pandemic Has Particular Risks For Women Of Color 
Nationally, hospitals and health care systems have enacted social distancing and strict visitor policies in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Here in Massachusetts, many hospitals are allowing just one person to accompany a laboring woman, forcing some pregnant women to choose between doulas and partners, or to connect with coaches and family members online during and after labor. It’s understandable that health officials want to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the hospital, but pregnant women who are already at risk of being ignored or having worse health outcomes are being made even more vulnerable by visitation policies, according to midwives, some healthcare professionals, and other advocates. (Katrina Miles, 5/8)

Boston Globe: Hospitals Are Separating Mothers And Newborns During The Coronavirus Pandemic — With Little Evidence It Will Help Slow The Spread Of Disease
Maternity wards in wealthy and poor countries alike are introducing sudden changes to the ways women and newborns are cared for in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In some settings, these emergency measures include compulsory or strongly encouraged induction of labor, reliance on forceps and cesarean deliveries that are not medically necessary, separation of mother and newborn, prohibition of birth companions, and restrictions on breastfeeding. (Kate Mitchell, Hagar Palgi Hacker, Tejumola Adegoke, and Katharine Hutchinson, 5/9)