Author: TheConversation

By Melissa Hawkins, Professor of Public Health, Director of Public Health Scholars Program, American University Mask mandates do not violate the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech or assembly, as I wrote previously in the article “Mandatory mask ordinances designed to protect public health do not violate the Constitution.” But a recent lawsuit filed in Florida, Tillis v. Manatee County, raises a different question: Do mask mandates violate the free exercise of religion? The answer is no. No matter what you believe or why you believe it, the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion, known as the...

By Margot Gage Witvliet, Assistant Professor of Social Epidemiology, Lamar University Imagine being young and healthy, a nonsmoker with no preexisting health conditions, and then waking up one morning feeling like you were being suffocated by an unseen force. Back in March, this was my reality. I had just returned from Europe, and roughly 10 days later started having flu-like symptoms. I became weak overnight and had trouble breathing. It felt like jogging in the Rocky Mountains without being in condition, only I wasn’t moving. I went to the hospital, where I was tested for COVID-19. I was one...

By Ednilson Bernardes, Professor of Supply Chain Management, West Virginia University Thousands of baby chicks shipped to small poultry farmers through the U.S. Postal Service have arrived at their destinations dead in recent weeks. This was just one of the disturbing results of changes to how the Postal Service operates, which have led to widespread delays in mail delivery and concerns among Democrats about the USPS’s ability to delivery mail-in ballots during the 2020 elections. There have also been reports of delayed lifesaving medications, rotting meat and spoiled fruits. I have studied the supply chain industry for over 15...