Lacking a federal policy to control the spread of COVID-19, state governors ordered lockdowns and mask mandates, at different times, generating a massive natural experiment. The authors exploit this natural experiment to address four issues: (1) Were lockdowns effective in reducing infections? (2) What were the costs to consumers? (3) Did lockdowns increase (signaling effect) or reduce (substitution effect) consumers' mask adoption? (4) Did governors' decisions depend on medical science or nonmedical drivers? Analyses via difference-in-differences and generalized synthetic control methods indicate that lockdowns causally reduced infections. Although lockdowns reduced infections by 480 per million consumers per day (equivalent to a reduction of 56%), they reduced customer satisfaction by 2.2%, consumer spending by 7.5%, and gross domestic product by 5.4% and significantly increased unemployment by 2% per average state by the end of the observation period. A counterfactual analysis shows that a nationwide lockdown on March 15, 2020, would have reduced total cases by 60%, whereas the absence of any state lockdowns would have resulted in five times more cases by April 30. The average cost of reducing the number of cases by one new infection was about $28,000 in lower gross domestic product.

Rituals, particularly religious rituals, may play a significant role in times of crises. Often, these rituals undergo revision to adapt to the changing needs of the time. This article investigates recent unofficially revised Hindu religious rituals as performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The multifarious creative interplay between Hindu tradition and change is illustrated through four cases: the religious festival of , the devotional songs or , the ritual of lighting lamps or , and the fire rituals or . The authors offer a systematic discourse analysis of online news articles and YouTube posts that illuminate several aspects of ritual revision during unsettled times. They focus on the changes that were made to ritual elements: who controlled these alterations, how these modifications were made, and what potential benefits these revisions offered to the community of ritual participants. The authors highlight public policy implications regarding the involvement of diverse social actors, the creation of faith in science, the creation of feelings of unity and agency, and the amplification of local ritual modifications on a national scale.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) television ads must disclose a drug's most important risks. Currently, the risks must be in audio at a minimum. Studies have shown that presenting information with both audio and superimposed risk text (dual-modality) improves recall beyond that of using audio alone. However, distracting elements in DTC ads may draw attention away from the superimposed risk text. This study combined eye-tracking data with questionnaire data to examine whether distracting elements decrease attention to the risk text in DTC ads, in turn affecting risk retention and risk perceptions. The authors randomly assigned 300 U.S. opt-in panel members to view either a low-distraction or a high-distraction DTC television ad. The authors found that distracting elements during risk presentation drew attention away from the risk text and, in turn, reduced retention of drug risk information. Risk perceptions were not affected. These results suggest that even if dual-modality is used to increase consumer's comprehension of drug risk information, distracting visuals should still be avoided in order to help consumers focus on key information in the ad.

We investigated how inclusion of a "toll-free statement" for reporting side effects to FDA in prescription drug direct-to-consumer (DTC) television ads affects comprehension of product risks and benefits, and comprehension of and memory for the toll-free statement itself. Participants viewed one of nine mock prescription drug television ads that varied elements of the toll-free statement, and then responded to a questionnaire. Presenting the statement in both text and audio resulted in better processing of the statement compared to only text. When shown in text alone, presenting the statement during the entire advertisement or after the statement of risks resulted in better processing of the statement compared to placement before the presentation of risk information. The placement, duration, or prominence of the statement did not affect comprehension of product risk and benefit information. Our findings suggest that the toll-free statement can be added to DTC television ads without significantly affecting comprehension of product risk and benefit information, and that select presentations are preferable for communicating the toll-free statement. The appropriate inclusion of the toll-free statement in DTC television ads may increase the visibility of the adverse event reporting system, without any apparent cost to the understanding of benefits and risks.