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
"Do yourself and your society a favor by getting whatever vaccine is available."
(Alex Tabarrok)
Chart of the Day

Except for children, in 2020 the U.S. saw a rise in death rates across age ranges.
Vaccines
- Why mRNA vaccine production is hard to scale effectively. (wsj.com)
- Intranasal vaccines may ultimately work better over the long run. (scientificamerican.com)
- Sooner than you think the U.S. will be an exporter of Covid vaccines. (marginalrevolution.com)
- Vaccine side effects are still pretty rare. (ft.com)
Johnson & Johnson
- Merck ($MRK) is going to help Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) manufacture its Covid vaccine. (washingtonpost.com)
- For people with a severe fear of needles, the J&J ($JNJ) vaccine is their best option. (marketwatch.com)
- The Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) vaccine poses some distributional dilemmas for states. (washingtonpost.com)
Pharmacies
- Why the big pharmacy companies want you to get your Covid vaccines with them: data. (wsj.com)
- South Dakota is getting shots in arms via independent, rural drugstores. (wired.com)
- The government has given pharmacies license to capture your information to get a shot. (vox.com)
Vaccine distribution
- As the vaccine rollout accelerates, there are more examples of damaged or wasted doses. (npr.org)
- This county in Arizona has opened up vaccinations to everyone. (nytimes.com)
- Why Covid vaccine shipments are getting enhanced security. (bloomberg.com)
- How the global syringe industry has responded to increased pandemic demand. (nytimes.com)
Vaccine policies
- Long haulers are saying that getting vaccinated helps their symptoms. (theverge.com)
- Vaccine hesitancy isn't just one thing. We will need a range of tools to overcome reluctance. (theatlantic.com)
- Why vaccine shaming is ultimately counterproductive. (vox.com)
- The debate is still raging about whether long term care facilities can require employees to get vaccinated. (nytimes.com)
- What the UK has gotten right about vaccinations. (nytimes.com)
Masks
- Why you should still wear a mask even if you are vaccinated. (theguardian.com)
- Why are there still ad bans on the sale of N95 masks? (bloomberg.com)
- Big retail chains like Target ($TGT) are going to keep their mask mandates in place in states that loosen restrictions. (axios.com)
Data
- The number of Covid tests are down and its not all attributable to falling infection rates. (washingtonpost.com)
- A CDC study shows that counties that removed mask mandates or re-opened indoor dining case counts rose. (nytimes.com)
- Thermal fever scanners are notoriously innacurate. (washingtonpost.com)
Outcomes
- A good outcome would be that Covid becomes more like the flu. (vox.com)
- Another indication that the flu was wiped out this season: only one child's death. (washingtonpost.com)
- Why was Rhode Island hit so hard by the pandemic? (nytimes.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: human behavioral factors. (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)