Israel, Once the Model for Beating Covid, Faces New Surge of Infections – NYT

One of the most vaccinated societies, Israel now has one of the highest infection rates in the world, raising questions about the vaccine’s efficacy.

Israeli doctors find severe COVID-19 breakthrough cases mostly in older, sicker patients – Reuters

In Israel’s COVID-19 wards, doctors are learning which vaccinated patients are most vulnerable to severe illness, amid growing concerns about instances in which the shots provide less protection against the worst forms of the disease.

Australia records new COVID-19 highs – AP

Australia’s two most populous states on Thursday recorded new benchmark highs in COVID-19 infections. New South Wales reported a record 681 cases in the latest 24-hour period, mostly in Sydney. The previous record for the most populous state was 633 cases set on Wednesday.

Covid Isn’t Going Away. So What Now? – NYT

OPINION The 1918 influenza pandemic, the deadliest pandemic in modern history, is typically associated with a single year, but it actually lasted for more than two. The virus that caused it is thought to have emerged in the United States in January of that year, and it claimed its tens of millions of victims quickly. By the summer of 1919, the worst was over. But in some parts of the world, the pandemic dragged on into the spring of 1920, cresting in a fourth wave that killed more people in New York City than the first did.

‘Bracing for the worst’ in Florida’s COVID-19 hot zone – AP

As quickly as one COVID patient is discharged, another waits for a bed in northeast Florida, the hot zone of the state’s latest surge. But the patients at Baptist Health’s five hospitals across Jacksonville are younger and getting sick from the virus faster than people did last summer.

New SARS-CoV-2 variants have changed the pandemic. What will the virus do next? – Science

Edward Holmes does not like making predictions, but last year he hazarded a few. Again and again, people had asked Holmes, an expert on viral evolution at the University of Sydney, how he expected SARS-CoV-2 to change. In May 2020, 5 months into the pandemic, he started to include a slide with his best guesses in his talks. The virus would probably evolve to avoid at least some human immunity, he suggested. But it would likely make people less sick over time, he said, and there would be little change in its infectivity. In short, it sounded like evolution would not play a major role in the pandemic’s near future.

Those Anti-Covid Plastic Barriers Probably Don’t Help and May Make Things Worse – NYT

Clear barriers have sprung up at restaurants, nail salons and school classrooms, but most of the time, they do little to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

COVID-19 vaccines may trigger superimmunity in people who had SARS long ago – Science
Former SARS patients who have been vaccinated against #COVID19 appear able to fend off all variants of #SARSCoV2 in circulation, as well as ones that may soon emerge, a new study suggests.

New Zealand Lockdown Extended – Bloomberg

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended a nationwide lockdown by four days after an outbreak of the delta strain of coronavirus spread outside largest city Auckland.

Japan’s Virus Cases Hit a Record as Hospitals Are Overwhelmed – Bloomberg

Japan is facing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic, as cases spiral out of control and strain the limits of the nation’s health care system.

Alabama Hospitals Have Run Out Of ICU Beds As COVID-19 Cases Surge

Alabama hospitals have run out of ICU beds as COVID-19 cases spike there, putting a renewed strain on the state’s health care system. There were negative 29 intensive care unit beds available on Wednesday night, according to the Alabama Hospital Association and the Alabama Department of Public Health. That means there were 29 more patients in need of ICU care than there were beds available.

Hong Kong Recovery Imperiled by Elderly Saying No to Vaccine – Bloomberg

Unlike the U.S. where anti-vaccine fringe groups have fueled resistance to Covid shots, Hong Kong is facing a different challenge. Most of the city’s elderly are reluctant to get inoculated, and some point to an unlikely source for the hesitancy: their doctors.

Surging Delta Cases Reverse the World’s March Back to the Office – Bloomberg

The spread of the delta variant has forced many U.S. employers that had been hoping to get staff back to their desks after Labor Day to delay those plans until at least October—or even next year.