A coronavirus pandemic linkfest is now a weekly feature here on Abnormal Returns. Please stay safe and find a vaccination site near you. You can read last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"As I look back over the past year, I am amazed by the advances in science that led to vaccine development in record time. But I am dismayed by the politicization of the pandemic and the great divide between Americans."
(Rational Walk)
Chart of the Day
The surge in Michigan is occurring among younger, unvaccinated individuals.
Variants
- The B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant is now in all 50 states. (cnn.com)
- Why Michigan has been vulnerable to the B.1.1.7 variant. (yahoo.com)
- How effective are the vaccines against the known variants? (npr.org)
AstraZeneca
- There is some evidence of a link between the AstraZeneca ($AZN) vaccine and rare clotting events. (statnews.com)
- Researchers show that the AstraZeneca ($AZN) vaccine produced antibodies that activated their platelets. (nytimes.com)
Vaccines
- Moderna ($MRNA) is upping its production. (wsj.com)
- The NVD-HXP-S vaccine candidate is expected to be cheaper to produce. (nytimes.com)
- Valneva which uses a whole inactivated virus is entering Phase 3 trials. (ft.com)
- The eight-step story of how. vaccine goes from gene sequencing then into someone's arm. (nymag.com)
Children
- Pfizer ($PFE) and BioNTech ($BTNX) have filed for an EUA for 12-15 year olds. (cnbc.com)
- James Hamblin, "The impending rollout of vaccines to children will be important for protecting kids from needless suffering, and pediatric vaccination will save lives in other age groups as well." (theatlantic.com)
Vaccine distribution
- Why some states are not ordering their full allotment of vaccine doses. (washingtonpost.com)
- As vaccine uptake has increases so have have 'breakthrough infections.' (washingtonpost.com)
- Have an extra Covid vaccine appointment? Cancel it, please. (wsj.com)
- Vaccinations at scale is a beautiful thing. (avc.com)
Vaccine hesitancy
- Vaccine hesitancy could keep the U.S. from reaching some level of herd immunity. (npr.org)
- White evangelicals are uniquely resistant to taking a Covid vaccine. (nytimes.com)
Vaccine passports
- Megan Mcardle, "Vaccine passports may be the best of a set of bad options, but that doesn’t make them a good thing." (washingtonpost.com)
- How vaccine passports could increase 'inequality and division.' (theatlantic.com)
- The term 'vaccine passports' is not an accurate description. (wsj.com)
Treatments
- If coronavirus were to get normalized it is going to take a convenient treatment, a la Tamiflu. (wsj.com)
- No single anti-viral will work as a treatment for Covid. You need multiple ones. (statnews.com)
- Hyperimmune intravenous globulin therapies, derived from donor plasma, have failed in studies to treat Covid-19. (wsj.com)
Long haulers
- Cognitive issues are among the most common symptoms among long haulers. (wsj.com)
- There is growing evidence Covid increases the risk of psychological disorders down the road. (statnews.com)
Data
- Nearly 40,000 U.S. children lost at least one parent to COVID-19. (fatherly.com)
- In which states Covid was most deadly for American seniors. (politicalcalculations.blogspot.com)
- We don't have great data on Covid-19 reinfections. (statnews.com)
Research
- Will researchers ever really find the origin of the novel coronavirus? (scientificamerican.com)
- More evidence for the airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus. (wwwnc.cdc.gov)
- Researchers are going to examine old blood samples to see when the novel coronavirus was circulating in Wuhan. (wsj.com)
- Two initiatives that would actually reduce the risk of another pandemic. (politico.com)
Testing
- Rapid, cheap testing would have changed the trajectory of the pandemic. (marginalrevolution.com)
- The UK is going to make free twice-a-week coronavirus tests to its citizens. (ft.com)
Behavior
- It's easy to let your guard down when you see vaccinated people having fun. (theatlantic.com)
- There is still a lot of conflicting advice about what is safe to do after getting fully vaccinated. (theverge.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: mass vaccination campaigns. (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
- A profile of Dr. Kati Kariko whose work on mRNA laid the groundwork for today's Covid vaccines. (nytimes.com)
- Tyler Cowen and Russ Roberts talk about the pandemic one year in. (econtalk.org)
- What does the law say about vaccination requirements? (slate.com)
- Can Covid survivors become a viable political force? (politico.com)
