Silver linings
Lessons learned from a year full of catastrophe and change.
Patricia Marroquin/Getty Images
The pandemic forced us to change everything, from how we handle cash, to what we wear, and how we work.
Since 2017, teen vaping has increased at a record pace. But in 2020, the pace slowed — and even declined by some measures.
And the effects of Covid-19 on the lungs and risks vaping can pose to lung health could be part of that.
Yulia Reznikov/Getty Images
A survey of 312 college students published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that after the pandemic hit, students living with their peers and their parents both decreased the maximum number of drinks they had per day.
It may not be a normal college situation, but seeing as alcohol can impact the growth of white matter in the brain and is linked to aging in the brain, less alcohol is better in the long run.
69 percent of 400 park visitors said they were visiting natural areas more in 2020, according to a University of Vermont survey.
25.8 percent of those visitors had never or rarely ever visited a local natural area.
John Crux Photography/Getty Images
Approximately 38.2 percent of people used the parks to find peace and quiet, connect with nature, or "contemplate" – which the authors describe as a way to reduce stress.
Outside of this survey, numerous other studies have highlighted the important role green and blue space plays in mental health
Erica Anderson/Giphy
During the 2018-2019 flu season, only 45.3 percent of American adults got a flu shot — even though the flu is an illness that resurges (and claims lives) every year.
This year, however, fears of a twindemic between Covid-19 and the flu prompted action.
Veerapong Boonporn / EyeEm/ Getty Images
Early signs indicate more people are being vaccinated this year.
According to the CDC, flu coverage for American adults is at 48.4 percent — 3.1 percentage points higher than the 2018/2019 flu season. Overall, flu vaccination coverage is higher for every age group.
It turns out that surfaces weren't the primary way that coronavirus spreads. But hand washing is still a major and underutilized tool for combating disease.
In a February 2020 study, scientists at MIT found that if 60 percent of people in airports had clean hands (by washing after using the bathroom for example), we could slow the spread of diseases by as much as 69 percent.
The study assumes that only 20 percent of people have clean hands in an airport at any given time.