Ten Public Health Tips to Heal From COVID-19 Losses

Over the past 20 months, we have all been bombarded with information about COVID-19. From professional journals to Facebook, it has been nearly impossible to stay away from data for more than a few minutes. Every conversation with family and friends, every news report, every work-related policy, every travel plan, and every wedding invitation and dinner plan have had at least a few minutes of discussion about COVID-19. Truth and lies have comingled in ways that I had not seen before in my life. Nor had I ever thought carefully a bout politics as another determinant of health. But, as president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), I've had the opportunity over the past year to hear from people around the country about their stories and about how they are coping with this pandemic, have heard from colleagues who remained determined to do the right thing for the health of their communities, even when their employment was in jeopardy and they and their famiies received threats. I have heard from some friends and relatives who think that this is all a big hoax and that I should really read this or that thing their friend posted on Twitter. I have been moved to tears by the dedication of so many, and I have been-and remain incensed at the intentional disinformation campaigns. I've read about the impact on the economy, on the health sector, on educational achievement, and on the food chain, to name a few. But the report that struck me the most was one that stated that, on average, every person who dies from COVID-19 leaves behind nine mourners. This means there are almost 42 milion people in the world mourning the loss of a oved one, 6 million of those in the United States.