A coronavirus-focused linkfest is a weekly feature here at Abnormal Returns. Please stay safe, get a booster at a vaccination site near you. You can read last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"COVID is not yet endemic. There is little doubt that the coronavirus will get there eventually, when almost everyone has been vaccinated or infected or both, but right now we are still living through a messy and potentially volatile transition period."
(Sarah Zhang)
Chart of the Day
“In general, the magnitude of the 2021 employment recovery is increasing with vaccination rates.” (HT Econbrowser)
Vaccines
- A Covid-19 vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) and Medicago showed effectiveness against Covid variants. (biopharmadive.com)
- The Omicron variant is getting people to take a booster. (theatlantic.com)
- It takes a booster for the Pfizer ($PFE) vaccine to offset Omicron. (statnews.com)
- It's not clear that a Omicron-specific vaccine will be needed. (statnews.com)
- The FDA has approved Pfizer ($PFE) booster shots for 16-17 year olds. (statnews.com)
- Vaccine uptake in the 5-11 year old set is sluggish. (wsj.com)
- The hunt is on for a universal coronavirus vaccine. (bloomberg.com)
Omicron
- A less dangerous Omicron, but with high case counts, could still cause disruptions. (bloomberg.com)
- A dangerous scenario is rising Omicron on top of an already bad Delta situation. (statnews.com)
Immunology
- How viruses, like SARS-CoV2, interact with mental health, and vice versa. (vox.com)
- What Omicron tells us about how the virus is mutating. (scientificamerican.com)
- Genomic surveillance is uneven across the U.S. (wsj.com)
Masking
- A study showing the effectiveness of masking. (mpg.de)
- Why masking indoors this Winter makes sense. (npr.org)
Health care
- Doctors have gotten better at treating Covid-related blood clots. (wsj.com)
- The unvaccinated are putting pressure on hospitals and health care workers. (nytimes.com)
- The general public doesn't know the challenges facing health care workers. (indystar.com)
Antibody treatments
- The FDA has authorized AstraZeneca's ($AZN) long-acting antibody therapy for the immunocompromised. (nytimes.com)
- Eli Lilly's ($LLY) monoclonal antibody drug has been cleared for emergency use in children under the age of 12. (wsj.com)
- GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) says its Covid-19 antibody treatment looks to be effective against Omicron. (bloomberg.com)
Antivirals
- Generic versions of Pfizer’s pill won't come to the majority of the world until well into 2022. (wsj.com)
- Antiviral treatments will inevitability include multiple agents. (nytimes.com)
- What you need to know about new Covid-19 antiviral pills. (nymag.com)
Testing
- How the CDC's attempt to create a test for SARS-CoV2 went so wrong. (buzzfeednews.com)
- Increased use of at-home testing kits leaves public health officials in the dark. (statnews.com)
- The state of Colorado gets rapid testing right. (slate.com)
Public health
- The vaccination (and death) disparity between red and blue counties is growing. (npr.org)
- Why we should revisit isolation requirements for the fully vaccinated. (theatlantic.com)
Global
- Covid has largely disappeared in Japan. (bloomberg.com)
- Why South Africa has excellent genetic sequencing capabilities. (nytimes.com)
- We may never definitevely know the origin of SARS-CoV2, but China made things worse by withholding crucial information. (unherd.com)
- Vaccine hesitancy is not just a U.S. problem. (theatlantic.com)
- Why has the UK been slow to vaccinate children? (newscientist.com)
Podcasts
- Andy Slavitt talks with Scott Gottlieb about the Omicron variant. (podcasts.apple.com)
- Aaron Lammer talks with Emily Oster about the pandemic and her new book "The Family Firm." (longform.org)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: the case for boosters. (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)
