A coronavirus pandemic linkfest is now a weekly feature here on Abnormal Returns. Please stay safe. You can read last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"Scientists have achieved miracles with the vaccines. Now the world’s leaders have just to show elementary common sense."
(Martin Wolf)
Chart of the Day
The U.S. is getting more shots in arms on a daily basis. (via @OurWorldinData)
Variants
- The Oxford-AstraZeneca ($AZN) vaccine is less effective against the South African variant. (ft.com)
- Which is why South Africa is switching to the J&J ($JNJ) vaccine. (reuters.com)
- The WHO is not giving up on the Oxford-AstraZeneca ($AZN) vaccine. (wsj.com)
- Why the emergence of variants increases the importance of getting vaccines into less developed countries. (ft.com)
- Researchers are learning more about how viruses replicate and recombine into variants. (nytimes.com)
- The coronavirus is mutating, but then again so is your immune system. (theatlantic.com)
- A visualization of coronavirus variants. (nytimes.com)
Vaccines
- Millions of shots are going into arms. How is the FDA tracking them? (nytimes.com)
- Merck ($MRK) is left without a horse in the coronavirus vaccine race. (nytimes.com)
- Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is going to make headway around the world. (washingtonpost.com)
Vaccine distribution
- Some states are struggling to manage the flow of vaccination demand with actual vaccine supplies. (wsj.com)
- Volunteers are trying to make vaccine appointments easier to obtain. (nytimes.com)
- Big pharmacies are now having to grapple with how to make sure no vaccine doses go to waste. (wsj.com)
- 'Distrust in the health system' is driving some vaccine hesitancy. (nytimes.com)
- A full reopening of schools is going to require teachers getting vaccinated, which is easier said than done. (wsj.com)
- This doctor was fired for making sure no vaccine doses went to waste. (nytimes.com)
Guidelines
- The CDC says that those who are fully vaccinated don't need to quarantine. (washingtonpost.com)
- Those already infected with Covid don't need a second vaccine dose. (marginalrevolution.com)
- Take any vaccine you can get at this point. (zeynep.substack.com)
- We need to shift the focus from vaccine efficacy to improved outcomes. (vox.com)
- When is it safe to visit someone who has been vaccinated? (npr.org)
- How vaccine misinformation spreads. (washingtonpost.com)
Risk factors
- Dementia seems to be a unique risk factor for severe Covid. (nytimes.com)
- 'Hygiene theater' is a waste of time and resources. (theatlantic.com)
- A recent study shows an Apple ($AAPL) Watch can predict positive Covid tests a week in advance. (techcrunch.com)
- Testing and tracing will have to continue even as vaccines roll out. (scientificamerican.com)
Treatment
- The need for new and effective treatments for Covid is not going away. (scientificamerican.com)
- An AstraZeneca ($AZN) asthma drug is effective in preventing severe cases of Covid. (msn.com)
- Eli Lilly ($LLY) now has approval for an antibody combination treatment for Covid. (bnnbloomberg.ca)
- Some encouraging early signs of a new drug to treat Covid out of Israel. (yahoo.com)
Masks
- The CDC now recommends double-masking for additional protection. (npr.org)
- Why are some U.S. manufacturers unable to sell N95 masks into hospitals? (nytimes.com)
- Ford ($F) is going to manufacture new types of masks. (washingtonpost.com)
- How Sweden botched its communication around face masks. (fastcompany.com)
Data
- By every measure, the Winter surge is easing in the U.S. (theatlantic.com)
- Some estimates that the pandemic has infected far more Americans than the official statistics. (npr.org)
- Covid dashboards are only good as they data they display. (slate.com)
- Influenza was nearly eliminated this year. We will know a lot more about it next year. (vox.com)
Public health
- Three crucial mistakes the U.S. made early on in the pandemic that doomed the U.S. to failure. (vox.com)
- How many pandemic deaths could the U.S. have reasonably avoided? (theguardian.com)
- How Bhutan avoided the worst of the pandemic. (theatlantic.com)
States
- Cooperation between the state and local auhorties is behind West Virginia's vaccination success. (theatlantic.com)
- Rhode Island was unique among states in keeping schools open during pandemic. (nytimes.com)
- Why Alabama is lagging in vaccination rates. (wsj.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: first doses first. (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)
