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Still grateful

“Count your blessings.” We heard the phrase a lot when we were kids. It had different meanings. Should tragedy befall somebody else: “Count your blessings that wasn’t you.” When you were in pain: “Count your blessings, things could be worse.” If it was about something you wanted but could not have: “Count your blessings for what you do have. There are others who have less.” It is hard not to get beaten down by the steady drumbeat of bad news. Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, cases are surging. We have record drought and supersized wildfires across ...

A reckoning for Pakistan

American strategists will be studying for some time how Afghanistan’s U.S.-trained security forces crumbled so quickly before what appeared to be an inferior Taliban militia. One place they should look for answers is Pakistan, whose leader on Monday cheered the Taliban takeover of its northwestern neighbor. Afghans “have broken the shackles of slavery,” said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to Indian media. The offhand celebration of the U.S. retreat from Afghanistan came as Mr. Khan denounced English education in Pakistan as promoting cultural control. That a U.S. ...

Don’t lose sight of virus dangers

When the debate over COVID-19 vaccines shifts from the medical into politics and individual rights, it is easy to lose sight of just how dangerous this novel coronavirus can be. The first version was more infectious and deadly than the common flu. Now, 619,000 deaths in America later, we have the delta variant, which is twice as dangerous as the strain that brought the world to a standstill last year. The new lambda variant out of South America is feared to be more deadly and possibly more resistant to vaccines than delta. Who knows what will come down the pike next? As a doctor ...

Success in silver

A 1995 study titled, “When less is more: Counterfactual thinking and satisfaction among Olympic medalists,” studied photos to prove that bronze medal winners are happier than those who take home silver. Subsequent studies have reached the same conclusion: Silver medalists hang their heads while bronze winners can barely contain their joy. Having listened to an overview of the studies recently on a “Revisionist History” podcast, we found the medal presentations at the Tokyo Olympics fascinating. The Olympic Channel’s evening news segment was the perfect place to see the ...

Vaccine inequities

What are the best ways to make sure the indifferent protect themselves from Covid: vaccine passes for public places, pop-up clinics or Deliveroo discounts? How do you tackle outright scepticism? Should 13-year-olds be offered doses? When will older or vulnerable people start receiving booster shots? These kinds of questions are now at the fore in many countries. Across high-income nations, around half the population has been vaccinated, allowing life to return to something approaching normality. In the UK, where almost three-quarters of adults have received both doses, hospitalisation ...

Dealing with pandemic 2.0

Americans are coming to grips with sobering public health realities: The mutation and spread of SARS-CoV-2 again imperils the way we live. Many justifiably blame this latest surge on those who neglected or refused to get COVID-19 vaccinations, allowing variants to fester and emerge reborn in more infectious form. Such resistance to common sense —î often politically motivated —î not only places the rest of us at risk in our health but endangers an economy everyone claims to cherish. Worse, we can no longer count on many of our politicians who, fearful of reelection failure and ...