The COVID-19 History Project

This really happened.

This Day in COVID: September 22, 2020

NFL fines two more coaches, teams for coronavirus mask violations, source says

The National Football League issued fines to two more coaches who failed to wear masks on the sidelines as required by the league's Covid-19 protocols, a source told CNBC on Tuesday.

CNBC

White House report: Wear masks in Iowa to stop 'unnecessary transmission and deaths'

The White House Coronavirus Task Force is again urging Iowa to issue a mask mandate to 'prevent unnecessary transmission and deaths in vulnerable communities,' according to the group's new report to state officials this week. The report, dated Sunday but released by the Iowa Department of Public Health Tuesday, said Iowa has the7th highest rate in the country for new cases and the 12th highest rate for test positivity.

CBS

Here’s how utterly dumb the mask-wearing debate has become

CNN

Up to 70% of KN95 masks imported from China don't meet filtration standards, study says

USA Today

The Masks We Wear to Survive: A gay, African-American physician relied on personas to endure his medical training

Scientific American

U.S. FDA to tighten coronavirus vaccine authorization standards ahead of election - paper

Reuters

Finland to deploy coronavirus-sniffing dogs at Helsinki Airport

Washington Post

Trump urges UN to hold China accountable for the coronavirus pandemic

Trump, a frequent critic of the U.N., slammed the Chinese government and the World Health Organization for the deadly virus and the social and economic fallout from the health crisis.

CNBC

Americans have lost $145 million to scams linked to Covid-19

More than 205,000 people have reported scams linked to the coronavirus since the beginning of the year.

CNBC

The Next Administration Must Get Science and Technology Policy Right

Scientific American

D.C. Council Passes More Protections For Renters During Pandemic

D.C.'s comprehensive ban on evictions may be extended through Dec. 31 after a key decision in the D.C. Council.

DCist

Prescott Elementary principal focused on building relationships, equity in distance learning

Prescott Elementary principal Nichole Watson tells us how she’s navigating the school year amid the global pandemic and uprising against racial injustice.

OPB

Coronavirus vaccine won’t bring about ‘fairytale’ ending to pandemic, expert warns

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world, a lot of hope is being placed in finding an effective and safe vaccine against Covid-19. That might be a mistake, one expert says.

CNBC

Michigan parents turn to 'learning pods' amid pandemic

Detriot News

Trump and Biden to face questions on Covid-19, Supreme Court, economy in first presidential debate

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the Sept. 29 debate in Cleveland, Ohio, will center around six topics, each of which will receive a 15-minute time slot.

CNBC

Wards 7 And 8 Won’t Have Voting ‘Supercenters’ This November

Plus, Maryland's new unemployment website sees rocky roll out, there's still a shortage of N95 masks, and more news.

DCist

Fauci calls 200,000 pandemic death toll ‘sobering, and in some respects, stunning’

CNN

Jennie Garth rescued a dog named Fauci during COVID-19. Now, she has this message

The 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star is shining a light on shelter pets as 2020 spokesperson for Remember Me Thursday.

Today

Covid-19 will make Halloween more frightful — and less delightful — for millions of U.S. kids

In other coronavirus news: Trump falsely claims the pandemic poses little threat to young people, and the NFL slaps coaches with big fines for not wearing masks.

NBC

Trump 'the wrong man for the job,' says veteran journalist Bob Woodward

Veteran journalist Bob Woodward says he didn't report U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about the severity of COVID-19 sooner, because he didn't have the full timeline of what Trump knew, and when he knew it.

CBC

The Road Ahead: Charting the coronavirus pandemic over the next 12 months — and beyond

With health authorities saying it may not be until at least the end of 2021 before there’s a degree of post-Covid normalcy in our lives. we imagine the next 15 months and what life will be like.

STAT News

The Fall Surge Is Here

New York Times

Scientists say they found a ‘game changer’ in fight against COVID-19

A new study suggests there’s a pocket in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that could be drugged to end the virus’ spread.

Deseret

Taiwan led the world in closing down for Covid-19, now it wants to do the same with opening back up

CNN

Is Van Morrison right to release anti-lockdown songs?

Financial Times

Experts Think The Economy Would Be Stronger If COVID-19 Lockdowns Had Been More Aggressive

Back in the early days of the coronavirus in the U.S., many economists believed that aggressive lockdowns would be the best long-term solution for managing the …

Fivethirtyeight

Lockdown Learning Platforms ‘Put Children’s Privacy At Risk’

Millions of students around the world have been using digital learning platforms during lockdown, but analysis found that even government recommended sites did not go far enough in protecting children's privacy.

Forbes

Driving tests down 98% amid coronavirus lockdown

Just 6,200 driving tests were conducted between April and June due to the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.This is a 98% reduction on the same quarter […]

Jersey Evening Post

Boris Johnson says military could be used to help enforce new lockdown rules as he promises police extra funding

The Prime Minister made the announcement during a speech to Parliament on Tuesday afternoon

Manchester Evening News

These Coronavirus Trials Don’t Answer the One Question We Need to Know

New York Times

200,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the US. That’s more than the US battle deaths from 5 wars combined | CNN

CNN

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 22, 2021

Details

Biden doubles US global donation of COVID-19 vaccine shots

AP News

Mask up, and make ’em tight

Rice University

‘We can end the pandemic’, UN chief says in new call for global vaccine plan

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday repeated his call for a global COVID-19 vaccination plan to boost production and reach millions over the coming months, in line with recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO).

