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Health |
| Coronavirus Briefing: As Vaccines Raise Hope, Reality Dawns That Covid Is Likely Here to Stay |
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Good afternoon. The ease with which the coronavirus spreads, the emergence of new strains and poor access to vaccines in large parts of the world mean Covid-19 could shift from a pandemic disease to an endemic one, implying lasting modifications to personal and societal behavior, epidemiologists say. Also in today's edition: Optimists see the glass half full, even in a pandemic. If someone forwarded today's briefing, we invite you to sign up here. |
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| ✔️ Today's Main Takeaways |
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Covid-19 vaccines raise hope, but the virus is likely here to stay AstraZeneca's vaccine is weaker against the South Africa strain China approves Sinovac vaccine for broad use against Covid-19 |
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Governments and businesses are starting to accept that the coronavirus isn’t a temporary problem and instead will lead to long-term changes enabling society to co-exist with Covid-19. (full story) A small clinical trial in South Africa found that AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine doesn’t appear to protect recipients against mild and moderate illness from the new strain of the virus first detected in the country. (full story) China's drug regulator gave provisional approval to Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine, the second shot to receive approval for mass inoculation there. (full story) |
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Slow Vaccine Rollout Shifts Some Business Plans: The rollout and new variants are pushing back CEO expectations for when consumers will return en masse to traveling, eating out and shopping in stores. |
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In Covid-Era Travel Scam, Fraudsters Offer Fake Test Results: In many parts of the world, travelers must show a negative test before catching a flight, but a number of recent arrests suggest the results won’t all be authentic. |
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39,037,964 | vaccine doses given so far in the U.S. |
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104,015 | new U.S. cases recorded yesterday |
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2,614 | deaths in the U.S. recorded yesterday |
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84,233 | people currently hospitalized in the U.S. |
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462,466 | total U.S. deaths |
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26,934,367 | total confirmed cases in the U.S. |
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105,879,539 | confirmed cases world-wide, and 2,311,523 deaths |
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Sources: Johns Hopkins University as of 11:30 a.m. ET; Hospitalization figures from the Covid Tracking Project as of yesterday; Vaccination figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of yesterday. |
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| ⚕️ Health and Health Care |
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Enthusiasm Fades for Covid-19 Antibody Treatments in South Korea: The introduction of a new treatment in South Korea was met with skepticism as previously approved antibody drugs have had limited impacts on aiding recoveries from Covid-19. |
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Why the Covid-19 Vaccine Is More Scarce Than the Flu Shot: The shot requires health-care providers to contend with more shipping and storage hurdles, as well as rigorous monitoring related to second doses and potential adverse reactions. |
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Optimist Clubs See Glass Half Full—Even in a Pandemic: Club leaders are working to stay upbeat in the face of declining membership and a litany of dreadful news. |
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Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Todd Olmstead in London. Let us know what you think by replying to this email. |
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