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
"The word ‘endemic’ has become one of the most misused of the pandemic. And many of the errant assumptions made encourage a misplaced complacency. It doesn’t mean that COVID-19 will come to a natural end."
(Aris Katzourakis)
Chart of the Day
The US could have halved hospitalizations if vaccinations had reached Denmark-levels.
Vaccines
- The FDA has given full approval to the Moderna ($MRNA) Covid-19 vaccine. (statnews.com)
- Nasal vaccines would work well as boosters. (nytimes.com)
- Some data showing variant-specific vaccines may not provide more protection. (statnews.com)
- The Biden administration bet on vaccines to combat Covid, which worked until variants emerged. (wsj.com)
- CDC data show how much more risk the unvaccinated are taking. (cdc.gov)
Children
- Vaccination rates for young children, 5-11, vary widely across states. (nytimes.com)
- Why getting vaccine dosing right for little children is so difficult. (vox.com)
- What is Pfizer ($PFE) doing with dosing? (theatlantic.com)
Omicron
- Omicron is now some 95% of global Covid infections. (washingtonpost.com)
- Why BA.1 outspread BA.2 initially. (statnews.com)
- What we know about BA.2. (bloomberg.com)
Treatment
- Hospitals have been operating under stress for two years now. (theatlantic.com)
- The pandemic has reduced the use of hospice services. (thinkadvisor.com)
- Blood supplies in the U.S. are running low. (wsj.com)
Testing
- The CDC is going expand its wastewater testing program. (washingtonpost.com)
- Why we need to use a variety of tools, including sewage and air samples, to track new variants. (nytimes.com)
- At-home molecular tests are better, but they are significantly more expensive. (wsj.com)
- How the Biden administration found 500 million Covid tests. (nytimes.com)
Ventilation
- Ventilating school rooms in Winter is a challenge. (newscientist.com)
- This study shows wearing masks indoors to be effective in reducing infection. (washingtonpost.com)
Antivirals
- Molnupiravir seems to be effective against Omicron. (wsj.com)
- Those most in need of monoclonal antibodies are not getting them. (sciencedaily.com)
Long Covid
- More clues on those individuals most at-risk of long Covid. (wsj.com)
- Some people with long Covid are still struggling to get recognition. (theguardian.com)
Data
- Hospital admissions are falling in 34 states. (bloomberg.com)
- The U.S. has experienced in excess of 1 million 'excess deaths' since the onset of the pandemic. (wsj.com)
- Americans have lost at least 13.5 million years of life during the pandemic. (washingtonpost.com)
- No matter the metric, including deaths, the U.S. is doing worse than other developed countries. (nytimes.com)
Global
- Countries with higher levels of trust have manged through the pandemic better. (washingtonpost.com)
- Denmark is done with Covid restrictions because the link between infection and hospitalization is broken. (theatlantic.com)
- Winter Olympics, or not, China is intent on keeping its zero Covid policy. (ft.com)
- How the UK's approach to Covid has differed from other countries. (nytimes.com)
- Countries like Malawi may have already reached endemicity through prior infection. (npr.org)
- How Brazil has been able to get past Bolisnaro's Covid denialism. (vox.com)
Podcasts
- Andy Slavitt explores what Omicron means for immunity with Harvard epidemiologist Bill Hanage. (podcasts.apple.com)
- Virginia Heffernan talks with Dr. Nicholas Tiller about how disinformation spreads. (this-is-critical-with-virginia-heffernan.simplecast.com)
