If you’re one of those that thought, “It isn’t fair, Trump’s voters are going to be protected from COVID because they aren’t in the cities,” well, not so much. The R0 of COVID looks a lot like the R0 of colds and like colds, is spread very easily in the air via talking and breathing. And since we know colds go everywhere, well, it only seems likely that COVID would too.
And it has started. This New York Times online article from April 8th has a wonderful graphic at the start that gives written accounts of the spread and then highlights the growth on a map of the US as it the virus spreads week to week.
The article is a frightening read, it tells you how many communities have been hit, and it also discusses the decline in rural hospitals and services, you know, because rural hospitals aren’t profitable.
Rural America is very poorly equipped to handle COVID, they don’t just lack hospitals, they lack ICU units and ventilators. When they get critical cases, they evac to the city. And with city hospitals starting to max out, that means they have nowhere to go. In all likelihood, Trump’s base is going to be harder hit than the rest of us. And while it might seem easy to gloat, or to crow about just desserts, those folks deserve better and demonstrate why a national health system is essential. For-profit medicine will never serve rural communities properly.
And for those who are going to post, “Well, this still won’t change their minds.” I grew up in a small town, and they are indeed smarter than that. They will come through this mad and wanting a solution.
From Rural America In These Times. It’s a labor magazine. And this one focuses on how COVID impacts rural communities in detail. The salient detail. Rural folks are old. Older on average than city folks. Some 69% are over 65, whereas in the cities, that number is essentially reversed. Hard times are coming.
A reminder, rural America makes our food. The immigrants in those communities pick it. What happens if you disrupt the food chain because you’ve impacted the flow of food by making too many folks sick?