Migration Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of New England Showing Movements down the Urban Hierarchy and Ensuing Impacts on Real Estate Markets

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States, the media began reporting stories of people leaving cities for rural destinations, setting off frenzied real estate activity in receiving communities. This article builds a case study of New England using nonconventional data collected from mobile devices as a proxy for population to explore the temporal and spatial patterns of movement down the urban hierarchy since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two research questions guide the analysis: (1) How have urban–rural migration systems in New England shifted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) In what ways have real estate markets been affected by these apparent migration shifts? The analysis reveals shifts of population away from metropolitan core areas of the region and into micropolitan and noncore counties. These population shifts were most pronounced in late summer and fall 2020 with loosening travel restrictions. By the end of 2020, migration systems in New England once more resembled prepandemic patterns. Further, these places down the urban hierarchy consistently showed more substantial increases in real estate activity as reflected in rising prices, reduced inventories, and increased sales volume. These real estate dynamics suggest urban to rural migration during the COVID-19 pandemic might be initiating new waves of rural gentrification. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] A medida que la pandemia del COVID-19 afectó por todo lado los Estados Unidos, los medios empezaron a informar sobre historias de gente que dejaban atrás las ciudades por destinos rurales, desencadenando una frenética actividad inmobiliaria en las comunidades receptoras. Este artículo construye un estudio de caso de Nueva Inglaterra, usando datos no convencionales recogidos de dispositivos móviles, como un proxy por la población para explorar los patrones temporales y espaciales del movimiento descendente desde la jerarquía urbana a partir de la aparición de la pandemia del COVID-19. El análisis se guía por dos preguntas de investigación: (1) ¿Cómo han cambiado los sistemas de migración ciudad–campo en Nueva Inglaterra desde el comienzo de la pandemia del COVID-19? (2) ¿De qué manera se han visto afectados los mercados inmobiliarios por estos cambios aparentes de migración? El análisis revela desplazamientos de población fuera de las áreas del núcleo metropolitano de la región hacia condados micropolitanos y no nucleados. (Spanish) [ FROM AUTHOR] 随着COVID-19流行病席卷美国, 媒体开始报道人们离开城市前往农村、在农村引发疯狂的房地产活动。本文构建了美国新英格兰地区（New England）案例, 使用来自移动设备的非常规数据替代人口数据, 探索了COVID-19流行病发生以来由城市迁移到农村的时空模式。研究分析了两个问题：（1）自COVID-19发生以来, 新英格兰地区的城乡迁移体系如何变化？（2）这些显著的迁移变化, 对房地产市场产生了哪些影响？分析表明, 人口从新英格兰大都市核心区域迁移到小城镇和非核心县。随着旅行限制的放松, 人口迁移在2020年夏末和秋季最为显著。到2020年底, 新英格兰地区的迁移体系, 再次呈现出类似于COVID-19之前的模式。处于城市等级体系底层的地区, 房地产活动持续大幅增长, 这反映在价格上涨、库存减少和销售量增加。房地产变化表明, 在COVID-19流行病期间, 城市到农村迁移可能会引发新一轮的农村中产阶级化。 (Chinese) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Professional Geographer is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Societal disruptions and child mental health: evidence from ADHD diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic

We study how the societal disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted diagnosis of a prevalent childhood mental health condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Using both nationwide private health insurance claims and a single state's comprehensive electronic health records, we compare children exposed to the pandemic to same aged children prior to the pandemic. We find the pandemic reduced new ADHD diagnoses by 8.6% among boys and 11.0% among girls nationwide through February 2021. We further show that higher levels of in-person schooling in Fall 2020 dampened the decline for girls but had no moderating effect for boys.

Long COVID in the United States

Although yet to be clearly identified as a clinical condition, there is immense concern at the health and wellbeing consequences of long COVID. Using data collected from nearly half a million Americans in the period June 2022-December 2022 in the US Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey (HPS), we find 14 percent reported suffering long COVID at some point, half of whom reported it at the time of the survey. It peaks in midlife in the same way as negative affect. Ever having had long COVID is strongly associated with negative affect (anxiety, depression, worry and a lack of interest in things). The effect is larger among those who currently report long COVID, especially if they report severe symptoms. In contrast, those who report having had short COVID report higher wellbeing than those who report never having had COVID. Long COVID is also strongly associated with physical mobility problems, and with problems dressing and bathing. It is also associated with mental problems as indicated by recall and understanding difficulties. Again, the associations are strongest among those who currently report long COVID, while those who said they had had short COVID have fewer physical and mental problems than those who report never having had COVID. Vaccination is associated with lower negative affect, including among those who reported having had long COVID.

