The surprising link between Covid-19 deaths and ... internet access

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.vox.com/22979086/covid-pandemic-deaths-mortality-broadband-internet-access


Two years into the pandemic, researchers are still trying to understand what makes some people more likely than others to die from Covid-19. Although we know some of the risk factors — like age and underlying disease — others are less obvious. Identifying them could ease our current pain, protect communities from future epidemics, and point us toward some of the societal fractures we should most urgently try to mend.

One of the more surprising answers to this question is one that appears to have a relatively straightforward solution: internet access.

This March, researchers at the University of Chicago published a study in the journal JAMA Network Open that showed one of the factors most consistently associated with a high risk of death due to Covid-19 in the US was the lack of internet access, whether broadband, dial-up, or cellular. This was regardless of other demographic risk factors like socioeconomic status, education, age, disability, rent burden, health insurance coverage, or immigration status.

The study authors estimated that for every additional 1 percent of residents in a county who have internet access, between 2.4 and six deaths per 100,000 people could be prevented, depending on the makeup of the region.

The findings held more surprises. The trend held true not just in rural areas with sparse internet access, but also in urban areas, where most homes can be wired for broadband internet. That is, people who could get internet access in cities but either don’t or can’t are also at increased risk of dying from Covid-19.

*snip*

[zaj]

1. So... access to facts helps?

Shocking.

[live love laugh]

2. ✔️

[Martin68]

3. I assume the deaths are due to a lack of information about current events, including facts about the

pandemic and how to survive it. On the other hand, it could be correlated to low income levels. People who can't afford internet access are less likely to have the option to avoid people and stay home from work.

[Farmer-Rick]

8. Yeah on the lack of info but the post says they adjusted for income

But some richer older people don't have access because they don't want it or know how to use it.

Some very religious people don't have access either. They restrict information to their families.

I just can't imagine not having access.

[live love laugh]

4. I bet there's a correlation with older ppl dying and being less tech savvy

too. It’s more than just pre-existing conditions.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. OP excerpt states that age was adjusted for. . . . nt

[hay rick]

6. Reducing access to both information and misinformation.

Lack of internet access strikes me as a likely proxy for lower economic standing. I'm skeptical that it can be meaningfully separated from "other demographic risk factors." Also, one doesn't need direct internet access if one is exposed to conversations with those that do have internet access.

[Trueblue Texan]

7. So this could also explain...

...why Free Repub is still in a text format. Can't get to the willfully ignorant with content that requires high speed internet.

[Hugin]

10. Some say FR is still using free AOL minutes.

via a 128K modem.

[Hugin]

9. I thought the trucker/guru said COVID is over.

Isn't this moot?

What's his majesty's take on it. How does this rate alongside truck nuts or mudflap girls?