How many years of life lost due to COVID? More than 138,000.
An analysis of all the people who died of documented COVID-19 in the U.S. estimates that more than 138,000 years of potential human life have been lost before age 65. The analysis also found a wide disparity in…
Turning the words ‘racism is a public health crisis’ into action
June 18, 2020 – Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, discusses Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s June 12 declaration that racism…
Op-ed: Racism underlies both lethal policing and COVID-19 disparities
As protests against police brutality and racism rage across the U.S., some commentators have expressed concern that large numbers of people in close proximity will increase the spread of COVID-19, and some have even compared these risks to…
How to enforce physical distancing humanely
To protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, governments are imposing measures ranging from the mandatory wearing of masks to quarantines to curfews, and sometimes using tactics such as arrests, fines, and intimidation to enforce those measures. But…
Addressing the opioid crisis: lessons learned from New York City
See Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] DAVID LEVIN: You're listening to Harvard Chan-- This Week in Health. I'm David Levin. MARY BASSETT: Well, we've seen a real transition from handcuffs to help, and the idea that people who have problem…
Addressing the opioid crisis: unpacking stigma
See Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] DAVID LEVIN: You're listening to Harvard Chan: This Week in Health. I'm David Levin. Today, we're talking about stigma and addiction. SHELLY GREENFIELD: Addiction itself doesn't discriminate. It's not about white or black or…
Addressing the opioid crisis: ending over-prescription
See Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] DAVID LEVIN: You're listening to Harvard Chan, This Week in Health. I'm David Levin. Today, we're talking about how opioid painkillers are being overprescribed and what some health care providers are doing to fix…
Why ‘deaths of despair’ are rising in the U.S.
November 26, 2019 – Since 2005, many leading causes of death, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, and lung disease, have been decreasing. But deaths from drugs, alcohol, and suicide—what some call “deaths of despair”—have been on the rise.…
Off the Cuff: Public Health Shortchanged
The country’s public health expenditures are projected to fall to 2.4 percent of total health expenditures by 2023, putting us embarrassingly behind our peers.
Opinion: Reframe gun violence as preventable disease
When tackling gun violence, American cities should view it through a public health lens, according to Dean Michelle Williams of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.