The COVID-19 History Project

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This Day in COVID: September 21, 2020

Details

Conservative blogger who spread COVID-19 misinformation worked for Fauci's agency

Axios

The Lancet changes editorial policy after hydroxychloroquine Covid study retraction

New policy comes after serious quality control questions were raised about the data relied on by a study in the medical journal

The Guardian

More than 150 nations join global vaccine plan but U.S., China absent

Reuters

Signs of an 'October vaccine surprise' alarm scientists

Such a move could further erode public trust in a vaccine and foist an unsafe shot on Americans.

NBC

What can we expect from first-generation COVID-19 vaccines?

The Lancet

WHO says no change to COVID-19 transmission guidance after U.S. draft change

Reuters

COVID 'firepower': Britain imposes six-month curbs against second wave

Reuters

U.S. to surpass grim milestone of 200,000 COVID-19 deaths

Reuters

Explainer: How clinical trials test COVID-19 vaccines

The Conversation

Why Covid-19 Patients Are Suffering From Distorted and Phantom Smells

An increasing number of patients are reporting awful scents that aren’t present

Smithsonian Magazine

Mother, 2-year-old kicked off American flight after toddler refuses to wear mask

Mother kicked off American flight after 2-year-old refuses to wear mask.

ABC

Sesame Street video helps kids with autism learn to wear a mask

In a sweet new video, muppet Julia, who has autism, practices wearing a mask with her dad.

Today

‘Forced to fight a war on two fronts’: How healthcare workers say misinformation and messaging worsen the toll COVID takes in Mississippi

Healthcare workers are twice as likely to get COVID-19 in Mississippi, but their risky job is made harder by state and federal mixed messages

Mississippi Today

How Pinterest beat back vaccine misinformation — and what Facebook could learn from its approach

Experts say Facebook could stand to take a page from Pinterest, which has a zero-tolerance vaccine misinformation policy.

STAT News

Economy’s backbone in a silent fight with COVID-1

Frontline agricultural workers in the Salinas Valley continue to report to work and have been the center of the COVID-19 outbreak across the nation.

The Californian

Army Reserve welcomes incoming Soldiers amid COVID-19 restrictions

When Army Spc. David Marable greets new soldiers arriving at Rhine Ordnance Barracks, the Columbus, Georgia-native thinks about how challenging a move t...

Army

Biden’s Early Statements About the Coronavirus

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have made competing claims about Biden's early statements on the coronavirus.

Factcheck

State Sen. Dale Zorn: Whitmer’s deadly nursing home policy

Monroe News

Coronavirus complicates efforts to help homeless veterans

Federal figures on veterans homelessness are due out soon, but they won't reflect the impact of coronavirus on the problem.

Marine Corps Times

The UC System Has Officially Gone Test Optional. What Now?

Berkeley

Robert Kennedy’s Grandson Couldn’t Take the LSAT, So He Joined Kushner’s Coronavirus Task Force — And Blew the Whistle

Max Kennedy Jr., the grandson of prominent former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy — brother to the late President John F. Kennedy — offered a disturbing account of what he saw while working for Jared Kushner's branch of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Mediaite

Black doctors have created a task force to make sure COVID-19 vaccines are safe

Live Science

No matter what the CDC says, here’s why many scientists think the coronavirus is airborne.

Washington Post

Trump Says He Deserves An ‘A+’ For His Handling Of The Coronavirus Pandemic

“Other than public relations, but that’s because I have fake news. On public relations, I give myself a D,” Trump said. “On the job itself, we take an A-plus.”

Forbes

Boris Johnson to order pubs and restaurants to close at 10pm

The PM will drop his 'back to work' drive, announce restrictions on socialising and impose a 10pm curfew on bars and restaurants across England from Thursday.

The Daily Mail

Our Mission

The COVID-19 History Project is a curated archive of the events and policy decisions surrounding the emergence of COVID-19.

The pandemic era of 2020-2022 saw massive increases in restrictions on daily life—enforced by the government and by social stigma—accompanied social protests that roiled cities worldwide

In the United States alone, trillions of dollars were spent by the federal government to offset the forced closure of businesses and the devastation of normal life.

The impacts of these policy decisions are still being felt today.

Some would like us to forget the actions and people that played a significant role during the pandemic.

But we of the COVID-19 History Project don't want to forget. Through our work, we hope there will always be an archive to learn from and interpret this fascinating, disturbing, time in world history.

The Timeline

In order to learn from the mistakes of the past, and give COVID-19 decision makers the credit—both good and bad—they deserve, we have compiled a media timeline from every day of the pandemic.

We have endeavored to make the timeline comprehensive without being duplicative, following the major trends as they unfolded.

We provided analyses for each month highlighting major events, but encourage readers to make their own conclusions about these events as well.

This Day in COVID: September 21, 2021

Details

U.S. Navy Seabees and Marines Support to Tunisian Navy in Combating COVID-19

U.S. Embassy in Tunisia (.gov)

Opinion | I Ran the C.D.C. Here’s How to Prove That Americans Are Vaccinated. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Petrol station killing over COVID mask row shocks Germany

Politicians decry ‘coronavirus deniers’ after 49-year-old suspect shot cashier who asked him to wear a mask.

