The COVID-19 History Project

This really happened.

This Day in COVID: September 15, 2020

Women turn to porn, men turn to chocolate due to coronavirus stress

The researchers surveyed 115 British participants on their post-pandemic habits including 46 men and 69 women.

Yahoo

Anthony Fauci Receives Lienhard Award From National Academy of Medicine for Decades of Work Improving Public Health and Leadership in Shaping COVID-19 Pandemic Response

National Academies

Trump says coronavirus vaccine could be weeks away: ABC News town hall

Reuters

Stop Expecting Life to Go Back to Normal Next Year

New York Times

Democrats say they need to hear from scientists, not Trump, that vaccine is safe

CNN

Australia's COVID-19 hotspot on track for easing curbs, faces three lawsuits

Reuters

Bill Gates doesn’t expect a virus vaccine before year-end — but he says one drugmaker has the best chance

'We do see good antibody levels both in the phase one and the phase two (trials), so we're pretty hopeful,' Gates told CNBC.

CNBC

I Got a Trial Covid-19 Vaccine. Do I Still Have to Wear a Mask?

New York Times

World Health Organization announces distribution plan for COVID-19 vaccine

The World Health Organization has provided details on a potential rollout for a COVID-19 vaccine.

ABC

You Can Get the Flu and COVID-19 at the Same Time: What You Should Know

Experts say the flu and COVID-19 are caused by different viruses, but both are respiratory diseases that together could produce serious health issues.

Healthline

UK faces biggest wave of redundancies in a generation, think-tank says

Reuters

COVID-19, risk and rights: the ‘wicked’ balancing act for governments

The Conversation

Study the role of hubris in nations’ COVID-19 response

Many countries that see themselves as distinctive have handled the pandemic badly.

Nature

Coronavirus and conspiracies: how the far right is exploiting the pandemic

The Conversation

Noel Gallagher refuses to wear face masks: “There’s too many fucking liberties being taken away”

Noel Gallagher has said he refuses to wear a face mask while shopping, in defiance of laws which were introduced earlier this year.

NME

Paul Rudd, ‘certified young person,’ wants you to wear a mask

CNN

Connecticut puts some teeth in mask mandate, will start issuing $100 fines

In other coronavirus news: Americans don't trust Trump on vaccines, New York City's lockdown saved many lives.

NBC

Man pictured wearing a snake as a ‘face mask’ on a bus

Fellow passenger says she first thought reptile was ‘funky mask’

Independent

Parsing Trump’s baffling, head-slapping comments on mask-wearing

Washington Post

How wearing a mask at school can impact a child's development

The mandating of face mask use in schools is raising concerns that the coverings may interfere with children's development, including speech, language and social interactions. However, experts say children have unique learning capabilities and will find different ways to communicate.

CTV News

Are Masks Required at the Liberty Bell? 'It's a Gray Area.'

Signs note “face coverings are required per city/state [orders].” They make no mention of the official policy of the Department of Interior, masks are not required, and no enforcement is allowed.

Inquirer

Mom & 2-Year-Old Kicked Off Plane for Not Wearing Mask While Snacking

Airlines are strict about their mask policies, even for 2-year-olds.

SheKnows

What it's like wearing a mask at school, from the perspective of a fifth grader

'What's it like wearing a mask all day long at school? ' was the first question I asked 10-year-old Isabella Hart. “It’s been really weird wearing a mask, like when you stand up you have to wear a mask to go ask the teacher for something, if you need to use the restroom you have to wear a mask in the hallway,' said Isabella. 'My friends, they don’t like it, but they understand you have to wear a mask for everybody else and your health. ” Isabella is a fifth-grader at Blai...

KRCGTV

Theme parks could go mask-free next year if rapid COVID-19 testing is in place, ex-Disney staffer says

USA Today

FDA weighs whether to resume AstraZeneca vaccine trials after patient’s serious side effect

The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to follow British regulators in resuming a coronavirus vaccine trial that was halted when a participant suffered spinal cord damage, even as the National Institutes of Health has launched an investigation of the case.

