A coronavirus pandemic linkfest is now a weekly feature here on Abnormal Returns. Please stay safe and find a vaccination near you. You can read last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"To Tabarrok, vaccines have shown themselves to be so valuable that it’s simply absurd that we wouldn’t do everything possible to be fully equipped for mass vaccination campaigns in the future."
(Ezra Klein)
Variants
- The P.1 variant seems to be affecting the young more acutely. (wsj.com)
- Researchers are concerned that the P.1 variant, prevalent in Brazil, is evading natural immunity. (ft.com)
- Why we are likely to need Covid vaccines in the next year due to variants. (theguardian.com)
- How your immune system works to protect you against coronavirus variants. (scientificamerican.com)
- We should be surging vaccine shipments in those areas with variant surges. (theatlantic.com)
Vaccines
- A new real world study shows mRNA vaccines to be highly effective at preventing Covid infections. (statnews.com)
- Messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be effective in preventing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in randomized placebo-controlled Phase III trials. (cdc.gov)
- The Pfizer ($PFE)-BioNTech ($BTNX) vaccine shows effectiveness six months post-vaccination. (news.yahoo.com)
- The issue of rare blood issues for the AstraZeneca ($AZN) vaccine are not going away any time soon. (theatlantic.com)
- The Pfizer ($PFE)-BioNTech ($BTNX) vaccine is highly effective in adolescents. (statnews.com)
- How the Covid vaccines are being tested in children. (scientificamerican.com)
Vaccines in practice
- Demand for the single-shot Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) vaccine outpaces supply. (nymag.com)
- What the immunocompromised need to know about the vaccines. (npr.org)
- Vaccine hesitancy is waning in the face of an accelerated rollout. (wsj.com)
- Pregnant women are seeking out vaccinations so they can pass antibodies along. (theatlantic.com)
Masks
- Retail workers are once again at-risk because of a rollback in mask mandates. (nytimes.com)
- This year's flu numbers show the effectiveness of universal masking. (npr.org)
- Masks are good for seasonal allergies as well. (nytimes.com)
Vaccine passports
- New York state is launching the country's first Covid test/vaccine passport app. (cntraveler.com)
- Nobody really knows what kind of uptake vaccine passports will have. (washingtonpost.com)
- The implementation of vaccine passports is going to be tricky. (wired.com)
- Vaccine passports won't do much to reduce vaccine hesitancy. (statnews.com)
Vaccine cards
Testing
- Larry Brilliant on why we are still going to need a robust test/trace/isolate system going forward. (wired.com)
- We are still going to need robust test-and-trace programs to beat Covid. (wsj.com)
- Vaccines don't obviate the need for Covid testing. (nytimes.com)
Children
- Reaching herd immunity is going to require getting children vaccinated. (wsj.com)
- It's hard to travel if your kids aren't vaccinated. (nytimes.com)
- Spring sports are providing some sense of normalcy. (nytimes.com)
Treatment
Data
- Covid was the third leading cause of death in in the U.S. in 2020. (npr.org)
- Case counts in the U.S. are moving higher. (statnews.com)
- Florida is likely under-counting its Covid deaths. (news.yahoo.com)
- The fourth wave is here. (axios.com)
Behavior
- The CDC is begging people to keep up their defenses a little while longer. (eater.com)
- Why the vaccinated should feel good about re-starting their lives. (econlib.org)
- Indoor spaces have always been the leading cause of Covid infections. (nature.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: vaccine passports. (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)
Mixed media
- How to think about how behavior and vaccines have affected the trajectory of Covid-19. (theatlantic.com)
- As the end of the pandemic nears, the losses people have experienced are shifting. (statnews.com)
- Everybody is going to re-enter the new world at their own pace. (nytimes.com)
- What it's like to learn you got the placebo in a vaccine trial. (washingtonpost.com)
