- According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Covid-19 recession concluded in April 2020.
- The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is widely regarded as the authoritative judge of when recessions cease and begin.
What impact did the COVID-19 economic crisis have on people during the pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences were devastating. Tens of millions of individuals lost their employment in the early months of the crisis. While employment began to improve after a few months, unemployment remained high in 2020.
Are COVID-19 cases on the rise in the United States?
Following a five-week decline, global COVID-19 instances climbed last week, fuelled by increases in three regions, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest weekly data.
As the country struggles to fund the ongoing pandemic response, levels of the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant showed more indicators of growing in the United States.
Cases rise in Asia, Africa, and Europe
Cases increased by 8% last week compared to the previous week, with rises in the Western Pacific area, which includes Asia’s current hot spots, Africa, and Europe, leading the way. Deaths, on the other hand, continued to fall, decreasing 17% from the previous week.
South Korea, Vietnam, Germany, the Netherlands, and France accounted for the majority of the more than 11 million cases reported globally last week.
The latest rises are occurring despite reduced testing in some countries, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, who noted today that “the cases we are seeing are merely the tip of the iceberg.”
More small outbreaks and surges, he warned, are likely, particularly in areas where COVID-19 limitations have been eased. He expressed alarm, however, over unacceptably high mortality rates in many nations where immunization rates are inadequate among vulnerable groups.
“Each country is dealing with its own set of problems, but the pandemic is far from done,” Tedros added.
Approximately half of the cases reported last week came from the Western Pacific region, where outbreaks are raging in hotspots like Hong Kong, South Korea, and Vietnam. Hong Kong’s health officials are calling for extra health workers to staff temporary treatment centers after reporting almost 29,272 new cases and 217 deaths today. Today, China reported 3,045 new cases, 1,860 of which were asymptomatic, with more than half of the cases coming from the hard-hit Jilin region, which is currently under lockdown and officials are calling for mass testing as well as the addition of treatment and quarantine centers. In the meantime, South Korea reported a new daily high of almost 400,000 cases today.
For the first time since January, Africa’s weekly cases increased by 8%, with the highest increases in Mauritius, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Last week, cases in Europe increased by 2%, with cases rising by 20% or more in 12 countries, with the biggest increases in Monaco, Malta, and the Netherlands. The 7-day average of new daily cases in Germany reached a new high, while France’s health minister predicted that the country’s recent increase would peak by the end of March.
US BA.2 levels show more signs of rise
According to the Washington Post tracker, the 7-day average for daily new cases in the United States has been steadily declining, and it was 31,997 today. However, public health experts in the United States are ready for a possible resurgence, which generally follows increases in Europe.
Increased dissemination of BA.2, Omicron’s more transmissible subvariant, is one of the variables believed in recent increases overseas, alongside loosened limitations and decreasing immunity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), BA.2 accounted for 23.1 percent of all circulating variations in the United States for the week ending March 12, up from 13.7 percent the week before.
Despite the looming threat of further virus dissemination, COVID-19-fighting programs are likely to be scaled back due to financing instability. According to NPR, the White House announced yesterday that it will begin to wind down a program that supports diagnosing, treating, and vaccinating uninsured people after Congress declined to add $22 billion to the government budget package last week. The Biden administration has also indicated that plans to purchase more monoclonal antibodies will be canceled.
- The Senate voted yesterday to repeal the federal masking requirement for passengers on aircraft and other forms of public transit, but the bill is unlikely to pass the House of Representatives, and President Biden has indicated that he will veto it.
- Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, tested positive for COVID-19, according to the White House. Harris has tested negative, although she has reduced her workload.
- Based on evidence that suggests declining protection after the initial booster dosage, Pfizer and BioNTech formally submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use of a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine for persons 65 and older yesterday.
Is depression a COVID-19 side effect?
Even if your COVID-19 symptoms have subsided, you may still not feel totally normal. You may experience chronic headaches, weariness, anxiousness, or a general sense of dread, making it difficult to do everyday duties. While specialists are currently studying the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the brain, more than half of a COVID-19 survivor group in the United States showed depression symptoms months after recovery, with those who had more severe COVID symptoms being more likely to be depressed.
Furthermore, many COVID-19 survivors reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, sleeplessness, and obsessive-compulsive (OC) disorder. Antidepressant prescriptions, intimate relationship violence, and suicide thoughts have all increased since the pandemic began, according to other studies.
After recovering from COVID-19, those who have had the virus tend to have an increased risk of developing a mental health issue.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected people’s personal lives?
Physical or social separation is one of the finest instruments we have to avoid getting exposed to COVID-19 and delay its spread, in addition to other regular precautions. Having to physically detach yourself from someone you care about, such as friends, family, coworkers, or your church group, can be difficult. It may also force you to alter your plans, such as needing to conduct virtual job interviews, set up dates, or go on university visits. Young adults may also have difficulty adjusting to new social norms, such as skipping in-person events or wearing masks in public. It’s critical to encourage young individuals to take personal responsibility for their own safety and that of their loved ones.
Is it possible to get COVID-19 through sex?
