China faces the biggest surge of the pandemic

Award-winning health apps; top stories of 2022 [View this email online]( [NPR]( Goats and Soda editor's note Julia Deutsch (left) and Alicia Miller As I look back on the stories we published this year in Goats and Soda, I especially remember the posts about people who made a difference – like [the big-hearted Ukrainian neurologist]( who found a way to give virtual consultations to patients and also spent hours sorting and packing food and medical supplies for delivery around the country. Or the [altruistic nurse in Liberia]( who created a “comfort closet” with the supplies that pregnant women need to bring to a hospital for delivery but often can’t afford. That ability of one person to make a difference was reinforced by two funerals I attended in the past week. My son-in-law’s mom, Alicia Miller, died at age 71. A physical education teacher for decades, she stands as an example of how a gifted teacher can lift a child up. Hundreds of former students shared memories. One recalled: "She put down any hint of bullying immediately and more important made it cool to be nice and support each other, she encouraged and brought out the best in the quiet kids, made everyone feel special and really just made all of school and learning fun!” A friend’s mom, Julia Deutsch, died at age 98. She was a Holocaust survivor – deported from Hungary to Auschwitz in 1944, where her parents and brother were both murdered. Assigned to a barracks where she knew some of the women from her hometown, she made a fateful decision. A Nazi came and asked for volunteers to work in a factory. Julia decided it had to be better than the current situation. Her friends didn’t trust the offer and stayed. They all were killed by the Nazis. Julia survived – and also looked out for others. She saved the twine from cardboard boxes she unwrapped in her life as a slave laborer and knitted these scraps into socks to share with her fellow laborers to warm their feet on cold winter nights. These stories did make a few tears fall from my eyes -- and a rabbi’s remarks at Julia’s service gave me sage advice on how to deal with the grief that follows a death. He quoted the Jewish scribe Ben Sira, who lived in the 2nd century B.C.E.: “Cry for the dead, hide not your grief … but remember that continuing sorrow is worse than death. When the dead are at rest, let their memory be a source of peace.” The examples set by folks who make a difference -- and the words of Ben Sira – can give us all strength in the coming year as we ponder the problems in the world today and try to figure out how to make things a little bit better. Marc Silver Editor, Goats and Soda pandemic Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images [COVID spreading faster than ever in China. 800 million could be infected this winter]( Scientists predict China will see the largest COVID surge of the pandemic this winter, with hundreds of millions of people infected. But some experts say that it could have been even worse. best of 2022 From left. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty ImagesAowen Cao/NPRYasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty ImagesMatthew Stockman/Getty Images [Tots on errands, phone mystery, stinky sweat benefits: Our top non-virus global posts]( Can a 4-year-old go out alone? Why did a payphone in China keep ringing? Does stinky sweat have an upside? These are some of our non-pandemic global stories that drew the most readers in 2022. solutions MIT Source [Two fledgling entrepreneurs win MIT prizes for their global health apps]( The winners confronted stigma and health equity with their tech ideas to help LGBTQI+ youth reach out for help and let women access private OB-GYN care. coronavirus FAQ Joe Raedle/Getty Images [Is Paxlovid the best treatment? Is it underused?]( The drug is the most effective way to cut the risk of severe disease. It's heading to China now. Yet the drug is underused in some places. Why? And are there options if you're not a good candidate? --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- links we like - "Fans in Morocco's diaspora are celebrating [a historic World Cup run]( writes NPR. Morocco's team became the first Arab and African country to make it to the semifinals before losing to France this week. - [A 12-year-old Nigerian chess prodigy]( whose family was threatened by the terrorist group Boko Haram, now has asylum in the U.S. The Washington Post reports. - Devex reports on [the charitable giving of MacKenzie Scott,]( former wife of Jeff Bezos, who has announced a new round of donations totaling some $2 billion. One of her priorities is to give to charities led by women. - We forgive our NPR colleagues for the bad pun in this collection of global photos, including a tumbling lion in Tanzania: ["We're not lion: The 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are a good laugh."]( --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [goatsandsoda@npr.org](mailto:goatsandsoda@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Health, Daily News, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Goats and Soda emails. 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