The COVID-19 History Project

This really happened.

This Day in COVID: September 16, 2020

Here’s when Dr. Fauci gets his flu shot and why

'I wouldn't necessarily get it now...because there is evidence that, in fact, the immunity might wear off...,' Dr. Anthony Fauci, 79, told actress Jennifer Garner during an Instagram Live on Thursday.

CNBC

CDC director suggests face masks offer more COVID-19 protection than vaccine would

Axios

Should seniors take extra precautions against COVID-19 this fall? Experts weigh in

Experts recommend that senior citizens and those at high risk for coronavirus complications limit their social bubbles.

Today

Factory Workers Stay Home to Watch Their Children

Wall Street Journal

Thrown Out Of Home, At A Time When A Roof Is More Important Than Ever

Despite federal, state and local restrictions barring evictions during the COVID-19 crisis, housing activists say tenants are still being forced out of their homes.

NPR

The Strange, Surprising, Very Specific Things We Miss About D.C. Life

From a crowded commute on Metro, to local concerts and activities on the National Mall, we've found ourselves yearning for surprising and specific things during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DCist

Is lockdown worth the pain? No, it’s a sledgehammer and we have better options

The Conversation

Barr says calls for coronavirus lockdown are the ‘greatest intrusion on civil liberties’ other than slavery in US history

CNN

Lockdown child sexual abuse 'hidden by under-reporting'

Child protection referrals will rise now schools are back, police chiefs tell BBC Newsnight.

BBC

In lockdown, my daughter is captive to the Wiggles' dark magic – and so am I

The Wiggles have made a Faustian pact and the cost of their success is the fear and loathing of millions of parents

The Guardian

Lockdown lowered COVID-19 infection rates in NYC by 70%, says study

The study found that stay-at-home orders in New York City had the most significant effect at reducing coronavirus infection rates, along with widespread use of face masks.

Yahoo

Rare pink dolphins are back thanks to COVID-19 lockdown

Watch the critically endangered creatures frolic in this new video clip.

New York Post

Top Trump health appointee taking medical leave after incendiary remarks

Washington Post

‘Maskless flash mob’ marches through Target shouting ‘take off that mask’

The Hill

Trump floats 'herd mentality' coronavirus strategy — instead of immunity — and again insists the disease will disappear

'It's going to be herd-developed, and that's going to happen,' President Donald Trump told an ABC News town hall on Tuesday night.

Business Insider

Letters: Pelosi's arrogance unmasked at hair salon

Palm Beach Post

Sociologist Says College Hookup Culture Is 'Incompatible' with Preventing Coronavirus

People

Trump contradicts CDC director: He was confused

CNN

Bill Gates questions FDA's credibility on COVID-19 vaccine

Philanthropist bashes White House's pandemic response, calling it 'a mismanaged situation every step of the way.'

CBS

Changing someone’s mind about COVID-19 might require people to do this

Want to stop people to stop have misconceptions about COVID-19? This trick might help

Desert

After Biden plays ‘Despacito’ at an event, Trump shares a doctored video replacing it with an anti-police song.

New York Times

WHO warns of coronavirus momentum as winter looms in north

Reuters

New Report Details Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic on Global Health

The annual Gates Foundation report assesses global progress toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

Smithsonian Magazine

Fast coronavirus tests: what they can and can’t do

Rapid antigen tests are designed to tell in a few minutes whether someone is infectious. Will they be game changers?

Nature

CDC: More Than Half of Pregnant Women With COVID-19 Lacked Symptoms

Two studies found high prevalence of asymptomatic infection

Medpage Today

The coronavirus pandemic has made communication more important than ever

Temple University Professor Tricia Jones explains the importance of nonverbal communication and how it’s been changed by COVID-19.

Temple University

COVID-19’s silver lining? Creating a caregiver-friendly work culture

The Conversation

COVID-19 is helping turn Brazil into a surveillance state

Latin America's largest democracy was a leader on data governance for years. Now, it’s reversing course.

Technology Review

Vice President praises Trump's COVID work during Zanesville stop

While fully re-opening the Buckeye State is still at the top of the list for Vice President Mike Pence, he said Wednesday finding a cure for COVID-19 and getting it distributed around the country is up there, as well. At the Muskingum County Fairgrounds, the vice president addressed a crowd just 48 days from the Nov. 3 election.

