Unfortunately I now feel the need to do a weekly linkfest solely dedicated to the coronavirus pandemic. You can read last week’s edition here. Please be careful and stay safe.
Quote of the Day
"No matter how insulated you are from the medical and economic effects of the pandemic, you feel its social repercussions."
(Virginia Postrel)
Chart of the Day

Per the CDC, ‘excess deaths’ in the US have exceeded those attributed to Covid-19.
Vaccine trials
- Ironically, widespread infection will make it easier to test coroanvirus vaccines. (barrons.com)
- What you need to know before joining a vaccine trial. (nytimes.com)
- Eli Lilly ($LLY) is testings an experimental antibody-based drug in nursing homes. (wsj.com)
- A Novavax ($NVAX) coronavirus vaccine showed good Phase 1 data. (cnn.com)
Vaccine ethics
- Officials are trying to figure out who to vaccinate first because after approval there will likely be a shortage of doses. (wsj.com)
- Ethical considerations aside, the world could learn a lot from the Russian vaccine rollout. (marginalrevolution.com)
- Why early vaccination is a bad idea. (marginalrevolution.com)
Vaccines
- Compared to history, the development of Covid-19 vaccines is super-fast. (statnews.com)
- Even under the best of circumstances it's going to take awhile enough vaccine doses worldwide. (bloomberg.com)
- Oxford University's vaccine effort relies heavily on private companies to succeed. (wsj.com)
- Outreach is going to be crucial to getting everyone onboard with a coronavirus vaccine. (wsj.com)
Immunity
- Cross-reactive T cells may be how some people are more immune to the novel coronavirus. (nytimes.com)
- When it comes to antibodies, quality AND quantity matter. (theatlantic.com)
Testing
- The US is largely flying blind when it comes to the coronavirus. (vox.com)
- Faster, cheaper, less accurate Covid-19 testing trumps what we have now. (nytimes.com)
- There is a big difference between testing someone who is infected vs. someone who is infectious. (marginalrevolution.com)
- How the US fell behind in testing, again. (wired.com)
Spread
- Three things seem to make for super-spreader events. (theatlantic.com)
- The subway may be less risky than commonly thought. (nytimes.com)
- Staff linkages among nursing homes are a big predictor of the spread of Covid-19. (nber.org)
- What does it mean when young children can carry a high viral load? (slate.com)
Side effects
- How has the pandemic caused a reduction in premature births? (bloomberg.com)
- Many Covid-19 survivors are complaining of lingering effects like fatigue. (ft.com)
Data
- Covid-19 is the worst pandemic in a century. (finance.yahoo.com)
- Around the world, excess death rates are far higher than reported death from Covid-19. (ft.com)
Flu shots
- This year now more than ever you should get a flu shot. (npr.org)
- Flu shots should be mandatory for school reopenings. (msn.com)
Society
- We are going to have to live with it - the coronavirus is never really going to go away. (theatlantic.com)
- A Covid-19 vaccine will not push the reset button on society. (washingtonpost.com)
- Few countries covered themselves in glory in regards to the coronavirus, but the United States failure stands out. (nytimes.com)
Coronavirus
- AIDS survivors see many parallels between their experience and the coronavirus. (npr.org)
- The fight against the coronavirus is hampering efforts to combat TB, malaria and AIDS. (nytimes.com)
- The pandemic has forced the closure of public bathrooms which is a problem for many. (washingtonpost.com)
- The brains of young adults are not well-suited for following coronavirus restrictions. (wsj.com)
- Why some immunologists are worried about the Winter. (theatlantic.com)
- Health insurance won't typically pay for routine coronavirus testing in the workplace. (wsj.com)