September 20, 2021

The headline of the day is that COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 influenza pandemic, with reported deaths crossing 675,000. Outlets from the AP to CNBC and STAT call it the deadliest disease event in American history. The comparison is repeated without the obvious caveat: the United States population has roughly tripled since 1918, and case and death counting bear little resemblance to a century ago, so the raw totals are not measuring the same thing.

Pfizer and BioNTech announce that early trial results show their vaccine is safe and produces a strong antibody response in children ages 5 to 11, though FDA review is still pending. The claim rests on antibody levels rather than demonstrated protection, and it arrives days after an FDA advisory panel rejected broad boosters, a setback Fauci insisted was “not the end of the story.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is caught maskless indoors in violation of her own city’s order and dismisses critics as the “fun police,” one more instance of officials exempting themselves from the rules they impose. A Washington Post analysis, by contrast, credits Denmark with beating the virus after lifting nearly all restrictions.

COVID has killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu

AP News

Gargling with iodine won’t stop you getting COVID

Misinformation is spreading on social media that gargling with povidone-iodine can prevent COVID.

The Conversation

Why the pandemic made some cats sick with stress – and how we can help them

Cats may actually enjoy the extra peace and quiet as we start leaving the house more.

The Conversation

COVID will likely shift from pandemic to endemic — but what does that mean?

At the beginning of 2020, most people hadn’t used the word ‘pandemic’ before. Now it’s time to understand the term ‘endemic’ and find out what to expect when COVID changes shape.

The Conversation

Coronavirus death toll in US eclipses 1918 influenza pandemic estimates

More than 675,000 Americans have now died of COVID-19.

ABC News

San Francisco mayor scolds ‘fun police’ after being criticized for flouting city’s indoor mask mandate | CNN Politics

CNN

Covid is officially America's deadliest pandemic as U.S. fatalities surpass 1918 flu estimates

Reported U.S. deaths due to Covid crossed 675,000, Johns Hopkins data shows, and is still increasing at an average of more than 1,900 fatalities per day.

CNBC

Human genetic basis of coronavirus disease 2019 - Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

Nature

Multi-level inhibition of coronavirus replication by chemical ER stress - Nature Communications

Here, Shaban et al. show that coronaviruses modulate ER stress and the unfolded protein response. The ER stress inducer thapsigargin exerts potent antiviral effects, partially reverses the virus-induced translational shut-down, reprograms the host proteome and suppresses autophagic flux, thereby inhibiting coronavirus replication at multiple levels.

Nature

Association mining based approach to analyze COVID-19 response and case growth in the United States - Scientific Reports

Nature

External validation of the 4C mortality score among COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital in Ontario, Canada: a retrospective study - Scientific Reports

Nature

Key factors affecting people’s unwillingness to be confined during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a large-scale population study - Scientific Reports

Nature

American Samoa reports its first case of the coronavirus, 18 months into the pandemic

The U.S. territory’s acting governor and health officials said their first case of Covid-19 was of a resident who returned to America Samoa from Hawaii.

NBC News

COVID Vaccine For Kids Ages 5 To 11 Is Safe And Effective, Pfizer Says

Pfizer and BioNTech say that early trial results show their vaccine established a strong antibody response against the coronavirus. FDA review is still needed.

NPR

The Struggle to Define Long COVID

Patients and skeptics are squaring off. Can research heal the rift?

The New Yorker

‘I Just Got My Vaccine’: U.S. Rollout Expands to Children Ages 12 to 15 (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Covid-19 overtakes 1918 Spanish flu as deadliest disease in American history

The Covid-19 pandemic has become the deadliest disease event in American history, with its death toll surpassing that of the 1918 Spanish flu.

STAT

Winter is coming, again: What to expect from Covid-19 as the season looms

STAT spoke with infectious disease experts and others about what to expect from Covid-19 as the seasons change.

STAT

Fauci: FDA vote against Covid booster shots ‘not the end of the story’

Advisory panel dealt blow to Biden with Friday verdict but White House adviser says million deaths avoidable if vaccinations increase

The Guardian

Covid vaccinations among US Latinos are rising thanks to community outreach

Grassroots groups are mobilizing churches, soccer coaches and cartoon abuelas to reassure underserved Spanish-speaking communities and remove barriers to get them their shots

The Guardian

Breakthrough infections happen, but most COVID-19 infections are among the unvaccinated

Waning vaccine-induced immunity may play a role in breakthrough COVID-19 infections, but the main issue is the delta variant.

UCHealth

States bracing for confusion about coronavirus booster rollout

The Washington Post

As covid-19 patients fill hospitals, health-care workers fight fear and exhaustion: ‘Here we go again’

The Washington Post

One lawyer’s rise shows how vaccine misinformation can fuel fundraising and far-right celebrity

The Washington Post

Calls grow among experts in Singapore for a vaccine mandate as COVID-19 spikes

Reuters

Covid-19 leads to global rise in unplanned pregnancy

Millions of people have experienced contraceptive service disruptions because of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.N. found.

PBS

Analysis | Denmark appears to have beaten covid-19 — for now. Here’s how it did it.

The Washington Post

September 20, 2021

Add content to this page

Add content to this page