#5SmartReads - May 24, 2022

Hitha on the economy, refugees, and Lance Bass' meditation technique

May 24, 2022

That’s not to say that the economy won’t still be growing - it’s predicted to, but at a more manageable pace that better factors inflation, a looming recession, and it should help stabilize a volatile stock market.

“Plausibly, growth could slow to something close to its 1.8% trend and stay there for a while. That would enable the labor market, housing market, and markets for goods and services to come into better balance without the economy tipping into contraction.”

Now if only companies had invested the high profits they had recorded into increasing wages and benefits for ALL contractors and part-time employees, and not into stock buybacks or executive compensation. Imagine how much better off we’d be.

As much as this is about what happened in Tulane’s residency program (which is both horrifying and unsurprising), it shows how racism - especially anti-Black racism - is woven in the very fabric of our country and especially in something as important as healthcare - who gets it, who gets to deliver it - in USA.

“In America, Black babies have the highest infant mortality rates, women the highest maternal mortality rates, and men the shortest lifespans. Black patients are more likely than white ones to receive later-stage diagnoses for some cancers, and less likely to receive needed pain treatment and specialty care referrals. In efforts to narrow these disparities, Black physicians and other providers are considered critical. Research shows that a diverse workforce is key to improving patient communication, and that when seen by Black doctors, Black men are more likely to get preventive care and Black newborns to survive.”

Take the time to read (and share!) this article. And if you want to learn more about health equity - not just equality, follow my wise friend Dr. Uché Blackstock, whose company Advancing Health Equity is leading the fight to close the gap in racial health inequities.

Now I’m going to reserve judgement until the full data package for both Pfizer and Moderna are released (and I’ve asked my own team a billion questions about the data), but this is VERY GOOD NEWS.

Now I don’t expect this reported 80% effectiveness at preventing symptomatic infection to hold in a real-world setting, but both Pfizer and Moderna appear to be both safe and effective against the Omicron variant (especially against death and hospitalization), and they will offer some protection against MIS-C (the multi-inflammatory syndrome in children) and minimizing risk to long COVID.

June 15th is the day the FDA is convening its advisory committee hearing to review both the Moderna and Pfizer submissions for vaccines for children 6 month-5 years old. Fingers crossed we have some good news in the days that follow…

“One of the guys in Matchbox Twenty told me this years ago, and it really changed the way that I approach meditation. He said, “When you go to a place in your mind, create a world.” My world just happens to be all made of snow and ice, and for years, I go to the exact same place that's already built and add something new to it. It makes you focus and get your mind off everything else. It's the only thing that doesn't get my brain firing in different directions.”

Lance Bass - pop legend AND Zen master? I think so, and I found this meditation advice to be so helpful as I’m feeling bored by my current practice and wanted to shake things up.

Also, for those who also were crushing on Lance back in the day…

"One hundred million is a stark figure — sobering and alarming in equal measure." said Filippo Grandi, the U.N.'s high commissioner for refugees. "It's a record that should never have been set. This must serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution, and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes.”

“The international response to people fleeing war in Ukraine has been overwhelmingly positive," Grandi added. "Compassion is alive, and we need a similar mobilization for all crises around the world."

Presented without comment.

Reply

or to participate.