A coronavirus-focused linkfest is a weekly feature here at Abnormal Returns. Please stay safe, get a booster shotat a vaccination site near you. You can read last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"Ultimately, this virus will likely infect nearly all of us. That doesn’t mean it has to infect nearly all of us right now."
(Katherine J. Wu)
Vaccines
- The CDC now recommends booster shots for 12-15 year olds. (statnews.com)
- Never vaxxers are going to continue bearing the brunt of new variants. (thedailybeast.com)
- The end of boosting with current vaccines is coming to an end. (nytimes.com)
- Omicron once again put vaccine makers behind demand. (washingtonpost.com)
Omicron
- Here's hoping Omicron infections provide a lasting boost to community immunity. (washingtonpost.com)
- Cloth masks won't cut it against Omicron. (wsj.com)
Treatments
- Pfizer's ($PFE) paxlovid is in short supply. (nytimes.com)
- Many unvaccinated patients banked on Regeneron's antibody treatment, but Omicron changed the equation. (statnews.com)
- ECMO machines are in high demand. (indystar.com)
Data
- Most hospital admissions for Covid are still for Delta. (washingtonpost.com)
- The number of young, under 4, hospitalized for Covid is at a high. (nytimes.com)
- We are likely undercounting Covid-19 deaths, especially among the non-elderly. (thecentersquare.com)
- Omicron highlights the need for better patient data. (emilyoster.substack.com)
Care
- Just because Omicron seems to be less virulent doesn't mean it can't overwhelm health systems. (vox.com)
- Covid affects all hospital patients not just those with the virus. (theatlantic.com)
- Each wave of Covid does damage to the health care system. (washingtonpost.com)
- What's like to manage a nursing staff amid yet another Covid surge. (slate.com)
- Public health officials are worn out. (citizen-times.com)
Testing
- A lack of tests put Americans in a no-win situation. (wsj.com)
- Why major retailers like Kroger ($KR) are upping test prices. (bloomberg.com)
- How the administration plans to send everyone at-home Covid tests. (washingtonpost.com)
- At-home Covid tests are currenly not in the right hands. (theatlantic.com)
- At-home test may be missing the early stages of infection. (statnews.com)
- A look at seven different at-home Covid tests. (wired.com)
States
- Which states are most at-risk of Omicron? (washingtonpost.com)
- How did this small medical practice get a big shipment of much in demand, Evusheld? (statnews.com)
School
- Omicron-based school closures are likely to be short. (williamfleitch.medium.com)
- A look at the cross-currents school superintendents are facing with Omicron. (wsj.com)
- Why universities shouldn't be going remote. (theatlantic.com)
- Our data on schools is incomplete, at best. (stayathomemacro.substack.com)
Communication
- Effective communication of complicated information is no easy thing. (washingtonpost.com)
- Even targeted communication is unlikely to shift the attitudes of the hard core anti-vax crowd. (statnews.com)
- Inconsistent messaging is driving mistrust of public health officials. (scientificamerican.com)
Podcasts
- Andy Slavitt talks all thing Omicron (communication with Dr. David Agus. (podcasts.apple.com)
- Bakari Sellers and Van Lathan talk variants and vaccine mandates with Dr. Italo Brown. (theringer.com)
Global
- Why India's death toll from Covid is likely multiples higher than official estimates. (science.org)
- Covax vaccine shipments ramped up in December. (washingtonpost.com)
- Italy has made vaccination compulsory for people over 50. (fortune.com)
- The baby bust is global because women are worried about the effects of Covid. (washingtonpost.com)