Understanding Vaccine Effectiveness
There has been a flurry of press releases on vaccine effectiveness. There is a risk of misunderstanding these numbers by lay people. Multiple factors influence the risk of developing Covid-19 illness. These include innate immunity (first defense response when body is exposed …
New Study Shows Deep Impact Of Climate Change On Human Health
Our visual narratives of climate change have, historically, been replete with spectacular images of fire and flood. But the blood orange skies that loomed over San Francisco in early September—precipitated by a freak lightning storm that set regions surrounding the Bay Area ablaze—were what captured the …
UK Vaccine Approval Sets Worrying Precedent For World Leaders
When the British government authorized Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for mass use on Wednesday, it didn’t take long for backlash to arrive—first and foremost from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the regulatory entity entrusted with vetting vaccines for the European Union (EU). Not …
Modified CDC Guidelines Grant Covid-19 Patients Discretion To Leave Quarantine Early
In recent days, the CDC modified its quarantine guidelines such that infected individuals do not necessarily need to follow them. They still officially recommend fourteen days for Covid-19 isolation before returning to society, but quarantines may be reduced to only seven or ten days …
These Forms Of Covid-19 Transmission May Be Rare, But Can’t Be Ignored
Last month, China was struck with its worst outbreak of Covid-19 in months—183 infections across Xinjiang, a city in the western province of Kashgar. While the majority of cases traced back to a garment factory, we now know the true source: contaminated …
Americans Need to Establish What Went Wrong
The coronavirus pandemic is a far greater economic and societal threat than anything the United States has faced in recent memory. The 9/11 attacks took nearly 3,000 lives. COVID-19 has taken a quarter million. The nation’s responses to these two threats—one a palpable and …
Why Most Countries Won’t Benefit From Moderna And Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccines
That the Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines demonstrated efficacy in more than 90 percent of phase 3 trial participants is cause for celebration. Developed at breakneck speed with heretofore unrealized mRNA technology, they have without a doubt made history, especially now that …
Congress and the states must fix Trump’s COVID-19 mistakes
We face a crossroads today, with the pandemic growing significantly worse but hope for an end to the suffering – through a vaccine or the forceful action of a new president –higher than ever. But the reality is that the President-elect Biden will be …
Put An End To Publication By Proclamation For Covid Vaccines
Covid-19 has dealt a blow to many Americans, physically, mentally, and economically. But even the heaviest of hearts is likely to have been lifted by recent promises from Covid-19 drugmakers about the effectiveness and safety of their vaccines. As hopeful as these …
The Biden Team Must Prioritize Cheap Rapid Test Production And Distribution
All of us hope that a Covid-19 vaccine will bring an end to our current suffering. But even in the best-case scenario, by the time a vaccine is widely available, hundreds of thousands more lives will be lost. We must use the …
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