This winter is brutal. The cold weather has made it hard to socialize outdoors, coronavirus variants are spreading, and the US is about to surpass half a million Covid-19 deaths. Many of us are feeling anxious about how we’re going to make it through the lonely, bleak weeks ahead. I see a lot of people…
Read more“We’ve made it so complicated”: Vaccine campaigns are failing to reach the most vulnerable
The good news is that the rate of Covid-19 vaccinations in the United States is increasing, while the rates of new infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are slowing. As of this week, more than 66 million doses have been administered to at least 42 million Americans, about 13 percent of the population. But the disease is…
Read moreFDA advisers unanimously recommend Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine
A panel of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously on Friday afternoon to recommend the one-dose Covid-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson for an emergency use authorization. The next step is for the FDA to accept the recommendation, which could happen as soon as this weekend, clearing the way…
Read moreYou’re fully vaccinated? The CDC says you can now have friends and family over for dinner.
You’ve been fully vaccinated: two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, plus several weeks for your immune system to fully respond. Now what can you do? Click Here: New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Monday, March 8, offer good news: You can…
Read moreThe Senate just took a step toward actually lowering US greenhouse gas emissions
The Senate on Wednesday took an important step forward on limiting emissions — and meeting its commitments to curb global warming — by voting to limit the unbridled release of methane molecules, often a byproduct of natural gas production, into the atmosphere. The 52-42 vote reinstates the Oil and Natural Gas New Source Performance Standards,…
Read moreWill Covid-19 vaccines protect you against variants? 9 questions about variants, answered.
The Covid-19 pandemic now appears to be the worst it has ever been, with daily new cases worldwide topping 800,000 several times over the past week. More new cases have been reported in the past two weeks than in the first six months of the crisis. More than one in three of these new cases…
Read moreBiden agreed to waive vaccine patents. But will that help get doses out faster?
The Biden administration has announced that it will work with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to negotiate a deal to suspend intellectual property rights associated with the Covid-19 vaccines — a surprise move for the administration, which had initially resisted taking such a step. Click Here: The reversal came as Covid-19 deaths are mounting in…
Read moreHow the world missed more than half of all Covid-19 deaths
The world may have undercounted Covid-19 deaths by a staggering margin, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The actual count may actually be 6.9 million deaths, more than double official tolls. The United States alone is estimated to…
Read moreThe falling Chinese space rocket is a policy failure
There’s a scene in The West Wing’s second season in which one of the protagonists is told a Chinese satellite is falling to Earth, but no one knew exactly when or where. “A satellite is crashing to Earth, and NASA sent us a fax?” Donna Moss says, clearly concerned. But few in the show shared…
Read moreWhy India needs oxygen more urgently than vaccines
While here in the US some are tentatively removing their masks and resuming small outdoor gatherings, others around the world are searching for air. In India, people need oxygen, and they need it now. Last week, Covid-19 became India’s No. 1 killer. One million people in a country with a population of 1.3 billion are…
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