Sunday Reads — Nov. 28, 2021
Polish off the leftovers, we’ve got to get on with the holiday season — break out the lights! …Oh wait, we already have. In the meantime, let’s take a look at Omicron, how to discern “real” information, and research that helps us decide if we’re in turkey coma, travel malaise or really slipping.
Omicron season?
If naming coronavirus variants seems akin to naming hurricanes, it’s understandable. The hurricane season ends quietly this week (thank goodness), but Covid season is still very active. And now in the viral variant naming convention, it seems we’ve sped past Delta to Greek letter 15: Omicron. The World Health Organization experts say the variant may show tendencies to evade immunities and be more transmissible than our old friend, Delta, which made chicken pox look hard to get. We’ve added an updated Q&A today with information from researchers on where things stand with the new potential viral threat.
As for Covid in general, positivity rates are moderate for Coastal Georgia except in one spot: McIntosh County ranks low with 0% (yes, zero) cases per 100,000 over 7 days, as of Saturday. The rest of the coast is just under 5%. But let’s don’t get cocky; science promises more variants if we don’t do our parts to stop the spread of the ones we have.
Speaking of health care….
More research this week, courtesy of The Commonwealth Fund, underscores the sad state of health care and health care access in Georgia. The Scorecard on State Health System Performance has long tracked the functioning of each state’s health care system, with the goal of motivating policymakers’ actions to improve their residents’ health and health care. The nonprofit fund studies each state’s health care outcomes for equal access and treatment. It evaluates racial and ethnic groups for 24 indicators of health system performance. Indicators were grouped into three performance domains: health outcomes, health care access, and quality and use of health care services. All that said, the research outcome isn’t very different from many recent ones: Georgia’s struggling health care situation doesn’t reflect what you might expect from an economically healthy state, and it’s far from equitable, especially among Black and rural citizens.
This study joins a giant body of research done over the past two years from pre-pandemic numbers and samples taken during the pandemic that show Georgia to be one of worst states in the nation for health care access and treatment. Just a few reminders of these stories: lowest in senior health care, overall health care access, affordability, help for pregnant women, obstetrics and childbirth, Medicaid referrals for at-risk children, understaffed psychiatric units, nursing home inspections.
Friends don’t let friends use unreliable information
If the discussions at the holiday table made you wonder how to persuade friends and family to take a more critical look at their news feeds, we’ve added some help, courtesy Georgia Humanities. The block of information has videos, online quizzes and discussion points, plus a toolkit for how to approach it all without getting preachy. We’ve linked it to our homepage so you can find it easily, become a better news consumer, and share that knowledge far and wide.
By the way, this week holds a special day for nonprofits like The Current: Giving Tuesday — we like to call it Giving NewsDay. Whatever you call Nov. 30, it’s a nice day to support all the nonprofit groups that do good things for the community, as well as your favorite nonprofit news source. Your tax-deductible donation to The Current will be doubled by NewsMatch, so we hope you’ll take advantage of that opportunity today.
What’s in a name
Regents for the University System of Georgia voted this week not to accept the recommendations of a committee it commissioned to examine renaming of campus buildings tied to segregationists or slave-holders. The recommendations were presented in a 181-page report that recommended name changes to 75 buildings and colleges. The group initially looked at more than 800 buildings on the 26 campuses. It also recommended adding context about the building namesakes that would be determined by the college or university to the names of 21 buildings. None of the recommendations dealt with buildings at Coastal Georgia colleges and universities. The board gave no explanation for the rejection. First District Regent Don Waters of Savannah, said “I believe it is important for students and the system to know and understand the history on our campuses and in our communities as we work together to build a better future,” he said. “History is a great teacher, and we and our institutions can learn much from this effort.”
Your second cup: Your brain
It’s inevitable that you’ll be at a holiday gathering in the next few weeks and someone will enthusiastically tell a story about some event that you remember quite differently or don’t recall at all. It’s OK — you probably aren’t slipping. In fact, it could mean your brain’s absolutely fine, and research can back it up.
Enjoy.
Q&A: Hunting for coronavirus variants, what we know about Omicron
Scientists are studying Omicron’s transmissibility, its ability to evade immune responses to find strategies to fight it.
Georgia’s policies, lack of Medicaid expansion contribute to worsening health outcomes
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund finds access to health care in Georgia is not the same for everyone, and that means worsening health outcomes for people of color. GPB’s Ellen Eldridge reports. This story also appeared in Georgia Public Broadcasting No state in the nation is exempt from a burden of illness that […]
Georgia’s abortion laws could be impacted by upcoming Supreme Court rulings
The case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has drawn more than 1,000 friend-of-the-court briefs so far — including one from Georgia — on both sides of the issue.
Your news: Choose wisely
Quizzes, videos, discussion points to help us all make decisions based on facts, not fiction.
Georgia Board of Regents won’t change names of buildings, colleges with racist links
The University System of Georgia has decided not to pursue plans to rename dozens of buildings and colleges named for historical figures associated with racism.
Misremembering might actually mean your memory is working optimally
Your brain has limits, and errors aren’t always indicators of faulty mental processing. It may be just the opposite.
Support non-partisan, solutions-based investigative journalism without bias, fear or favor on issues affecting Savannah and Coastal Georgia.
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