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
"The real problem is simply that sick societies have sick institutions. Science is not some cloistered preserve in the clouds, but is buried in the muck with everything else."
(Dr. Jay S. Kaufman)
Booster shots
- The FDA advisory panel has recommended booster shots for those 65+ and at high risk of disease. (statnews.com)
- WHO is pushing back against vaccine booster for the general population. (statnews.com)
- Whatever the FDA and CDC decide about boosters they need to be clear in their messaging. (nytimes.com)
- Israeli data show booster shots boost immunity. (biopharmadive.com)
- What's the right dose for boosters? (marginalrevolution.com)
- How some people are already getting booster shots. (theatlantic.com)
Vaccines
- The Moderna ($MRNA) seems to be holding up better. (npr.org)
- The U.S. is buying another 500 million vaccine doses to be distributed around the world. (washingtonpost.com)
- Canada has given full approval to the Moderna ($MRNA) vaccine. (ft.com)
- The UK is going to give 12-15 year olds one dose of the Pfizer ($PFE) vaccine. (bloomberg.com)
Vaccine hesitancy
- Vaccine hesitancy is a symptom of a much bigger problem. (ft.com)
- Wellness influencers have jumped on the anti-vaccine bandwagon. (washingtonpost.com)
Vaccine mandates
- OSHA is at the center of any vaccine mandates. (washingtonpost.com)
- A CEO on why companies should embrace a vaccine mandate. (fastcompany.com)
- Southwest Airlines ($LUV) is boosting incentives for staff to get COVID-19 vaccines. (businessinsider.com)
- How the prospect for vaccine mandates is playing out in tourist-dependent Las Vegas. (politico.com)
- Italy is going wide with vaccine passports. (nytimes.com)
- How mandates could harden opposition to the vaccines. (theatlantic.com)
Endemicity
- What we need to rethink in a world where SARS-CoV2 is endemic. (theatlantic.com)
- Emily Oster, "In the end, the message here is that there is no world of “no COVID” and if you are waiting for some external sign that the pandemic is over, you will be waiting forever." (emilyoster.substack.com)
Influenza
Long Covid
- How long Covid is like chronic fatigue syndrome. (unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com)
- Breakthrough infections could cause long Covid, but it is less likely. (npr.org)
Research
- The long history of mRNA research. (nature.com)
- Why children fight off Covid better than adults. (scientificamerican.com)
- The next pandemic may not be so susceptible to vaccines. (theatlantic.com)
Health care
- Hospital acquired Covid infections are on the rise. (arstechnica.com)
- The American health care system wasn't built with a pandemic in mind. (vox.com)
- Why this wave feels so much worse for health care workers. (scientificamerican.com)
- The pandemic has exacerbated already existing problems in nursing homes. (marketwatch.com)
- The U.S. is buying more doses of monoclonal antibody treatments. (biopharmadive.com)
Data
- 1 in 500 Americans have died from Covid. (washingtonpost.com)
- The percentage of deaths among non-Seniors are on the rise. (wsj.com)
- The U.S. ranks 40th on this list of vaccine uptake. (gizmodo.com)
States
- Idaho's hospitals are rationing care. (npr.org)
- Idaho's issues are spilling over into Washington state. (nytimes.com)
- Oregon hospitals are delaying surgeries and cancer care. (npr.org)
- A look at the crisis facing ICUs in the South. (nytimes.com)
Masking
- Continued masking will help with other respiratory illnesses like flu and RSV. (fastcompany.com)
- The weight of the evidence is that masks work. (scientificamerican.com)
- The best mask is one your child will wear. (wsj.com)
Children
- The case for pressuring the FDA to approve vaccines for children. (theatlantic.com)
- Covid has made us all risk managers, especially for children. (nytimes.com)
- When it comes to schools, testing best self-isolation. (sciencedirect.com)
Podcasts
- Andy Slavitt talks with Ed Yong about how this pandemic eventually ends. (omny.fm)
- Charlie Skyes talks with Dr. Scott Gottlieb about his new book "Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic." (plus.thebulwark.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: what success looks like. (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
- Modeling a pandemic is challenging, in part, because human behavior changes. (wired.com)
- The politicization of public health is a disaster happening in plain sight. (washingtonpost.com)
- A Q&A with Scott Gottlieb the author of "Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic." (washingtonpost.com)
- What it's like to get a breakthrough infection. (npr.org)