There has been an obsessive media focus on Covid lock downs, policies, and closures. However, there has been only a glance at the human toil and tragedies these policies have wrought. Sam Rayburn said, “Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one. A government jackass has been loosed in America.
Stay-at-home orders, closing business and schools, restrictions on gatherings, shutting of arts and sports, restrictions on medical services, and stopping outdoor activities all wrecked the nation and its everyday people.
America was strong and optimistic with a record stock market, lowest unemployment in history; companies were expanding and returning to the homeland. People were prospering like never before. Then Covid was used to bring chaos, division and financial disaster. Here is the collateral damage from destroying the nation to kill a mouse.
The US had over 81,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12 months ending in May 2020, the highest number ever recorded in a 12-month period. From just January 2020 to March 2020, 19,416 people died from drug overdoses, 3,000 more than in 2019 of the same quarter. Synthetic opioid-related overdose deaths increased 38.4% in the 12-month period leading up to May 2020 compared with the previous 12-month period.
According to National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 2018, patients visiting the ER for opioid overdoses are 100 times more likely to die by drug overdose in the year after being discharged. They are 18 times more likely to die by suicide relative to the general population.
During late June 2020, 40% of US adults reported to be struggling with mental health or substance abuse. Reported symptoms of anxiety were three times higher than they were in Q2 2019 and reported symptoms of depression were four times higher than they were in Q2 2019.
Of adults surveyed in 2020, 10.7% had thoughts of suicide compared to 4.3% in 2018. For individuals aged 18-24, 25.5% considered suicide in 2020. Between April and October, the portion of emergency visits related to mental health for children (5-11) increased by 24% and 31% for 12-17 year olds compared to 2019.
The Urban Institute reports that between March 25 and April 10, “nearly one-third of adults (31.0 percent) reported that their families could not pay the rent, mortgage, or utility bills, were food insecure, or went without medical care because of the cost.”
Pew Research found that 52% of 18 to 29 year-olds were living with their parents as of July 2020 (47% in February 2020), a record number that surpasses the 48% living with parents in 1940 (during the Great Depression).
America went from pre-Covid record low unemployment to the highest increase in unemployment in April 2020 since 1948 when records began being kept. Between March 25 and April 10, 41.5% of nonelderly adults reported having lost jobs, reduced work hours, or had less income because of Covid-19.
In March 2020, 39% of people living with a household income of $40,000 and below reported a job loss. Mothers of children aged 12 and younger lost 2.2 million jobs between February and August 2020 (12% drop), while fathers of small children lost 870,000 jobs (4% drop). One out of four women who were surveyed reported their job loss was due to lack of childcare.
JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association Nov 2020) predicts a decrease in life expectancy by 5.53 million years of life for US children due to the closing of US primary schools. The United Nations estimates that 24 million children worldwide may drop out of school next year as a result of the lockdown’s economic impact.
Glassdoor – April 2020 says 30,806 internships were lost (a decrease of 52%) between March 9 and April 13. Between March 9 and April 13 travel and tourism internships fell 92%; IT dropped 76%, architecture and engineering 65% and telecommunications 65%. Accounting and legal internships fell-off the least, at 22%.
JAMA Research says diagnosis for 6 cancers (breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, gastric, and esophageal) declined 46.4% compared to 2018. Breast cancer diagnosis dropped 51.8% compared to 2018.
Compared to pre-Covid, Medical University of South Carolina dropped from 20 stroke-related calls daily (or 550 per month) to about nine in mid-April.
There was a 38% decrease in STEMI treatments (for heart problems) in 9 major hospitals across the US. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US; premature cardiovascular disease and stroke mortality costs $137.5 billion in lost future productivity.
In general, people quit going to the doctor because offices were closed, procedures were postponed or patients were afraid to get Covid. That fear was instilled by those who once were thought trustworthy.
(All stats if not noted, attributed to CDC, Bureau of Labor and other medical organizations mentioned herein.)
(Lou Binninger can be heard on No Hostages Radio podcast, live on KMYC 1410AM 10-noon Saturdays, read at Live with Lou Facebook and Nohostagesradio.com)
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