The Pandemic’s Future, Syrians’ Injuries in Lebanon, and Women in China After Zero-COVID

Editor's Note

China's zero-COVID lockdown disproportionately burdened women who stayed home caring for their families or, in the worst scenarios, suffered domestic abuse.  Our first author examines how zero COVID spurred many women with little to lose to voice their concerns. Those women's efforts likely helped inspire the government to change its policies—a lesson, perhaps, for China's future. 

In our second article, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation presents fascinating new data on how the omicron wave changed the course of the pandemic, killing three million people but also providing much of the world with immunity through infection. Although predicting exactly how the virus will evolve and affect people is impossible, the authors believe that the worst has passed. 

Turning to Lebanon, our next piece looks at the frighteningly high rate of injuries occurring among Syrian refugees living in camps. One in every five Syrians suffers from serious burn injuries each year, and children under the age of five are twice as vulnerable.   

Our last author reports how drug-resistant strains of cholera are sparking fears over Zimbabwe's most recent outbreak and are increasing the urgency of new efforts to surveil and combat antimicrobial resistance in the country.

As always, thank you for reading. —Thomas J. Bollyky, Editor