Covid-19 is shining yet another spotlight on American systemic racism as African Americans face higher rates of death from coronavirus, as well as policing in the form of social distancing patrols, which are often racially disparate, inequitable, and aggressive. A majority of businesses have reduced operations or closed, but the NYPD has not slowed operations […]
Universities Face Decision Between Medical Disaster and Financial Ruin This Fall
Amidst great economic and political pressure to reopen in the fall, American colleges and universities must choose between enormous risk and liability if they do open and bankruptcy if they do not. Colleges and universities are among the most vulnerable institutions to disease outbreaks and would serve as efficient grounds the spread of coronavirus as […]
ACLU Challenges Arkansas’s Latest Attempt to Restrict Abortion Access
Arkansas’s only in-clinic abortion provider, Little Rock Family Planning Services, is suing the state to challenge a rule requiring patients to get a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of their abortion procedure. This is the second time Arkansas abortion providers have had to fight a legal battle to protect abortion access during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights Preexisting and Underlying American Racism and Sexism
As with most issues in the United States, Black Americans and female Americans are the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. On April 6, Louisiana was the first state to release data on Covid-19 broken down by race. Its report showed that while African American’s make up 33% of the state’s population, they accounted for […]
Hawaii Introduces COVID-19 ‘Feminist Economic Recovery Plan’
The Hawai’i State Commission on the Status of Women has introduced a ‘feminist economic recovery plan’ that is designed to help women recover from the economic hardships created by the coronavirus pandemic. The plan is the first of its kind in the nation. The plan, called “Building Bridges, Not Walking on Backs: A Feminist Economic […]
Court of Appeals Lifts Oklahoma Abortion Ban
On March 27th, Oklahoma Kevin Stitt issued an executive order postponing elective procedures and surgeries, including “any type of abortion services… which are not a medical emergency… or otherwise necessary to prevent serious health risks” to the pregnant person. On April 6, Judge Charles Goodwin of Oklahoma’s Western District Court placed a temporary stay on […]
States Tell Workers Return to Work During Pandemic or Lose Unemployment Benefits
Some states, including Iowa and Texas, have begun to reopen their economies amidst the coronavirus pandemic and have warned residents that employees who refuse to return to their jobs will be ineligible for unemployment benefits. These policies force workers to decide between their health and unemployment insurance and could facilitate the spread of COVID-19. Congress […]
COVID-19 Compounds The Struggle of Addiction During Pandemic
The novel coronavirus is creating many complications and hardships to current daily life. One often overlooked challenge faced by families and individuals is struggling with substance abuse and addiction issues. Covid-19 is putting more stress on families and people already dealing with addiction as the taxing physical and emotional burdens of unemployment, isolation, boredom, loneliness, […]
Meatpacking Facilities Forced Open by Trump Executive Order, Endangering Workers
Late on Tuesday, April 28, President Trump issued an executive order forcing meat processing plants to stay open despite the severe public health risk involved in operating as usual under the coronavirus outbreak. In states across the country, meat plants have become hot spots for the virus, with at least 20 known deaths and more […]
Domestic Violence on the Rise Globally Due to COVID-19 Lockdowns
This week, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), along with their partners Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University, and Victoria University, published a report predicting a 20 percent rise in the rate of domestic and gender-based violence around the world due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. According to the report, “For every 3 months the lockdown continues, […]
Navajo Nation Has Third Highest Rate of Coronavirus Cases in U.S.
As of Tuesday, the Navajo Nation had the third-highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the country, with 1,873 confirmed cases and 60 confirmed deaths, third only to New York and New Jersey. Tribal officials cite “broken promises” for the disproportionately high rate of cases. “We are United States citizens but we’re not treated like that,” […]
Pandemic Will Be First of Many If Climate Change is Not Addressed Immediately
Recent reports by the World Health Organization state that human activity leading to climate change greatly affects the prevalence and spread of infectious diseases like the novel coronavirus that has thrown the world into a state of crisis. As humans continue to degrade the planet’s natural processes and systems life as we know it at […]
Heartburn Drug Being Studied as Treatment for COVID-19
Hospitals in New York have begun testing famotidine, the active drug in the over-the-counter heartburn medication Pepcid, as a possible treatment for COVID-19 with early results anticipated in the next few weeks. “There are many examples in the history of medicine where a drug that was designed for one purpose turns out to have an […]
Anti-Vaccine Groups Join Anti-Lockdown Protesters in Government Criticism
Across the United States, anti-vaccine protesters are leveraging anti-government sentiment sparked by the COVID-19 response to advance their cause. The right wing of the anti-vaccine movement is a natural ally for anti-lockdown protesters due to their shared distrust of government authority. These anti-vaccine activists applaud President Trump’s suggestion that COVID-19 is not dangerous enough to […]
Health Department Official Fired For Speaking Out Against Hydroxychloroquine
Rick Bright, the official who previously led the federal agency involved in working to develop a coronavirus vaccine was removed from his position after urging caution and research before advocating for hydroxychloroquine. As the Trump administration pushed for the anti-malaria drug to be used in treating patients with coronavirus, Dr. Bright denounced these actions as putting “politics […]
Mass Incarceration, Mandatory Prison Labor Could Lead to Huge Coronavirus Death Toll
United States prisons and jails could become major sites of coronavirus outbreaks, warn public health experts, correctional staff, and prison reform advocates. According to a study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), unless prison and jail populations are “dramatically and immediately reduced,” 100,000 more people than currently projected could die of COVID-19. The […]
Texas Governor’s Executive Order Banning Abortion Expires
Tuesday night, Texas’ Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s March 21 executive order expired. The order had been the object of weeks of legal debate over the classification of medication and procedural abortion as a ‘non-essential’ medical procedure during the COVID-19 crisis. On Wednesday, Gov. Abbott announced a new executive order, allowing certain medical procedures to resume, […]
Acute Hunger on the Rise Due to COVID-19, Reports United Nations
According to the United Nations, over a quarter of a billion people could starve due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unless providing food and humanitarian aid becomes a priority fast, these millions of people in the most at-risk regions could die. Approximately 130 million people were estimated to have suffered from lack of food last year. […]
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Urges People to Stay Home Despite Governor’s Mandate
Earlier this week, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued a statement that the state would reopen certain nonessential businesses beginning this Friday, April 24, including hair salons, gyms, bowling alleys, and tattoo parlors. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has been vocal in urging those in Atlanta– and the state at large– to continue staying home despite […]
Federal Judge Allows Abortions in Oklahoma to Resume Despite COVID-19 Ban
U.S. District Judge Charles Goodwin has just issued a preliminary injunction against Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s attempted abortion ban, and is allowing all abortion services to resume on Friday, April 24. According to a release by the Associated Press, “the injunction ensures that abortions can be performed in Oklahoma while the case continues in federal […]
