Friday, April 16, 2021

In an article posted yesterday in The New Yorker, Dhruv Khullar, M.D., an assistant professor of health policy at the Cornell Medical School, asks an important question:  what will it take to “pandemic proof” America.  Noting that we generally think of such outbreaks as third world phenomena, we have become complacent to our detriment.

Kullar suggests three important steps.  First, we need a national health platform for improved health surveillance, not over several hundred sets of data monitoring. This would not remove local control but simply permit every health department to have access to the same data. Second, we need a different system of developing vaccines and paying for them.

Equally important is engagement with the rest of the world. We must eliminate the notion that we live in “Fortress America.” We never really did and do not now. That incredible photo of earth taken from the moon shows we are one planet. We need to realize we are all connected.

Prayer for the Day

Eliminate ignorance and darkness from our minds, O God,

   And open us to the possibilities of knowledge and light;

Remove fear and anger from our hearts, Holy Spirit,

  As we strive in our quest for security and safety.

Expand our horizons to include all your creation

   And bestow on us your grace and wisdom.

We ask this in the name of him who cared for all,

   Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Thoughts for the Day

We have a thinned-out intellectual culture.  We have lost our capacity for nuance. Everything is black or white, you’re either with me or against me. Masks are a sign of virtue or totalitarianism.

            Nicholas Christakis, physician and sociologist

When it comes to health care, women in the U.S. are already worse off than women in other high income countries.  The pandemic has only made it even worse.

            Shanoor Seerval, writer and researcher on health policy

My soul languishes for your salvation; I hope in your word.

   My eyes fail watching for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?”

For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.

            Psalm 119: 81-82