There are consequences from the shutdown. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
The damage to health caused by the lockdown is becoming more visible. The damage has been there from the beginning of the shutdown; it is just becoming more obvious. A growing number of news articles are describing the deteriorating health outcomes. A growing number of reporters are noticing the devastation.
A few recent articles for your consideration:
- ‘Years of life lost’ caused by the shutdown is calculated in one analysis to be seven times the number of ‘years of life lost’ which are prevented by the shutdown
- Frightening increase in suicide ideation by young adults
- Mental health services pulled off line because of the shutdown
- Seniors at one nursing home protest the shutdown and the loneliness it causes
Make a mental note that a large number of governors, state-level health officials, federal health officials, and county health officials are forcefully, willfully continuing the lockdowns.
5/5/20 – Washington Examiner – Stress from virus response will destroy 7 times more years of life than lockdowns save: study – Several studies are cited by the article.
The level of mental health stress caused by the shutdown is high and growing. Several cited studies support this. Between one third and one half of U.S. adults have substantial psychological distress caused by the shutdown.
Causes mentioned in the article include closing businesses, stay-at-home orders, feeding frenzy in the media, and isolation.
Article points out that psychological distress often turns into physical distress. Most people are aware of that phenomenon – high levels of stress and anxiety in your mind can cause physical illness in your body.
One of the ways illnesses and disease are studied is to calculate the number of years life lost. This is the shortening of life due to a particular ailment. To illustrate the concept, pneumonia amongst people over age 80 is deadly but the number of years life lost is low. In contrast each incident of fatal cancer among children will result in decades of years life lost.
One study pulls together the various studies and concludes that the number of years life lost caused by the shutdown will be approximately 7 times the number of years life lost from the coronavirus which could possibly be prevented by the shutdown.
In other words, as a result of the shutdown we are likely to lose seven years of life lost for one year of life saved. That’s a 7:1 trade-off of lives versus lives. By the way, that is 7:1 in the wrong direction.
9/29/20 – The Daily Signal – Covid-19 Linked to Rising Suicide Rates Among Teens – Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows amongst all the people responding that 11% said they had “seriously considered” suicide in the preceding month. For people in the 18 to 24 age range the portion saying they had “seriously considered” was 25%.
Why the frightening ideation rate for young adults?
The lockdown is cited as increasing suicide risks for young people. That will likely soon lead to increase in the number taking their own life.
The lockdown will soon kill more people. For what benefit, if any?
10/9/20 – Wall Street Journal – A Hidden Cost of Covid: Shrinking Mental-Health Services – Hospital beds New York State structured for drug-rehab, detox, or psychiatric purposes have been restructured for pandemic care. If I read the article correctly there are 400 beds previously used for psychiatric care and 150 beds for addiction treatment that have been pulled out of service in the last six months. That is more than have been pulled off the market in the last five years combined.
For context there were about 5,000 beds set aside for psychiatric treatment in New York. The number pulled off line are about 10% of the available beds.
This is at a time when there is an increasing demand for addiction and psychiatric treatment. The pandemic is hurting people. Those people struggling with emotional instability or drug addiction have been hit worse than you and me.
Article says healthcare workers report patients are discharged even though they are still suffering from visible mania and psychosis. They been kicked onto the street.
Article tells the story of one young woman dealing with schizoaffective and bipolar disorder who was admitted to a psychiatric unit, was discharged a few days later, could not find adequate outpatient care, couldn’t accept her new medication regimen, then died of a drug overdose within 90 days.
10/13/20 – Daily Wire – “Rather Die From Covid Than Loneliness”: Seniors Protest Lockdowns Outside Of Colorado Nursing Home – Loneliness is deadly.
Residents of a nursing home in Greeley, Colorado know that.
Twenty of the residents held a protest a week ago opposing the restrictions that bar them from having contact with family. The residents yearn for a simple hug and to touch their grandchildren.
A study by the Washington Post, the Post mind you, looked at CDC data to calculate there have been 13,200 excess deaths for dementia patients because of the shutdown. See previous discussion.
The lockdown is killing seniors.
It is far past time to find some way to let seniors who still have family connections enjoy those connections somehow.
It is inexcusable to kill off seniors as a foreseeable, identifiable, calculable unintended consequence.
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