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
"Pandemic preparedness is not unidimensional."
(Dr. Anthony Fauci)
Vaccinations
- Why boosters for the elderly are so important. (nymag.com)
- Side effects from booster shots are similar to those experienced after a second shot. (statnews.com)
- The dangers that unvaccinated pregnant women have faced. (scientificamerican.com)
- How America lost its vaccination lead. (theatlantic.com)
Vaccine mandates
- California is the first state to require Covid vaccines for school age children. (cnbc.com)
- James Surowiecki, "That employer mandates are effective is not, to be honest, all that surprising: given the choice between a safe, effective, and free vaccine and losing your job, one would expect most people to take the first option." (surowiecki.medium.com)
- In reality, few workers are willing to quit or be fired for not getting vaccinated. (scientificamerican.com)
- New York state mandates got health care workers to get the shot. (nytimes.com)
Company mandates
- Some 99% of United Air ($UAL) workers chose to get vaccinated. (npr.org)
- 91% of the employees of Tyson Foods ($TSN) are now fully vaccinated. (nytimes.com)
- At this point, the NBA is going to have to live with unvaccinated players. (rollingstone.com)
Antivirals
- Merck's ($MRK) antiviral pill cuts the risk of hospitalization by 50%. (statnews.com)
- We are months away from a antiviral pill to treat Covid. (pbs.org)
- Ideally, an antiviral would treat people with Covid and prevent illness in those exposed. (ft.com)
- Why the U.S. needs to help produce antivirals for the rest of the world. (washingtonpost.com)
Masking
- Joseph G. Allen, "A lot of things have to line up for someone to be exposed and get covid-19 in a fully vaccinated environment." (washingtonpost.com)
- Two studies that show the efficacy of masks in school settings. (wsj.com)
- Surgical masks work and people will wear them if provided for and asked. (nytimes.com)
- Why aren't more people wearing better masks? (scientificamerican.com)
- N95 masks make a big difference. (bloomberg.com)
Testing
- Weekly testing is not compatible with good mitigation. (theatlantic.com)
- An antibody test doesn't really tell you how strong your immunity is. (slate.com)
- What to do if you test positive with an at-home antigen test. (nytimes.com)
Treatments
- Monoclonal antibodies are not a substitute for vaccination. (scientificamerican.com)
- Repurposed drugs have been the front line treatments for Covid. (statnews.com)
Research
- Researchers are investigating the link between Covid and the olfactory bulb. (scientificamerican.com)
- Researchers have found more bat viruses that are similar to SARS-CoV-2. (nature.com)
- A new study shows that air filtration and UV disinfection can greatly reduces SARS-CoV-2 in hospital wards. (marginalrevolution.com)
Health care
- Delta cases are waning but ICUs are still full in hard-hit areas. (washingtonpost.com)
- Covid-19 could very well push young physicians out of medicine. (statnews.com)
- Health care workers are increasingly under threat from patients and visitors. (arstechnica.com)
Public health
- Public health officials have become targets of the Covid-denial crowd. (hcn.org)
- Why are doctor spread misinformation not be disciplined? (buzzfeednews.com)
- We can't prepare for the next pandemic without buttressing the public health system. (theatlantic.com)
Ivermectin
- Pro-Ivermectin groups are flourishing on Facebook ($FB) (nytimes.com)
- Veterinarians are struggling to find ivermectin for their animal patients. (nytimes.com)
States
- Even in Maine where nearly 70% of adults are vaccinated, the state saw a Delta surge. (wsj.com)
- Covid death rates are becoming more pronounced based on the political divide. (nytimes.com)
- The death rate in rural areas is twice that of urban areas. (nbcnews.com)
- Which states are still vulnerable to Covid, i.e. unvaccinated nor infected. (bloomberg.com)
Global
- Why Israel has been on the forefront of Covid vaccines. (wsj.com)
- Some evidence that social distancing worked in Germany at the outset of the pandemic. (sciencedaily.com)
- Australia is set to drop some restrictions on international travel. (wapo.st)
Q&As
- A Q&A with Larry Brilliant on why we need to have children vaccinated. (wired.com)
- Andy Slavitt talks with Katherine Wu about updating our beliefs about Covid. (omny.fm)
- A Q&A with former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb and author of "Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic." (statnews.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: flu season. (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)
