August 4, 2021

The World Health Organization calls for a moratorium on booster doses through at least the end of September, urging wealthy nations to hold off while much of the world still waits for a first shot. The appeal lands awkwardly against the American push, where officials are already signaling third doses are coming and where the case for boosters rests on data about waning protection that also raises questions about how durable the original doses were.

The New York Times editorial page tells the CDC to “stop confusing the public,” a rare admission from a friendly outlet that the agency’s reversals had cost it credibility. USA Today reports Delta “ripping through the unvaccinated” and crowding hospitals in Florida and Texas, while Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson says he wants to reverse the mask-mandate ban he signed in April, calling children under 12 vulnerable because they cannot yet be vaccinated.

The fights spill into politics and beyond U.S. borders. A Newsweek poll finds Ron DeSantis losing ground with Democratic challengers over his mask-mandate ban, National Review presses for the truth about gain-of-function research and the Wuhan lab, and Indonesia passes 100,000 recorded deaths as a new wave overwhelms its hospitals.

Full-dose blood thinners reduce the need for organ support in moderately ill COVID-19 patients, but not in critically ill patients

The final analysis of trial data included 1,098 critically ill and 2,219 moderately ill hospitalized patients who received either a low or full dose of heparin for up to 14 days after enrollment.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Noncritically Ill Patients with Covid-19

The New England Journal of Medicine

Dysregulated hematopoiesis in bone marrow marks severe COVID-19 - Cell Discovery

Nature

WHO calls for moratorium on COVID-19 booster jabs

The head of the UN health organization called on Wednesday for a moratorium on COVID-19 vaccine boosters until “at least the end of September” to enable the world’s most vulnerable people to be inoculated.

UN News

UCF Researchers Validate Simple Method to Minimize COVID Spread in Single-Family Home

The researchers found that a basic isolation zone for a contagious person could be created with little cost and effort.

University of Central Florida

As COVID cases surge again, here's how vaccinations are rising

With the more transmissible delta variant fueling steep spikes in places where vaccination rates are low, experts insist more must be done.

PBS

WHO calls for halting COVID-19 vaccine boosters in favor of unvaccinated

Reuters

COVID-19 restrictions and age-specific mental health—U.S. probability-based panel evidence - Translational Psychiatry

Nature

Latest COVID-19 data confirms infections have risen globally for four consecutive weeks

COVID-19 infections have continued to rise globally for more than a month now, with over four million cases reported in the past week alone, the UN health agency said on Wednesday.

UN News

Subcutaneous REGEN-COV Antibody Combination to Prevent Covid-19

New England Journal of Medicine

Natural protection against COVID in pregnancy

The natural suppression of immune responses in pregnant women can protect them from COVID-19’s damaging cytokine storm.

Nature

Mucormycosis after COVID-19 in a patient with diabetes

The Lancet

What We Know About Cuomo’s Nursing Home Scandal

The New York Times

Top Military Medical Doctor Predicts Coronavirus Longevity

COVID-19 and other such coronaviruses likely will stay in the environment and continue to mutate, Army Lt. Gen. Ronald J. Place, director of Defense Health Agency, said.

U.S. Department of Defense (.gov)

The delta variant is 'ripping through the unvaccinated' and crowding hospitals in Florida, Texas

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths were up in nearly all 50 states last week, fronted by Florida and Texas, according to CDC data.

USA Today

In full: The 2005 coronavirus plan that predicted outbreak response from ‘super-spreader’ events to travel

The Coronavirus Files: Samuel Lovett looks at what the uncovered Sars blueprint recommended – and what the UK government did at the same point in the pandemic

The Independent

Gamma-irradiated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, OZG-38.61.3, confers protection from SARS-CoV-2 challenge in human ACEII-transgenic mice - Scientific Reports

Nature

Los Angeles County will require masks to be worn indoors as Delta variant spreads. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Lack of drivers, NYC workers leads to yellow cab shortage during COVID pandemic

A sea of yellow cabs that was once a staple of Midtown Manhattan is now at a standstill amid the coronavirus pandemic, with those vehicles sitting idle.

ABC7 New York

Opinion | The ‘Cuomosexual’ phenomenon was disgraceful. We’re politicians’ bosses, not their fans.

