The Atlantic
What We Actually Know About Waning Immunity
10 min · · Reports of vaccines’ decline have been greatly overstated. · Shared by 97, including Ed Yong is on sabbatical, Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA 🇺🇦, Rick Powell, Liv 😷, Megan Ranney MD MPH 🌻, Muge Cevik, Prof. Shane Crotty, Alex Tabarrok, Maggie Koerth
NBC News
Largest mask study yet details their importance for fighting Covid-19
3 min · · A study involving more than 340,000 people in Bangladesh offers some of the strongest real-world evidence yet that mask use can help communities slow Covid-19. · Shared by 11, including Yann “不停” Heurtaux @shalf@mastodon.social, Rick Powell
cspicenter.org
The Case against Lockdowns
· Summary A year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit most of the world, there was arguably a good case for lockdowns. The initial growth of the epidemic implied a high basic reproduction number, which… · Shared by 9, including Barnaby Skinner, Rick Powell
richardhanania.substack.com
Are COVID Restrictions the New TSA?
12+ min · · The worrying parallels between the government reactions to 9/11 and COVID-19, and why some children might be permanently masked · Shared by 20, including Steven Pinker, Elad Gil, Christina Hoff Sommers, Rick Powell, Alex Tabarrok
The Atlantic
America’s Bipartisan COVID-19 Illiteracy
6 min · · Nine months into the pandemic, governments and elites still don’t understand—or refuse to clearly say—what this virus is or how it spreads. · Shared by 30, including Rick Powell, Alex Cavoulacos, Brian Stelter, Taylor Lorenz, Ser Jeff Garzik
The Atlantic
The Pandemic’s Wrongest Man
10 min · · In a crowded field of wrongness, one person stands out: Alex Berenson. · Shared by 293, including Frank Luntz, Dr. Angela Rasmussen, James Fallows, David Fisman, zeynep tufekci, Carl T. Bergstrom, Brian Klaas, Barry Ritholtz, Jason Silva, OM, Kara Swisher, David Frum, Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD, Jay Rosen, Gregg Gonsalves, Taylor Lorenz, Esther C, MD MPH, Ida Bae Wells, Rebekah Jones, Guy Kawasaki
The New York Times
Opinion | Are We Way Too Timid in the Way We Fight Covid-19?
8 min · · The debate among doctors, epidemiologists and economists is still going strong. · Shared by 45, including Elad Gil, Alex Tabarrok, Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, Edward Tufte, Ezra Klein, Gregg Gonsalves, David Boaz, Rick Powell, Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan in other places)
The New Yorker
Have You Already Had a Breakthrough COVID Infection?
8 min · · The question of what “infection” means is just one of the riddles posed by the late-stage pandemic. · Shared by 27, including Eric Topol, Aniyia ❤️, Rick Powell
The Atlantic
Now What?
15+ min · · Cases of COVID-19 are rising fast. Vaccine uptake has plateaued. The pandemic will end—but the way there is different now. · Shared by 323, including Martin Stabe, Eli Pariser | @elipariser@mastodon.social, Esther C, MD MPH, Alicia GarciaHerrero 艾西亞, @augieray@mastodon.social, Dr. Syra Madad, Ed Yong is on sabbatical, Dr Ellie Murray, ScD, Kevin Marks 🏠kevinmarks.com xoxo.zone/@KevinMarks, Rhea Boyd MD, MPH, Bob Wachter, Carla Gentry, David Wallace-Wells, Neil Lewis, Jr., PhD, Carlos del Rio, Stowe Boyd, Jennifer Ouellette, Max Roser, Mathew Ingram, Kate Darling
The Atlantic
Delta Is Bad News for Kids
10 min · · More children are falling ill because more are being infected. · Shared by 66, including Roland Wyss-Aerni 😷, David Wallace-Wells, Rick Powell, Dr. Saskia Popescu, Dr. Syra Madad, Ed Yong is on sabbatical, Marie-José Kolly, autojennifiliac 😈 | BLM, Carl Zimmer
Scientific American
The Olympics without Fans Is Harming Athletes’ Performance
4 min · · Simone Biles drops out of an event, citing the lack of an audience · Shared by 10, including Dan Gillmor is at mastodon.social/@dangillmor, Rick Powell
nature
How the Delta variant achieves its ultrafast spread
2 min · · Viral load is roughly 1,000 times higher in people infected with the Delta variant than those infected with the original coronavirus strain, according to a study in China. · Shared by 66, including Florian Hanke 🍎, Ellen Shapiro, Rick Powell, Matthew Herper, Carly, Eric Topol, Roger Highfield, Carlos del Rio, Dr. Simon A. Rego, Dr. Syra Madad, Nicola Duke, Marvin “Polymath but really Just Generalist” Liao
nature
Why England’s COVID ‘freedom day’ alarms researchers
6 min · · Easing restrictions amid rising infections raises the risk of new variants emerging and risks the health of those are not vaccinated, say researchers around the world. · Shared by 18, including @augieray@mastodon.social, Rick Powell, Roger Highfield
New York Magazine
The Kids Are Alright
16+ min · · Why we should rethink COVID safety protocols for children — and everyone else. · Shared by 129, including Brian Stelter, Monica Gandhi MD, MPH, Kelli María Korducki, Amesh Adalja, M.G. Siegler, Marc Brupbacher, David Wallace-Wells, Rick Powell, Steven Sinofsky
nature
Quarter-dose of Moderna COVID vaccine still rouses a big immune response
3 min · · Using only one-quarter of the usual amount of Moderna’s vaccine in each of two jabs triggers lasting production of antibodies and T cells. · Shared by 40, including Eric Topol, Dr. Saskia Popescu, Ben Cowling, Carly, Nathan Benaich, Alex Tabarrok, Akshat Rathi, Rick Powell
nature
Is one vaccine dose enough if you’ve had COVID? What the science says
5 min · · Research shows that a previous coronavirus infection plus one dose of vaccine provides powerful protection — but concerns linger. · Shared by 25, including Eric Topol, Martin Varsavsky 🇺🇦, Rick Powell, Dr. Syra Madad