5 ms·

Love that, instead of say paying her a small stipend, the state decided that all it needed to do was have her sign away her only means for obtaining a decent wa

Love that, instead of say paying her a small stipend, the state decided that all it needed to do was have her sign away her only means for obtaining a decent wage. Apparently no one in power believed public health was worth more than $50 a month. We truly have learned little as a society about how to deal with infectious disease on a wide scale. Today, several state governors are opting out of federal unemployment protection in an effort to force people back into labor that doesn't value their health and safety or pay enough to live decently[1]. 1. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/558229-first-four-states-cut-off-federal-unemployment-benefits https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/558229-first-four-s...

blowski 5y ago
Although the pandemic has been bad, the number of deaths is proportionally much lower than both the 1918 and 1957 outbreaks. We still have a lot to learn, but government action in this pandemic has prevented a lot of deaths.
- chasil 5y ago
  The 1918 flu left about 675k fatalities in the U.S. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoratio... Some statistics say that current U.S. pandemic fatalities are very close (615k). https://ncov2019.live https://ncov2019.live The 1918 flu had much higher fatality rates elsewhere in the world.
- elihu 5y ago
  Worldometer puts the number of covid deaths currently at 3,823,503, which is probably a substantial undercount. Wikipedia says the number of deaths due to 1957 pandemic is between 1 and 4 million [1]. World population is about 3 times what it was in 1957, so maybe the 1957 pandemic was worse per-capita, but I think with the large error bars it's hard to say for sure. Also, the current pandemic isn't over yet (even if it has slowed down substantially in those parts of the world that have good vaccination campaigns). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957%E2%80%931958_influenza_pandemic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957%E2%80%931958_influenza_pa...

blowski 5y ago

Although the pandemic has been bad, the number of deaths is proportionally much lower than both the 1918 and 1957 outbreaks. We still have a lot to learn, but government action in this pandemic has prevented a lot of deaths.

chasil 5y ago
The 1918 flu left about 675k fatalities in the U.S. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoratio... Some statistics say that current U.S. pandemic fatalities are very close (615k). https://ncov2019.live https://ncov2019.live The 1918 flu had much higher fatality rates elsewhere in the world.
elihu 5y ago
Worldometer puts the number of covid deaths currently at 3,823,503, which is probably a substantial undercount. Wikipedia says the number of deaths due to 1957 pandemic is between 1 and 4 million [1]. World population is about 3 times what it was in 1957, so maybe the 1957 pandemic was worse per-capita, but I think with the large error bars it's hard to say for sure. Also, the current pandemic isn't over yet (even if it has slowed down substantially in those parts of the world that have good vaccination campaigns). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957%E2%80%931958_influenza_pandemic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957%E2%80%931958_influenza_pa...