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This Day in COVID: July 30, 2020

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‘A huge experiment’: How the world made so much progress on a Covid-19 vaccine so fast

Experts warned a coronavirus vaccine could take years. So how are we moving so fast?

STAT News

Vaccine Candidate Delivers Protection In A Single Shot In Monkeys

Studies involving COVID-19 vaccine candidates in monkeys show promise of an effective vaccine, but it will take large-scale human trials to know for sure if they work.

NPR

A COVID-19 vaccine will still save lives even if it's not 100% effective, experts say

Experts stress that even if the vaccine is not 100 percent effective, it will still be a safe and important tool in the fight against the virus.

ABC

The First Coronavirus Vaccine Tested in Humans Shows Early Promise

New York Times

Single Dose of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Demonstrates Robust Protection in Pre-clinical Studies

Study published in Nature shows J&J’s investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine elicits a strong immune response that protects against subsequent infection First-in-human Phase 1/2a clinical trial now underway in United States and Belgium; Phase 3 clinical trial expected to commence in September

Johnson and Johnson

Vaccine distribution will be ‘joint venture’ between CDC and Pentagon

The plan breaks with the longstanding precedent that CDC distributes vaccines during major outbreaks through a centralized ordering system.

Politico

How a secretive Pentagon agency seeded the ground for a rapid coronavirus cure

Washington Post

Fauci urges Americans to wear goggles for added COVID-19 protection

Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that people wear goggles or face shields as an added measure of protection against contracting the coronavirus, according to a report. “If you have goggles or an e…

New York Post

$25,000 Pod Schools: How Well-to-Do Children Will Weather the Pandemic

New York Times

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: July 30, 2021

Details

Study: Vaccinated people can carry as much virus as others

AP News

A Case Study of the Virginia COVID-19 Equity Leadership Task Force and Health Equity Working Group

The Commonwealth of Virginia has integrated principles of equity and inclusion into the infrastructure of state government—an approach that has been instrumental in the state’s response to COVID-19. This brief summarizes the unique structure of Virginia’s equity work, the strategy and actions taken to date, and success factors and lessons learned.

Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy

Stanford Medicine opens clinic for patients struggling with long COVID

With research showing up to 30% of COVID-19 patients experiencing lingering symptoms, Stanford Health Care treats such "long haulers" with multidisciplinary teams.

Stanford Medicine

Delta variant, a warning the COVID-19 virus is getting ‘fitter and faster’

Cases and deaths resulting from COVID-19 continue to climb worldwide, mostly fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, which has spread to 132 countries, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.

UN News

The pandemic could leave us with congestion chaos – here’s how to avoid it

We are at a tipping point between high-carbon transport and a new world of fewer cars and more walking and cycling.

The Conversation

'We have no vacancies at the hospital': Doctor implores public to take Covid precautions

Dr. Mark Laperouse, E.R. medical director for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, talks about the dire situation at his hospital, the biggest in Louisiana, which would typically take in overflow patients from surrounding areas but is currently full of Covid patients from its own community.

MSNBC News

COVID boosters for wealthy nations spark outrage

Nations short of vaccine should get first doses to curb the pandemic, researchers say.

Nature

How a Band of Australians Made Belarus Soccer an Internet Smash (Published 2020)

The New York Times

Masks Again? Delta Variant’s Spread Prompts Reconsideration of Precautions. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Those Virus Sequences That Were Suddenly Deleted? They’re Back (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Those on ideological right favor fewer COVID-19 restrictions in most advanced economies

Those on the political right are more likely to say there should have been fewer public activity restrictions during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Pew Research Center

CDC under fire for decision to limit tracking of Covid-19 cases in vaccinated people

Politico

Fed's Powell bets economy will navigate new coronavirus surge

Reuters

The road to addressing Long Covid

Science | AAAS

New delta variant studies show the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over | Science News

The coronavirus’s delta variant is different from earlier strains of the virus in worrying ways, health officials are discovering.

Science News

Greece sends police to Covid hotspot islands to step up controls

Party islands Mykonos and Ios could be shut down as Delta variant infection rates surge among young people

The Guardian

How to stay comfortable in a mask all day for work, school, flights and more

Make wearing a mask all day more comfortable by washing it regularly, using adjustable ear loops and more.

USA Today

Will the next coronavirus variant be worse? No one knows.

The virus is evolving. Here’s what scientists do and don’t know about the future of Covid-19.

Vox

Latitude festival-goers test positive for coronavirus

The 40,000 people a day Latitude festival is a Covid-19 restrictions test event for the government.

BBC

Covid-19 pandemic: Japan widens emergency over 'frightening' spike

The Olympics host is facing record Covid case numbers, fuelled by the virulent Delta strain.

BBC

Covid-19: Biden tells states to offer $100 vaccine incentive as cases rise

The US president also announced that all federal workers must be vaccinated or subjected to testing.

BBC

Assessing the impact of drones in the global COVID response

Brookings

CDC study shows 74% of people infected in Massachusetts Covid outbreak were fully vaccinated

The CDC data published Friday was based on 469 cases of Covid associated with multiple summer events and large public gatherings in July in Massachusetts.

CNBC

Correlative multi-scale cryo-imaging unveils SARS-CoV-2 assembly and egress - Nature Communications

In this study, Peijun Zhang and colleagues use cryoFIB/SEM volume imaging and soft x-ray cryo-tomography with cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) of cellular periphery, lamellae, and subtomogram averaging to place critical structural events in the SARS-CoV-2 infection cycle in the context of whole-cell images.

Nature

A single dose of ChAdOx1 Chik vaccine induces neutralizing antibodies against four chikungunya virus lineages in a phase 1 clinical trial - Nature Communications

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a reemerging mosquito-borne virus that has caused outbreaks in various regions of the world. Here the authors present safety and immunogenicity data from a phase 1 trial with the simian adenovirus vectored vaccine ChAdOx1 Chik, showing induction of neutralizing antibodies to four CHIKV lineages.

Nature

COVID-19 vaccines that reduce symptoms but do not block infection need higher coverage and faster rollout to achieve population impact - Scientific Reports

Nature

Rates of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and vaccination impact the fate of vaccine-resistant strains - Scientific Reports

Nature

Preclinical validation of a live attenuated dermotropic Leishmania vaccine against vector transmitted fatal visceral leishmaniasis - Communications Biology

Karmakar et al produced a dermotropic, live attenuated centrin gene-deleted Leishmania major (LmCen−/−) vaccine against Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL). They demonstrated in hamsters that a single intradermal injection confers robust and durable protection against lethal VL that is transmitted naturally via bites of L. donovani-infected sand flies.

Nature

COVID-19 is accelerating stakeholder capitalism

The World Economic Forum

Get $100 For A Vaccine? Cash Incentives Work For Some, Others Not So Much

President Biden has called on states and localities to offer $100 to people who get vaccinated. Many states have already offered cash incentives, with varying results.

NPR

Record-Breaking COVID-19 Cases Lead Olympic Host Japan To Expand A State Of Emergency

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has doubled over the past month, and experts estimate that the current fifth wave of infections still has a week or two to go before reaching its peak.

NPR

Australian Troops Will Help Enforce A Coronavirus Lockdown In Sydney

About 300 unarmed soldiers are joining local police in the city of 6 million to enforce coronavirus restrictions as authorities try to quell a new outbreak linked to the delta variant.

NPR

Vaccinated People With Breakthrough Infections Can Spread The Delta Variant, CDC Says

In an outbreak in Provincetown, Mass., three-quarters of cases occurred in fully vaccinated people. The study's findings suggest that vaccinated people infected with delta can transmit the virus.

NPR

More workers are returning to the office. The pandemic-era commute might be changed forever.

The Washington Post

An expert explains: How COVID-19 exposed the fragility of global supply chains

The World Economic Forum

How Effective Is Pfizer Against Delta? Here’s What We Know

Pfizer's Coronavirus vaccine protects against the Delta variant, but is its effectiveness 41% or 88%?

Forbes

World Influencers And Bloggers Awards Focuses On Women Empowerment

Top influencers from around the world were having their moment of recognition and acknowledgement at the third annual World Influencers and Bloggers Awards in Cannes, France.

Forbes

Marco Rubio slams defence head for ‘theatre’ of wearing face shield

Florida senator has frequently criticised public health messaging around the coronavirus, while getting vaccinated himself

The Independent

COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Cases Are Extremely Rare, According to KFF State Data Analysis | KFF

As COVID-19 cases increase along with spread of the more transmissible Delta variant, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines continues to be an important topic. A new KFF analysis looks at COVID-19 vaccine “breakthrough cases,” when fully vaccinated individuals become infected, as well as hospitalizations and deaths, to see which states are providing data on breakthrough…More

KFF

COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Cases: Data from the States | KFF

We reviewed the websites and other official state sources for all 50 states and D.C. to see which are providing data on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, hospitalizations and deaths, how regularly, and what those data may tell us.

KFF

We need to talk about post-pandemic lectures

Off-campus learning was essential during the pandemic. But when it ends, we should encourage students to return to campus for in-person lectures, says Michael Doran.

Nature

Antibody responses after first and second Covid-19 vaccination in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia - Blood Cancer Journal

Nature

Immunogenicity and safety of the CoronaVac inactivated vaccine in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a phase 4 trial - Nature Medicine

In a large prospective phase 4 trial, vaccination with CoronaVac, an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, elicited significantly lower virus-specific IgG antibodies and neutralizing antibodies in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases than in age- and sex-matched healthy control trial participants.

Nature

Thailand renews COVID-19 vaccination drive for monks at risk

Reuters

Coronavirus: Vaccines & Variants with Rachel L. Levine, MD

The Washington Post