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News for September 29 — NYC subway COVID-19 transmission

WSJ: Study says NYC subway COVID-19 transmission risk low: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-subway-is-low-risk-for-coronavirus-transmission-study-says-11601388000 . Uh-huh. If you’ve spent any time on the NYC subway in the past, this is about as believable as RJ Reynolds saying cigarette smoking is safe. The fact that there is reduced ridership now may motivate the agencies, but not riders. WSJ: NYC office …

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News for September 28 — FDA questions Inovio vaccine

WSJ: FDA questions put Inovio Phase 2/3 vaccine trial on hold: https://www.wsj.com/articles/inovio-covid-19-vaccine-trial-placed-on-hold-after-fda-questions-11601304999 . Feds to ship millions of tests in push to re-open schools: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-archive-elections-7ad94115ac126ce1eb7a38bee6c5eedf . So, these are rapid-response tests from Abbott. These tests are less accurate, so follow-up of positives will be needed with more accurate, slower tests. How will results reporting be …

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News for September 27 — Nate Silver: urban versus rural

Urban versus rural: analysis by Nate Silver: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-senates-rural-skew-makes-it-very-hard-for-democrats-to-win-the-supreme-court/ . While this tells you a lot about the Senate, it’s included here because of its urban versus rural definition. It’s a novel definition and neatly splits the country into quarters based on population density. (Nate Silver spoke at the 2011 CCA annual meeting in Las Vegas.) …

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News for September 26 — Vaccine study protocol

Beware of vaccine trials designed to succeed: https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2020/09/how-covid-19-drug-vaccine-decisions-might-be-based-on-little-evidence/ . This article provides an excerpt from William Haseltine’s opinion piece in the Washington Post. Haseltine is a respected authority, and his concern (emergency use approved on a too-small test sample) is worth considering. Here is reporting on Moderna’s vaccine study protocol: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-moderna-vaccine/moderna-would-seek-limited-emergency-use-of-covid-19-vaccine-based-on-early-data-idUSKBN2681MS . Note the small …

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News for September 25 — Vaccine race update; Florida reopens

WSJ: Vaccine race update: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccines-whats-coming-and-when-11598882964 . This article still has the ending table which is not appropriately updated; here is the prior article. WSJ: More on the J&J vaccine: https://www.wsj.com/articles/johnson-johnsons-covid-19-vaccine-produced-immune-response-in-earlier-stage-study-11601061618 . Florida to fully re-open: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article246006835.html . Welcome to “God’s waiting room”. This sure looks like political suicide for DeSantis, assuming there are voters left …

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News for September 24 — COVID-19 long-haulers; opposition research

Iowa clinic for COVID-19 long-haulers: https://health.usnews.com/hospital-heroes/articles/iowa-clinic-treats-long-term-effects-of-covid-19?src=usn_nl_yourhealth . WSJ: White House invents Medicare prescription assistance: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-says-discount-cards-will-soon-be-mailed-to-seniors-to-help-pay-for-prescription-drugs-11600988649 . Well, this is more detailed than the plan to protect those with pre-existing conditions if the ACA is overturned. Is this package the result of 4 years of work on the “replace” part of “repeal and replace”? More: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/trump-drug-coupons-seniors-421511 …

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News for September 23 — J&J Single-shot Vaccine

WSJ: J&J single-shot vaccine enters Phase 3 trial: https://www.wsj.com/articles/johnson-johnson-begins-final-stage-testing-of-covid-19-vaccine-11600857900 . This is the fourth vaccine to begin Phase 3 trials in the US; J&J will also be tested as a two-shot vaccine in the UK. COVID-19 early detection study utilizes troops: https://www.wsj.com/articles/thousands-of-american-troops-to-take-part-in-covid-19-early-detection-study-11600772402 . WSJ: Vaccine update: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccines-whats-coming-and-when-11598882964 . J&J is mentioned near the end of …

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News for September 22 — Herd Immunity; Vaccine Distribution

WSJ: Herd immunity: https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-herd-immunity-11600780490 . You need to know more than this article. The “herd immunity” percentage rises with the infectiousness of the disease, so the 50% figure floated here is unlikely, although there’s a lot of wiggle room in “starts to kick in”. We will ultimately reach herd immunity (excluding significant mutations) by a …

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News for September 21 — COVID-19 Aerosol Guidance; Mini-Lockdown

CDC issues COVID-19 aerosol guidance Friday, withdraws it on Monday: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/21/915351325/cdc-publishes-then-withdraws-guidance-on-aerosol-spread-of-coronavirus . What is going on at CDC? This ongoing circus continues to erode public trust in the agency. This is particularly weird after the WHO controversy over the same topic. More: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-09-21/cdc-takes-down-guidance-on-airborne-coronavirus-transmission . WSJ: Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-can-spread-by-tiny-air-particles-cdc-now-says-11600700364 . Face shields ineffective at containing COVID-19 …

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News for September 20 — Herd Immunity; COVID-19 Seasonality

CDC messages to public slowed by extensive reviews: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/09/21/breaking-news/cdc-removes-guidance-about-airborne-coronavirus-spread-from-website/ (link replaced 5/25/21). Yet another in an ongoing series of examples demonstrating that politics should be kept out of public health. Global Preparedness Monitoring Board annual report: https://apps.who.int/gpmb/annual_report.html . The report focuses on the global pandemic. It is titled “The World in Disorder”. It argues that …

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