Economies of community in local agriculture: farmers in New London, Connecticut, respond to the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the weaknesses of the U.S. national food system, with grocery store shelves emptied in March and April 2020 and COVID outbreaks reported throughout the summer of 2020 at meat processing plants across the country. Fleetingly, Americans turned to local farms to ensure they could access food safely in a time of uncertainty. This paper examines the economies of community that formed around local farms and how direct engagements between consumers and producers in the face of the pandemic deepened these economic structures that often put community well-being above profits. Within a capitalist system that prioritizes efficient mass production, economies of community illustrate that solidarity can improve local food system resilience. Based on qualitative and quantitative research carried out in the summer of 2020 in New London County in southeastern Connecticut, this research draws on ethnographic interviews with small-scale farmers who developed innovative ways to feed some of their community's most vulnerable members. Community economies show that we should not only depend on standardized large-scale farms and giant retail distribution;the American food system needs to continue to cultivate small-scale local production in order to improve resilience and food access. At present, the sustainability of producing and distributing food occurs at the farmer's expense. The government needs to support local food producers so they can continue to play an integral part in community well-being.

The experience of Vermont local food businesses during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic tested the resilience of food system actors at all levels and across all geographies. This study focuses on the experience of Vermont local food businesses by combining two surveys conducted in the first half of 2021: one of foodservice operations that procure food locally and one of Vermont farms that sell directly to consumers. We analyzed descriptive statistics, open responses, and conducted Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests to assess which factors were related tobusinesses'financial statusesbefore and since the pandemic. Pre-pandemic financial status was related with business type, whether the business went on to receive emergency funds, and financial status since the pandemic. The only significant factor for financial status since the pandemic was prepandemic financial status. We close with recommendations for policy and future research.

Mechanical power and 30-day mortality in mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients with and without Coronavirus Disease-2019: a hospital registry study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies linked a high intensity of ventilation, measured as mechanical power, to mortality in patients suffering from "classic" ARDS. By contrast, mechanically ventilated patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 may present with intact pulmonary mechanics while undergoing mechanical ventilation for longer periods of time. We investigated whether an association between higher mechanical power and mortality is modified by a diagnosis of COVID-19. METHODS: This retrospective study included critically ill, adult patients who were mechanically ventilated for at least 24 h between March 2020 and December 2021 at a tertiary healthcare facility in Boston, Massachusetts. The primary exposure was median mechanical power during the first 24 h of mechanical ventilation, calculated using a previously validated formula. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. As co-primary analysis, we investigated whether a diagnosis of COVID-19 modified the primary association. We further investigated the association between mechanical power and days being alive and ventilator free and effect modification of this by a diagnosis of COVID-19. Multivariable logistic regression, effect modification and negative binomial regression analyses adjusted for baseline patient characteristics, severity of disease and in-hospital factors, were applied. RESULTS: 1,737 mechanically ventilated patients were included, 411 (23.7%) suffered from COVID-19. 509 (29.3%) died within 30 days. The median mechanical power during the first 24 h of ventilation was 19.3 [14.6-24.0] J/min in patients with and 13.2 [10.2-18.0] J/min in patients without COVID-19. A higher mechanical power was associated with 30-day mortality (ORadj 1.26 per 1-SD, 7.1J/min increase; 95% CI 1.09-1.46; p = 0.002). Effect modification and interaction analysis did not support that this association was modified by a diagnosis of COVID-19 (95% CI, 0.81-1.38; p-for-interaction = 0.68). A higher mechanical power was associated with a lower number of days alive and ventilator free until day 28 (IRRadj 0.83 per 7.1 J/min increase; 95% CI 0.75-0.91; p < 0.001, adjusted risk difference - 2.7 days per 7.1J/min increase; 95% CI - 4.1 to - 1.3). CONCLUSION: A higher mechanical power is associated with elevated 30-day mortality. While patients with COVID-19 received mechanical ventilation with higher mechanical power, this association was independent of a concomitant diagnosis of COVID-19.

Social service providers under COVID-19 duress: adaptation, burnout, and resilience

Summary : This article examines the response of social services organizations and their workers to the COVID-19 pandemic in a northeastern U.S. state. Using an exploratory, cross-sectional survey design with a convenience sample (N = 1472), we ask: (1) how did agencies and social service workers manage service disruptions associated with COVID-19;(2) how did social service workers perceive shifts in clients' needs;(3) how did social service workers experience the transition to remote interactions with clients;and (4) how did social service workers cope with COVID-related transitions and demands. Findings : Our findings tell a story of unprecedented crises alongside powerful attempts at adaptation, innovation, and resilience. Faced with extraordinary need among their clients, fears for their own health, and a breakdown of organizational and community functioning and guidance, social workers were able to learn and implement new technologies, adapt to increasing demands, manage new work-life boundaries, and find ways to address gaps in service while experiencing symptoms of burnout. Application : The impact of supervisory and administrative fragmentation and communication breakdowns in the face of crisis put social workers in an untenable position despite surprising abilities to adapt, innovate, and manage their professional lives while under duress. Assuring better supervisory/administrative infrastructure to support workers as they deliver services during crises will help in future crises.