Al Jazeera

Second dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine increases protection against covid-19, maker says

The Washington Post

News Media Outlets Have Been Ravaged by the Pandemic (Published 2020)

The New York Times

My Accidental Visit to the Pandemic’s Party Capital (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Petrol station worker killed in Germany after face mask row

Concerns raised over radicalisation of anti-lockdown movement as man held over fatal shooting

The Guardian

Bolsonaro Talked Vaccines Down. Now Brazil Has Too Few Doses. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Analysis | Tucker Carlson outdoes himself on vaccines, again

The Washington Post

Wuhan scientists planned to release coronavirus particles into cave bats, leaked papers reveal

Documents reveal researchers applied for $14m to fund controversial project in 2018

The Telegraph

While Melbourne riots Sydney tradies get green light to return to work

The vast majority of Sydney's frustrated construction workers are set to return to work from next Monday as the NSW government finally eases restrictions on one of the state's biggest industries.

Daily Mail

Two dose version of Johnson & Johnson shot 94% effective against Covid-19, study finds | CNN

CNN

Evolvetogether's new kids KN95 masks: What to know

The brand’s new kids KN95 masks are smaller than the adult version and come in multiple colors.

NBC News

Melbourne protests: Third day of violent anti-vaccine demonstrations

Demonstrators have been marching against lockdowns and mandatory vaccines in Australia's second largest city.

BBC

A Texas couple wore face masks at a restaurant to protect their immunocompromised infant. The owner asked them to leave | CNN

CNN

Vaccine mandates work, but rollout will be a bumpy road for employers: Opinion

Mandates are essential to creating safe workplaces.

ABC News

Leader of WHO’s new pandemic hub: improve data flow to extinguish outbreaks

Former Nigeria CDC leader Chikwe Ihekweazu talks with Nature about the COVID crisis, and strengthening global response to future public-health emergencies.

Nature

The lasting impact of the Covid crisis on economic potential

As the global economy recovers from the immediate economic impact of the Covid crisis, attention is increasingly turning to the long-run impact of the shock on productivity. This column identifies several channels – including labour market hysteresis, impaired skill acquisition, belief scarring, an increase in zombie companies, and policy errors – through which the lasting harm will outweigh any positive supply shocks caused by the pandemic. The authors estimate long-term output losses in the or...

CEPR

COVID-19 surpasses 1918 flu as deadliest pandemic in U.S. history

For more than a century, the 1918 flu held that grim distinction. Here’s what made that outbreak so devastating.

National Geographic

Delirium is a common consequence of severe COVID-19, study finds

Michigan Medicine

COVID-19: UN Secretary-General says the world has failed an ethics test

Secretary-General António Guterres today told the United Nations General Assembly that a scientific triumph on COVID-19 vaccines had been undone by “the tragedy of a lack of political will, selfishness and mistrust.” In his opening speech to the general debate of the General Assembly the Secretary-Generals said that one image told “the tale of our times”. “The […]

Unric

Israel’s struggles to contain COVID-19 may be a warning for other nations

Science | AAAS

Somali President underscores need for COVID-19 vaccines for all

Despite the heavy impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Somalia has continued on the path to economic reform, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said in a pre-recorded speech to the 76th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

UN News

Caring for the cargivers post-pandemic: Doctor burnout is a crisis

'The whole framing of us as health care heroes is a double-edged sword.'

Time Magazine

Americans Have No Idea What the Supply Chain Really Is

Behind shipping delays and soaring prices are workers still at mortal risk of COVID-19.

The Atlantic

‘Post-Vax COVID’ Is a New Disease

Eventually we might all have to deal with COVID-19—but a shorter, gentler version, thanks to vaccines.

The Atlantic

No COVID-19 vaccination, no care? Why that’s the wrong path

Physicians generally are obligated to care for patients, no matter their vaccination status. Learn about guidance from the AMA Code of Medical Ethics.

American Medical Association

Manhattan Emptied Out During the Pandemic. But Big Tech Is Moving In. (Published 2020)

The New York Times

College and Covid: Students Talk About Their Experiences in the Pandemic

WSJ

How Cuban medical training has helped Pacific nations face the pandemic challenge

COVID-19 might have hit Pacific nations harder had it not been for Cuba’s long-standing policy of international medical diplomacy and cooperation.

The Conversation

How 'nerd' culture powered through the pandemic

Meet the online content creators beating the odds to build successful careers from their passions.

BBC

Urgency, innovation and partnership: applying lessons from COVID-19 to tackle the climate

The World Economic Forum

Johnson & Johnson says booster dose of COVID shot revs up protection

Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that a booster of its one-shot coronavirus vaccine provides a stronger immune response months after people receive a first dose.

PBS

Psychological factors shaping public responses to COVID-19 digital contact tracing technologies in Germany - Scientific Reports

Nature

How Long Does COVID Immunity Last Anyway? : Short Wave

With booster shots on the horizon for some people, one of the biggest questions is: Am I still protected against COVID-19 if I've only had two doses of the vaccine? As science correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff reports, the answer is...complicated.Read more of Michaeleen's reporting on COVID immunity: https://n.pr/2XIQ6KXReach the show by emailing [email protected].

NPR

End of coronavirus furlough will not solve UK labour shortages

Economists say official figures may overstate number of people still reliant on government wage subsidies

Financial Times

U.N. chief grades world on vaccine rollout: 'F in Ethics'

Reuters

COVID-19: This is how many Americans now live below the poverty line

The World Economic Forum