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This Day in COVID: August 5, 2020

Details

Biden in home state, Trump eyes White House venue as virus remakes U.S. political conventions

Reuters

Many COVID-19 patients lost their sense of smell. Will they get it back?

While scientists work to unravel the basic biology of the nose, some patients are finding positive effects from smell training.

National Geographic

Virginia Launches COVID Exposure App As Officials Stress Security

Downloading the app is voluntary, and officials stress that it will protect users' privacy.

DCist

Rep. Rodney Davis diagnosed with Covid days after warning lawmakers about safety

He said he had taken particular care since his wife is a nurse and a cancer survivor.

Politico

Infographic: Antimicrobial Resistance and COVID-19

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when drugs that fight microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites lose their potency and become ineffective.

PAHO

Low-income households falling further behind on student debt due to COVID-19

Jason Jabbari, Olga Kondratjeva, Mathieu Despard, and Michal Grinstein-Weiss explore the influence that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on student debt in the United States.

Brookings

PAHO warns against use of chlorine products as treatments for COVID-19

Washington D.C., August 5, 2020 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued a warning against the use of chlorine products as treatments for COVID-19. “PAHO does not recommend oral or parenteral use of chlorine dioxide or sodium chlorite-based products for patients with suspected or diagnosed COVID-19 or for anyone else. There is no evidence of their effectiveness and the ingestion or inhalation of such products could cause serious adverse effects,” the document said.

PAHO

Charts: How The U.S. Ranks On COVID-19 Deaths Per Capita — And By Case Count

These two measures were raised in President Trump's interview this week with journalist Jonathan Swan on Axios on HBO. Here's what these statistics reveal about a country's response to the pandemic.

NPR

NIH-Moderna investigational COVID-19 vaccine shows promise in mouse studies

Vaccine currently being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical testing.

NIH

Scotland shuts pubs and restaurants in Aberdeen to stem COVID-19 outbreak

Reuters

Sweden’s economy shrank less than eurozone’s at height of pandemic

The Winter Will Be Worse

When socializing outside gets harder in much of the U.S., daily life will get more dismal, and the virus might spread even further.

The Atlantic

Trump praises Arizona as ‘model’ for pandemic as cases, deaths remain high

The state's coronavirus cases surged dramatically after it relaxed restrictions on businesses and gatherings in May.

Politico

Black-owned businesses twice as likely to fail during pandemic

Fed finds 'disturbing relationship' between areas hit by COVID-19 and the economic health of Black-owned businesses.

CBS

How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond

This coronavirus is here for the long haul — here’s what scientists predict for the next months and years.

Nature

How the coronavirus pandemic helped the Floyd protests become the biggest in U.S. history

Washington Post

The debate over masks today is a lot like the decades-long fight to mandate seat belts

CNN

Second grader tests positive for coronavirus after attending the first day of school in Georgia

CNN

Trump says there’s no question the coronavirus ‘will go away’

Trump applauded the country's coronavirus vaccine and therapeutic development, saying it has had 'tremendous success' and is 'ready to deliver them literally as soon' as they're approved.

CNBC

Chicago says students will stay home, New York erects COVID-19 checkpoints

Reuters

Trump again claims Covid-19 will 'go away' as Fauci warns of long road ahead

Fauci says virus may be under control at end of 2021 as US faces 4.8m cases and more than 157,000 deaths

The Guardian

Fauci Reveals He Has Received Death Threats And His Daughters Have Been Harassed

During an online forum sponsored by Harvard, Dr. Anthony Fauci discusses how his high-profile position has affected his family personally.

NPR

Johnson & Johnson reaches deal with U.S. for 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine at more than $1 billion

Johnson & Johnson announced Wednesday that it will develop and deliver 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine for the U.S. in a deal totaling more than $1 billion.

CNBC

Moderna is pricing coronavirus vaccine at $32 to $37 per dose for some customers

Moderna is charging between $32 to $37 per dose for its coronavirus vaccine for some customers, under cheaper 'pandemic pricing,' the company said.

CNBC

Moderna skirts disclosures of coronavirus vaccine costs

Axios

Kansas counties with mask mandate show steep COVID-19 drop

The top health official in Kansas says counties that have mask mandates in place have seen a rapid drop in cases, while those that only recommend their use have seen no decrease in cases.

Factbox: Fauci talks vaccine prospects in Reuters interview

Reuters

These 4 skills can make the world better after COVID-19

World Economic Forum

Should a COVID-19 vaccine be compulsory — and what would this mean for anti-vaxxers?

The Conversation

COVID-19, stigma and the scandalous neglect of people living with dementia

The Conversation

Major U.S. Health Insurers Report Big Profits, Benefiting From the Pandemic

New York Times

Can I Stop Paying My Bills If I’m Unemployed Due to Covid?

Barron's

Being the church in times of COVID-19

Lutheran World

COVID-19 has isolated disabled people from family, love, sex

The Conversation

Chicago public schools will start the school year all virtual

CNN

Is The District Ready To Have Blood On Their Hands?' Educators Denounce Boston Public Schools' Hybrid Reopening Plan

Educators, advocates and parents pressed Boston Public Schools officials to rethink a proposed draft plan for reopening.

WGBH

It’s unsafe for most Washington students to return to school buildings this fall, state says

Seattle Times

Back to school in a pandemic: A guide to all the factors keeping parents and educators up at night

The Washington Post

Ventilation should be part of the conversation on school reopening. Why isn’t it?

