A coronavirus-focused linkfest is for 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
"When vaccination is the default, most people will get vaccinated. Mandates still aren’t popular; few public health measures are. But they work."
(Dr. Aaron Carroll)
Chart of the Day

At the current pace, 70% of the population will have at least one vaccination by the end of July.
Vaccines
- We have more data about the two mRNA vaccines than we do about other drugs that the FDA approved. (nytimes.com)
- Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) said a new study showed that the vaccine elicits neutralizing antibody activity against the Delta variant. (news.yahoo.com)
- Sanofi ($SNY) is jumping into the mRNA vaccine business. (barrons.com)
- How well do immune responses measure the protection of vaccines? (sciencemag.org)
- Mixing and matching vaccines seems to be safe and effective. (wsj.com)
Vaccine development
- Some research indicating that mRNA vaccines produce long-lasting immunity. (nytimes.com)
- Some research showing long gaps between AstraZeneca ($AZN) shots boost immunity. (bloomberg.com)
- Researchers are trying to create a multi-valent, pan-coronavirus vaccine. (ft.com)
- 12 lessons Covid-19 taught us about vaccine development including 'Redundancy is critical in a vaccine quest.' (statnews.com)
- Why did human challenge trials not get used during pandemic? (marginalrevolution.com)
Vaccine distribution
- Full approval of the Covid vaccines would allow for mandates. (marketwatch.com)
- How vaccine mandates could backfire. (bloomberg.com)
- How local health officials are trying to reach Hispanic populations. (politico.com)
- Young adults are now the biggest vaccine holdouts. (nytimes.com)
- Many large-scale vaccination sites are shutting down. (wsj.com)
- Katherine J. Wu, "The most reliable way to inflame the heart is to bother it with a virus." (theatlantic.com)
Variants
- The longer the pandemic runs, the greater the risk that a variant will evade current vaccines. (theatlantic.com)
- Moderna ($MRNA) says its vaccine is effective against the Delta variant. (vox.com)
- Nobody really knows if, or how much deadlier, the Delta variant is. (theatlantic.com)
- The Delta variant is highlighting existing Covid divides. (vox.com)
- The answer to the variants is to get vaccinated. (nytimes.com)
Long haulers
- Covid is one of many diseases that can cause long-term symptoms. (quantamagazine.org)
- Even mild Covid cases can turn young people into long haulers. (arstechnica.com)
- How long Covid can, and will, be politicized. (unherd.com)
Global
- Why Australia keeps locking down - only 4% of its population is vaccinated. (fortune.com)
- Israel is pushing vaccinations for younger citizens to combat the Delta variant. (bloomberg.com)
Testing
PPE
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: new technologies. (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)
- On the challenge of holding two competing thoughts on the pandemic in your head a the same time. (abnormalreturns.com)
Mixed media
- An interview with the last foreign scientist who worked in the Wuhan virology lab. (bloomberg.com)
- America's doctors and nurses and burned out and frustrated with the unvaccinated. (nytimes.com)
- How Philadelphia initially botched its vaccine rollout by trusting the wrong guy. (bloomberg.com)
- Alex Tabarrok thinks Michael Lewis' book "The Premonition" misses the bigger picture. (marginalrevolution.com)
- A list of pandemic 'all stars' including Gov. Mike DeWine. (washingtonpost.com)