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OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 OPINION 25 ••
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More kids die from other causes than COVID-19
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ
Tribune Columnist
If you go back to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, January of last year, you discover that in this state so far, we have lost 36 young people to this stinking virus. Three dozen in 20 months. Every loss like this is tragic, but such losses also demand perspective.
Meaning: As serial killers go, COVID-19 has a deeply ingrained taste for older adults. In all, 90 percent of Arizonans killed by the virus so far are age 55 or older.
I make this comparison because of late we are hearing about what headline writers and TV news types love to call “a spike” in COVID among Arizona children. These stories teem with fear, because when it comes to kids, the news adores the specter of the Grim Reaper.
My point: Maybe dig a little before you believe the hype. Maybe don’t rush to Amazon quite yet and purchase that kid-sized plastic bubble for your youngest family members. Maybe it’s even safe to send the kids off to school, though in-person learning would create more risk for older principals, teachers and school staffers.
Arizona’s Department of Health Services has publicly made available the full range of pandemic: Cases, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccination levels down to the ZIP code.
For me, the numbers produce perspective, food for thought, and a sense of calm. I like to know what we’re up against so I can apportion my concern appropriately.
How risky is COVID-19 for anyone under the age of 20? Not very, according to the numbers.
Our state is home to 1.84 million girls and boys under age 20, according to ADHS. So far, one in 10 have tested positive for COVID-19. Of the 182,351 positive cases in that demographic, about 1.4 percent have required hospitalization.
That’s 2,633 young heads in hospital beds – compared to more than 31,000 people hospitalized age 65 or older.
I’ll say it again: COVID preys on the old and the in�irm, especially when they’re unvaccinated.
Keep in mind, vaccines have not yet been administered to those under the age of 12, and to only 19 percent of kids under age 20. They’re doing just �ine without it, at least so far, thank you very much.
And while we’re on the subject of developing perspective, let me add this. Every year, the state does an extensive review of fatalities among minors. It’s sad reading, but edifying. In 2019, prepandemic, 777 children died in Arizona, down from 843 deaths the year before.
What kills our kids with the greatest frequency? Car crashes. Murder. Suffocation. Parents high on drugs. Prematurity. Cancer.
Each of these causes kills more Arizona children in a given year than has COVID-19.
The state divides child deaths into two groups – preventable and natural. Among deaths deemed accidental, reckless driving took 61 kids in 2019. Substance abuse by parents contributed to 54 deaths, while unsafe sleep environments killed 52 kids. There were 59 homicides that year among minors, with blunt force claiming 29 lives and guns taking 24 more.
When an Arizona child dies a natural death, it’s almost always one of three causes: Prematurity took 170 infants in 2019; birth defects took 99 children; and cancer took 54 kids from their parents that year.
My hope is not to sound hard-boiled, indifferent to the suffering of children and their loved ones. Rather, my goal is to offer some context. COVID-19 may indeed be spiking among the young, but that surge is mostly numerical, nothing worse than your average case of the �lu.
There are spikes, is what I’m saying, and then there’s a deadly spike through the heart. For kids, COVID-19 is absolutely not that.
College hunger is a real issue in the East Valley
BY DAVE RICHINS
Tribune Guest Writer
Area college and university campuses look to be back in force this fall, with tens of thousands of students potentially returning for in-person classroom learning.
It would be easy to assume that these students are all �illing up their plates at campus dining halls as part of their meal plans. You might be surprised, then, to learn about the many food assistance partners United Food Bank supports on campuses such as Mesa Community College, Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Arizona State University.
In fact, our food bank provides meals to about 25,000 higher-education students each school year.
According to Feeding America, the demographics of today’s college student populations are signi�icantly different than they were in previous decades.
For example, a whopping 71 percent of today’s college students are non-traditional. That means they have one or more of the following characteristics: experience in �inancial independence (their bills aren’t being footed by parents), are enrolled in school part-time but work full-time, are caretakers for dependents and/or did not receive a traditional high school diploma.
The average age of students starting college is now 21 years, with the average age of all students at 26. The result is that more of today’s students are balancing schoolwork with parenting.
In fact, 22 percent of students care for child dependents; 14 percent of them as single parents. All these changing statistics have led to an increased share of college students who have low household incomes.
United Food Bank partners with organizations on campuses throughout our region to �ill this growing need for food assistance.
For example, last school year Mesa Community College hosted a monthly food distribution called We Care Wednesday at both of their campuses. At ChandlerGilbert Community College, monthly fresh produce distributions have helped students focus on learning rather than food and basic needs.
The Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act passed last December allows approximately 6 million more college students to be eligible for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) bene�it, which can be used to purchase groceries.
These are all steps in the right direction to address a population in need of food assistance that has been previously overlooked.
We’re committed to continuing to provide nutritious foods for on-campus distributions as we strive to bring food assistance to the people who need it where they need it. You can help support these efforts by donating at unitedfoodbank. org/donate.
Every dollar you donate translates into �ive student-supportive meals.
