August 16, 2021
Cardinal Raymond Burke, a prominent vaccine skeptic and critic of Pope Francis, is placed on a ventilator after contracting COVID-19, a case that draws wide coverage. CIDRAP reports that U.S. case counts have climbed back to pre-vaccination levels, an uncomfortable data point for the season’s dominant messaging.
In Texas, confusion reigns as back-and-forth court rulings leave school districts choosing between defying Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates or waiting out the legal fight. Two studies in The Lancet examine a possible link between COVID-19 vaccines and Bell’s palsy, a rare facial paralysis, adding to the slow accumulation of safety questions even as boosters, according to Axios, begin taking off.
With delta variant dominant, COVID-19 Simulator sees surge in deaths
A surge in COVID-19–related deaths in the U.S. could exceed the peak seen in early 2021, according to experts.
Harvard Gazette
'Alarming': Multiple Oakland classrooms under quarantine due to COVID-19 cases
At Oakland High, a total of 16 students or staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. Montclair Elementary also has a classroom under quarantine after three positive cases.
ABC7 San Francisco
Deciphering the symptoms of long COVID-19 is slow and painstaking – for both sufferers and their physicians
Researchers are piecing together clues to better understand the puzzling array of symptoms in those who never seem to fully recover from COVID-19.
The Conversation
‘Lack of global solidarity’, slow vaccination rates put Indonesia in COVID glare
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United Nations Sustainable Development Group
US COVID-19 cases back to pre-vaccination levels
CIDRAP
Young kids more likely than older kids to spread COVID-19 to household
CIDRAP
Discovery and validation of a three-gene signature to distinguish COVID-19 and other viral infections in emergency infectious disease presentations: a case-control and observational cohort study
The Lancet
Distinguishing features of current COVID-19 vaccines: knowns and unknowns of antigen presentation and modes of action - npj Vaccines
Nature
Navalny Spokeswoman Sentenced for Mass Protest ‘Coronavirus Violations’ - The Moscow Times
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh has been sentenced over her role in this winter’s protests calling for his release, Russian media reported Monday.
The Moscow Times
Southeast Asia is an emerging hotspot for COVID-19 - Nature Medicine
Nature
COVID-related psychological distress fully mediates the association from social impact to sleep disturbance among patients with chronic schizophrenia - Scientific Reports
Nature
A particle swarm optimization approach for predicting the number of COVID-19 deaths - Scientific Reports
Nature
Indoor and outdoor noise changes due to the COVID-19 lockdown and their effects on individuals’ expectations and preferences - Scientific Reports
Nature
iCOVID: interpretable deep learning framework for early recovery-time prediction of COVID-19 patients - npj Digital Medicine
Nature
Cardinal Burke on ventilator days after testing positive for coronavirus
A message from the Twitter account of Cardinal Raymond Burke, a conservative prelate and outspoken skeptic of the COVID-19 vaccine, confirmed Aug. 14 that he had been placed on a ventilator after testing positive for the virus.
National Catholic Reporter
Some Long Covid Patients Feel Much Better After Getting the Vaccine (Published 2021)
The New York Times
Covid Surge in Africa Raises Fears of a Calamity Like India’s (Published 2021)
The New York Times
Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today (Published 2021)
The New York Times
Deaths in custody of two brothers fuel anger over Covid enforcement in Kenya. (Published 2021)
The New York Times
Redox imbalance links COVID-19 and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
PNAS
Coronavirus and floods leave Belgium’s tourism industry in disarray
After a catastrophic season and deadly floods, the tourism sector is worried about its future.
