August 26, 2021

More than 100,000 Americans are now hospitalized with COVID-19, a level not seen since January, before vaccines were widely available. The AP and PBS report modeling that projects another 100,000 deaths by December unless behavior changes, with the claim that the toll could be halved if nearly everyone masked in public. The forecast rests on assumptions about compliance that earlier models had already struggled to get right.

The Sturgis rally, warned about for weeks as a superspreader in waiting, is now linked to more than 100 infections across several states, a number well below the alarm that preceded the event. Science magazine reports that a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection confers considerably greater immunity than vaccination, while insisting the shot remains necessary anyway, a framing that sits awkwardly with its own data on natural immunity.

Abroad, Japan suspends 1.63 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine after contamination is reported at multiple vaccination sites, a rare public admission of a manufacturing problem as governments pressed for speed. A Bloomberg update notes Florida reporting record deaths on the same day a judge bars the state’s ban on school mask mandates.

100,000 more COVID deaths seen unless US changes its ways

AP News

Study confirms virus variants reduce protection against COVID-19

OHSU News

Lisa Shaw: Presenter's death due to complications of Covid vaccine

Lisa Shaw developed headaches shortly after being vaccinated against Covid-19, an inquest hears.

BBC

Therapeutic targets and interventional strategies in COVID-19: mechanisms and clinical studies - Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

Nature

Tracheal aspirate RNA sequencing identifies distinct immunological features of COVID-19 ARDS - Nature Communications

Here, the authors perform transcriptional profiling on tracheal aspirates of adults requiring mechanical ventilation for SARS-CoV2-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and identify a dysregulated host response predicted to predicted to be potentially modulated by dexamethasone.

Nature

Burden and characteristics of COVID-19 in the United States during 2020 - Nature

Data-driven modelling including numbers of cases and population movements is used to simulate the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in 2020, providing insights into the transmission of the disease.

Nature

Radiomics-based machine learning differentiates “ground-glass” opacities due to COVID-19 from acute non-COVID-19 lung disease - Scientific Reports

Nature

Russia’s Sputnik V protects against severe COVID-19 from Delta variant, study shows

Science | AAAS

AHR signaling is induced by infection with coronaviruses - Nature Communications

RNA viruses, such as Zika and Dengue, activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling to restrict the antiviral response. Here, the authors report that coronaviruses also activate AHR signaling, potentially allowing them to escape the immune response, and show that AHR antagonism limits SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro, suggesting that AHR could be targeted for antiviral therapy.

Nature

Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today (Published 2021)

The New York Times

More Than 100,000 People Are Hospitalized With COVID-19, The Most Since January

Hospitals are once again overwhelmed with coronavirus patients, reaching a level not seen since before the vaccine was widely available.

NPR

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 26 August

The World Economic Forum

Does Covid immunity wane and will vaccine booster jabs be needed?

Multiple studies seem to suggest immunity declines over time, though what this means is unclear

The Guardian

Sturgis motorcycle rally linked to more than 100 coronavirus infections amid delta surge

The Washington Post

How the Navajo Nation, once battered by Covid, is staring down a delta surge

As the tribe hopes to stave off the variant of Covid-19 that has been ripping through surrounding states, officials are going back to an early pandemic playbook.

NBC News

More than 120 coronavirus cases in 5 states linked to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The Week

100,000 more COVID deaths expected unless U.S. changes its ways

But health experts say that toll could be cut in half if nearly everyone wore a mask in public spaces. Experts agree: What the coronavirus has in store this fall depends on human behavior.

PBS

‘It’s Starting Again’: Why Filipino Nurses Dread the Second Wave (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Pediatricians besieged by parents seeking coronavirus shots for kids under 12

The Washington Post

Sturgis Rally Is What a Vaccine-Era Coronavirus Superspreader Event Looks Like

Unlike Lollapalooza in Chicago, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was the perfect storm for a vaccine-era superspeader event.

The Daily Beast

Should the Government Impose a National Vaccination Mandate?

Despite claims to the contrary, there are many routes to legally requiring COVID inoculation.

The New Yorker

Japan Suspends 1.63 Million Doses Of Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine Over Contamination

The health ministry said contamination was reported from multiple vaccination sites. The news raises concern of a supply shortage as Japan tries to accelerate vaccinations amid a surge in cases.

NPR

A science in the shadows

The Washington Post

Edgar Ramírez shares emotional Instagram post mourning family, friends lost to Covid-19

"My heart can’t just take more pain. I am sad, I am frustrated, I am devastated," he wrote in his Instagram post.

NBC News

GOP Lawmaker Deletes Tweet Comparing Vaccine Mandates to the Holocaust

Newsweek

Pandemic windfall for US schools has few strings attached

AP News

A sustainable strategy for Open Streets in (post)pandemic cities - Communications Physics

While public space is traditionally shared by pedestrian and cars, the distancing measures imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have underlined the need for wider pedestrian spaces. Here, the authors take a complex network approach to analyze sidewalk data from cities across the world to evidence a strong unbalance in the space distribution between cars and pedestrian, and propose a strategy to improve urban walkability within a socially distancing context and without compromising road traffic.

Nature

Pandemic pushes search for remote jobs up 460%

Worker interest in remote jobs grew significantly during the Covid pandemic, according to a Glassdoor analysis. That interest is unlikely to wane.

CNBC

The pandemic endgame isn't here yet. But if we play our cards right, things will start getting better in 2023.

The US hasn't vaccinated fast enough to avert a disaster. It's now likely that 80 to 90% of Americans need to get shots before we can feel safe again.

Business Insider

How online mindfulness training can help students thrive during the pandemic

New research shows mindfulness training can be effective when delivered online. The benefits for university students included one particularly notable development for well-being.

The Conversation

Florida Reports Record Deaths, Judge Bars Mask Ban: Virus Update

Bloomberg.com

Pandemic Has India Scrambling to Boost its Manufacturing Sector

Bloomberg

Pandemic leads to entrepreneurship, as some turn creative passions into businesses

The pandemic led many to leave the workforce to start their own businesses. Now, successful owners are seeing more income than ever before.

USA Today

Covid-19: Pandemic had severe impact on young people, says report

Insufficient consideration was given to the effect on children and young people, says a report.

BBC

Covid-19: Florida doctor 'offered parents mask exemption letters for students'

The Florida doctor reportedly offered the medical letters for pupils in schools with mask rules.

BBC

Anti-Maskers Are Assaulting Teachers and School Leaders. What Can Be Done?

Three questions for Eleonora Villegas-Reimers, Wheelock chair of special and elementary education

Boston University

Having SARS-CoV-2 once confers much greater immunity than a vaccine—but vaccination remains vital

Science | AAAS

Covid-19: Is India entering endemic stage of coronavirus?

The WHO's Soumya Swaminathan said India may be entering "some stage of endemicity".

BBC

August 26, 2021

Add content to this page

Add content to this page