The COVID-19 History Project

This really happened.

This Day in COVID: July 20, 2020

Americans Are Paying Twice for Remdesivir

If we are to pay private entities public money to develop drugs, we must hold them to their obligations under existing U.S. law.

Slate

As mandates grow, Trump tweets photo of himself in mask, now calling it 'patriotic'

President Trump is in open conflict with his health experts on the effectiveness of masks in controlling the virus as more states and businesses make their own mandates.

ABC

Trump Faces Divisions with Senate Republicans on COVID-19 Aid

COVID-19 cases surge has Congress considering its next move.

NY1

Facebook suspends anti-mask group for spreading COVID-19 misinformation

The CDC says face masks are the best way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus

The Verge

Essential Workers Hold Walkouts And Protests In National 'Strike For Black Lives'

Front-line workers in several U.S. cities walked off their jobs and took to the streets to demand racial and economic justice.

NPR

As COVID-19 cases increase, most Americans support ‘no excuse’ absentee voting

65% of Americans say the option to vote early or absentee should be available to any voter without requiring a documented reason.

Pew Research

Coronavirus home schooling highlights the religious right's education system influence

Parents have rights, but I believe children have rights, too — to an environment free from exploitation and to a meaningful education.

NBC

Trump Has Destroyed the Fauci Protocol

For decades, the venerated physician had a successful formula for balancing politics with science. Then he met Donald Trump.

The Nation

Top health officials have changed their minds about face mask guidance – but for good reason

CNN

US scientists rebuke Trump over coronavirus response and other affronts

Members of National Academy of Sciences sign open letter as White House seeks to block funding for testing and tracing

The Guardian

Wearing a face mask won't make you a sheep. I promise.

Freep

Gov. Cuomo’s visit to Georgia blasted as ‘absurd’ amid NY’s coronavirus death total

Gov. Andrew Cuomo went down to Georgia Monday to advise local officials there on how to curb the coronavirus pandemic — but critics said the trip was nothing more than an ill-conceived public…

New York Post

Can essential child care during Covid-19 offer a model to schools this fall?

CNN

Why are Americans so angry about masks?

How face coverings meant to curb virus spread became grounds for political battle.

BBC

Woman pees on floor of Verizon store after refusing to wear mask

A California Verizon store’s mask-wearing rule really pissed one customer off – so she dropped her pants and urinated on the floor, according to a report.

New York Post

How to center disability in the tech response to COVID-19

Disabled communities must be consulted, and their needs addressed, to create thoughtful policy and accessible, secure technology that works for all.

Brookings

U.S. bank deposits not worth what they were before COVID-19

Reuters

Why are doctors not listening to Covid-19 patients like me?

The narrative is that Covid-19 patients are either hospitalized near death, or ride out a ‘mild’ Covid flu at home. The reality is more complex

The Guardians

Older children may transmit COVID-19 as much as adults

Children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 19 can transmit the coronavirus in a household just as much as older people, according to new research in South Korea. Researchers from the Sout…

New York Post

COVID-19 as a global challenge: towards an inclusive and sustainable future

The Lancet

Families step in at coronavirus ward in Afghanistan to help care for patients

KABUL, Afghanistan — The intensive care unit at the Afghan capital’s premier hospital for COVID-19 patients is a medical nightmare — and a stark warning how the country’s war-ravaged health care sy…

New York Post

13-year-old California boy dies after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

A 13-year-old California boy died after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, despite testing negative for the disease about a week earlier, according to reports. Maxx Cheng — a swimmer with big dr…

New York Post

Boosting local climate resilience and economic opportunity in the COVID-19 era

Cities and states could experience budget deficits up to $900 billion through 2021, resulting in additional job cuts, service reductions, and project delays.

Brookings

COVID-19 is a disaster for mothers’ employment. And no, working from home is not the solution

The Conversation

How New York City Got Control of COVID-19 — and Where It Goes from Here

Taking the necessary steps to prevent SARS-CoV-2 and the symptoms of COVID-19 are imperative to stopping the transmission.

Heatlhline

Cabbage could help fight COVID-19, study finds

In the race to beat COVID-19, the winner could be cabbage. According to a new study from France, foods containing raw and fermented cabbage may be beneficial against the coronavirus by reducing the…

New York Post

COVID-19 has ravaged American newsrooms – here’s why that matters

The Conversation

Did 'herd immunity' change the course of the outbreak?

What drove the government's thinking in the crucial stages of the coronavirus outbreak?

BBC

The people with hidden immunity against Covid-19

While the latest research suggests that antibodies against Covid-19 could be lost in just three months, a new hope has appeared on the horizon: the enigmatic T cell.

BBC

WHO concerned about COVID-19 impact on indigenous people in the Americas

With the Americas still the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on the region’s indigenous people is of deep concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

Doctor in Israel reinfected with COVID-19 three months after recovering

There is still a lot to learn about coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is currently ravaging across the globe. Though scientists are slowly gaining a better understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is still unclear if being infected once may provide long-lasting immunity against the novel coronavirus.

News Medical

Dr. Fauci stands tall

Seattle Times

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: July 20, 2021

Details

States keep alcohol delivery options after pandemic as restaurants rebound

Dozens of states have chosen to keep cocktail deliveries, an emergency pandemic rule, permanent as restaurants rebound.

ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

Fauci, Rand Paul get in shouting match over Wuhan lab research

GOP Sen. Rand Paul stepped up his feud with Dr. Anthony Fauci at a Senate hearing Tuesday, suggesting Fauci has lied to Congress and setting off an angry shouting match.

ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

Conservative media offers mixed messages on COVID-19 vaccine

AP News

Fauci, Paul clash on virus origins, trade charges of lying

AP News

4 strategies for coping with pandemic stress | NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

NIMH Director Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D. shares some strategies for promoting mental wellness during COVID-19.

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine (.gov)

The environmental toll of disposable masks

The high monetary cost and environmental toll of disposable N95 masks could be dramatically cut by adopting reusable masks, according to an MIT study that calculated the financial and environmental cost of several different mask usage scenarios.

MIT News

Does warm weather mean you are less likely to catch Covid?

According to epidemiologists, meeting outside helps minimise infection risks but heat itself has a negligible effect on the virus

The Guardian

Tunisian prime minister sacks health minister amid criticism on coronavirus crisis -statement

Reuters

Lessons from the COVID-19 air pollution decrease in Spain: Now what?

ScienceDirect.com

People with COVID Often Infect Their Pets

New unpublished studies show that dogs and cats with COVID-positive owners frequently have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Scientific American

States are sitting on millions of surplus Covid-19 vaccine doses as expiration dates approach

Millions of unused Covid-19 vaccines are set to go to waste as demand dwindles across the U.S. and doses likely expire this summer, according to public health officials.

STAT

Netflix blames pandemic as it misses growth forecasts

Company adds only 1.54m subscribers in last quarter, citing post-lockdown decline in interest and Covid-related production slowdown

The Guardian

‘If anybody is lying here, it is you’: Fauci turns tables on inquisitor Rand Paul

The senator bit off more than he could chew when he accused Biden’s top health adviser of lying about US-funded virus research

The Guardian

Covid has caused ‘hidden pandemic of orphanhood’, says global study

1.5 million children lost a caregiver during pandemic, including thousands in the UK

The Guardian

Post-traumatic stress symptoms in COVID-19 survivors: a self-report and brain imaging follow-up study - Molecular Psychiatry

Nature

Development and implementation of a scalable and versatile test for COVID-19 diagnostics in rural communities - Nature Communications

Here, the authors report the development of a versatile academic, SARSCoV-2 RT-qPCR molecular diagnostic test that uses 3D printed technology for sample collection, is implemented in rural setting in the US state of Virginia and validated in its population.

Nature

Quantifying COVID-19 importation risk in a dynamic network of domestic cities and international countries

PNAS

India's Pandemic Death Toll Estimated At About 4 Million: 10 Times The Official Count

That's the number of "excess deaths" from January 2020 to June 2021, reflecting the true toll of COVID-19, say researchers in a new study. Why the big disparity?

NPR

The Life Cycle Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Lie

Where do myths about coronavirus vaccines come from and why do they spread? NPR takes a look at how rumors about vaccines and fertility reached the public earlier this year.

NPR

Myocarditis With COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines | Circulation

American Heart Association Journals

Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Coming Soon: The ‘Vaccine Passport’ (Published 2021)

The New York Times

How 535,000 Covid Deaths Spurred Political Awakenings Across America (Published 2021)

The New York Times

In latest clash over Wuhan lab, Fauci tells Sen. Rand Paul: ‘You do not know what you’re talking about’

The Washington Post

He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus (Published 2020)

The New York Times

5 Texas Democrats who fled their state to stall a voting bill test positive in Washington. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Science vs. religion as Greek priests lead the anti-vax movement

With COVID-19 cases on the rise, influential clerics are urging people not to get vaccinated.

www.politico.eu

France forced to soften rules after coronavirus green pass backlash

Tens of thousands protest against the introduction of COVID passports for cafés, bars and shopping centers.

www.politico.eu

Indonesia extends COVID curbs to July 25 as cases remain high

Reuters

Why People’s Faces Look Different Under Their Masks Than You Expect

Our brains fill in what we can’t see—like the lower half of someone’s face—but those predictions are often incorrect.

VICE

Which covid-19 vaccine is the most widely accepted for international travel?

A patchwork of complicated cross-border travel rules is causing confusion

The Economist

Should children get COVID vaccines? What the science says

With vaccination campaigns under way in some countries while others weigh the options, Nature looks at the evidence for vaccinating younger people.

Nature

Predicting critical state after COVID-19 diagnosis: model development using a large US electronic health record dataset - npj Digital Medicine

Nature

More than 1.5 million children lost a primary or secondary caregiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Addressing the impact of caregiver deaths critical for pediatric mental health, authors note.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

Experimental vaccine protects against multiple coronaviruses

By combining parts of spike proteins from different coronaviruses, researchers developed an mRNA vaccine that protected mice against a range of coronaviruses.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

Everyone Should Wear A Mask In Schools, Vaccinated Or Not, U.S. Pediatricians Say

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated guidance for schools on Monday, recommending universal masking for students over the age of 2.

NPR

Coronavirus: Group meets over Northern Ireland dental services

Many NI dentists are considering pulling out of providing NHS dental care, it has been warned.

BBC

Covid: What happens when people no longer have to wear masks?

Face coverings became optional in many settings in England on Monday - what's the evidence for them?

BBC

6 priorities for future research into COVID-19 and its effects on early learning

What we know—and what we don't know.

Brookings

Myanmar Collapses into a COVID-19 Nightmare

Council on Foreign Relations

More infectious Delta variant makes up 83% of new US coronavirus cases as vaccine hesitancy persists | CNN

CNN

Fauci blasts Rand Paul: 'You do not know what you're talking about'

"I want to say that officially," Fauci added.

NBC News

Vaccine mandates more likely once FDA grants full approvals, health experts say

The regulatory signoff would remove a significant legal and public relations barrier to requirements, former government officials said.

NBC News