logoCOVID-19 History

September 17, 2021

An FDA advisory panel votes 16 to 2 against recommending COVID booster shots for the general population aged 16 and up, endorsing them only for people 65 and older and those at high risk. The rebuff to the White House, which had announced a broad booster campaign weeks earlier, arrives amid an unresolved debate over how much and how fast vaccine protection wanes.

Denmark offers a different picture, lifting its remaining restrictions and drawing some 52,000 people to a Copenhagen concert, a scene of pre-pandemic normal life in a heavily vaccinated country. In the United States, hospitals in Alaska, Idaho, and Montana ration care, and more than 600,000 white flags go up on the National Mall to mark the country’s official COVID death toll.

Italy makes its “green pass” mandatory for all workers, and every lion and tiger at the National Zoo tests positive for the virus, a reminder of how widely the pathogen circulates among animals.

Covid outbreak in lions, tigers at National Zoo
Covid outbreak in lions, tiger...
Six African lions, a Sumatran tiger and two Amur tigers tested positive for the coronavirus, zoo officials said Friday.
NBC News
COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 17 September
COVID-19: What you need to kno...
The World Economic Forum
All Of The National Zoo's Lions And Tigers Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus
All Of The National Zoo's Lion...
The zoo said tests for six African lions, a Sumatran tiger, and two Amur tigers came back positive.
DCist
Readers Respond: What To Say If Someone Asks Why You're Wearing A Mask
Readers Respond: What To Say I...
Thousands of NPR readers shared what they'd say if someone asked them why they are wearing a mask. Here's a selection of their responses.
NPR
A CRISPR/Cas9 genetically engineered organoid biobank reveals essential host factors for coronaviruses - Nature Communications
A CRISPR/Cas9 genetically engi...
Rapid identification of host genes essential for virus replication may expedite the generation of therapeutic interventions. Here the authors generate mutant clonal intestinal organoids for 19 host genes previously implicated in coronavirus biology and identify the cell surface protease TMPRSS2 as a potential therapeutic target.
Nature
9 Lions And Tigers At The National Zoo Are Being Treated For COVID
9 Lions And Tigers At The Nati...
Zookeepers noticed something was amiss when the animals began eating less and were seen coughing and sneezing. Visitors are not at risk because the public doesn't have access to the enclosures.
NPR
Children And Teens Gained Weight At An Alarming Rate During The Pandemic, The CDC Says
Children And Teens Gained Weig...
A new CDC study found that the percentage of obese children and teens increased to 22%, compared to 19% before the pandemic. It also found that expected annual weight gain ranged from 5 to 15 pounds.
NPR
Structural biology of SARS-CoV-2 and implications for therapeutic development - Nature Reviews Microbiology
Structural biology of SARS-CoV...
Elucidating the structure and function of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins is vital for understanding the molecular mechanisms of viral replication and COVID-19 pathogenesis, and could lead to the development of novel therapeutics. In this Review, Yang and Rao delineate the structural features of SARS-CoV-2 from the whole viral particle to the individual viral proteins and discuss their functions as well as their potential as targets for therapeutic intervent...
Nature
Sarah Palin explains why she has resisted getting vaccinated
Sarah Palin explains why she h...
The Hill
N.Y.C. will require workers and customers show proof of at least one dose for indoor dining and other activities.
N.Y.C. will require workers an...
The New York Times
The New Faces Of Pandemic Food Insecurity: Hungry, Worried ... Yet Generous
The New Faces Of Pandemic Food...
A lawyer who lost her job. A single mom with HIV. A grandmother who thought she had enough money to get by. A onetime golf coach. They're among the millions now struggling to put meals on the table.
NPR
India’s true pandemic death toll is likely to be well over 3 million, a new study finds. (Published 2021)
India’s true pandemic death to...
The New York Times
After the omicron surge in early 2022, COVID-19 cases declined in Texas schools
After the omicron surge in ear...
Student and staff COVID-19 cases declined after districts reported their highest levels in January since the pandemic began. But the data is incomplete and likely an undercount.
The Texas Tribune
Allergies to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines rare, generally mild, Stanford-led study finds
Allergies to mRNA-based COVID-...
In a study of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine doses given at Stanford Medicine, vaccine allergies were rare, mild and mostly triggered by a vaccine additive, not the mRNA.
Stanford Medicine
Are COVID-19 boosters ethical, with half the world waiting for a first shot? A bioethicist weighs in
Are COVID-19 boosters ethical,...
Scientists debate the medical benefits of booster shots. But there’s another aspect to consider: bioethics.
The Conversation
COVID-19 vaccination and unemployment risk: lessons from the Italian crisis - Scientific Reports
COVID-19 vaccination and unemp...
Nature
COVID vaccine immunity is waning — how much does that matter?
COVID vaccine immunity is wani...
As debates about booster shots heat up, what’s known about the duration of vaccine-based immunity is still evolving.
Nature
'The Morning Show' Season 2 Was Written And In Production. Then COVID Hit
'The Morning Show' Season 2 Wa...
When COVID hit the U.S., writers of The Morning Show on Apple TV+ scrapped a year's worth of work to make the fictional TV show's new season newsworthy.
NPR
More Than 600,000 White Flags On The National Mall Honor Lives Lost To COVID
More Than 600,000 White Flags ...
The art installation, called In America: Remember, will be on display at the National Mall for more than two weeks. It honors the more than 660,000 lives lost to COVID-19 in the United States.
NPR
Vaccine innovation and COVID’s collateral damage — the week in infographics
Vaccine innovation and COVID’s...
Nature highlights three key infographics from the week in science and research.
Nature
Rationing medical care becomes a reality in Alaska, Idaho and Montana hospitals overwhelmed by covid
Rationing medical care becomes...
The Washington Post
Italy Is Making COVID-19 Health Passes Mandatory For All Workers
Italy Is Making COVID-19 Healt...
The "green pass" will show whether a person has been vaccinated, recently recovered from COVID, or tested negative for the virus. Workers failing to present a pass will be suspended without pay.
NPR
SARS-CoV-2's origin should be investigated worldwide for pandemic prevention
SARS-CoV-2's origin should be ...
The Lancet
Rates of body mass in children nearly doubled during pandemic, study finds | CNN
Rates of body mass in children...
CNN
The Pandemic’s Toll on Children With Special Needs and Their Parents (Published 2020)
The Pandemic’s Toll on Childre...
The New York Times
OSHA Criticized for Lax Regulation of Meatpacking in Pandemic (Published 2020)
OSHA Criticized for Lax Regula...
The New York Times
Denmark returns to pre-pandemic life with a huge pop concert
Denmark returns to pre-pandemi...
About 52,000 people flocked to Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium a day after Denmark abolished coronavirus restrictions.
Al Jazeera
Two of Gavin Newsom's children test positive for coronavirus; the governor has not
Two of Gavin Newsom's children...
Two of Gov. Gavin Newsom's four children have tested positive for the coronavirus, the governor's office said Friday.
Los Angeles Times
White flags along the National Mall will mark more than 600,000 U.S. Covid deaths. (Published 2021)
White flags along the National...
The New York Times