Featured Headlines
U.S. to Open Air Travel to Most Vaccinated Foreigners – Bloomberg
The U.S. will soon allow entry to most foreign air travelers as long as they’re fully vaccinated against Covid-19 — while adding a testing requirement for unvaccinated Americans and barring entry for foreigners who haven’t gotten shots.
Covid-19 Toll in U.S. Surpasses 1918 Pandemic Deaths – Bloomberg
The U.S.’s Covid-19 deaths have surpassed the toll of the 1918 influenza pandemic, a milestone many experts say was avoidable after the arrival of vaccines.
Paramedics on the front lines of the latest covid-19 surge – Washington Post Video
Virginia Beach EMS Captain Randy Rudder has seen the toll the coronavirus response has taken on front-line health workers. But since the delta variant hit, he says everything has been worse.
Covid deaths caused Alabama’s population to shrink for the first time – NBC News
There were more deaths than births in Alabama last year, a first since the state started keeping records and officials said it’s directly tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
One Covid case prompts closures across a Chinese city of 10 million – NYT
Harbin, a city in far northern China, ordered gyms, cinemas, bathhouses, mahjong parlors and other leisure venues to close on Tuesday after a single resident in the city of 10 million was confirmed to have Covid.
Vaccine Headlines
Johnson & Johnson’s Booster Shot Prevents Severe Infection – Bloomberg
A booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine provided 100% protection against severe disease when given two months after the first inoculation, according to widely anticipated data that suggests it increases the potency of the one-time shot.
A lower dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine — one-third the amount given to adults and teens — is safe and triggered a robust immune response in children as young as 5 years old, the drug companies announced in a news release Monday.
One COVID Vaccine Held Up Best Over Time, CDC Study Suggests – MedPageToday
In terms of preventing COVID-related hospitalizations, the two-dose mRNA vaccines from Pfizer (Comirnaty) and Moderna offered the best protection upfront and over time, a case-control analysis involving data from 21 U.S. hospitals showed.
Clinical Considerations
Long COVID in children: How long might it last? – Medical News Today
While the CDC reports that post-COVID symptoms appear to be less common in children and adolescents than in adults, children have reported experiencing long-term health issues following a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Official Reporting for September 21, 2021
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update September 21, 2021 (latest release)
New Cases: 308,107
Confirmed Cases: 228,807,631
Deaths: 4,697,099
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 229,353,671
Deaths: 4,704,928
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 42,031,103 (+28,741 New Cases)
Total deaths: 672,738 (+225 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
Other countries are awash in Covid tests. The U.S. is not. Millions of Americans are grappling with situations like these, and there is a straightforward solution to all of them. But that solution is not widely available in the United States, even though the technology exists and is being used in much of Western Europe.
The Technological Marvel of Combination Vaccines – MedPageToday
In recent days, Novavax and Moderna have announced the development of combination vaccines that would protect not only against COVID-19, but also against influenza. In the case of Moderna, they are testing a combination vaccine that also includes protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — a viral illness for which no vaccine is currently available. Such combination vaccines would be a major advancement. Because COVID-19 vaccines can be administered simultaneously with other vaccines, albeit in separate injections, it is no surprise that the next step is to co-formulate them in the same injection with other vaccinations.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
Why this stage of the pandemic makes us so anxious – Washington Post
With the threat from the delta variant bearing down across the United States, it’s almost hard to remember the heady days earlier this summer when many of us were experiencing relief, joy, even euphoria as we began to resurface from the pandemic. Barbecues with friends, dinners out, live music, connecting with people face-to-face — all of the antidotes to isolation we’d been craving became tangible realities.
A Caribbean Island’s Audacious Tourism Experiment – NYT
To step onto Montserrat’s volcanic beaches, 21 travelers (so far) with an income of at least $70,000 have agreed to stay two months. The goal: to keep cash coming in, while keeping Covid away.
A gas station attendant is killed in Germany after telling a customer to mask up. – NYT
A 20-year-old student working at a gas station in southwestern Germany was shot and killed after refusing to sell beer to an unmasked customer, the local prosecutor said.
Published Research
How Common Is Long COVID in Children and Adolescents? – Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
High Earners Among Most Susceptible to Vaccine Myths, Survey Finds – Bloomberg
The survey of more than 20,000 people also found Republicans are more prone to misinformation.
Oregon Doc Loses License for Not Wearing a Mask, Spreading Misinformation – PedPageToday
An Oregon physician has lost his license because he refused to wear a mask while treating patients and because he spread misinformation about masking, according to an Oregon Medical Board order.
Coping with COVID
The Song That Never Ends: Why Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘September’ Sustains – NPR
If you’ve ever been to a wedding reception in the U.S., you know there’s one question that can get a whole family on the dance floor: “Do you remember the 21st night of September?”