This newsletter is tapering down. For 25 months I have been documenting the medical and scientific history of this extraordinary time. The country now acts as if it is over; what urgency the pandemic still commanded is leaching out. Herewith … Continue reading →
Items of recent pandemic news: The criticality of public trust to public health; how history says the pandemic will end; two promising, broad-spectrum inhalable vaccines in development; and the state of the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant. Plus a frippery. Quote of … Continue reading →
Items of recent pandemic news: A new “vaccine for the world,” developed in Texas, is authorized in India; more evidence that Omicron is less severe; towards a broad-spectrum vaccine; the CDC’s controversial new guidelines; and more. Plus a frippery. Quote … Continue reading →
Items of recent pandemic news: Visualizing the pandemic’s acceleration; the first DNA vaccine is authorized in India; the WHO extends its (mostly ignored) call for a moratorium on boosters; President Biden mandates vaccinations; and more. Plus a frippery. Biden’s vaccination … Continue reading →
Two senior FDA officials have resigned — “giants who helped bring us many safe and effective vaccines over decades of public service,” according to a former FDA scientist — reportedly in protest of political meddling in the work of the … Continue reading →
Items of recent pandemic news you may have missed: What the delta variant actually does (hint: it doesn’t “transmit” better); about correlates of protection; and the unresolved question of how the J&J vaccine works against delta. Plus a frippery. J&J … Continue reading →
Items of recent pandemic news you may have missed: The animals sold in Wuhan’s wet markets; animal reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2; and animal vaccinations. Plus the usual frippery, this one animal-themed as well. A vaccine for zoo animals We have discussed … Continue reading →
Two items of recent pandemic news: The FDA says myocarditis is a rare side effect of mRNA vaccines; and a scientist recovers early Wuhan genetic sequences that went missing last year for unknown reasons. Plus news briefs and a frippery. … Continue reading →
Two items of recent pandemic news: Billions to develop antivirals that can be taken by mouth; and a hard fail in a vaccine Phase III trial. Plus news briefs and a frippery. CureVac falls flat You may have heard by … Continue reading →
Three items of recent pandemic news: the seriousness of the Delta variant; how a bitter taste might predict the severity of a Covid-19 outcome; and results from the Novavax Phase III trial. Plus news briefs and a frippery. Novavax results … Continue reading →
Items of recent pandemic news: Moderna applies to the FDA for full licensure; Minnesota and the Twin Cities end mask mandates; and cautious optimism that the pandemic is ending in the US. Plus news briefs and a brace of fripperies. … Continue reading →
Two items of recent pandemic news: Studies point to long-lasting, possibly lifelong immunity from natural infection; and rapid developments in the highly political question of where SARS-CoV-2 came from. Plus news briefs and a pair of fripperies. Origin, again It … Continue reading →
Three items of recent pandemic news: Pfizer’s vaccine can keep for 30 days at refrigerator temperatures; neutralizing antibody levels emerge as a correlate of protection; and the long stretch of post-trauma grief that awaits us. Plus news briefs and a … Continue reading →
Two items of recent pandemic news: Sanofi & GSK get some good news from a Phase II study of their reformulated vaccine candidate; and questions swirl anew around the origins of the pandemic virus. Plus news briefs and a frippery. … Continue reading →
Herewith three items of recent pandemic news: The toll of long Covid; Johnson & Johnson has no vaccine to ship; and the CDC’s unexpected new guidance on mask use in the vaccinated. Plus news briefs and a frippery. The CDC … Continue reading →
