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The sentiment right now that I'm seeing a lot of is 'thank goodness for the vaccine, now things can return to normal' and while that is a completely understandable sentiment, the truth is that "returning to normal" is a privilege.
The economic and health impacts of the pandemic will be felt for many for a very long time without targeted interventions to mitigate the burden. For example...
One third (31.5%) of adults in Illinois are living in households not current on rent or mortgage where eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is either very likely or somewhat likely.
1 in 3
1 in 3
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, a leading expert on the economics of food insecurity, probably described the food insecurity emergency in the US best when she said "Everything is a disaster."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/hunger-coronavirus-economy/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/hunger-coronavirus-economy/
Job insecurity is also teetering on the brink of emergency. More than 12 million workers stand to lose unemployment benefits before year’s end if Congress doesn’t extend key programs.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/18/unemployment-expiring-congress-inaction/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/18/unemployment-expiring-congress-inaction/
At the start of the pandemic, Cook county officials attempted reduce the number of people in the jail, but now, the population is essentially back to where the numbers were before the pandemic.
https://www.wbez.org/stories/sheriff-asks-for-help-limiting-covid-19-spread-at-cook-county-jail/afb592db-17de-4e4f-9893-45f1e9dc69fa
https://www.wbez.org/stories/sheriff-asks-for-help-limiting-covid-19-spread-at-cook-county-jail/afb592db-17de-4e4f-9893-45f1e9dc69fa
I've said this before, but #COVID19 did not create unique problems. It exacerbated a system of government, public health, and medicine designed to fail vulnerable populations. If we don't change it, it will continue to fail those groups.
A great example is illustrated in the blog post @sweetchinchilla wrote for @IMPACT4HC where she describes a health insurance crisis created during a pandemic because coverage in the US is so contingent on employment. https://www.impact4hc.com/impactblog/akc9m3v7q2z4zexd7q7osphlnf2rc1
I'm not sure how you can look around and not think the entire system needs an overhaul. There has never been a better argument for universal healthcare, police and prison abolition, tenant rights reform, and a universal minimum wage than #COVID19.
Our measure as a healthcare system and a society is how we respond in our darkest hour and how we treat the most vulnerable among us. #COVID19 was a test failed by nearly every branch of government and every social safety net.
There should be no "return to normal."
There should be no "return to normal."
