Curated public health stories for this week from my reading shelf for Week 1 of 2021.
I.
This is a long read, and a heart breaking one at it. But it is an important story that needs to be told and heard.
They were pillars of their communities and families, and they are not replaceable. To understand why COVID-19 killed so many young Black men, you need to know the legend of John Henry.
Read it here
II.
An excellent NEJM paper on communication strategies to promote COVID-19 vaccination uptake
Read it here
III.
What is going to be the pandemic end game?
The idea that “America and the West are more advanced than Eastern and African countries is not true, but is seeded in the way global health operates,” said Abraar Karan of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “But when the tires hit the ground, the car didn’t start.” In retrospect, many Western health experts were too focused on capacities, such as equipment and resources, and not enough on capabilities, “which is how you apply those in times of crisis,” said Sylvie Briand of the World Health Organization. Many rich nations had little experience in deploying their enormous capacities, because “most of them never had outbreaks,” she added. By contrast, East Asian and sub-Saharan countries that regularly stare down epidemics had both an understanding that they weren’t untouchable and a cultural muscle memory of what to do.
Read more here
Disclaimer: Posts and opinions are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer.
Jina Dcruz 