CDC Issues Guidance For People Who Received COVID-19 Vaccine – NPR
The CDC says it’s safe for some friends and family to meet indoors, smile without masks and dine next to each other — if some of those taking part are fully vaccinated and the others are at low risk.
In The ’24th Mile’ Of A Marathon, Fauci And Collins Reflect On Their Pandemic Year – NPR
A year ago, everything changed for Americans as a new, highly infectious disease began spreading across the country.
Italy’s variant struggle
Ukraine approves China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine – Reuters
Ukraine has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
CDC not endorsing travel for vaccinated individuals, saying it risks a surge in cases – ABC News
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Monday defended her agency’s decision not to endorse travel for vaccinated Americans, saying that, even as the CDC says they can socially gather without masks, increasing travel would add to the number of COVID-19 cases and pose a risk to the majority of the country not yet vaccinated.
New Orleans expected to loosen restrictions this week amid falling coronavirus cases – NOLA
New Orleans officials plan to announce details on eased coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday as cases in the city have slumped in recent weeks.
Vaccine Headlines
Austria suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death – Reuters
Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday.
Hunting for a Leftover Vaccine? This Site Will Match You With a Clinic. – NYT
More than half a million people have signed up for Dr. B, a service that promises to match them with clinics struggling to equitably dole out extra doses before they expire.
The vaccines are working. That’s why we shouldn’t panic about variants. – NBC News
Experts stress that the Covid-19 vaccines are performing well — but that only heightens the need to lower stubbornly high case rates.
Clinical Considerations
None Today
Official Reporting for March 10, 2021
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update March 9, 2021
Confirmed Cases: 116,874,9
Deaths: 2,597,381
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 117,534,499
Deaths: 2,609,748
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 28,937,762 (+124,338 New Cases)
Total deaths: 524,695 (+845 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
3 medical innovations fueled by COVID-19 that will outlast the pandemic – The Conversation
Thirty years ago, researchers for the first time injected mice with genes from a foreign pathogen to produce an immune response. Like many new discoveries, these first gene-based vaccines had their ups and downs. Early mRNA vaccines were hard to store and didn’t produce the right type of immunity. DNA vaccines were more stable but weren’t efficient at getting into the cell’s nucleus, so they failed to produce sufficient immunity.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
Smithsonian obtains vial from 1st US COVID-19 vaccine dose – ABC News
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has acquired the vial that contained the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine administered in the United States as part of its plans to document the global pandemic and “this extraordinary period we were going through.”
Coronavirus Confessions – NBC News
Social distancing, self-isolation and quarantining. Shared anonymous stories in the time of COVID-19.
Published Research
A safe and highly efficacious measles virus-based vaccine expressing SARS-CoV-2 stabilized prefusion spike – PNAS
Identification of human immune cell subtypes most responsive to IL-1β–induced inflammatory signaling using mass cytometry – Science
SARS-CoV-2: an occupational hazard presenting challenges for low- and middle-income countries – Environmental Health
School-Related SARS-CoV-2 Transmission: Modes and Mitigations – NEJM
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
White House ‘Aware’ of Russian Vaccine Disinformation Efforts – NYT
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said on Monday that “we will fight with every tool” to combat Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation about the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines.
Coping in 2020 (and probably most of 2021)
Some interesting reading while coping…
A 300-Year-Old Tale Of One Woman’s Quest To Stop A Deadly Virus – NPR
Three hundred years ago, in 1721, England was in the grips of a smallpox epidemic. “There were people dying all over the place,” says Isobel Grundy, a professor emeritus of English at the University of Alberta in Canada. “Social life came to a standstill — and all the things we’ve suddenly become familiar with again.”