WTOV9

How SARS-CoV-2 Went from Single Cases to Overwhelming Continents

Early detection and intervention stanched the first known introductions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into North America and Europe, validating the effectiveness of quick, comprehensive testing and contact tracing, but inadequate public health measures allowed the virus to take hold.

UCSD

The racist history that explains why some communities don’t have enough ICU beds

Washington Post

Many face mask mandates go unenforced as police feel political, economic pressure

USA Today

10 face masks you can wear to promote voting in the 2020 election

USA Today

I will refuse to wear a mask': CT residents sound off on new pandemic fines

Connecticut Post

CDC director says face masks may provide more protection than coronavirus vaccine

'If I don't get an immune response, the vaccine's not going to protect me. This face mask will,' CDC Director Robert Redfield told lawmakers Wednesday.

CNBC

Biden says he believes president has 'legal authority' to implement mask mandate

Former Vice President Joe Biden is not ruling out the possibility of instituting a federal mask mandate if elected in November.

ABC

Personal protective respirator masks PPE often do not fit correctly, especially for women and Asian healthcare workers

Medical Xpress

White House task force urges Iowa mask mandate to help nursing home outbreaks

Iowa should issue a mask mandate to help stem outbreaks in the state's long term care facilities, the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommended this week. The report, dated Sunday but released by the Iowa Department of Public Health Wednesday, says Iowa is in the 'red zone' for new cases—which means more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people last week—with the third highest rate in the country. It also has the 16th highest test positivity rate in the nation, the report continues...

CBS2Iowa

Act surprised' | St. Charles poll workers concerned by email regarding mask usage

Within hours of receiving an email from election leaders Wednesday, election judge Madelyn Brandt said she wouldn't work the November general election

KSDK

Trump says U.S. could start distributing a coronavirus vaccine in October, contradicting CDC’s timeline

CNBC

Sharon Stone's Quote About Wearing a Face Mask Is Simply Perfect

Just Jared

‘Warp Speed’ Officials Debut Plan for Distributing Free Vaccines

New York Times

Lessons from how the polio vaccine went from the lab to the public that Americans can learn from today

The Conversation

Biden questions whether a vaccine approved by Trump would be safe

Washington Post

U.S. plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccine immediately after regulators authorize it

Reuters

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 16, 2021

Details

New York City's Rikers Island jail spirals into chaos amid pandemic

New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex has been troubled by years of neglect and now has spiraled into turmoil during the coronavirus pandemic.

PBS

Single-cell immune profiling reveals distinct immune response in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients - Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

Nature

Early outcome detection for COVID-19 patients - Scientific Reports

Nature

Why Covid Took Off in California, Again (Published 2021)

The New York Times

In Texas, a Quarantine Camp for Migrants With Covid-19 (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Oregon and Idaho are running out of I.C.U. beds as Covid cases hit records. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

There’s no evidence COVID-19 vaccines hurt fertility. Here's what's fueling the myth

This moment could be an opportunity to address the consequences of leaving pregnant people, women and their unique health concerns out of medical trials and conversations.

PBS

Italy requires COVID-19 pass for all workers from Oct. 15

The measure underscores the government's determination that Italy will not face another lockdown even as the numbers of new virus cases creep up, mostly among the unvaccinated.

PBS

Anti-vaxxer mother and daughter die from Covid in Belfast hospital

Heather Maddern and her daughter, Sammie-Jo Forde, were care workers and Maddern had shared conspiracy theories online

The Guardian

Which countries are enforcing mandatory Covid jabs – and how?

Joe Biden has introduced a vaccine mandate affecting millions, but some countries have gone further

The Guardian

White House says it offered to set up call between one of its doctors and Nicki Minaj after star spread coronavirus misinformation online

The Washington Post

On Fox News, Vaccination Pleas Intensify, but Skepticism Persists (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Masks Protect Schoolkids from COVID despite What Antiscience Politicians Claim

Florida governor Ron DeSantis and politicians in Texas say research does not support mask mandates. Many studies show they are wrong

Scientific American

Sorry, a Coronavirus Infection Might Not Be Enough to Protect You

Anyone who’d rather have COVID-19 than get vaccinated is taking two gambles: that immunity will stick around, and that symptoms won’t.

