© Getty ImagesThe other health crises when the coronavirus era comes to an end
The United States has crossed the devastating milestone of 500,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus. As the country grieves these lives lost, there seems to be some hopeful signs that the pandemic is slowing. Almost 20 percent of Americans have had at least one dose of the vaccine, as cases and deaths are declining across the country. By all measures, these developments with the vaccine and declining cases are encouraging. However, even when every American receives the vaccine, our nation's health care crisis will be far from over.
The pandemic has exposed or exacerbated a number of other mass physical and mental health issues that continue to devastate our communities and overwhelm our health care system. These crises range from physical health issues, like obesity, cancer, and heart disease, which have been linked as comorbidities to the coronavirus; to mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.
With that said, President Biden and his administration have an obligation to illuminate the declining state of our country's mental and physical health following the pandemic, and also to work toward bipartisan, science-based reforms to our health care system to make Americans physically and emotionally healthier. The country's overall poor health has been laid bare by the coronavirus, which has been shown to prey on those who are otherwise unhealthy, or who have certain comorbidities that exacerbate the toll the virus takes on their body.
According to CDC data, there were a dozen states in 2019 that had an obesity rate over 35 percent, which marks an increase from nine states in 2018. Obesity has the potential to triple the risk of hospitalization if the coronavirus is contracted, and leads to impaired immune function, making those who are obese more at risk of contracting the coronavirus and other diseases, like heart disease.
Heart disease can be genetic, but the most prevalent form of heart disease in the United States is caused by consequence of being overweight, obese, physically inactive, or having an unhealthy diet. Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for over 80 years, as around 655,000 Americans die of heart disease each year.. Moreover, it costs the United States around $219 billion each year to address the impact of heart disease, which includes the cost of health care services and pharmaceuticals.
Another disease that has devastated the United States for years - and has been shown to exacerbate coronavirus sickness in patients - is cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, almost two million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2020, and more than 606,000 Americans will die from the disease. Indeed, cancer has been deemed an epidemic in the United States and worldwide. Globally, it is projected that we will reach 21.6 million cases of cancer worldwide by 2030, which brings a medical cost of $458 billion
Further, research has suggested that patients with cancer - or who are recovering from cancer - are more at risk for contracting the coronavirus, as well as for developing more severe cases than patients without cancer.
Encouragingly, Biden has spoken of the importance of cancer research. During his final year as Vice President, Biden worked to accelerate cancer research, make more therapies available to patients, and enable disease prevention and early detection. Any cancer-curing initiative of the magnitude Biden has spoken of achieving would be an incredible and important advancement for our country.
In addition to our nation's pressing physical health crisis, our nation's mental health crisis is severe, and is accelerating. Americans' mental health has deteriorated as a result of the pandemic, which has led to higher instances of substance abuse. Alcohol use, tobacco use, and drug use are on the rise, especially among young Americans, and our nation's mental health is on the decline.
Given the severity of the physical and mental health challenges facing the country, the administration along with legislators have a responsibility to address each individually and collectively as critical components of health care reform. This means finding ways to address these crises by way of reform that includes funding, education, and financial support for rural and poorer communities in order to close the mental and physical health gaps that exist in this country based on race and socioeconomic status.
While the pandemic may seemingly be drawing to a close, the magnitude of our nation's overall physical and mental health crisis is still considerable, and requires an immediate set of reforms and initiatives to make Americans healthier and happier.
Douglas Schoen is a political consultant who served as campaign adviser for Bill Clinton and Michael Bloomberg. Jessie Howkins holds a degree in exercise science and is also the founder with Pure Soul Personal Training.