WSJ: US round-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-latest-news-08-28-2020-11598603699 .
Permanent, irreversible lung damage in 6 divers from COVID-19: https://www.rainews.it/tgr/tagesschau/articoli/2020/04/tag-Coronavirus-Lungeschaden-Forschung-Uniklinik-Innsbruck-6708e11e-28dc-4843-a760-e7f926ace61c.html (article is in German, but you should receive a translation opportunity). Apparently the cases were mild, but these individuals are no longer able to dive.
Nevada man first documented US case of COVID-19 re-infection: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-19-reinfection-reported-nevada-patient-researchers-say-n1238679 . Note that his illness is more severe the second time around.
WSJ: College round-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-colleges-continue-to-grabble-with-coronavirus-outbreaks-11598652253 . Um, “grapple”, right? Who wrote the link? “Grabble” is a word, it means grope around with the hands …
U of Arizona prevents dorm virus hot spot through wastewater analysis: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2020/08/27/university-arizona-covid-19-outbreak-prevented-dorm-wastewater-testing/5649579002/ . Testing found two positive, asymptomatic cases in dorm housing over 300 students.
US colleges lose favor with Asian students: https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/elite-u-s-colleges-lose-favor-with-lucrative-asian-students .
Schools in high poverty areas less likely to re-open this fall: https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-08-27/big-city-schools-are-less-likely-to-reopen-for-in-person-instruction?src=usn_nl_coronavirus .
WSJ: Campaign to reduce vaccine hesitancy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-is-a-growing-concern-for-researchers-health-officials-11598607002 .
WSJ: CanSino seeking emergency use approval in several countries: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-covid-19-vaccine-maker-in-talks-with-countries-on-early-approval-11598612401 . This may well contribute to vaccine hesitancy.
Masks as fashion accessories: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-face-mask-debate-stylish-or-surgical-11598466507 . I fail to see the humor in this; I’m dead serious.
Med school applications rise: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2020-08-27/fed-rates-to-stay-ultra-low-even-after-inflation-picks-up?src=usn_nl_coronavirus .
California Republican state senators excluded from Capitol for 14 days after member tests positive: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article245287135.html . Other news reports indicate the infected senator was “COVID skeptical”.
B vitamins may assist in reducing severity of COVID-19: https://www.maturitas.org/article/S0378-5122(20)30348-0/fulltext#%20 . The article provides citations to various studies; because vitamin B deficiencies are reasonably common, some of the improvement may be related to addressing an underlying deficiency.
When does the pandemic end?: https://bgr.com/2020/08/28/coronavirus-vaccine-update-effectiveness-needed-to-end-covid-19-pandemic/ . What this article is apparently attempting to address is herd immunity. Since vaccinations do not occur all at once, a more useful way to think about this is management of R0. If R0 is being effectively managed (masks, social distancing, limits on indoor gatherings), at some point in the vaccination process cases will begin to sharply contract. The key is to resist reduction of R0 management until the case load has sufficiently contracted that effective contact tracing and testing is in place. As the virus is now embedded in the global population, aggressive contact tracing must continue for quite some time – even if the spread becomes limited to non-vaccinated individuals, these individuals are not evenly dispersed throughout the country, and therefore pockets of infection will continue to arise.
WSJ: How coronavirus overpowered the WHO: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-who-was-built-to-guard-global-health-it-was-too-weak-for-coronavirus-11598625537 . The logical conclusions from this article are: (1) we need rapid response from a global health organization to combat newly emerging diseases; (2) the WHO has structural weaknesses which prevent it from fully fulfilling this mission; (3) the world has had this discussion before, but failed to strengthen the WHO. Duh – I don’t see any meaningful dispute to these points, they are factual in nature and documented in the article.
More interesting is the point that WHO has a greater ability to perform these functions in underdeveloped countries than in the developed world. If we accept that argument (also documented in the article), then a place to look is China’s transformation over the past 40 years from an underdeveloped country to an economic powerhouse. In other words, the WHO would have decreasing ability in China over time. Many infectious diseases emerge from China due to their animal farming practices and wet markets (for example, new strains of influenza). Therefore, it would seem the world would benefit from increased interaction with China on this specific topic (which there has been over the years). US defunding and withdrawal from WHO seems like exactly the wrong thing to do.
