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
"But if the United States is very, very bad at social trust and public-health systems, it is very, very good at large-scale logistics. And skill at large-scale logistics, far more than social trust, has turned out to be a big advantage in this new stage of the pandemic."
(Anne Applebaum)
J&J pause
- The FDA has asked providers to 'pause' the Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) vaccine. (statnews.com)
- The ACIP wants more data. (arstechnica.com)
- With sufficient mRNA supplies, the pause will not have a big impact on America's roll-out. (vox.com)
- The FDA's action will reverberate around the world. (npr.org)
- No matter the cause, the incidence of blood clots is very rare. (statnews.com)
- The risk of blood clots from Covid is way higher than than of the vaccine. (ox.ac.uk)
Pause pushback
- Paul Kafasis, "Human beings are horrifically bad at understanding large numbers and terrible at assessing broad risks. Public health officials ought to take that reality into consideration before making a move like this." (onefoottsunami.com)
- Is the pause a function of misestimating risk? (theatlantic.com)
- The FDA makes a mistake when it says it's 'credibility is on the line' with vaccines. (marginalrevolution.com)
- Pausing vaccinations will cause more deaths. Period. (ft.com)
- Why a doctor who got the J&J vaccine isn't worried. (nytimes.com)
Vaccines
- The mRNA vaccines continue to look better in comparison to the adenovirus-based vaccines. (theatlantic.com)
- Why we are likely going to need booster shots 6-12 months down the road. (wsj.com)
- CDC-identified breakthrough cases are not out of line with expectations. (wsj.com)
- Scientists are speculating about how vaccines will permanently affect our body's approach to variants. (statnews.com)
- The mix-and-match research protocol is adding more vaccine candidates. (marketwatch.com)
Vaccine hesitancy
- Public health officials are focusing on rural areas where vaccine hesitancy is highest. (theatlantic.com)
- Vaccine messaging needs to emphasize what taking the shot can do for everyone. (ryanholiday.net)
- The case for vaccine mandates. (nytimes.com)
Vaccine distribution
- The U.S. will hit a vaccine wall sooner than expected. (axios.com)
- How New Mexico excelled at getting shots in arms. (politico.com)
- Vaccine hesitancy will have costs for all of society. (theatlantic.com)
Research
- More evidence that prior Covid infections protect against reinfection. (thelancet.com)
- How long will vaccines provide immunity? We just don't know. (wsj.com)
- On the relationship between exercise and Covid. (nytimes.com)
Monoclonal antibodies
- How monoclonal antibody treatments are being used. (usatoday.com)
- Regeneron's ($REGN) REGEN-COV, a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, has been shown to be highly effective in reducing the risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 infection. (wsj.com)
- Eli Lilly ($LLY) has requested that the FDA revoke its EUA for the company's single-antibody treatment. (cnbc.com)
Data
- New research shows just how big a vector for disease were meatpacking plants. (modernfarmer.com)
- The young (and unvaccinated) are driving the current surge in Covid cases. (wsj.com)
Public policy
- We never should have demonized being outside during pandemic. (washingtonpost.com)
- The CDC held onto the idea of 'deep cleaning' to combat the coronavirus way too long. (theatlantic.com)
Global
- For some reason Italy didn't focus its vaccination efforts on the elderly. (wsj.com)
- The Russian government has consistently underestimated the death toll from Covid. (nytimes.com)
- Why China is preparing to approve foreign-designed vaccines. (wsj.com)
- Chile has been a vaccination success but case counts are still on the rise. (washingtonpost.com)
- P.1 is now the dominant strain in Brazil. (wsj.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: the great divide. (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 providers can help front-line workers deal with the wind down of the acute phase of th pandemic. (statnews.com)
- The pandemic is getting people to re-evaluate their lives. (wsj.com)
- Many of us are still stuck between the pandemic and a better future. (theatlantic.com)
- Will Leitch, "Get the vaccine." (williamfleitch.medium.com)
