A coronavirus pandemic linkfest is unfortunately now a weekly feature here on Abnormal Returns. You can read last week’s edition here. Please be careful, get a flu shot and please stay safe.
Quote of the Day
"Operation Warp Speed gave us two Cadillac vaccines with empty gas tanks."
(Jeff Duchin, public health officer for Seattle and King County, Wash)
Chart of the Day

If you squint, you can see a turn in key Covid metrics this past week.
Variants
- The UK variant will eventually become dominant in the US. (nytimes.com)
- The Pfizer ($PFE)-BioNTech ($BTNX) also works against the UK variant. (statnews.com)
- A closer look at the B.1.1.7 variant. (nytimes.com)
- Why researchers are more concerned with the 501Y.V2 variant. (vox.com)
- The U.S. is trying to up capacity to test for new coronavirus variants. (ft.com)
- What we know, and importantly, don't know about the variants. (statnews.com)
Vaccines
- How the UK's use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca ($AZN) vaccine is speeding vaccinations. (wsj.com)
- Chinese and Russian manufacturers are seeing growing appetite from foreign buyers for their Covid-19 vaccines. (ft.com)
- The French are uniquely skeptical about the coronavirus vaccines. (wsj.com)
- Vaccines for children are coming, albeit slowly. And will be necessary for herd immunity. (theatlantic.com)
- The second generation Covid vaccines are coming. (scientificamerican.com)
Vaccine distribution
- Alex Tabbarok, "We have a very limited window in the United States to make a big push on vaccines and we are failing. We are failing phenomenally badly." (marginalrevolution.com)
- As the vaccine rollout continue the big pharmacy chains have a big role to play. (bloomberg.com)
- Black Americans are getting vaccinated at a lower rate. (scientificamerican.com)
- Why we should delay vaccinating those people already with Covid antibodies. (statnews.com)
- Retailers are offering workers extra pay (and time) to get vaccinated. (npr.org)
- The vaccine rollout in nursing homes has been uneven. (nytimes.com)
Getting vaccinated
- You're own your own to stay on top of vaccine appointments. (fastcompany.com)
- Side effects are a sign that the vaccines are working. (behavioralscientist.org)
- If offered the shot, take it. (nytimes.com)
Research
- How Covid could set off autoantibodies. (nature.com)
- mRNAs rely on lipids to work. (blogs.sciencemag.org)
Treatment
- Eli Lilly's ($LLY) bamlanivimab is effective in preventing severe cases of Covid-19. (indystar.com)
- A cheap anti-viral, ivermectin, seems to help with moderate to severe Covid cases. (ft.com)
Spread
- What does a more contagious virus mean for schools? (nytimes.com)
- In a car these days with someone else? Open the windows. (nytimes.com)
Masks
- Double-masking is the new masking. (nytimes.com)
- When can we stop wearing face masks? It depends... (theatlantic.com)
Data
- How big data can be used to forecast which patients will develop severe Covid. (theconversation.com)
- The pandemic has nearly wiped out seasonal influenza this year. (wsj.com)
- Across the board, men are more vulnerable to Covid-19. (newatlas.com)
- How Arizona's second wave played out. (politicalcalculations.blogspot.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: good enough. (abnormalreturns.com)
- There's only one way through the pandemic tunnel. (abnormalreturns.com)
- The 'Swiss cheese model' and the importance of avoiding single points of failure in pandemic and life. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Get used to the term 'digital health passport' as the coronavirus vaccine rolls out nationwide. (abnormalreturns.com)
- On the challenge of holding two competing thoughts on the pandemic in your head a the same time. (abnormalreturns.com)