UN News

Vaccines for all key to building back better after COVID-19: Kenyan President

Equitable global access to vaccines must be at the core of efforts to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

UN News

Pandemic ‘warning bell’ exposed inequalities, governance gaps, says Viet Nam President

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten lives and livelihoods globally, the President of Viet Nam told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that his nation is “vigorously” combating the virus, protecting its people, sustaining economic growth and leaving no one behind.

UN News

Evidence shows that, yes, masks prevent COVID-19 – and surgical masks are the way to go

Since the coronavirus first began spreading around the globe, people have debated how effective masks are at preventing COVID-19. A year and a half in, what does the evidence show?

The Conversation

A double dose of inequality: Pharma companies and the Covid-19 vaccines crisis - Amnesty International

The rapid development of effective Covid-19 vaccines in 2020 gave hope to the world in the darkest days of the deadly pandemic. However, the vaccine roll-out has been massively skewed towards wealthy nations. While rich states have hoarded vaccines, companies have also played a decisive role in restricting fair access to a life-saving health product. […]

Amnesty International

New report shows leading Covid-19 vaccine pharma companies fuelling unprecedented human rights crisis

As they refuse to waive intellectual property rights and share vaccine technology

Amnesty International

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera: COVID-19 solidarity offers hope for tackling climate change

The Chilean leader joined other political, business, and health leaders at the annual conference hosted by the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center alongside the United Nations General Assembly.

Atlantic Council

Covid: Immune therapy from llamas shows promise

An immune therapy derived from llama blood shows "exciting potential" in early coronavirus trials.

BBC

Coronavirus: Elective surgery hubs planned for winter

The hubs are to ensure planned operations can continue safely throughout the winter.

BBC

President Biden pledges 500m more vaccine doses to developing world

The US president promises an extra 500 million shots to the developing world, as he hosts a Covid summit.

BBC

What do we know about the effects of COVID-19 on girls’ return to school?

Christina Kwauk, Dana Schmidt, and Erin Ganju review the evidence so far about COVID-19's impact on girls' education.

Brookings

CNN reporter tracks down doctor spreading dangerous lies (2021) | CNN

CNN

Greece used AI to curb COVID: what other nations can learn

Governments are hungry to deploy big data in health emergencies. Scientists must help to lay the legal, ethical and logistical groundwork.

Nature

A machine-learning algorithm to target COVID testing of travellers

Automated system allocates COVID tests to people arriving in Greece.

Nature

How COVID-19 changed scientific mentoring

Many mentors have had to rethink their approach as the pandemic has made physical meetings impossible.

Nature

Efficient and targeted COVID-19 border testing via reinforcement learning - Nature

A study reports the design and performance of a reinforcement learning algorithm that enabled efficient and targeted SARS-CoV-2 testing of passengers travelling to Greece in the summer of 2020.

Nature

Wuhan Lab Wanted to Enhance Bat Viruses to Study Human Risk, Documents Show

Newsweek

Insights into population behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic from cell phone mobility data and manifold learning - Nature Computational Science

Combining human mobility data and nonlinear mathematical analysis techniques, this study offers insights into the interplay between human behavior, disease transmission and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nature

When a Child Is Hospitalized with COVID

The Delta variant created a relative surge in coronavirus cases among kids. But the over-all risk to children remains low.

The New Yorker

Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro Remains Defiant On COVID-19 And The Environment At The U.N.

So far, the president's trip to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly appears to be anything but a success for Brazil or the country's image after a series of blunders early this week.

NPR

Why Liquor Shortages Caused By The COVID-19 Pandemic Persist In Some States

Some producers can't source glass bottles, the cost to import liquor has gone up, and there is a shortage of truck drivers. Also, it just takes a long time to make some types of booze.

NPR

Birds Thrived Where Humans Feared To Tread During The Pandemic, Scientists Say

A new study shows that as people mostly remained indoors during lockdowns last year, many bird species found less noisy and polluted cities more inviting.

NPR

Florida Students Are No Longer Required To Quarantine After Being Exposed To COVID

New guidelines signed by the state's surgeon general modified the state's ban against school mask mandates, prompting a judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the old rule that had been filed.

NPR

Weddings Are Their Job. What Happens When Everyone Postpones? (Published 2020)

The New York Times

Another Health Minister in Brazil Exits Amid Chaotic Coronavirus Response (Published 2020)

The New York Times

Covid Overload: U.S. Hospitals Are Running Out of Beds for Patients (Published 2020)

The New York Times

How Much Herd Immunity Is Enough? (Published 2020)

The New York Times

China Returns to Its Strict Covid Limits to Fight a New Outbreak (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Airbnb Is Driving Hosts Elsewhere With Costly Pandemic Policies (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Glimpses of How Pandemic America Went Back to School (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Fauci urges Americans not to get booster shots until they are eligible. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

‘I Just Cry All the Time’: Non-Covid Patients Despair Over Delayed Care (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Dr. Fauci, Movie Star (Published 2021)

The New York Times

How coronavirus saved the European left

Social justice and a protective state are back in vogue, as austerity loses favor.

POLITICO.eu

Harris announces $250 million in global funding to fight future pandemics. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

The COVID-19 lockdown was for the birds—in a good way

Science | AAAS

Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19: a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990–2050

The Lancet

Americans are using alcohol to cope with pandemic stress: Nearly 1 in 5 report 'heavy drinking'

More than 18 months into the pandemic, about 17% of respondents reported "heavy drinking" in the past 30 days, a new survey finds.

USA Today

Opinion | There is no choice between vaccinating Americans and vaccinating the world. We must do both.

The Washington Post

Biden pledges to donate 500 million more doses of Pfizer vaccine to countries in need

The Washington Post