August 12, 2021

Vaccine mandates harden on two fronts. Nearly 300,000 federal health workers are ordered to get the shot, and the Supreme Court declines to block Indiana University’s requirement for returning students, letting the first big campus mandate stand.

Conflicts of interest draw fresh scrutiny. CNN reports that Senator Rand Paul’s wife bought stock in Gilead Sciences, maker of the COVID drug remdesivir, in February 2020, weeks before most Americans grasped the threat, and that the disclosure came in late. The Atlantic profiles Robert Malone, who claims a role in inventing mRNA technology and now warns against the vaccines built on it.

The mask wars spread through Republican-led states as the virus surges in the South, where Mississippi officials warn their hospital system could collapse within ten days.

Republicans take to mask wars as virus surges in red states

AP News

Iran facing its deadliest coronavirus surge after banning import on US vaccines

Iranians have criticized the government on social media for banning the importation of western produced vaccines as the country faces its deadliest surge.

ABC News

More than 9,000 anti-Asian incidents since pandemic began

AP News

How COVID pandemic changed methadone treatment for addiction

AP News

How Effective Are COVID-19 Vaccines in Immunocompromised People? | ASM.org

Research shows that some types of immunocompromised people do not mount the same immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccination as healthy people. But what does that mean for vaccine efficacy?

American Society for Microbiology

Fauci’s NIAID reportedly funded research that infected, euthanized dogs

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is facing outrage after reports emerged that it spent $400K on research to infect beagles with disease-causing parasi…

New York Post

6 challenges of being a gig worker during the COVID-19 pandemic

Gig work is entering almost every industry and changing the relationship between workers, employers, service providers and customers. But gig workers face new and unique challenges.

The Conversation

Emotion is a big part of how you assess risk – and why it’s so hard to be objective about pandemic precautions

How you respond to a risk depends on how you weigh the costs and benefits of an action. The problem is you’re not just a logical computer, and emotions bias your interpretation of the facts.

The Conversation

The COVID-19 travel shock hit tourism-dependent economies hard

Gian Maria Milesti Ferretti explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism-dependent economies.

Brookings

Masks are back in high demand: "We can't keep them on shelves longer than a day"

Some mask makers were caught flat-footed when orders soared at the end of July, especially from Delta variant hotspots.

CBS News

Rand Paul reveals in late financial disclosure that his wife bought stock in company behind remdesivir in February 2020 | CNN Politics

CNN

Meet The Indiana Doctor Behind The New Ultra-Viral Coronavirus Misinformation Video

Recorded comments by Daniel Stock, a family physician practicing in a small town near Indianapolis, have lit up social media, reflecting the platforms’ inability to effectively combat false content.

Forbes

Drug Overdose Deaths Rose During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Particularly Among Black and American Indian/Alaska Native People | KFF

Drug overdose deaths rose during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest jumps occurring among people of color, a new KFF analysis finds. The analysis breaks out drug overdose deaths by race and ethnicity for the first nine months of 2020, when the pandemic triggered widespread shutdowns and job losses,…More

KFF

Substance Use Issues Are Worsening Alongside Access to Care | KFF

Drug overdose deaths rose during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest jumps occurring among people of color. This analysis breaks out drug overdose deaths by race and ethnicity for the first nine months of 2020, to the same period in each of the two prior years. It also looks at access to care issues and recent and pending legislation aimed at addressing the nation’s substance use and mental health challenges.

KFF

Un-vaxxed tax: Should the unvaccinated have to pay more for health insurance?

What’s the best way to persuade the unvaccinated to get the shot? A recent Op-Ed in the New York Times suggests higher insurance premiums for them, in the same way that smokers also pay higher rates. In effect, a tax on the unvaccinated. Mehdi Hasan looks at the pros and cons.