Safety of the live at attenuated vaccine avishield IB GI-13 against infectious bronchitis in SPF chickens during laying period

Avian infectious bronchitis (IB) is an economically important, highly contagious, acute disease of Chickens caused by a single-stranded positive RNA Virus that belongs to the Coronaviridae family. The Virus can replicate in the oviduct and cause permanent damage in young hens resulting in the false layer occurrence. In laying hens, infectious bronchitis Virus (IBV) infections can cause a severe decline in egg production and a number of effects on egg quality and reduced hatchability. The most effective means of controlling IB in poultry is vaccination. In the areas with increased pressure of circulating field challenge Virus, live attenuated vaccines are also used during the laying period with the intention of keeping local protection of the respiratory tract at a high level. The vaccine strain IB V-173/11 contained in Avishield IB GI-13 vaccine is a strain that genetically (S1 gene) belongs to GI-13 lineage and antigenically to 793B IBV serotype. Viral infections of this serotype occur frequently in Europe and therefore most vaccination programs in broilers, layers and breeders along a live IBV vaccine of the Massachusetts serotype also include a live vaccine of the 793B serotype, GI-I3 lineage. In this paper, results of a safety evaluation of live attenuated IB vaccine strain V-173/11, when administered by spray method in a ten-fold maximum dose repeated by one maximum dose in 28-week-old specific pathogen free (SPF) layer Chickens are presented. As a control, non-vaccinated SPF layer chickens were included in the study. The vaccine is considered to be safe when used in laying period because no vaccinated chicken showed abnormal local or systemic reactions or signs of IB related disease, no chicken died from the causes attributable to the vaccine, egg quality was not altered, and there was no statistically significant difference in. egg production between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated group.

Special Issue: Public health interventions to address health disparities associated with structural racism. (Special Issue: Public health interventions to address health disparities associated with structural racism.)

This special issue includes 15 articles focusing on how public health professionals at local, state, and federal agencies and at academic institutions can address the pervasive structural racism against Asians by making them visible. Topics discussed are: anti-Latino racism, the racial state, and revising approaches to racial disparities;conquering the health disparities of structural racism;embedding equity in a local government's Response to COVID-19;the Massachusetts racial equity data road map;the power of community in addressing infant mortality inequities;disparities across income and health insurance in a national sample of US adults;community-informed mobile COVID-19 testing model to addressing health inequities.

Contesting Deaths' Despair: Local Public Religion, Radical Welcome and Community Health in the Overdose Crisis, Massachusetts, USA

In the United States, the first decades of the twenty-first century have been marked by a worsening fatal drug overdose epidemic leading life expectancy to decline for the first time in a century. Often termed deaths of despair, this development is attributed to declines in civic life, including lessening religious participation, wrought by long-term deindustrialization. Despite this, civil society has responded by contesting despair and the conditions hastening fatal overdose trends. This article examines faith-based community responses to the American overdose crisis through an extended case study of a church-led campaign in Massachusetts. In the summer of 2017, the state of Massachusetts released its fatal overdose numbers to the public: 2,069 people died of fatal overdose in 2016. In response, Trinity Church of Wrentham, Massachusetts, launched the #2069 campaign resulting in over 2,000 billboards and lawn signs emblazoned with #2069 displayed across the state. The memorial project fostered conversation, but also forged new community active in its work of social support, public health outreach and nonpartisan political engagement. The article considers the role of faith-based public health efforts and the potential for further interfaith and interracial collaboration on public health issues and the role of public religion in contesting conditions of despair.

Collaboration is the key to innovation

Collaboration is defined as the act of working with someone to produce or create something. When it comes to the water industry, Technology Approval Groups (TAG) are innovation forums that can be found around the world. They were first launched in the United Kingdom in 2005 TAG accelerates the market update of "step-change" technologies by engaging the industry during the pre-commercial stages of development and by leveraging the power of collective leading end-users to collaborate around shared interests and priorities. TAG is a low-risk option for utilities looking to collect information not commonly found at conferences or other public forums. Even though such groups are not new, the concept is new to most New England utilities. The U.S. program comprises more than 75 utilities and is growing exponentially. The author's experience with these forums provides a unique perspective to the region's needs and the key drivers for those needs. Adaptation is the new normal since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. New England utilities are focused on asset management, distribution and collection system maintenance, stormwater, and reservoir management. This paper will describe how the TAG model rooted in collaboration can assist utilities along with water and wastewater professionals throughout the region to think outside the box and learn about qualified solutions becoming available with each passing day. © 2021 New England Water Environment Association. All rights reserved.

