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COVID-19 WATCH
The Latest
Global Numbers
- 366,726,890 cases
- 5,639,313 deaths
- 9,908,774,787 vaccine doses administered
—Source: Johns Hopkins University
Key Developments
More Nigerians have sought vaccination after health authorities destroyed a stockpile of expiring COVID-19 shots—long a source of public distrust. Reuters
Denmark is the first EU country to lift all COVID-19 restrictions, with leaders citing high rates of vaccination and stabilized hospital admissions and deaths. Politico Europe
COVID-19 has finally hit one of the last uninfected places—the remote Pacific archipelago of Kiribati—after missionaries who had left the island were allowed to come home this month. AP
The chief of Paris hospitals has triggered a firestorm of debate after suggesting that unvaccinated patients should be responsible for the cost of their care—which is currently covered by the state. France24
Related
Lifting England Covid rules while 3bn people unvaccinated reckless – experts – The Guardian
Scientists warn over 'reckless' lack of vaccines for poorer countries – BBC
Studies highlight benefits of COVID vaccine booster, longer dose spacing – CIDRAP
Boosters increase protection against death from Omicron in over-50s to 95% - UKHSA – Reuters
In ‘chemo brain,’ researchers see clues to unravel long Covid’s brain fog – STAT
A second version of omicron is spreading. Here's why scientists are on alert – NPR Goats and Soda
Delta’s Not Dead Yet – The Atlantic
Contact tracing fizzles across America – Axios
EU drug watchdog approves Pfizer's antiviral Covid-19 pill for adults at risk of severe illness – France24
‘There’s no free lunch with drugs’: Janet Woodcock talks Covid monoclonal antibodies and pediatric vaccines – STAT
How many times can I reuse my N95 mask? – AP
Projecting Quarantine Utilization During a Pandemic – AJPH
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COVID-19: TREATMENTS
The Labyrinth Between the Immunocompromised and a Critical Drug
For many immunocompromised people, the prophylactic drug Evusheld offers the best hope at protection against COVID-19.
But the drug’s short supply and haphazard federal distribution mean eligible patients have been left scrambling to obtain it themselves—driving or flying across states to clinics, scrolling Facebook groups for leads on doses, or enduring maddening waits to see if their names come up in hospital lotteries.
The Quote: “Having a medicine that might be able to help fills us with hope, but having to hunt it down in a Hunger Games hunt is extremely distressing,” said Rob Relyea, an engineer whose wife has lymphoma; he wrote software to make a confusing federal database more readable.
STAT News
Related:
Third shots reduce the risk of hospitalization in people with weak immune systems, a C.D.C. report says. – The New York Times
Despite CDC directive, many pharmacies refusing to give fourth shots to immune-compromised patients – CNN
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NEGLECTED DISEASES
In India, a Lifegiving Leprosy Hospital
In India, where half of the world’s leprosy cases are recorded, a hospital in Hyderabad offers a glimpse of restorative care for body and spirit.
Sivananda Rehabilitation Home has offered care—and a home—to those with leprosy for 60 years. There, about 250 patients and their families receive treatments and live in community, sequestered from the social stigma that is still pervasive in the country.
Reporter Jeffrey Gettleman describes a “self-contained world” where hands and feet are delicately reconstructed, bandages are handspun by relatives, papayas are grown for in-house treatments, and patients find a quiet respite where their dignity is restored. Many say they don’t want to leave.
The New York Times
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Big Mac Preserved in Ice ... Land
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Cleaning out his garage back in 2012, Icelander Hjörtur Smárason found an array of junk … old, mice-chewed roller blades, tools, boxes—and a bag of junk food, untouched.
Disturbingly, even the mice had turned up their noses.
The Big Mac and fries had been sitting there for 3 years, ever since Smárason purchased one last meal just before McDonald’s packed up and left Iceland in 2009.
Smárason smelled a whiff of promise along with the oddly not-decomposed hamburger, and sent the meal off for a second life as a historical artifact on Iceland’s museum circuit. (Note: McDonald’s put out a statement in 2020 claiming their burgers don’t decompose due to a lack of moisture. Umm, ok.)
The downside: Smárason never imagined this would be his claim to fame, but now, that’s where Googling him takes you. “I don’t think not eating a hamburger is the most remarkable thing I have done, but if you do an image search for my name, you will mostly see pictures of an old hamburger,” says Smárason.
Atlas Obscura
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Watchdog says key federal health agency is failing on crises – AP
World NTD Day 2022 and a new Kigali Declaration to galvanise commitment to end neglected tropical diseases – BMC Infectious Diseases of Poverty (commentary)
This Nigerian doctor has a tough new job: Stopping the next pandemic before it strikes – NPR Goats and Soda
WHO examining allegations official abused staff, leaked vaccine data to Japan – Reuters
Protests flare across Poland after death of young mother denied an abortion – The Guardian
After Miscarriages, Workers Have Few Guarantees for Time Off or Job-Based Help – KHN
New guidelines could change the way OB/GYNs talk to patients about birth control – The Washington Post
Peter Hotez: Who will defend embattled scientists? – Boston Globe (commentary)
Living near fracking wells linked to early death – Environmental Health News
Can Medieval Sleeping Habits Fix America’s Insomnia? – The Atlantic
What wintering squirrels can teach astronauts – EurekAlert! (news release)
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