The ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic’s influence on nearly every aspect of health in America are becoming clear.
Covid-19 has killed more than one million people in the U.S., a toll mounting by some 350 people a day. A range of other chronic diseases and acute threats to health also worsened during the pandemic, data show, as people missed screenings, abandoned routines and experienced loss and isolation.
“In addition to just the terrible burden of a million Americans dying, there are other repercussions from the pandemic that we need to address,” said Chrissie Juliano, executive director of Big Cities Health Coalition, an organization of city health officials.
Some setbacks could be reversed relatively quickly, health experts said, while it might take years to recognize the full effects of others. Here are some of the public-health challenges that grew in the pandemic’s shadow: