September 8, 2020

The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine trial is paused worldwide after an unexplained illness in a volunteer, a development prominent researchers tell CNN is “unusual.” Nine drugmakers respond by signing a safety pledge in an effort to shore up public confidence after a survey found only two in five Americans planned to get vaccinated. The pause complicates the Trump campaign’s effort to make a pre-election vaccine central to its message, even as Fauci worries that the “Operation Warp Speed” branding fuels the perception of a rushed process. A University of Chicago study finds vitamin D deficiency may raise the risk of COVID-19 infection, pointing to a low-cost intervention that receives far less attention than vaccine development.

A widely cited study claims the Sturgis motorcycle rally may have caused more than 250,000 new COVID cases at a public health cost of over $12.2 billion, a figure that relies on cell-phone mobility data and statistical modeling rather than contact tracing—the same limitations that make case counts themselves subject to interpretation. North Dakota’s GOP governor delivers an emotional plea against “mask shaming,” arguing that whether someone wears a mask should not mark their political affiliation. In Ireland, “wet pubs” that do not serve food finally get approval to reopen after one of Europe’s longest shutdowns.