The Plight of a Hospital Chaplain During the Coronavirus Pandemic

“How do you comfort the suffering when you’re not allowed in the room?” Chaplains at hospitals provide support to those who are sick as well as their loved ones. Butler, a chaplain has been praying for people in bed, outside the door and maintaining connection despite the physical distance. Although there is a responsibility largely … Read more

Lhooq, “People are Paying Real Money to Get Into Virtual Zoom Nightclubs,” Bloomberg, April 15, 2020.

“As nightlife appropriates technologies built for corporate conferencing and gaming, new party experiences are emerging to encourage interactivity and community, making the audience active participants rather than passive consumers. ” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-14/virtual-nightlife-grows-past-dj-livestreams-to-paid-zoom-clubs?sref=ExbtjcSG

Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386653220301050?via%3Dihub This article breaks down the clinical characteristics of 225 patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan China. The average age was 50, which was lower than I thought it would be. The most interesting part of this was that all the patients showed lung infiltrates, but only 56% actually exhibited the cough symptoms … Read more

Bill Gates: A New Target for Conspiracy Theories

Bill Gates warned of the potential for a devastating pandemic like this years ago, and in February he stated that coronavirus was precisely the kind of threat that he feared could inflict great harm on a global scale. He has subsequently been the target of a variety of conspiracy theories, some of which accuse him … Read more

The Psychological Toll of Social Distancing

While social distancing is a necessary measure to try and control the spread of coronavirus, we must also consider how this measure effects the population psychologically. This article discusses some of these effects, including loneliness and nightmares, and stresses the importance of routine to try and create structure and restore some semblance of normalcy in … Read more

Words to Messages: The Power of Syntax in The News

News Captioning In CNN broadcasts of daily News, it is normal to have subscripts and captions to explain to viewers the intent of the broadcast if they are joining late, or simply following along. For example, when sharing the weather or traffic, a sub-caption like “Weekly Weather Report for Rhode Island Area” might display below … Read more

France Announces “Progressive Deconfinement” beginning May 11

On Monday night, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the country, which had been on lockdown since March 17, would likely begin to re-open on May 11. Schools would be amongst the first to re-open; other establishments such as restaurants and bars could remain closed until mid-July. Roe, David and van der Made, Jan. “French … Read more

Disparities in care for non-English-speaking coronavirus patients

This article explains how the coronavirus pandemic is “exposing, and exacerbating, a pre-existing condition in the country’s health system: disparities in care for non-English-speaking patients” as a result of medical interpreters being forced to work remotely due to lack of sufficient PPE. Considering how the virus has disproportionately impacted black, Latinx, and immigrant communities, this … Read more

COVID-19: immunopathology and its implications for therapy

This article gives a good overview of data indicating how COVID-19 acts on the body, specifically in activating the immune system. The authors emphasize the need for standardized treatment protocol while also considering that a combination of treatments may be the most effective. Additionally, they emphasize how much is still unknown about how long and … Read more