Coronavirus News (171)

Why Bitcoin Will Be Crucial in Our Cashless Future  People pay with cash just 20 percent of the time in Sweden and only 14 percent of the time in South Korea. ........   the end of cash might carry unanticipated costs too. Today, cash is the easiest way to buy things anonymously, whereas most digital transactions are tracked by some middle man. With no digital cash equivalent, then, a cashless society is a society in which we’ve traded financial privacy for convenience. 

The Pandemic’s Mental Toll: More Ripple Than Tsunami Some health officials have forecast a steep rise in new mental health disorders. But the impact isn’t likely to last. ..........  “a massive increase in mental health conditions in the coming months,” wrought by anxiety and isolation. .........  Psychiatrists and therapists who work with people in the wake of earthquakes, hurricanes and other disasters noted that surges in anxiety and helplessness were natural reactions that seldom become traumatic or chronic. ..........  “Very few people understand how resilient they really are until faced with extraordinary circumstances. In fact, one of our first jobs in these situations is to call attention to just that.” .........   “The acute shock and fear of the events of September 11 were not accompanied by a commensurate increase in the use of psychotropic medications” .........  Post-traumatic stress requires, first, experiencing a life-threatening event, either personally; through a loved one; or up close, like witnessing deaths in an intensive care unit. Nightmares and other reverberations of the trauma are common, but these typically must persist for at least three months to qualify for the full diagnosis of a chronic condition. ..............  Living through a pandemic is nothing like surviving a natural catastrophe such as those: it’s less visible, less predictable, a creeping threat rather than flying debris — a marathon, psychologically, rather than a sprint to safety. A wave of new mental health disorders may indeed be on the way, especially if Covid-19 cases explode again late in the year, or the economic downturn deepens.

WITH NO PATIENTS AT HOME, CHINA OUTSOURCES COVID VACCINE TRIALS CHINESE RESEARCHERS ARE HOLDING A PHASE THREE CLINICAL TRIAL IN THE UAE INSTEAD...........   A couple other experimental vaccines, like those developed by Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson, have also reached phase three. But so far, none of the clinical trials have actually begun.   

FOR THE FIRST TIME, UN WARNS OF “CLIMATE-RELATED” REFUGEES  “interplay between climate, conflict, hunger, poverty, and persecution creates increasingly complex emergencies.” .......  Doing so clarifies that they are unable to return home later, not unlike refugees escaping long-term political or religious persecution.