That the CDC mentions West Nile as a threat but not COVID is so telling. It is the Virus That Must Not be Named.
I'm pretty sure the political calculus is correct, though. People want to be in denial, and trying to force them out of that state is a short run losing proposition. How long before a tipping point is reached, though, and the mob is in a fury because "they weren't told!" how bad it would get?
It is. Back in 2021, the March of dimes issued warnings about Covid’s impact to women who are pregnant. Now, in 2024, no warning, and they aren’t telling pregnant women that Covid is airborne.
2024-https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/pregnancy/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-what-you-need-to-know-about-its-impact (no warning)
I worked in state public health, 2019-21. I quit cause public health was managed by the governor who wanted to be reelected. No one in power cares about children, Native Americans, poor people, Black people, elderly people, or pregnant women.
page of people who lost their baby or the mother or both due to covid. There are so many people begging for $$ for gas, motel rooms, lost wages, hospital bills, etc., cause their baby was born prematurely, or the mother died, or the baby has congenital problems like holes in their hearts. The stories will break you. https://www.gofundme.com/s?q=Premature+2024
So devastating! And infuriating. The distance between reality and facts, and wishful magical thinking, keeps getting wider and wider, and doing the right thing harder and harder.
It’s just so, so tragic. Thanks for continuing to do this invaluable reporting, regardless of the fact that it deserves a much larger audience!
That the CDC mentions West Nile as a threat but not COVID is so telling. It is the Virus That Must Not be Named.
I'm pretty sure the political calculus is correct, though. People want to be in denial, and trying to force them out of that state is a short run losing proposition. How long before a tipping point is reached, though, and the mob is in a fury because "they weren't told!" how bad it would get?
It is. Back in 2021, the March of dimes issued warnings about Covid’s impact to women who are pregnant. Now, in 2024, no warning, and they aren’t telling pregnant women that Covid is airborne.
2021- Achttps://www.marchofdimes.org/about/news/statement-march-dimes-deputy-medical-officer-cdcs-urgent-warning-pregnant-lactating
2024-https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/pregnancy/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-what-you-need-to-know-about-its-impact (no warning)
I worked in state public health, 2019-21. I quit cause public health was managed by the governor who wanted to be reelected. No one in power cares about children, Native Americans, poor people, Black people, elderly people, or pregnant women.
FEMA is still paying up to $9,000 for funerals of people and babies who die due to covid19. They are paying until sept 2025.
I send emails about the fema reimbursement to the contacts on the gofundme.com (example https://www.gofundme.com/s?q=Premature+2024)
page of people who lost their baby or the mother or both due to covid. There are so many people begging for $$ for gas, motel rooms, lost wages, hospital bills, etc., cause their baby was born prematurely, or the mother died, or the baby has congenital problems like holes in their hearts. The stories will break you. https://www.gofundme.com/s?q=Premature+2024
This should be a big news story- the USA is rated d+ for maternal health, below all of the European countries, below (data from 2020), Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, Iran, Honduras, etc… https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/maternal-mortality-ratio/country-comparison/
Here is the March of dimes 2023 report, it’s dismal.
https://www.marchofdimes.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/MarchofDimesReportCard-UnitedStates.pdf
So devastating! And infuriating. The distance between reality and facts, and wishful magical thinking, keeps getting wider and wider, and doing the right thing harder and harder.