COVID-19's Perceived Impact on Primary Care in New England: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 impacted primary care delivery, as clinicians and practices implemented changes to respond to the pandemic while safely caring for patients. This study aimed to understand clinicians' perceptions of the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 on primary care in New England. METHODS: This qualitative interview study was conducted from October through December 2020. Participants included 22 physicians and 2 nurse practitioners practicing primary care in New England. Data were thematically coded and analyzed deductively and inductively using content analysis. RESULTS: Through qualitative content analysis, 4 areas were identified in which clinicians perceived that COVID-19 impacted primary care: 1) bureaucracy, 2) leadership, 3) telemedicine and patient care, and 4) clinician work-life. Our findings suggest that the positive impacts of COVID-19 included changes in primary care delivery, new leadership opportunities for clinicians, flexible access to care for patients via telemedicine, and a better work-life balance for clinicians. Respondents identified negative impacts related to sustaining pandemic-inspired changes, the inability for some populations to access care via telemedicine, and the rapid implementation of telemedicine causing frustration for clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding clinician perspectives on how primary care transformed to respond to COVID-19 helps to identify beneficial pandemic-related changes that should be sustained and ideas for improvement that will support patient care and clinician engagement.

New evidence of genetic factors related to severe infection of novel Coronavirus

Since the end of 2019, new coronavirus pneumonia caused by infection with a new type of coronavirus has become widespread in the world, posing a serious threat to life and health. However, after individuals are infected with SARS-CoV-2, significantly different outcomes occur, which can manifest as simple, mild, common, severe, and dangerous pneumonia. Previous research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that severe infections in individuals may be related to genetic variation, but the genetic contribution and associated mechanisms of severe COVID-19 is still not well understood. Recently, JeanLaurent Casanova's team at Rockefeller University performed genomic testing on 1,193 patients with new coronary pneumonia and found that the critically ill patients carried rare harmful mutations. These mutations originate from 13 loci and related genes that are enriched in the TLR3/IRF7-dependent type I interferon pathway. Further studies of the function of all 118 non-synonymous mutations at these 13 loci revealed that cells harboring these mutations were more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. This study suggests that TLR3/IRF7-dependent interferon immunity associated with dsRNA sensing may play an important role in the control of SARS-CoV-2, and that genetic defects in these genes are implicated in immunity may be responsible for the development of severe COVID-19 in some individuals.

Epidemiology of enforcing travel restrictions in US peninsular regions during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study evaluated the effectiveness of enforced travel restrictions on COVID-19 case burden and deaths, epidemiologic data from Barnstable and Monroe County. As of 25 May, 2020, Barnstable County, MA had 1277 reported cases of COVID-19 and 110 related deaths. Barnstable County had a case rate of 600 infections per 100,000 population. For the same period, Monroe County, FL had 107 cases and four deaths. Monroe County had a case rate of 144 infections per 100,00 population. In Florida, the Monroe County Emergency Manager established a travel ban to the Florida Keys on 20 March, 2020. Phase 1 of Florida re-opening, the "Safe, Smart, Step-by-Step Plan for Recovery" was implemented 4 May, 2020;travel restrictions within the Florida Keys were lifted but travel to the Florida Keys remains restricted at time of this report. While local citizen organizations pushed for the closure of bridges to Cape Cod in Barnstable County, no transportation-limiting quarantine measures were put into effect. Although no policy statement for why travel restrictions were not in place in Barnstable but were for Monroe, it was suspected that the differences in policy stem from the feasibility of implementation and existing infrastructure. While a travel ban has been disruptive to the Keys economy, heavily reliant on tourism, the normalization of emergency measures likely lowered barriers to the implementation of travel restrictions. In Cape Cod, such restrictions may have been seen as a much more extreme measure due to the infrequency of severe natural disasters. In the beginning of the pandemic, Barnstable COVID-19 cases were not at elevated as those in nearby Massachusetts counties, likely limiting the perceived need for restricted access. Additionally, the perceived risk of population influx following COVID-19's pandemic designation may have been different in the two locations. In Monroe County, this timing corresponded with the beginning of Spring Break tourist season and implementing a peninsular lockdown may have seemed more critical. However, in Barnstable County, March and April are typically low tourism months and the risk of peninsular traffic may have seemed lower as a result.