PBS

The Economic Case for a People’s Vaccine

Boston Review

What If They Make a Vaccine and Nobody Takes It?

There are already clear signs that the public is suspicious about corners being cut.

New York Magazine

Why vaccines can work better than medicines in coronavirus treatment

As fears over safety and efficacy loom wide, a COVID-19 vaccine still might be a safer and a more workable bet in fighting the pandemic than medicines, feel experts.

Times of India

Our Mission

The COVID-19 History Project is a curated archive of the events and policy decisions surrounding the emergence of COVID-19.

The pandemic era of 2020-2022 saw massive increases in restrictions on daily life—enforced by the government and by social stigma—accompanied social protests that roiled cities worldwide

In the United States alone, trillions of dollars were spent by the federal government to offset the forced closure of businesses and the devastation of normal life.

The impacts of these policy decisions are still being felt today.

Some would like us to forget the actions and people that played a significant role during the pandemic.

But we of the COVID-19 History Project don't want to forget. Through our work, we hope there will always be an archive to learn from and interpret this fascinating, disturbing, time in world history.

The Timeline

In order to learn from the mistakes of the past, and give COVID-19 decision makers the credit—both good and bad—they deserve, we have compiled a media timeline from every day of the pandemic.

We have endeavored to make the timeline comprehensive without being duplicative, following the major trends as they unfolded.

We provided analyses for each month highlighting major events, but encourage readers to make their own conclusions about these events as well.

This Day in COVID: September 15, 2021

Details

Most states have cut back public health powers amid pandemic

AP News

NIH builds large nationwide study population of tens of thousands to support research on long-term effects of COVID-19

NIH launched the RECOVER Initiative to learn why some people have prolonged symptoms or develop new or returning symptoms after the acute phase of infection from SARS-CoV-2.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

Vaccine Resisters Seek Religious Exemptions. But What Counts as Religious? (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 variant mRNA vaccine boosters in healthy adults: an interim analysis - Nature Medicine

Preliminary and exploratory analyses show that a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 or variant-modified boosters can boost levels of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Nature

Differences and similarities in the conceptualization of COVID-19 and other diseases in the first Italian lockdown - Scientific Reports

Nature

Measurement of respiratory rate using wearable devices and applications to COVID-19 detection - npj Digital Medicine

Nature

Since the Pandemic Began, 1 in 500 Americans Have Died of COVID-19

U.S. News & World Report

Majority in U.S. Says Public Health Benefits of COVID-19 Restrictions Worth the Costs, Even as Large Shares Also See Downsides

73% say they are vaccinated, but at least half express confusion, concern over vaccine information and health impacts.

Pew Research Center

U.S. vaccine mandates in schools, state by state

Every U.S. state requires vaccines for public school students. See which vaccines are mandated and which exemptions are allowed by your state.

Reuters

SARS-like viruses may jump from animals to people hundreds of thousands of times a year

Science | AAAS

Ultrafast, sensitive, and portable detection of COVID-19 IgG using flexible organic electrochemical transistors

Science | AAAS

Monitoring waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: Inferences from WWTPs of different sizes

ScienceDirect.com

Size and duration of COVID-19 clusters go along with a high SARS-CoV-2 viral load: A spatio-temporal investigation in Vaud state, Switzerland

ScienceDirect.com

On the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air quality in Florida

ScienceDirect.com

Used disposable face masks are significant sources of microplastics to environment

ScienceDirect.com

The pandemic marks another grim milestone: 1 in 500 Americans have died of covid-19

The Washington Post

Perspective | Carolyn Hax: She refuses to mask or get vaccinated. Can their friendship survive?

The Washington Post

Perspective | Natural immunity to covid is powerful. Policymakers seem afraid to say so.

The Washington Post

The Guardian proclaims Anthony Fauci as ‘sexiest man alive’

Dr. Anthony Fauci was dubbed the “sexiest man alive” by The Guardian newspaper, prompting some on social media to question whether the British daily had shifted to satire.

