Read on Twitter
1/ Many lawmakers are citing preventing preventing "deaths of despair" (drug use, overdose, alcoholism, suicide) as the rationale to reopen prematurely. @meganranney & @drjessigold have written a must-read piece in @statnews addressing this. A thread 
https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/31/deaths-of-despair-wrong-rationale-reopening-country-too-soon/?utm_content=buffer846a9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter_organic
https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/31/deaths-of-despair-wrong-rationale-reopening-country-too-soon/?utm_content=buffer846a9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter_organic
2/ First, while we have ample evidence of the impact of #COVID19 (>100,000 deaths, ~4x as many hospitalizations lasting 1-2 weeks, a lasting debility among younger adults that has yet to be quantified), we don't have any data yet on deaths of despair https://twitter.com/kit_delgadoMD/status/1264921326407561216?s=20
3/ Second, the economic conditions that lead to deaths of despair tend not to be temporary. For example,
@atheendar found that it took 5 years after factory closures to see full impact on opioid overdoses
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2757788
@atheendar found that it took 5 years after factory closures to see full impact on opioid overdoses
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2757788
4/ Third, there is a false assumption that reopening quickly, before the risks of #COVID19 transmission have sufficiently decreased, will lead to robust improvement. The problem is demand for shopping/travel/leisure/dining still lags while risks are there https://ldi.upenn.edu/healthpolicysense/why-opening-economy-won-t-be-stimulus-we-re-hoping
5/ Fourth, the best thing we can do for the economy is to get the #CoronavirusOutbreak under control faster with robust public health measures https://twitter.com/kit_delgadoMD/status/1257512655406936065?s=20
6/ Goal is to reduce unemployment to previous levels by 2 years from now. Fits and starts of reopening and closing while #COVID19 remains unchecked and business demand remains weak won't do that. If we beat #COVID19 faster, we reduce deaths of despair https://twitter.com/kit_delgadoMD/status/1259111610653773828?s=20
7/ Fifth, as @meganranney and @drjessigold point out, these lawmakers who are now keen on addressing deaths of despair, where we were you before? Oh yeah, some of you were actually trying to make it harder for us to prevent deaths of despair https://twitter.com/kit_delgadoMD/status/1196480448161030149?s=20
8/ As I've said before in @USATODAY, "we don’t have to pick between...deaths from coronavirus, or income loss and resulting deaths of despair. More aggressive public health measures and buy-in will prevent both and get us back to normalcy faster." https://twitter.com/kit_delgadoMD/status/1258697477466796032?s=20
9/ To conclude, we all want the same thing to be healthy, secure, to be employed, and have a sense of normalcy. This bi-partisan statement in @USAToday on how to #OpenSafely shows us how to come together and get there the right way.
fin/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/05/20/coronavirus-still-spreading-america-must-open-safely-column/5216824002/
fin/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/05/20/coronavirus-still-spreading-america-must-open-safely-column/5216824002/
