Vaccines
This study (in the US) found that for counties with vaccination rates above 40%, for each percentage increase in vaccination rate, the COVID-19 case incidence dropped by 1.5% and the death incidence dropped by 2.7%. Go vaccines!
I prefer to wait until things are done-done before publishing about them, but this is important: anonymous sources say that Health Canada is going to approve Pfizer for kidlets on Friday!
This preprint reports on a randomized controlled study with four arms: placebo, Novavax’ COVID-19 shot, Novavax’ COVID-19 shot plus an influenza shot at the same time, and influenza vax plus placebo at the same time. The COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness dropped only slightly (from 89·8% to 87·5%). There were slightly more side effects with two shots than with just one; there was no difference in influenza effectiveness between with and without a COVID-19 shot.
Mitigation Measures
I prefer to wait until things are done-done before publishing about them, but this is important: anonymous sources say that the Government of Canada is going to drop the requirement to get a PCR test to re-enter Canada if you have been out of the country for under 72 hours!
This meta-analysis preprint found that that mask-wearing and hand-washing each reduced COVID-19 risk by 53%, and physical distancing dropped risk by 25%. I was quite surprised that handwashing and mask-wearing had the same benefit.
Recommended Reading
This article reports on a study of helplines in 19 countries which found a big jump during the first wave, but for milder things than suicide or domestic violence, and the call volumes dropped after governmental supports kicked in.
This article looks at luxury in the pandemic, with fewer options for flaunting your wealth.
This article talks about “when will this be over?” in a more intelligent way than most of the “when will this be over?” articles.
This article talks about co-infections, e.g. COVID-19 plus influenza, RSV plus rhinovirus, etc.