MSNBC News

Comparing the COVID-19 pandemic in space and over time in Europe, using numbers of deaths, crude rates and adjusted mortality trend ratios - Scientific Reports

Nature

A simple mathematical model for the evaluation of the long first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil - Scientific Reports

Nature

What Happened to Joe Biden’s “Summer of Freedom” from the Pandemic?

By banking so heavily on the vaccine and eagerly declaring victory, the President may have repeated some of his predecessor’s mistakes.

The New Yorker

Mississippi's Hospital System Could Collapse Within 10 Days Under COVID's Strain

COVID-19 cases are overwhelming the South. Arkansas set a record for hospitalizations, while officials in one Florida county are urging residents to "consider other options" before calling 911.

NPR

Fauci Says The Immunocompromised Need Booster, What's Next For LeVar Burton, 'Horrific' Battle In Afghanistan: Today's Top Stories

Dr. Anthony Fauci says those with weakened immune systems need another vaccine dose. Plus, director Ava DuVernay hints at show plans for LeVar Burton, and the latest on the dire situation on the ground in Afghanistan.

NPR

Nearly 300,000 More Federal Health Workers Are Ordered To Be Vaccinated

The Department of Health and Human Services will require nearly a third of its employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its vaccination mandate.

NPR

How Can It Happen Here? The Shocking Deaths in Canada’s Long-Term Care Homes (Published 2020)

The New York Times

Covid on the Border: Migrants Aren’t Tested on Arrival in U.S. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Indiana University Can Require Students to Get Coronavirus Vaccines (Published 2021)

The New York Times

New Books That Look at the Pandemic and Its Consequences (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Many Pandemic Retirees Weren’t Ready. How to Cope if You’re One of Them. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

The Supreme Court won’t block Indiana University’s vaccine mandate. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Dr. Fauci explains booster shots and the delta variant’s threat to children

People who are immunocompromised didn’t gain enough immunity from their first COVID-19 vaccine shots and need a booster for full protection, explains Dr. Fauci. Fauci spoke with William Brangham about breakthrough infections, the delta variant’s threat to children and how the virus is changing.

PBS

Special Report-How the pandemic laid bare America's diabetes crisis

Reuters

Brazil Senate approves bill that could allow coronavirus vaccine patents to be broken

Reuters

How the Pandemic Now Ends

Cases of COVID-19 are rising fast. Vaccine uptake has plateaued. The pandemic will be over one day—but the way there is different now.

The Atlantic

The Vaccine Scientist Spreading Vaccine Misinformation

Robert Malone claims to have invented mRNA technology. Why is he trying so hard to undermine its use?

The Atlantic

Nurse in Germany suspected of replacing Covid vaccines with saline solution

Authorities say about 8,600 people may have been affected

The Guardian

Children born during pandemic have lower IQs, US study finds

Researchers blame lack of stimulation as parents balanced childcare with working from home

The Guardian

Type 1 diabetes onset in Lombardy region, Italy, during the COVID-19 pandemic: The double-wave occurrence

The Lancet

Colleges Requiring a Coronavirus Vaccine for Fall: What to Know

U.S. News & World Report

New Zealand Unveils Reopening Plan, Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout

U.S. News & World Report

Can The Government Make Me Get The COVID Vaccine? : The NPR Politics Podcast

In the latest installment of the Docket, our series on legal issues, NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben and Carrie Johnson talk about vaccine mandates with Lindsay F. Wiley, a law professor at American University.Connect:Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast here.Email the show at [email protected] the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Listen to our playlist The NPR Politics Daily Workout.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.

NPR

More Than 9,000 Anti-Asian Incidents Have Been Reported Since The Pandemic Began

The frequency of such incidents reported in the United States so far this year seems poised to surpass last year despite months of political and social activism, according to a new report.

NPR

Hospitals struggle with staff shortages in coronavirus hot spots

The Washington Post

Spread of delta variant ignites covid hot spots in highly vaccinated parts of the U.S., Post analysis finds

The Washington Post

August 12, 2021

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