www.politico.eu
Indonesia animal-lovers help pets left behind by coronavirus
Reuters
The story behind COVID-19 vaccines
Science | AAAS
Significance of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody testing during COVID-19 vaccine allocation
ScienceDirect.com
Vaccine skeptic US cardinal on ventilator after Covid diagnosis
Cardinal Raymond Burke, leading conservative critic of Pope Francis, says: ‘Please pray for me’
The Guardian
Clinical characteristics of the first and second COVID-19 waves in the Bronx, New York: A retrospective cohort study
The Lancet
The association between COVID-19 vaccination and Bell's palsy
The Lancet
The Coronavirus, the Delta Variant and Afghanistan: The Week in Cartoons for Aug. 16-20
U.S. News & World Report
Confusion reigns in Texas as legal fight over mask mandates rages between local officials and Gov. Greg Abbott
:watermark(cdn.texastribune.org/media/watermarks/2021.png,-0,30,0)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/fe3f6703af93f31307faaea78ce35317/ATX%20Covid%20File%20July%2019%20SP%20TT%2007.jpg)
Back-and-forth legal rulings have left some school districts with the choice of flouting Abbott and mandating masks — or waiting for the dust to settle.
The Texas Tribune
Despite Texas high court ruling, some mask mandates remain
AP News
Fact check: COVID-19 vaccine protects both the person vaccinated and those around them
Social media users are falsely claiming getting vaccinated against COVID-19 only helps that person. Experts say vaccinations protect those around as well.
USA Today
Covid Vaccines Produced in Africa Are Being Exported to Europe (Published 2021)
The New York Times
More Hospitals Are Requiring Workers to Get Covid Vaccines (Published 2021)
The New York Times
Bell's palsy following vaccination with mRNA (BNT162b2) and inactivated (CoronaVac) SARS-CoV-2 vaccines: a case series and nested case-control study
The Lancet
Making sense of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Russia: Lessons from the past and present
Coverage of Russian vaccination rollout has focused largely on concerns about ethics of development and inconsistent messaging. But Russian-language research complicates this picture.
The Conversation
Why no one really knows how bad Facebook’s vaccine misinformation problem is
Some researchers say that Facebook isn’t being transparent enough about Covid-19 content on its platform.
Vox
The world is making billions of Covid vaccine doses, so why is Africa not getting them? | Gordon Brown
While the west gets ready to administer booster shots, millions in Africa are still unprotected, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown
The Guardian
COVID booster shots take off
Axios
Mask mandates in school: What Texas parents should know
San Antonio Express-News
COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 16 August
The World Economic Forum
Living With O.C.D. in a Pandemic (Published 2021)
The New York Times
Nearly a third of U.S. workers under 40 considered changing careers during the pandemic
The Washington Post
Do university students want more online learning, post-pandemic? Here’s what some chose before COVID-19
Some promoters of educational technology see COVID-19 as a ‘tech reckoning’ for professors who refused to accept progress. But before the pandemic, many students also preferred in-person classes.
The Conversation
My Experience as a Transfer Student During a Global Pandemic | Hey BU
A member of the Class of 2023 reflects on her journey of transferring to BU in the midst of a pandemic.
Boston University
S&P 500 doubles from its pandemic bottom, marking the fastest bull market rally since WWII
The broad equity benchmark has rallied 100% on a closing basis from its Covid trough of 2,237.40 on March 23.
CNBC
Why it’s so hard to be a nurse in America, according to two nurses
Nurses were struggling even before the pandemic. We have the tools to change that.
Vox
China’s faltering recovery adds to global growth risks
China’s data underlined the potential havoc the Delta variant of the coronavirus could have on global economic recovery.
Al Jazeera
Bob Woodward’s third book in Trump trilogy to cover handling of pandemic
New book Peril follows Fear and Rage, and is based on hundreds of interviews as well as diaries, secret orders and phone transcripts
The Guardian
Digital first during the COVID-19 pandemic: does ethnicity matter?
The Lancet
Australia’s worsening outbreak raises concerns about Aboriginal communities. (Published 2021)
The New York Times
Vaccine-skeptic cardinal hospitalized with COVID
One of the Catholic church's top officials and fiercest critics of Pope Francis has COVID-19 and is breathing through a ventilator. His staff tweeted Saturday that he has been hospitalized and is breathing through a ventilator.
PBS