Here is an important paper modeling world population growth, describing their methodology in detail, which shows that world population is likely to peak and decline earlier than prior forecasts, and discussing key factors, most prominently the continued increase in female educational levels: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30677-2/fulltext . Here is an article citing the article and applying the findings to climate change, arguing (quite cogently) that consumption by wealthier individuals is much more damaging to climate than population growth: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/26/panic-overpopulation-climate-crisis-consumption-environment . When you connect the dots from this material to the need for immigration to sustain and grow developed economies (see News for August 25), as the author does in the last paragraph, the main point becomes even clearer.
Mortality analysis of COVID-19 by UC Berkeley demography professors: https://www.dailycal.org/2020/08/27/covid-19-mortality-rates-suggest-temporary-aging-research-finds/ .
WSJ: DOJ considers investigation of COVID-19 in nursing homes in 4 states: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-seeks-data-on-covid-19-nursing-home-deaths-in-four-states-11598558780 .
WSJ: Pelosi offers small modification in Democrats’ relief package proposal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-aid-talks-limp-along-between-democrats-white-house-11598561545 . WSJ: In response, grocery spending is falling: https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-stimulus-checks-on-hold-americans-are-spending-less-at-the-grocery-store-11598526249 .
WSJ: Schools face severe budget shortfall: https://www.wsj.com/articles/stalled-coronavirus-aid-talks-test-schools-11598531735 .
WSJ: NYC schools face teacher shortage: https://www.wsj.com/articles/principals-warn-new-york-city-faces-teacher-shortage-for-reopening-plan-11598567102 .
WSJ: NYC mayor faces major layoff decision: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-mayor-faces-layoff-decision-as-deadline-looms-11598554948 . 22,000 NYC workers could lose their jobs.
The Fed prioritizes employment in major shift in objectives: https://www.axios.com/federal-reserve-inflation-shift-09cbf694-6e96-483b-a0b4-63ba68184759.html . More: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2020-08-27/fed-rates-to-stay-ultra-low-even-after-inflation-picks-up?src=usn_nl_coronavirus . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-powell-headlines-virtual-jackson-hole-economic-conference-11598486400 . WSJ: Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-elevation-of-employment-goal-reflects-a-changed-world-11598564713 .
WSJ: World Bank data manipulation concerns: https://www.wsj.com/articles/world-bank-delays-report-on-national-competitiveness-rankings-amid-concerns-of-data-manipulation-11598554654 .
MGM/Coca-Cola/UAL confirm large layoffs: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mgm-resorts-intl-redundancies/mgm-resorts-to-lay-off-18000-furloughed-u-s-employees-idUSKBN25O2B7 .
WSJ: Looming airline job losses: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-job-losses-loom-the-airline-recovery-is-under-threat-11598529902 .
WSJ: More on weekly unemployment claims: https://www.wsj.com/articles/unemployment-benefits-jobless-claims-08-27-2020-11598481716 .
WSJ: Walmart joins Microsoft TikTok bid: https://www.wsj.com/articles/walmart-joins-microsofts-pursuit-of-tiktok-11598544354 . App’s founder at crossroads: https://www.wsj.com/articles/entrepreneur-who-built-tiktok-wonders-what-hit-him-11598540993 .
WSJ: Roundup settlement hits new obstacle: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bayers-roundup-settlement-talks-hit-new-setback-11598562743 .
WSJ: Germany hits pause on re-opening: https://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-hits-pause-on-reopening-amid-rising-covid-19-infections-11598545067 .
Luxury hotels become home: https://www.bloombergquint.com/pursuits/thanks-to-the-pandemic-luxury-hotels-become-home . The article notes that these clients don’t feel safe in their homes with staff coming in and out. Were we talking about economic inequities being magnified by the pandemic?
Greenland’s ice sheet, the world’s second largest, has melted past the point of no return: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-how-worlds-second-largest-ice-sheet-in-greenland-has-melted-past-point-of-no-return-6571284/ . This has likely happened in Antarctica as well, as warmer water is melting the ice sheets from below. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Space_for_our_climate/Greenland_and_Antarctica_losing_ice_six_times_faster_than_expected . See also: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49885450 .