The Atlantic

A doctor called coronavirus vaccines ‘fake.’ Now he sits on an Idaho regional health board.

The Washington Post

Small agency, big job: Biden tasks OSHA with vaccine mandate

AP News

Report Tracks Crime Trends in California and the U.S. during the COVID Pandemic

California Policy Lab

Leeds German Christmas market 2021 cancelled due to coronavirus

Organisers say uncertainties over restrictions led to an early decision to cancel the Leeds event.

BBC

Thousands of healthcare workers suspended in France after failing to get vaccinated | CNN

CNN

Putin says ‘several dozen’ in his inner circle test positive for coronavirus | CNN

CNN

Why Fauci and the NIH backed Covid-19 vaccine boosters before the FDA and CDC | CNN

CNN

Mass shootings in the US increased during the coronavirus pandemic, study finds | CNN

CNN

Covid-19: How effective is a third vaccine dose?

From squandering global vaccine supplies to the possibility of undermining immunity from the first two doses, booster programmes are a surprisingly complicated business.

BBC

Pandemic Politics: Why Gavin Newsom beat the recall and Ron DeSantis is in trouble

The gubernatorial elections in California and Florida have national significance by demonstrating how Americans feel toward how states and the federal government are handling the pandemic.

Brookings

1 in every 500 US residents have died of Covid-19 | CNN

CNN

Covid restrictions force some retailers to rethink Vietnam as a manufacturing hub

Prolonged shutdowns in Vietnam because of the Covid pandemic are becoming a bigger headache for retailers.

CNBC

Vaccines Are Free. Covid Care Is Not. Who Should Pay? | KFF

In this commentary for Barron's, Cynthia Cox explores the impact to the American public as the U.S. health insurance system adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic. She uses the experience of the past year and a half to raise questions about broader issues of fairness in the distribution of health care costs in the country.

KFF

Florida surpasses 50,000 coronavirus deaths, a quarter have come this summer

MarketWatch

How Fox pushes COVID misinformation while privately vaccinating its employees

Despite having a stricter vaccine mandate than the Biden administration, Fox continues to spread misinformation about the coronavirus. A study finding that 59 percent of Fox vaccine segments this summer included claims undercutting immunization. This comes as COVID infections among children are exploding nationwide.

MSNBC News

Did the coronavirus jump from animals to people twice?

A preliminary analysis of viral genomes suggests the COVID-19 pandemic might have multiple animal origins — but the findings still have to be peer reviewed.

Nature

Alaska's Largest Hospital Says The Strain Of COVID Is Forcing It To Ration Care

Hospitals in Alaska, Idaho and Nevada are reporting a crush of new coronavirus cases and limited medical staff, forcing some facilities to prioritize resources.

NPR

3,000 Health Care Workers In France Have Been Suspended For Not Getting A COVID Shot

French law had set a Sept. 15 deadline for the country's 2.7 million health care workers to get vaccinated. The ones who didn't get a jab were suspended, the country's health minister says.

NPR

They Relied on Chinese Vaccines. Now They’re Battling Outbreaks. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Pandemic prompts more teachers to consider early retirement or new career

Health concerns, being older than 55 and having to switch to online or hybrid lessons were all factors that made some teachers want to quit or retire.

The Conversation

Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Impacts and Vaccinations for Children | KFF

COVID-19 has disproportionately negatively affected the physical and mental health, academic growth, and economic security of children of color. At the same time, the limited data available to date suggest some children of color may be less likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, leaving them at elevated risk as the virus continues to spread and as many return to in-person school.

KFF

COVID-19 early detection for imbalanced or low number of data using a regularized cost-sensitive CapsNet - Scientific Reports

Nature

Here's who's covered by COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the U.S. so far

Overlapping vaccine mandates at the federal, state and local levels aims to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans.

PBS

The pandemic has created a nation of insomniacs

Why we still can’t sleep, and what to do about it.

Vox