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Covid Karma, Chronic Hope, K-12

 94% of US Covid-19 fatalities have been among Americans with chronic disease, according to recent CDC analysis.  Another way to look at this:  if we had pre-pandemic halved the current rate of 60% of Americans with 1 chronic condition and 40% with multiple conditions, we could have had roughly speaking less than 100,000 Covid-19 fatalities to-date.  

Reducing chronic disease this much is not just hypothetical (though it is not easy either):  around ½ or more of chronic conditions are preventable.  

The biggest catch?  They are only preventable at such a high rate, if we develop healthier habits in childhood.  If we enter adulthood with unhealthy habits, it is very difficult for people to change course.  

Any strategy to dramatically improve overall health for most of the population rings hollow, if it does not start in childhood.  

And any strategy to develop healthy habits in childhood rings hollow, if it is not centered in schools.  It is simply too expensive and logistically impractical, to use other settings to reach all at-risk youth.


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