New York Post

Gender differences in Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy | The Clayman Institute for Gender Research

As part of the Clayman Institute’s focus on gender and the pandemic, Margot Bellon joined the Institute as a researcher this summer.

The Clayman Institute for Gender Research

Can employers mandate the COVID-19 vaccine? | Legal Blog

Employers have many questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and the workplace, and they are looking to their attorney for guidance. This Q&A will help.

Thomson Reuters Legal Solutions

COVID-19: 'Significant increase' in opioid use for pain relief during coronavirus pandemic, study shows

Researchers have warned of the potential for an 'opioid problem' after finding that patients waiting for hip and knee replacements were increasingly prescribed the drugs to manage pain.

Sky News

Many Mothers May Have Delayed or Abandoned Plans for Additional Children Because of COVID-19 Pandemic

NYU Langone researchers find that the first wave of COVID-19 in New York City impacted women’s pregnancy intentions. Learn more.

NYU Langone Health

Here’s how we end the pandemic

AAMC

Judge denies request for restraining order against N.J. school mask mandate

A federal judge is not going to stop the Garden State’s mask mandate for schools, at least for now. But the lawsuit against Gov. Phil Murphy’s order will move forward.

WHYY

Federated learning for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 - Nature Medicine

Federated learning, a method for training artificial intelligence algorithms that protects data privacy, was used to predict future oxygen requirements of symptomatic patients with COVID-19 using data from 20 different institutes across the globe.

Nature

Here's How Well COVID-19 Vaccines Work Against the Delta Variant

In the fight against the Delta variant, here's how the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines measure up when it comes to protection. A new study found the Moderna vaccine was 76% effective against the Delta variant, while the Pfizer vaccine was only 42% effective against the variant in July.

Healthline

Covid-19: Pope puzzled about vaccine hesitancy in the Church

Pope Francis says most people at the Vatican are vaccinated except for a "small group".

BBC

Pittsburgh CBP Officers Seize Counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccination Cards from China

Securing America's Borders

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (.gov)

COVID-19: What is the Mu (B.1.621) variant?

Medical News Today rounds up the available evidence and expert insights on Mu, the new SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest.

Medical News Today

The fight to manufacture COVID vaccines in lower-income countries

Drug companies and wealthy countries are facing increased pressure to partner with firms in the global south but are reluctant to relinquish control.

Nature

Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine through 6 Months

The New England Journal of Medicine

The U.S. Will Require Would-Be Immigrants To Prove They've Been Vaccinated For COVID

The COVID-19 shot joins a list of well-established vaccines required by the U.S., aimed at preventing dangerous diseases such as polio and varicella (chickenpox).

NPR

This Was Supposed to Be the Year Driverless Cars Went Mainstream (Published 2020)

The New York Times

Has the Pandemic Changed Dating Forever? (Published 2021)

The New York Times

When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Experts explain

The World Economic Forum

Mystics’ Mike Thibault tests positive for coronavirus, to miss final two regular season games

The Washington Post

What are the issues worrying people around the globe?

The World Economic Forum

How did COVID-19 spike U.S. food insecurity levels?

The World Economic Forum

Cybercriminals use pandemic to attack schools and colleges

As schools and colleges confront the challenges of COVID-19, cybercriminals exploit weaknesses in the computer networks and online systems.

The Conversation

Nicki Minaj said Covid vaccine could make you impotent. Fauci shut her down.

"There’s no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen," Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

NBC News

Maryland Zoo is one of 70 U.S. facilities vaccinating wild animals against the coronavirus

The Washington Post

The lead proponent of Newsom’s recall has been sidelined with the coronavirus. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

The U.S. makes coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for new immigrants. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

More than 4m stopped wearing masks this summer in Britain, ONS data shows

Report comes as government scientific adviser describes Tuesday’s maskless cabinet meeting as ‘toxic’ for public adherence

The Guardian