WHEN COVID-19 FIRST ARRIVED, it seemed like it was only temporary. We’d all hole up at home for a few months, then things would reopen and we could get back to normal. Now, with the global pandemic worsening by the day, it’s clear that we’ll be living with the coronavirus for the foreseeable future. We’re facing an unprecedented level of risk and uncertainty in our daily lives with little reliable information to guide us.
We asked Emily Oster—an economics professor at Brown University who specializes in data-driven approaches to decision-making—to help make sense of all the confusing and often contradictory advice. She consulted more than a dozen doctors and scientists to sort out the most logical, rational, simple guidance that science can offer for just about every virus-related question imaginable.
From what I hear, the virus is mainly fatal for older people and for those who have underlying medical conditions. If I’m a healthy adult, is my risk of dying from it low?
Statistically speaking, yes. In this sense, it’s similar to other respiratory illnesses. The age pattern is very stark with the oldest old dying at extremely high rates. But with covid-19, the fatality rates among everyone who is hospitalized, even younger people, are very high. Among recent hospitalizations in Florida, 5 percent of patients between the ages of 35 and 44 died. That’s much lower than the 60 percent fatality rate for those over 80, but it still tells you that covid-19 can be a very serious illness at any age.
So if I’m over 60, I should be worried?
Denne historien er fra July 20 - August 02, 2020-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra July 20 - August 02, 2020-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Wonk in Full- Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention.
Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention. Ezra Klein, who is known to keep his passions in check, did not have the right credentials to get into the arena. The Secret Service didn't recognize the New York Times' star "Opinion" writer and podcaster, but eventually he was able to figure out how to get in to where he belonged. This was, after all, as much his convention as any journalist's, since its high-energy optimism turned on the fact that President Joe Biden was no longer leading the ticket and, starting early this year, Klein had led the coup drumbeat.
The Afterlife of Donald Trump - The presidential hopeful contemplates his campaign, his formidable new opponent, and the miracle of his continued existence.
Donald Trump raised his right hand and grabbed hold of it. He bent it backward and forward. I asked if I could take a closer look. These days, the former president and current triple threat-convicted felon, Republican presidential nominee, and recent survivor of an assassination attempt-comes from a place of yes. He waved me over to where he sat on this August afternoon, in a low-to-the-ground chair upholstered in cream brocade fabric in the grand living room at Mar-a-Lago.
Danzy Senna Can't Stop Thinking in Black and White
Her latest novel holds diminishing returns.
Live, Laugh, Love
Dick jokes meet sentimentality in a wily Sandler-Safdie collab.
Tim Burton Is Great Again
A long-awaited sequel revels in gore and nostalgia.
In the Shack With Robert Caro
The Power Broker is turning 50. The final LBJ book is almostwell, he won't say exactly, but he's trying for 900 words a day.
24 Comedians You Should Know RIGHT NOW
THE COMEDY industry is undergoing a metamorphosis in 2024. Name-brand venues like the Second City and UCB are opening or reopening in New York, beloved local spots are being bought out by megacorporations, and streaming-service-helmed comedy festivals are usurping the old-fashioned ones. Post-WGA strike, TV-development execs are growing green-light-shy, Hulu is entering the stand-up fray, and YouTube specials are becoming just as worthy of watching as Netflix specials, if not more so.
Leading Lady
Anna Sawai could take home the Emmy for her performance in Shogun. But she's keeping her cool.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Le Même Veau
The Frenchette crew has taken over the 87-year-old restaurant, and the snails are as garlicky and the duck as pink as ever.
DESIGN HUNTING: A LOFT WITH A HIGHER PURPOSE
Ali Richmond, co-founder of the nonprofit Fashion for All Foundation, has lived in this Brooklyn loft for almost 20 years with his archive of designer clothing.