CRS Insight – Operation Warp Speed Contracts for COVID-19 Vaccines and Ancillary Vaccination Materials, December 22, 2020: “Operation Warp Speed (OWS) is an interagency partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) that coordinates federal efforts to accelerate the development, acquisition, and distribution of COVID-19 medical countermeasures.… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: December 2020
Tracking the coronavirus vaccine, state by state
“…The charts below reflect each state’s priority groups as described so far by the states. Some have specified only the very first recipients while others have given longer priority lists. The estimated population in each group removes overlap, such as medical workers with pre-existing conditions, as estimated by Ariadne Labs and Surgo Ventures based on… Continue Reading
Our favorite cookbooks of 2020
Washington Post: “Like all of you, we’ve been at home for most of 2020, cooking more meals in our own kitchens than we ever expected to. Many of us have turned to familiar ingredients and recipes time and time again, when we just needed to get dinner on the table or couldn’t run out to… Continue Reading
The Plague Year – The mistakes and the struggles behind America’s coronavirus tragedy
The New Yorker published a 40-page account by Lawrence Wright about how American botched its virus response, December 28, 2020: “There are three moments in the yearlong catastrophe of the COVID-19 pandemic when events might have turned out differently. The first occurred on January 3, 2020, when Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for… Continue Reading
The CDC’s failed race against covid-19: A threat underestimated and a test overcomplicated
Washington Post: “A new virus was exploding in Wuhan, a Chinese city with 11 million people connected by its airport to destinations around the world. In the United States, doctors and hospitals were waiting for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a test to detect the threat. On Jan. 13, the World Health… Continue Reading
3 lessons from Stanford’s Covid-19 vaccine algorithm debacle
STAT: “Stanford found itself in hot water last week after deploying a faulty Covid-19 vaccine distribution algorithm. But the fiasco offers a cautionary tale that extends far beyond Stanford’s own doors — and holds crucial lessons as the country prepares to confront complex decisions about who gets the vaccine, when, and why. At the center… Continue Reading
More Than 2.7 Million People Have Gotten Vaccines: Covid-19 Tracker
“The first Covid-19 shots have been given to more than 2.7 million people in six< countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. It’s the start of the biggest vaccination campaign in history and one of the largest logistical challenges ever undertaken. Vaccinations in the U.S. began Dec. 14 with health-care workers, and so far 1.12 million… Continue Reading
Can employers require workers to take the Covid-19 vaccine?
Quartz – 5 questions answered: “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency in charge of enforcing laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, on Dec. 16 said that employers can require employees to get vaccinated before entering the workplace. Now that two Covid-19 vaccines have received emergency use authorization in the US, some people are… Continue Reading
20 striking findings from 2020
“The global coronavirus pandemic upended life in the United States and around the world in 2020, disrupting how people work, go to school, attend religious services, socialize with friends and family, and much more. But the pandemic wasn’t the only event that shaped the year. The videotaped killing of George Floyd by police officers in… Continue Reading
Why Pfizer and Moderna can’t be sued for Covid vaccine side effects
CNBC report on YouTube: “The U.S. began vaccinating the population against the coronavirus earlier this month, but mass adoption is not a guarantee. Roughly four in ten Americans say they would “definitely” or “probably” not get a vaccine, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. Watch this video to find out how… Continue Reading
New Google mapping tool shows cities where they need to plant more trees
FastCompany: “A new map of Los Angeles highlights one form of inequality: which of the city’s streets and homes get the benefit of shade from the the city’s 10-million-plus trees. The city is the first to pilot a new tool from Google, called Tree Canopy Lab, that was used to create the map. L.A. plans… Continue Reading
Try This 60-Second Hack to Make Your Face Mask Fit Better
Self – Folks with small faces, this tip is for you. By Sarah Madaus: “…Face masks are one of the few saving graces as we try to get control of this virus. As a refresher, the coronavirus mostly spreads through respiratory droplets that come out when we talk, sneeze, sing, and do pretty much anything… Continue Reading
