North Korea not too long ago said it had conquered the "fever" thought to be covid. If anyone can explain why China exported 1.23 million face masks and 15,000 pairs of rubber gloves to North Korea in July, I'd love to hear that explanation.
The FDA has authorized Novavax's vaccine for emergency use in adolescents ages 12 through 17. The vaccine has 80 percent efficacy for that age group, and 90 percent efficacy for adults 18 and older. This is the first vaccine to use protein-based technology. Novavax has already started trials on children between the ages of 6 and 11 and is expected to start trials soon on ages six through 23 months and two through five years.
A University of California at Irvine study on the perception of time during the pandemic had some results I do not find surprising. The study has been published in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. The formal term for what the researchers saw happening is "temporal disintegration." Predictors of that disintegration include media exposure, school closures, lockdowns, and financial difficulties. I read that with a big "duh!"
Finally, a research letter in Lancet Infectious Diseases reports that excess deaths in Massachusetts have been lower than expected in a population in which 80 percent of people are fully vaccinated. Said one of the researchers, "We are finally in a phase now where highly immune populations can start to shoulder COVID-19 waves without the guarantee of excess mortality. Before, a COVID wave meant we knew we would have excess mortality." Hospitalization numbers have not really changed, the only notable change is in deaths. This effect has been dubbed "herd safety" rather than the "herd immunity" touted earlier in the pandemic.
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