Reuters
CureVac fails in pivotal COVID-19 vaccine trial with 47% efficacy
· German biotech CureVac NV (5CV.DE) said on Wednesday its COVID-19 vaccine was only 47% effective in a late-stage trial, missing the study's main goal and throwing in doubt the potential delivery of hundreds of millions of doses to the European Union. · Shared by 14, including Vishal Gulati (I back scientists), Rick Powell, Martin Steiger 🦈
Project Syndicate
Can We End the Pandemic? | by William A. Haseltine
2 min · · The emergence of dangerous new coronavirus variants is threatening the progress that we have made with the help of COVID-19 vaccines. It is now clear that our pharmaceutical research efforts and… · Shared by 7, including Rick Powell
The Daily Beast
The Doctor Who Eliminated Smallpox Says COVID-19 Is Here to Stay
18+ min · · Dr. Larry Brilliant spoke with Harry Siegel about why it’s too late to hope for herd immunity despite the “magic” of vaccines, and much more. · Shared by 8, including Rick Powell
nature
The COVID lab-leak hypothesis: what scientists do and don’t know
9 min · · Nature examines arguments that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 escaped from a lab in China, and the science behind them. · Shared by 100, including Roger Highfield, 🇺🇦Evan Kirstel #B2B #TechFluencer, Andy Budd, Rick Powell, Charles Arthur, Dr. Kiki Sanford, Maggie Koerth, Jonathan Eisen
Scientific American
Some Pandemic Health Habits Deserve to Stay
3 min · · We need a public health culture change informed by lessons from COVID · Shared by 50, including Rick Powell, Monica Gandhi MD, MPH
nature
Six months of COVID vaccines: what 1.7 billion doses have taught scientists
Summary · 13+ min · · At a pivotal moment in the pandemic, Nature explores key questions about the vaccines that countries are racing to deliver while viral variants spread around the globe. · Shared by 102, including Rick Powell, Burak Bayburtlu, Carly, Roger Highfield, getAbstract, Eric Topol, Fred Destin, Carla Gentry 🎶, Dr. Saskia Popescu
The Guardian
Covid outbreak at my children’s school makes me fear we’re complacent
5 min · · Talk of ‘freedom day’ and foreign holidays may be premature when so many pupils are testing positive · Shared by 12, including Martin Steiger 🦈, Rick Powell
WIRED
The Teeny, Tiny Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill
19+ min · · All pandemic long, scientists brawled over how the virus spreads. Droplets! No, aerosols! At the heart of the fight was a mysterious error in decades-old research. · Shared by 714, including Moritz Stefaner, Kevin Marks 🏠kevinmarks.com xoxo.zone/@KevinMarks, Douglas Karr, Jeff Atwood, Gavin Schmidt, wil shipley, Jen Simmons, Rachel Glennerster, Dr. Simon A. Rego, Lee Keyes, Bethany Brookshire, Akshat Rathi, zooko❤ⓩ🛡🦓🦓🦓, David CisMan, David Smith, Martin Stabe, Prof Steve Keen, Roger Highfield, zeynep tufekci, Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🥼🤹🦟🧀
Works in Progress
Why didn't suicides rise during Covid?
12+ min · · Covid-19 brought death, suffering and financial straits, so it was unsurprising that depression rose around the world. But when the data came in, we found suicide did not – and it's a mystery why. · Shared by 22, including Liam Bright, Rick Powell, sircharlsxavier
nature
Count the cost of disability caused by COVID-19
9 min · · Focusing only on cases and deaths hides the pandemic’s lasting health burden on people, societies and economies. · Shared by 28, including Carl Zimmer, Eric Topol, Rick Powell, Deborah Blum, slumos
nature
What scientists know about new, fast-spreading coronavirus variants
5 min · · Key questions remain about how quickly B.1.617 variants can spread, their potential to evade immunity and how they might affect the course of the pandemic. · Shared by 36, including Rick Powell, Amesh Adalja, Eric Topol
nature
Had COVID? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime
3 min · · People who recover from mild COVID-19 have bone-marrow cells that can churn out antibodies for decades, though viral variants could dampen some of the protection they offer. · Shared by 78, including Mark_Sisson, Arin Basu, Eric Topol, Jason Silva, Benny Johnson, Carlos del Rio, Rick Powell, Daniel Kraft, MD
nature
What the science says about lifting mask mandates
11+ min · · With COVID rates dropping and vaccinations on the rise, the United States and other places are removing some requirements for face coverings. Are they moving too fast? · Shared by 30, including Rick Powell, Monica Gandhi MD, MPH, Timothy Caulfield, Carlos del Rio
nature
‘It’s a minefield’: COVID vaccine safety poses unique communication challenge
4 min · · Poll on vaccine hesitancy demonstrates the extraordinary predicament researchers face in transmitting risk information during a pandemic. · Shared by 13, including Dr. Saskia Popescu, Roger Highfield, Rick Powell
nature
Mix-and-match COVID vaccines trigger potent immune response
3 min · · Preliminary results from a trial of more than 600 people are the first to show the benefits of combining different vaccines. · Shared by 67, including Carlos del Rio, Martin Varsavsky, Tim Bray, Dr. Saskia Popescu, Rick Powell, Tomas Pueyo, Marc Brupbacher, Monica Gandhi MD, MPH, Mario Klingemann💧💦, Carly, Roger Highfield, Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🥼🤹🦟🧀, Christopher Lauer™
reason
The Pandemic Could Have Been Over Much Sooner—If Not for the FDA
6 min · · At critical junctures, the FDA slowed vaccine development and rollout. Its decisions almost certainly cost lives. · Shared by 9, including Rick Powell