Washington Post: “Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are highly effective against both coronavirus infection and severe covid-19, Israeli scientists reported in a new paper that supports the idea of administering a third dose as protection against the virus wanes. Researchers at a variety of Israeli institutions looked at data from the nation’s Health Ministry… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Medicine
Even with Delta Variant the Amazing Vaccines Are Saving Lives
Kottke: “…Even with Delta endemic in the country, the vaccines are providing extraordinary protection against infections severe enough to land folks in the hospital. In a recent CDC study of infections and hospitalizations in Los Angeles County, they report that on July 25, the hospitalization rate of unvaccinated people was 29.2 times that of fully… Continue Reading
Should You Get a Booster Shot? Here’s What We Know
Scientific American – “Experts weigh in on common questions about whether and when additional doses of coronavirus vaccines may be needed…The groups it is clear should be getting additional doses include highly immunocompromised people: recipients of solid organ transplants, those with AIDS, those taking highly immunosuppressive drugs for cancer or autoimmune disease—these people have less… Continue Reading
What to know about coronavirus booster shots in the US
Washington Post: “The United States on Wednesday became the latest country to embrace the widespread use of coronavirus vaccine booster shots, citing new data that shows the vaccines’ effectiveness waning over time. The Biden administration said it plans to make booster shots available to Americans starting the week of Sept. 20, pending reviews by federal… Continue Reading
COVID-19 Vaccines for Moderately to Severely Immunocompromised People
CDC: “HHS announced a plan to begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots this fall. CDC’s independent advisory committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, will continue to meet and discuss data on the evolution of the pandemic and the use of COVID-19 vaccines. ACIP will make further recommendations on the use of boosters for the… Continue Reading
Delta Has Changed the Pandemic Risk Calculus
The Atlantic – If you’re confused about what you can do right now, you should be: “For the past year and a half, humans around the world have been asked to do something we’re pretty bad at, even in the best of circumstances: figure out what constitutes safety, and act accordingly. A well-understood risk doesn’t… Continue Reading
How the Pandemic Now Ends
The Atlantic – Cases of COVID-19 are rising fast. Vaccine uptake has plateaued. The pandemic will be over one day—but the way there is different now. “This new surge brings a jarring sense of déjà vu. America has fallen prey to many of the same self-destructive but alluring instincts that I identified last year. It… Continue Reading
Why the CDC changed its mask guidance, according to an epidemiologist
Vox: “An expert explains why vaccinated people should wear masks in some indoor settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now done an about-face on its masking guidelines for people vaccinated against Covid-19. Back in May, the agency said that people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 could “resume activities without wearing masks… Continue Reading
4 Reasons I’m Wearing a Mask Again
The Atlantic – “Our vaccines are extraordinary, but right now they need all the help they can get…But the pandemic is once again entering a new phase that feels more dangerous and more in flux, even for the people lucky enough to have received their lifesaving shots. A more transmissible variant—one that can discombobulate vaccine-trained… Continue Reading
Most unvaccinated Americans don’t want shots
CNN: “Most in the media have been urging Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. That hasn’t always been the case at Fox News, however. Many of the hosts have peddled anti-vaccine rhetoric. This past week, though, a number of hosts at Fox have taken a more pro-vaccine tone. One reason could be that the… Continue Reading
AI firm DeepMind puts database of the building blocks of life online
The Guardian: “Last year the artificial intelligence group DeepMind cracked a mystery that has flummoxed scientists for decades: stripping bare the structure of proteins, the building blocks of life. Now, having amassed a database of nearly all human protein structures, the company is making the resource available online free for researchers to use. The key… Continue Reading
Outbreak.info
“Outbreak.info is a standardized, searchable platform to discover and explore COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 data from the Center for Viral Systems Biology. Outbreak.info combines together data and metadata from a large number of data sources About the API – This site is a collection of APIs developed from the Su / Wu Labs at Scripps Research… Continue Reading