The Washington Post

Up to 40% of wild deer population in US exposed to coronavirus, study finds

In Michigan as many as two-thirds of free-roaming deer showed evidence of antibodies for the virus

The Independent

DeSantis Loses Ground With Democratic Challengers After Mask Mandate Ban

Newsweek

Opinion | The C.D.C. Needs to Stop Confusing the Public (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Metro Nashville Public Schools director calls for mask mandate in schools

Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle recommends all students, staff wear masks for upcoming school year as delta variant surges.

The Tennessean

Women Leaders Have Shone During The Pandemic: Men, Take Note

Women are perceived to have done a better job than men in the Covid crisis. However, to make your company fit for the 2020s needs a more relational style from from both sexes.

Forbes

AstraZeneca co-creator and other pandemic heroes honored with Barbie dolls

Mattel is honoring six women who made an impact in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

The Pandemic Safety Net Is Coming Apart. Now What? (Published 2021)

The New York Times

As pandemic restrictions ease, we need to consider ethical travel in our return

As global travel resumes, now is the perfect time to establish new conversations for what ethical travel might look like.

The Conversation

Barbie debuts one-of-a-kind dolls in likeness of six women who are 'heroes of the pandemic'

The six women are 'experts in their fields who have shown unprecedented courage during a challenging time,' according to a Mattel statement.

USA Today

Spurred by pandemic, Barcelona backs greener, car-free future

Reuters

SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Patients with Immunosuppression

The New England Journal of Medicine

WHO calls for moratorium on booster vaccine shots through September, citing global disparity

The Washington Post

Mass. Confirms 962 New COVID Cases, 5 More Deaths

Massachusetts health officials reported another 962 confirmed coronavirus cases — the most in a single day since early May — and five new deaths on Wednesday. The report pushed the state’s confirmed COVID-19 caseload to 676,387 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 17,723. The last time more than 962 COVID cases were reported in one…

NBC Boston

What does the Delta variant have in store for the United States? We asked coronavirus experts

Science | AAAS

Cuomo’s Family Is Said to Have Received Special Access to Virus Tests (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Which countries are vaccinating minors against Covid?

UK recommending vaccinations for those aged 16-17 brings it more in line with US and other nations

The Guardian

Obama scales back plans for 60th birthday party amid coronavirus concerns

The guest list reportedly included Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney.

FOX 26 Houston

‘Locked up like animals’ — immigrant detention centers in the time of the coronavirus

The pandemic’s toll: inhumane conditions, overcrowding and longer stays.

POLITICO.eu

2021 New York Auto Show canceled over coronavirus fears

The 2021 New York International Automobile Show that was rescheduled to be held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center later this month has been canceled. Organizers blame Covid-19 Delta variant cases and new coronavirus rules in New York City.

FOX 5 New York

Americans Deserve the Truth about Gain-of-Function Research and the Wuhan Lab

National Review

The street in Sydney's south-west that's a 'coronavirus bomb'

One street in Sydney's south-west is a coronavirus bombsite with almost every business along its length on the NSW Health Covid hotspot list of exposure sites.

Daily Mail

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 4 August

The World Economic Forum

Indonesia surpasses 100,000 deaths amid new virus wave

It took 14 months for Indonesia to exceed the 50,000 death mark at the end of May, and just over nine weeks to double it. The Health Ministry recorded 1,747 new deaths of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

PBS

Arkansas Governor Wants To Reverse A Law That Forbids Schools To Require Masks

Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed the bill in April banning state and local mask mandates, but now he says cases are up and children under 12 are vulnerable because they can't get vaccinated.

NPR

Opinion | As bad as covid-19 has been, a future pandemic could be even worse — unless we act now

The Washington Post

How technology is helping in the fight against the pandemic - Microsoft Industry Blogs

The global pandemic is far from over, we want to take this opportunity to recognize and applaud the continued heroic efforts by front-line workers—healthcare workers, first responders, service workers, and others—around the world. They put their lives at risk every day to save patients and keep critical operations running. While much of the recent news

Microsoft

Covid Forces Families to Rethink Nursing Home Care (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today (Published 2021)

The New York Times

August 4, 2021

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