The New York Times – “As the coronavirus swept across the world, it picked up random alterations to its genetic sequence. Like meaningless typos in a script, most of those mutations made no difference in how the virus behaved. But one mutation near the beginning of the pandemic did make a difference, multiple new findings suggest,… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Medicine
Moderna chief medical officer: Vaccinated adults could still infect the unvaccinated with COVID-19
Fast Company – The vaccines ‘do not show that they prevent you from potentially carrying this virus . . . and infecting others.’…The problem is, it is yet unknown if any of the three vaccines—including Moderna’s—will make the transmission of the virus from a vaccinated person to an unvaccinated person impossible. Or, to put it… Continue Reading
How Many Americans Are About to Die?
The Atlantic – A new analysis shows that the country is on track to pass spring’s grimmest record. “…Case numbers have nearly quadrupled since late September, when roughly 700 people a day were dying. If 1.8 percent of confirmed cases are translating into recorded deaths 22 days later, the U.S. is about to enter some… Continue Reading
The Covid Resilience Ranking
Bloomberg – The Best and Worst Places to Be in the Coronavirus Era – “…The Magic Formula?…The under-performance of some of the world’s most prominent democracies including the U.S., U.K. and India contrasted with the success of authoritarian countries like China and Vietnam has raised questions over whether democratic societies are cut out for tackling… Continue Reading
A Framework for Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus
“Despite the worldwide effort to develop safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 and ramp up production capacity, it is inevitable that initial vaccine supply will be limited. Therefore, policymakers must develop plans to ensure the equitable allocation of limited doses until there is sufficient global supply. In response to a request from the National Institutes of… Continue Reading
Ad Council’s Challenge: Persuade Skeptics to Believe in Covid Vaccines
“…While the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna have announced promising updates on the vaccines they are developing, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has blamed President Trump for causing anxiety about the safety of potential immunization efforts. Anti-vaccine sentiment has been growing for decades, driven in part by a backlash against pharmaceutical companies. Fifty-eight percent of… Continue Reading
Now comes the hardest part: Getting a coronavirus vaccine from loading dock to upper arm
Washington Post: “The vaccines need to be distributed across 50 states, plus U.S. territories, that have different demographics and shifting needs. The leading products must be stored at different temperatures and have different minimum orders, with each requiring two shots though the three vaccines don’t all share the same schedule…Complicating matters: A final decision on… Continue Reading
What to know about COVID-19 vaccines and how they work
ABC News – There are several basic types of vaccines being developed to battle COVID. “Across the globe, scientists are scrambling to develop multiple vaccines with the goal of stopping the deadly coronavirus in its tracks. All aim to neutralize the virus SARS-COV-2 before it makes you sick with COVID-19, but the way they work… Continue Reading
Inside the Chaotic, Cutthroat Gray Market for N95 Masks
The New York Times – “As the country heads into a dangerous new phase of the pandemic, the government’s management of the P.P.E. crisis has left the private sector still straining to meet anticipated demand…The N95 respirator is emblematic of globalized capitalism: It is made out of fossil fuels, manufactured at enormous scale, often in… Continue Reading
Progress on coronavirus vaccines during a delayed transition
BuzzFeedNews: Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Team Can’t Get The Data It Needs From The White House – “We do not have access to official government data, internal data sets,” said David Kessler, one of the cochairs of Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board. Washington Post: A vial, a vaccine and hopes for slowing a pandemic — how a shot… Continue Reading
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution will be a “logistical nightmare”
CBS News: “The long wait for a vaccine that could eventually spell the end of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be on the horizon. Last week, Pfizer said its vaccine in a trial has been 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, while Moderna on Monday announced similarly encouraging results. The companies could get emergency federal approval within… Continue Reading
How the Swiss Cheese Model Can Help Us Beat Covid-19
APK Metro: “In hopeful information this week, Pfizer and its companion, BioNTech, launched interim outcomes from an ongoing trial of their candidate coronavirus vaccine. The examine concerned 43,538 volunteers who have been randomly assigned both the vaccine or a placebo. The charges of an infection have been small for each teams, however those that acquired… Continue Reading
