Well, we are 9 months into the political response to the virus. Data is showing alarming trends. Yes, Covid is out there but so too are drug overdoses and suicide. People, especially young people, those who are least at risk from the virus are forcibly cut off from friends, families, and communities.
Are currently subject to lockdowns, restrictions, regulations, or executive orders? Most of us are. Government officials have chosen to respond to the virus not by treating the sick but by restricting the healthy. It’s new and novel. It’s an unconstitutional and largely ineffective approach.
The virus is being met with increasing coercion and control. It’s as if law and political action have replaced science and medicine. The Wall Street Journal is reporting states and cities have “imposed the most extensive restrictions on business and social gatherings…” since the spring.
Those who believe tyranny cures the virus argue these new restrictions are essential. We cannot slow the current surge in virus cases without repressive measures. But some public health researchers point out lockdowns and government orders lead to worse public health outcomes.
There is collateral damage from lockdowns. This is glaringly apparent. Data show a trend toward drug overdoses and suicide in 2020. This is because people are forcibly cut off from their friends, families, and communities. This is especially damaging to young people who are at least at risk from the virus.
According to the Associated Press, 621 people have died of drug overdoses this year in San Francisco. This is in comparison to 173 deaths in the city from the virus. The number of San Francisco drug overdose deaths is up from 441 in 2019. California has some of the strictest public health orders in the country. And still, they are seeing its cases rise. Is this from the effects of Democrat political leadership?
A survey by YouGov found that 39% of respondents who were recovering from an addiction prior to lockdowns have relapsed. Other research shows increasing rates of drug and alcohol abuse in 2020. The CDC reports that overdose deaths are accelerating during the virus.
Federal surveys show that 40% of Americans are now dealing with at least one mental health or drug problem. Young adults are hit harder than any other age group. Martin Kulldorff is a biostatistician and epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School. He has been critical of widespread lockdowns since the beginning of the virus. His warning has been: these coercive strategies lead to other serious public health harms and increased mortality.
Kulldorff recently told Newsweek:
“The current lockdown strategy has led to many excess deaths, both from COVID-19 and from the collateral damage on other health outcomes… A focused protection strategy, as outlined in the Great Barrington Declaration, would minimize disease and mortality by better protecting older and other high-risk people while letting the young live near-normal lives.”
Kulldorff also suggests showing US excess deaths in 2020 for people ages 25-44 are mostly due to the collateral damage caused by lockdown policies. This is the result of Democrat leadership. They want power and if collateral damage is incurred in the acquisition… well the ends justify the means.
In addition to rising drug and alcohol abuse and overdose deaths, suicidal thoughts and attempts are also increasing this year. The Washington Post reports that depression and anxiety are surging since the arrival of the virus. The Post writes:
“Federal surveys show that 40% of Americans are now grappling with at least one mental health or drug-related problem. But young adults have been hit harder than any other age group, with 75% struggling… Even more alarming, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently asked young adults if they had thought about killing themselves in the past 30 days, 1 in 4 said they had.”
We won’t have accurate data on suicide rates for 2020 until another couple of years. It is a function of slow reporting mechanisms. State and city data for some areas suggest disturbing suicide numbers this year. In Oregon, Columbia County by summertime had already exceeded the area’s 2019 total suicides.
DuPage County near Chicago reports a 23% increase in suicides over last year. Other large counties in the US have seen similar trends. In Japan, more people died of suicide in the month of October alone than have died from COVID-19 this entire year. The form of our response to the virus is deadly worldwide.
Families are weighing the trade-offs this holiday season. On the one hand, there is social isolation to slow the spread of the virus. On the other hand are the harms separation can cause. Many are choosing to ignore public health warnings.
The New York Times reports millions of people went through airport security checkpoints this week. The Wall Street Journal indicates that nearly 85 million Americans are expected to travel for the holidays. This is a decline of just under 30% from last year.
More families are seeing the damage these lockdowns and related policies are causing their loved ones. Increasing numbers are no longer willing to comply with orders to stay away from others. Their decision is made easier as they watch public health officials and politicians personally violating their own holiday travel, gathering warnings and rules they force on others. Laws are for thee, not for me… Do as we say…
The virus is real. It should be taken seriously. But so too should the harms of lockdowns and government orders. The executive orders are leading to record numbers of drug overdose deaths and suicides. There are also other types of collateral damage such as rising global poverty and declining cancer screenings.
Public health and elected officials remain focused on Covid-19. Families gathering this holiday season recognize ensuring the overall health and well-being of their loved ones extends beyond one virus. It is time to apply a new calculus to our decision making. Closing our eyes and ears to the results of the current cures is causing more harm than the disease itself. It is time to stop digging in our heals. End the tyranny and move to a better place.
