COVID-19 has presented not only a health crisis, but a burgeoning economic catastrophe as well. A recent McKinsey report notes that in 2020, African economies could experience a catastrophic loss from US$90 billion to US$200 billion, a 3–8% drop in GDP growth, and delayed or reduced foreign direct investment. Such a massive hit will require […]

David Hockney is not a scientist. He is one of the most important British painters of the twentieth century, best known for his contributions to the 1960s pop art movement. As an artist, his contrarian views on Vermeer’s possible use of a camera obscura should be taken seriously. As a contrarian on the subject of […]

Three world famous economists — Amartya Sen, Raghuram Rajan, and Abhijit Banerjee — recently took to The Indian Express to push for aggressive government spending to curb the loss of lives and livelihoods to COVID-19. While their argument is certainly applicable in every country caught in the throes of this pandemic, their focus on India’s susceptibility […]

COUNTRY Smoking (these data are preliminary) Nicotine Vaping CHINA26.6% smoke* 13 studies covering 5,960 hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 6.5% recorded as smokers (average) NO DATA US13.7% smoke* CDC data covering 7,162 COVID-19 patients:1.3% recorded as current smokers NO DATA GERMANY21% smoke* Peer-reviewed study of 50 hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 6% recorded as current smokers NO DATA FRANCE27% […]

FACTS & FIGURES 13 studies from China covering 5,960 hospitalized COVID-19 patients show that only 6.5% of them were smokers. The smoking rate in China is 26.6% (50.5% male and 2.1% female). US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data on 7,162 COVID-19 patients show that only 3% of those who required hospitalization were […]