Portugal removed from UK green list as seven others join red list – BBC
Portugal will be removed from the UK’s green travel list from Tuesday, amid rising coronavirus cases and concern over a “Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant”.
The E.U.’s Digital Covid Certificate Could Soon Be Available To Americans – Forbes
On Tuesday, the European Commission announced that the EU Digital Covid Certificate was finally live. At launch, seven E.U. countries are using the app and the other bloc countries will roll it out by July 1.
Coronavirus rates spike in Afghanistan, and other news from around the world – NYT
Afghan and American health officials issued urgent health warnings on Thursday describing alarming spikes in reported cases of coronavirus in Afghanistan, where the health ministry recently declared a third wave of the pandemic since the virus first struck in early 2020.
Restrictions are easing up, but should you ease up on hygiene practices? – Medical News Today
The United States, the United Kingdom, and several countries in Europe have gradually been easing pandemic restrictions. However, we should still adhere to crucial hygiene and safety measures in order to stay healthy and safeguard the health of those around us. Health experts explain why.
COVID-19 far more widespread in Indonesia than official data show: studies – Reuters
COVID-19 is many times more prevalent in Indonesia than shown by official figures in the world’s fourth most populous country, authors of two new studies told Reuters.
The coronavirus surges across Africa as vaccine programs flounder – NYT
A sudden, sharp rise in coronavirus cases in many parts of Africa could amount to a continental third wave, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday, a portent of deeper trouble for a continent whose immunization drives have been crippled by shortfalls in funding and vaccine doses.
Should we track all breakthrough cases of COVID-19? – Harvard Health
The vaccines currently available in the US to prevent COVID-19 have proven remarkably safe and highly effective thus far. But, since no vaccine is perfect, we expect to see occasional infections even
Why Contact Tracing Couldn’t Keep Up With The U.S. COVID Outbreak – NPR
NPR’s latest survey of state health departments with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security finds many are winding down the contact tracing programs they scrambled to grow last year. More than half of the 36 health departments that responded to the survey in late May had fewer tracers than in December, and the vast majority isn’t planning to hire more.
U.S. nursing home deaths fall sharply as older people are vaccinated – NYT
Nearly a year ago, more than 43 percent of coronavirus deaths in the United States were tied to long-term-care facilities. Now, the deaths of people connected to such facilities has dropped to 31 percent, according to a New York Times database, revealing an improving picture for the oldest Americans.
The White House Says It Has Started Shipping Surplus COVID-19 Vaccines Abroad – NPR
The United States will send its first shipments of surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses abroad on Thursday, spelling out for the first time how it will share its wealth of vaccines with parts of the world struggling to get shots in arms.
The ‘Lab Leak’ Debate Matters — But Not for the Reasons You Think – MedPageToday
First, an admission: this is not really a column about the origin of SARS-CoV-2. Others have written great ones, and I am not terribly interested in the question. Why? Right now, the two most widely discussed possibilities are the virus underwent zoonotic transmission (from some animal to a person), possibly at a wet market, and the other is that it escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology due to poor safety protocols in a biosafety level (BSL) 3 or 4 laboratory.
Vaccine Headlines
Slow to start, China now vaccinating at a staggering pace – AP
After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: leveraging the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. The rollout is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say they’re hoping to inoculate 80% of the population of 1.4 billion by the end of the year.
One-dose Janssen COVID-19 vaccine approved by the MHRA – Gov.UK
The vaccine has been approved after meeting the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards.
Different vaccines given to 20 in India jab mix up – BBC
Twenty people in north India have been given two different coronavirus jabs for their first and second doses.
NIH clinical trial evaluating mixed COVID-19 vaccine schedules begins – NIH
The National Institutes of Health has started a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in which adult volunteers who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will receive booster doses of different COVID-19 vaccines to determine the safety and immunogenicity of mixed boosted regimens. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, is leading and funding the study through the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium, a clinical trials network that encompasses the Institute’s long-standing Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs).
It’s The Vaccine That’s Lost A Lot Of Trust. But AstraZeneca Still Has Its Fans – NPR
It was a nonprofit collaboration between top academic researchers at Oxford University in the U.K. and a major pharmaceutical company. It wasn’t developed by a government to be used exclusively for the people or the political whims of one nation. The company billed it as the “vaccine for the world,” costing one-tenth of what some of its rivals cost — and licensed it to other manufacturers around the globe to amplify its production. And it was going to be the backbone of the international vaccine-sharing initiative COVAX, making it the primary vaccine for low- and middle-income countries. The company AstraZeneca had the ambitious goal to get 2 billion doses into people’s arms this year.
According to public health data compiled by Bloomberg, there are still 29 states in which less than 50% of their total population has received at least one vaccine dose as of Thursday morning.
Clinical Considerations
Israel Finds Probable Link Between Pfizer Shot, Myocarditis – Bloomberg
Israel health officials have found a probable link between Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s coronavirus vaccine and dozens of cases of heart inflammation in young men following the second dose of the vaccine, the Health Ministry said late Tuesday.
Official Reporting for June 4, 2021
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update June 1, 2021
Confirmed Cases: 171,292,827
Deaths: 3,687,589
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 172,016,873
Deaths: 3,698,371
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 33,130,027 (+14,354 New Cases)
Total deaths: 592,776 (+437 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
None Today
Published Research
DNA vaccination induced protective immunity against SARS CoV-2 infection in hamsterss – PLoS
Nasal delivery of an IgM offers broad protection from SARS-CoV-2 variants – Nature
Neutralising antibody activity against SARS-CoV-2 VOCs B.1.617.2 and B.1.351 by BNT162b2 vaccination – The Lancet
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Tech giants still aren’t coming clean about COVID-19 disinformation, says EU – Tech Crunch
European Union lawmakers have asked tech giants to continue reporting on efforts to combat the spread of vaccine disinformation on their platforms for a further six months. “The continuation of the monitoring programme is necessary as the vaccination campaigns throughout the EU is proceeding with a steady and increasing pace, and the upcoming months will be decisive to reach a high level of vaccination in Member States. It is key that in this important period vaccine hesitancy is not fuelled by harmful disinformation,” the Commission writes today.
Despite efforts from social media platforms and top health officials to combat disinformation, conspiracy theories about the coronavirus vaccine continue to spread rapidly across the internet—here’s a look at some of the recurring falsehoods threatening the U.S.’s inoculation drive.
Vaccine Hesitancy
What Drives COVID Vaccine Hesitancy Among Moms? – MedPageToday
Mothers are particularly hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and their children, according to the latest data. For instance, one in three younger mothers say they are “extremely unlikely” to vaccinate their children, according to the COVID States Project, a nationwide survey that also found higher rates of “vaccine resistance” among mothers.
Coping in 2020 (and probably most of 2021)
