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A28 u.s. news
Diahuebs 29 aPRiL 2021

AP analysis: The expected COVID baby boom may be a baby bust

NEW YORK (AP) — states that provided data on cooped up inside. Some fig-
When most of the U.S. births to residents. Joining ured couples had more time
went into lockdown over a them in the analysis was Cal- together and some women
year ago, some speculated ifornia, the most populous might find it harder to run
that confining couples to state, which provided data out and get birth control,
their homes — with little on all births that happened leading to at least a small up-
to entertain them beyond in the state, including among tick in births.
Netflix — would lead to visitors.
a lot of baby-making. But New York, the deadly epi-
the statistics suggest the The Centers for Disease center of the U.S. outbreak
opposite happened. Control and Prevention is in the spring of 2020, was not
expected to provide a nation- part of the analysis. Its Health
Births have fallen dramati- al picture later this year. But Department said the figures
cally in many states during the data for the 25 states is were not available.
the coronavirus outbreak, not expected to change sub-
according to an Associated stantially; preliminary birth A majority of the babies born
Press analysis of preliminary numbers usually end up be- in 2020 were, of course, con-
data from half the country. ing pretty close to the final ceived in 2019, before the
counts, experts say. virus took hold in the U.S.,
The COVID-19 baby boom so the numbers partly reflect
appears to be a baby bust. The AP's findings echo pro- the pre-existing downward
jections by researchers at the trend.
Nationally, even before the 41,000 fewer births than the Brookings Institution and
epidemic, the number of ba- Births for all of 2020 were same three-month span a elsewhere, who have pre- But births in December 2020
bies born in the U.S. was fall- down 4.3% from 2019, the year earlier. That's an 8% de- dicted a sizable drop in births declined in 23 of the 25 states
ing, dropping by less than 1% data indicates. More tellingly, cline. this year. from the same month a year
a year over the past decade births in December 2020 and earlier, the exceptions be-
as many women postponed in January and February 2021 "When there's a crisis, I don't "The widespread consensus is ing Alaska and Wyoming.
motherhood and had smaller — nine months or more after think people are thinking there is going to be a decline," They dropped about 11% in
families. the spring 2020 lockdowns about reproduction," said said Hans-Peter Kohler, a Massachusetts and Virginia;
— were down 6.5%, 9.3% Dr. John Santelli, a Colum- University of Pennsylvania 10% in California; and 7% in
But data from 25 states sug- and 10% respectively, com- bia University professor of researcher who focuses on Florida, Illinois, Indiana and
gests a much steeper decline pared with the same months population and family health fertility and health. Nevada.
in 2020 and into 2021, as the a year earlier. who reviewed the AP's analy-
virus upended society and sis. It didn't look that way to Declines were even more
killed over a half-million December, January and Feb- some around March 2020, dramatic in January 2021 in
Americans. ruary together had about The analysis included 24 when much of America was many of the 25 states.

Gates helps launch drive for global vaccine distribution

A new mass fundraising paredness Innovations and paigns on crowdfunding medication to HIV-positive
campaign aims to inspire Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Organizers also plan to in- platforms. Go Give One, individuals. Soni, who spent
50 million people around volve businesses through however, aims to jump-start a years working at the Global
the world to make small Go Give One aims to mo- workplace giving campaigns unified effort that can be rep- Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuber-
donations to Covax, the bilize small-dollar donors and promotions on corpora- licated around the world, said culosis and Malaria and later
international effort to around the world to give tions' social-media platforms. Anil Soni, chief executive of the Gates Foundation and the
push for equitable global roughly $10 each toward Facebook has also pledged to the WHO Foundation. It will Clinton Health Access Initia-
distribution of COVID-19 the cost of COVID-19 vac- host a fundraising campaign aim to provide companies tive, says those campaigns
vaccinations. cines — which are priced at for the effort and match as with a simple giving platform showed the difference one
about $5 a shot. The specif- much as $5 million contrib- that they can share with em- person can make in a global
Called Go Give One, the ics of the campaign are still uted through the platform. ployees and customers. crisis. "It was that individual
campaign was launched being ironed out, organizers engagement that caused col-
Wednesday by the Bill & Me- said. The global campaign Gavi and Unicef are already The approach is similar to lective action that caused
linda Gates Foundation, the will collaborate with public appealing for donations from previous cross-sector cam- governments to do their
WHO Foundation and cor- health-care systems and indi- individuals to support Co- paigns to fund HIV treat- part," he said.
porate, religious, and world vidual mass vaccination sites vax, and some donors have ment, when donors contrib-
leaders. to advertise the campaign. launched their own cam- uted small sums to provide Equitable access to the vac-
cine is essential to ending the
The campaign will contrib- pandemic, Soni stressed, and
ute to the $3 billion in Covax one of the goals of the Go
funding needed to vaccinate Give One campaign is to re-
almost 30 percent of people mind people who are able to
in 92 low-income countries get vaccinated that others still
sometime next year. That lack access. While the pace of
support will come from do- vaccination has slowed in the
nors like those who contrib- United States, Soni expects
ute to the Go Give One cam- vaccinations to continue for
paign as well as cost-sharing some time.
agreements.
After a year of lockdown,
Meanwhile, the $6.3 billion loss, and disconnection, vac-
that's so far been committed cination will be an emotional
to Covax has come primarily experience for many people
from global governments, in — and they'll have a 15-min-
addition to the World Health ute observation period to sit
Organization, Unicef, the and drink that feeling in.
Coalition for Epidemic Pre-