Dave Richins is CEO of United Food
Bank. ■
Biden’s administration AWOL in Afghan tragedy
BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist
When President George H.W. Bush took a look at his watch during the second debate of the 1992 campaign, it probably insured his “second place finish” on Election Day. No other gesture expresses disinterest or disdain more effectively, even if that is not the intent.
Joe Biden’s memory has deteriorated before our eyes. The most graphic evidence came on the final Sunday of August at Dover Air Force Base. The Commander-in-Chief checked his watch during the solemn return of the remains of 13 fallen Americans. Even worse, Biden looked at his watch repeatedly – diminishing the dignity of the ceremony.
The father of one of the fallen – Darin Hoover, whose son, Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover was killed along with a dozen others during the terror bombing of Kabul Airport – said Biden checked his watch 13 times.
“That didn’t just happen once, that happened on every single one that came out of that airplane. It happened on every single one of them. They would release the salute and he’d look down at this watch, Hoover recalled during a television interview.
Things did not improve when Mr. Biden subsequently met with the new Gold Star families. In an apparent attempt to empathize with the parents of the fallen, the president recalled the passing of his older son, Beau. While Beau Biden served in Iraq, he did so as part of the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps – not as part of a combat unit.
The younger Biden was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013, and passed away in 2015. While certainly tragic, Beau’s death at age 46 occurred under very different circumstances than the 13 warriors who were killed in the Kabul Airport Bombing.
Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui died at age 20; his mother’s grief turned to anger during her encounter with Joe Biden. Shana Chappell later posted this on Facebook: “[Y]ou tried to interrupt me and give me your own sob story and [I] had to tell you ‘that this isn’t about you so don’t make it about you!!!’”
Facebook officials censored that post and others on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Subsequent press inquiries prompted the social media sites to restore Ms. Chappell’s accounts to full functionality.
The full functionality of the Biden Administration is AWOL, and has been since Inauguration Day. The Chief Executive is cognitively impaired; the Vice President laughs often and at inopportune times. But the incompetence has been brought into sharp focus by the debacle in Afghanistan.
The Secretary of Defense is all for diversity and inclusion – except for caucasian conservatives; The chairman of the Joint Chiefs fancies himself an intellectual warrior, but in reality is neither; and Secretary of State Blinken is at least well-named, as he often blinks at the �irst sign of confrontation.
It would be comic were it not so tragic.
A departure so disorderly that Americans are left stranded, while unvetted Afghans will soon be coming to a neighborhood near you.
A plan so poorly formulated that it leaves billions of dollars of sophisticated weaponry and aircraft in the hands of savage warriors who will couple their 6th century sensibilities with 21st century lethality.
A strategy so senseless that it introduces a protective force – not to find and protect American citizens – but to spend its time in force protection in a place so indefensible that it attracts a terror attack in which 13 Americans are killed.
The Communist Chinese president doesn’t have to worry about debates…or elections. When he checks his watch, he may say about the USA, “Time’s up!”
Follow these tips for a healthier lifestyle
BY CHAD PARSON
Tribune Guest Writer
When people come to the doctor’s of�ice, I ask them the same question. “If you could change one thing about your health, what would it be?” The answers vary but they often share the same sentiment. “I wish I took less medication,” or “I wish I weighed less and exercised more.”
The best way to prevent disease is healthy habits. We all know how vital diet and exercise is for our health. So why is it so hard for many of us to do what we know we should? Part of the problem might be that we over complicate it. Here are some basic tips to improve your health.
Exercise: Aim for 30 minutes of exercise, at least �ive days a week. The best type of exercise is whatever you enjoy doing. Walking is a great place to start, on a treadmill or early mornings during our hot weather. Some patients with joint pain may enjoy swimming or biking. The goal is to �ind something realistic that you can maintain throughout your lifetime. The feel-good chemicals released during exercise will keep you coming back for more.
Diet: My favorite tip for grocery shopping is to stay around the outside of the grocery store. This will limit canned, pre-prepared, and frozen foods which contain higher levels of fats, simple sugars, and salt. Make the majority of your foods with fresh vegetables and fruit, along with proper portions of meat, dairy, and grains. Some patients tell me that food is more expensive, it is an investment for your health that will pay off in the long run.
Water: Drinking plenty of water is important to maintain our bodies normal function. On average, we should drink three liters of water daily. A simple trick that’s worked for patients is to buy a 1 liter water bottle with a goal to drink three a day.
Limit your soda and energy drink intake. Caffeine is a diuretic and at high levels can even be harmful to your body. Remember water is best! If you’ve been told by a doctor to limit your �luid consumption, always follow their advice.
Nobody wants to be on medications or “take another pill.” The best way to prevent disease is before it happens. Quit tobacco once and for all! Many medications are out there for tobacco cessation so talk to your doctor if you need extra help.
A healthy lifestyle is a balancing act and everything in moderation is okay. So if you want a cookie, eat one or two - just don’t eat the whole box.
Chad Parson, DO, is a family medicine resident at Mountain Vista
Medical Center in Mesa. ■
