A coronavirus-focused linkfest is still a weekly feature here at Abnormal Returns. Please stay safe and find a vaccination site near you. You can read last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
“It is really important that we convey that success does not equal no cases...Success looks like very few people in the hospital and very few dying.”
(U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy)
Chart of the Day
The U.S. has fallen behind other countries in vaccinating their populations.
Moderna
- There is increasing evidence that the Moderna ($MRNA) vaccine, as administered, has better efficacy than the PFizer ($PFE) shot. (ft.com)
- Moderna ($MRNA) is bolstering its manufacturing capacity. (statnews.com)
- Moderna ($MRNA) has developed a combined Covid and flu vaccine. (barrons.com)
Vaccines
- Why a Covid vaccine for children is taking so long. (wsj.com)
- Andy Slavitt talks Dr. Anthony Fauci about how to think about a third shot. (omny.fm)
- Booster shot confusion reigns. (washingtonpost.com)
- The U.S. needs to keep pushing vaccines out to the rest of the world. (theincidentaleconomist.com)
Vaccine mandates
- The Biden administration has announced mandates for a wide swath of Americans. (washingtonpost.com)
- Opposition to the mandate was swift and predictable. (nytimes.com)
- Are the vaccine mandates legal? Yes, but... (vox.com)
- The LA school district is the largest school system to announce a Covid vaccine mandate for eligible students and staff. (washingtonpost.com)
- Companies are happy to see mandates go wide. (protocol.com)
- People are stretching to use a religious exemption. (nytimes.com)
- The case against a religious exemption for vaccine mandates. (nytimes.com)
Masking
- Masking works. (theatlantic.com)
- There is no end in sight for the legal battle over masks in Florida. (washingtonpost.com)
Treatment
- Pfizer ($PFE) has launched a large Phase 2/3 trial for an oral Covid treatment. (newatlas.com)
- Why are people with diabetest more at-risk of severe Covid? (sciencedaily.com)
Influenza
- Doctors are fearful of the coming flu season. (wsj.com)
- Enhanced ventilation would help with other respiratory diseases. (theatlantic.com)
Data
- Some hopeful signs that the Delta wave has peaked. (calculatedriskblog.com)
- Unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated. (npr.org)
- Even with Delta the risks to vaccinated individuals are small. (nytimes.com)
- The anti-vaxx movement was gaining among Republicans even before Covid. (fivethirtyeight.com)
Research
- Was the pandemic from 1889 to 1891 commonly called 'the Russian flu' actually from a coronavirus? (sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
- Why is the Delta variant so much more transmissible? (statnews.com)
Health care
- Hospitals are overwhelmed and see no end in sight. (npr.org)
- HHS has released another tranche of Covid funds to providers (statnews.com)
- The trauma for health care workers is real. (statnews.com)
States
- The states in which Covid cases are accelerating (and decelerating). (statnews.com)
- Florida is experiencing record Covid death rates. (washingtonpost.com)
- Arizona's third Covid wave has peaked. (politicalcalculations.blogspot.com)
Global
- How long can China live with a zero-Covid policy? (nytimes.com)
- The UK is rolling out a vaccine passport system this month. (bbc.com)
- Denmark, which is 80% vaccinated, is ending Covid restrictions. (npr.org)
- The UK has approved booster shots for the immunocompromised. (newscientist.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: expert disdain. (abnormalreturns.com)
- There's only one way through the pandemic tunnel. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Why we are eventually going to need digital health passes, i.e. vaccine passports. (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
- Dr. Aaron E. Carroll, "COVID-19 has exposed these gaps in our public solidarity, not caused them." (theatlantic.com)
- Covid has turned us all into ad-hoc risk managers. (wsj.com)
- Twelfth birthdays now take on a new significance. (nytimes.com)
- Check out this chandelier made up of used vaccine bottles. (npr.org)
