Predictably, the pandemic is causing a devastating wave of mental health issues. The advocacy group Mental Health America recently reported that the number of people seeking help for depression and panic attacks has increased dramatically over the past few months. This, in turn, is leading to burgeoning numbers of individuals and digital tools offering help and advice in the field of mental wellbeing. Having examined…
How a Covid-19 vaccine could change travel for good–CNN, November 14, 2020 On November 9, it was announced that one of the candidates for a COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech) was over 90% effective in preventing the virus. The hard-hit travel industry immediately got a boost, with airline and cruise company share prices rallying and tour operators seeing upticks in 2021 bookings. This article explores some ways that travel…
“Celebrate gratitude today and everyday.”—Hyatt’s Global Day of Gratitude Taking place December 9, 2020 Let’s begin with a huge “THANKS!” We sincerely appreciate your dedication to spreading the mission of The Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease to your corner of the globe. This GWI call to action is designed to empower a just, sustainable and well world for everyone—an audacious aim that comes…
A new double-blinded randomized trial from Stanford University found that six weeks of electroacupuncture (which uses a small electric current passed between needles) helped people with chronic lower back pain: They reported improvements in walking comfortably, standing for longer periods, bending and kneeling, etc. It did not seem to help with pain intensity. The researchers concluded that with back pain, it’s best to use a…
The continent where wellness is flourishing the most is Asia. There, three long-term trends fuel the demand for wellness: (1) the rising prevalence of chronic lifestyle diseases, (2) intensely aging populations, and (3) rising incomes (a major boost that explains why Asia is playing “wellness catch-up” with the West). According to the ADB (Asian Development Bank), wellness—defined with the GWI as the active pursuit of…
In the immediate post-COVID era, the world will be collectively poorer—explicable by simple arithmetic: In the first three quarters of this year, the income earned by workers around the world fell by more than 10%—a loss caused by the pandemic equivalent to more than $3.5 trillion, or 5.5% of global GDP. Notably, this doesn’t yet take into account the mass lay-offs that are looming (like…