Whether you’re engaging in sexual activity or not, any close contact (within 6 feet or 2 meters) with an infected person can expose you to the virus that causes coronavirus illness 2019 (COVID-19). When a person with the virus coughs, sneezes, or talks, respiratory droplets are discharged.
What is the percentage of people who must be immune to COVID-19 in order for herd immunity to be achieved?
Attempts to achieve ‘herd immunity’ by exposing individuals to a virus are both scientifically and ethically problematic. Allowing COVID-19 to spread among people of all ages and health statuses will result in unnecessary illnesses, misery, and death.
In most nations, the vast majority of people are still susceptible to the virus. According to seroprevalence surveys, COVID-19 infection affects fewer than 10% of the population in most countries.
Immunity to COVID-19 is currently a work in progress. Most persons infected with COVID-19 generate an immune response within a few weeks, but we don’t know how powerful or long that immune response is, or how it varies across individuals. People who have been infected with COVID-19 a second time have also been reported.
It will be impossible to tell how much of a population is immune to COVID-19 and how long that immunity lasts until we have a better understanding of COVID-19 immunity, let alone make future forecasts, unless we have a better understanding of COVID-19 immunity. These obstacles should rule out any programs that aim to boost population immunity by allowing people to become ill.
Although the elderly and those with underlying illnesses are the most vulnerable to severe sickness and mortality, they are not the only ones.
Finally, while the majority of infected patients get mild or moderate forms of COVID-19 and others do not develop symptoms, many become critically ill and require hospitalization. We’re only beginning to learn about the long-term health effects of COVID-19, including what’s known as ‘Long COVID.’ WHO is collaborating with professionals and patient organizations to further understand COVID-19’s long-term impact.
For an overview of WHO’s position, see the Director-opening General’s remarks at the COVID-19 briefing on October 12th.
Is it possible to contract COVID-19 after vaccination?
The majority of people who contract COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Due to the fact that vaccines aren’t 100 percent efficient at preventing infection, some persons who have been fully vaccinated may nevertheless contract COVID-19. A “breakthrough infection” is an infection that occurs in a fully vaccinated person.
Is it possible for me to contract COVID-19 after receiving the vaccine?
It is still possible to contract COVID-19 after being vaccinated or recovering. However, having some immunity, whether from infection or immunization, reduces your chances of getting sick. If you do contract COVID, your immune system will have previously been alerted to the virus, making your illness considerably less likely to land you in the hospital or morgue.
According to CDC data, fully vaccinated people were six times less likely than unvaccinated people to have a COVID-19 infection during the peak of the Delta outbreak in August, and 11 times less likely to die if they did.
Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your mental health?
- Young adults have faced a variety of pandemic-related effects, such as university closures and lost income, which may have contributed to their poor mental health. During the pandemic, a higher-than-average proportion of young adults (ages 18-24) experience anxiety and/or depression symptoms (56 percent ). Young adults are more likely than other adults to report substance use (25 percent vs. 13 percent) and suicide ideation (26 percent vs. 11 percent ). Young adults were already at significant risk of poor mental health and substance use disorder prior to the epidemic, but many did not receive treatment.
- Job loss is linked to greater sadness, anxiety, distress, and low self-esteem, as well as higher rates of substance use disorder and suicide, according to research from previous economic downturns. Adults in families with job loss or lower incomes report higher rates of mental illness symptoms than those in households without job or income loss during the pandemic (53 percent vs. 32 percent ).
- During the epidemic, research revealed worries about children’s mental health and well-being, particularly among mothers, who are facing problems such as school closures and childcare shortages. Women with children are more likely than males with children to experience anxiety and/or depression symptoms (49 percent vs. 40 percent ). Women have reported higher rates of anxiety and depression than men in general, both before and after the pandemic.
- The epidemic has had a disproportionately negative impact on the health of people of color. Non-Hispanic Black adults (48%) and Hispanic or Latino adults (46%) are more likely than non-Hispanic White people to report anxiety and/or depressive symptoms (41 percent ). In the past, these communities of color have had difficulty getting mental health care.
- Many vital workers continue to confront difficulties, including a higher chance of catching the coronavirus than other workers. During the pandemic, essential workers are more likely than nonessential workers to exhibit symptoms of anxiety or depressive illness (42 percent vs. 30 percent), begin or increase substance usage (25 percent vs. 11 percent), and have suicidal thoughts (22 percent vs. 8 percent).
Those who are newly diagnosed with mental health or substance misuse issues, as well as those who were already diagnosed prior to the pandemic, may require mental health and substance abuse assistance, but they may face extra obstacles as a result of the epidemic.
Prevalence of Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorder During the Pandemic
Concerns regarding mental health and substance usage have developed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly concerns about suicide ideation. In January 2021, 41% of individuals reported anxiety and/or depressive disorder symptoms (Figure 2), a percentage that has been relatively consistent since spring 2020. According to a poll conducted in June 2020, 13% of people reported new or increased substance usage as a result of coronavirus-related stress, and 11% of adults had suicidal thoughts in the previous 30 days. Suicide rates have been rising for some time and may intensify as a result of the pandemic. Drug overdose deaths spiked from March to May 2020, coinciding with the onset of pandemic-related lockdowns, according to early 2020 data.