Author Description

A pandemic changes life but exactly what will change after 2020? We know there will be massive changes, some of which we can predict and prepare for - education, medical service, shopping, work, and even entertainment will change.Half of small businesses won't survive one year - those jobs are gone and most independent restaurants will close, but new jobs will open and new careers will develop.The cook who made lunch and the server who brought it to you wouldn't have gone to work sick and coughed in your food if he or she had sick pay and health insurance. Now we see that a low minimum wage threatens society, not just the poor workers and their families.Telemedicine, online education, and telecommuting made sense before - will they become mandatory?Will the government public health system now require vaccinations to attend school, work as a food server, or even a store clerk - anyone dealing with the public? That alone would certainly save some of the usual 40,000 or more yearly influenza-caused deaths. We already require drug testing so would it be outrageous to require such a vital safety procedure?The social safety net is gone. Rather than wear a mask, people have cursed and spat on teenage clerks, fought with many, and even killed one or more security guards. Some of your neighbors will casually risk others' lives rather than be mildly inconvenienced. Many people already say they will refuse to get any vaccine. We should have expected this - already 60 percent of Americans refuse an inexpensive, safe, and highly effective yearly flu vaccine.The federal government says states must fend for themselves in emergencies, thereby shifting an enormous duplicative burden to local communities that compete for supplies.Airplanes, nursing homes, and cruise ships have become disease incubators trapping people in a deadly environment so what will change?People who lived from paycheck to paycheck have now gone without a payday for months and waited months for unemployment. Thi