Here we are, about a month before public schools are supposed to begin, and the CDC is still failing to signal the crucial importance of addressing ventilation for halting the spread of Covid-19.

STAT News

Don’t Cancel School

In early June, America was united, briefly, on the need to reopen schools. Other countries had managed to do so successfully, and evidence suggested that children were at low risk from severe Covid-19 complications. But that was before President Donald Trump tweeted his support for reopening. Soon thereafter, states that previously dodged the coronavirus experienced […]

City Journal

America is about to start online learning, Round 2. For millions of students, it won’t be any better.

Washington Post

Coronavirus vaccines speed ahead — but scientists stress safety first

The urgency of the pandemic means vaccine researchers are shortening downtime between trial phases and collaborating in ways rarely seen in what can be a competitive field.

NBC

These charts from Match Group show more people are turning to online dating during the pandemic

Apps have rolled out virtual dating options, while some have also been accused of encouraging people to break social distancing orders.

Business Insider

Coronavirus could starve Canada zoo's pandas as bamboo supply chain snaps

Calgary Zoo has warned that it may soon be unable to provide its two pandas with the 40kg of fresh bamboo they each need daily

The Guardian

How Young Stars Have Coped With the Coronavirus Pandemic

Performers have developed passion projects, become politically active and even built a stage in their back yard during the pandemic

Variety

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: August 5, 2021

Details

Scientists’ pandemic response could be even faster next time

New research suggests mass vaccination can be scaled up more quickly

The Economist

Texas hospitals hit by staffing crisis as burnout depletes workforce and COVID-19 surges

The lack of available nurses has driven up salaries and created a heated, competitive job market as thousands of positions remain open throughout Texas.

The Texas Tribune

COVID vaccine boosters: the most important questions

Concerns over waning immunity and SARS-CoV-2 variants have convinced some countries to deploy extra vaccine doses — but it’s not clear to scientists whether most people need them.

Nature

Keys to the Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 Vaccination Success | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Respect for community and elders, along with tribal sovereignty, fueled the vaccination effort.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Using two CRISPR enzymes, a COVID diagnostic in only 20 minutes - Berkeley News

Eliminating RNA amplification simplifies and speeds up assay for SARS-CoV-2 virus, making it ideal for point of care testing

Berkeley News

The Present and Future of COVID Variants

Experts stress testing, vaccination amid delta surge

Harvard Medical School

Fomites and the environment did not have an important role in COVID-19 transmission in a Brazilian mid-sized city - Scientific Reports

Nature

Heterogeneous mental health development during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom - Scientific Reports

Nature

Low level of plasminogen increases risk for mortality in COVID-19 patients - Cell Death & Disease

Nature

Identifying organ dysfunction trajectory-based subphenotypes in critically ill patients with COVID-19 - Scientific Reports

Nature

Exclusive: Intel agencies scour reams of genetic data from Wuhan lab in Covid origins hunt | CNN Politics

CNN

Mattel creates Barbie doll of scientist who designed Oxford coronavirus vaccine

British coronavirus vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert has many science accolades to her credit but now shares an honor with Beyonce, Marilyn Monroe and Eleanor Roosevelt: a Barbie doll in her likeness.

France 24

NY launches Excelsior Pass Plus to expand proof of COVID-19 vaccination program

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced the launch of Excelsior Pass Plus to expand travel and commerce opportunities for fully vaccinated residents.

ABC7 New York

CNN Fires Three Employees For Coming To Work Unvaccinated

The memo was obtained by The Associated Press after its contents were first tweeted by CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy. CNN offered no details on the firings, or where the employees were based.

NPR

‘There are only so many beds': COVID-19 surge hits hospitals

AP News

Coronavirus: Nigeria record 747 Covid-19 infections in 24 hours - BBC News Pidgin

Officials say di kontri don begin experience dia third wave of di pandemic sake of di more contagious Delta variant.

BBC

Biden administration considers withholding funds and other measures to spur vaccinations

The Washington Post

Coronavirus: How does the NHS test-and-trace system and app work?

The number of people pinged by the Covid app has fallen significantly.

BBC

Here’s How You Can Show Proof of Vaccination in New York City (Published 2021)

The New York Times

L.A. County’s Public Health Chief Discusses the Mask Mandate (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Vaccine Mandates Are Lawful, Effective and Based on Rock-Solid Science

Clear legal pathways exist to move the U.S. closer to herd immunity

Scientific American

More businesses are mandating COVID-19 vaccines. Is that legal?

Health experts say vaccine mandates by companies and governments there is strong legal standing.

ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

More Than Nudges Are Needed to End the Pandemic (Published 2021)

The New York Times

First Broadway play opens in NY since lengthy pandemic shutdown

Reuters

Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster plans

Reuters

Face masks in schools offer unexpected benefits against other childhood illnesses, doctor says

Effective immediately, toddlers in daycare must wear masks.

ABC7 Chicago

Black tourism took a hit from the pandemic. Travelers are looking to the diaspora as they venture back abroad

While a spike in Black tourism was stunted by the pandemic in 2020, the year's racial unrest influenced how travelers choose their destinations.

Business Insider

Paying workers to stay home during the pandemic protected jobs

But some will be lost as the scheme is wound up

The Economist

Carnival cruise ship reports Covid cases, brings in mask mandate for all passengers | CNN

CNN

Opinion: Angry at the unvaccinated? Here’s a better way | CNN

CNN

How Many Gyms Survived the Devastation that was 2020?

Americans want to get back to their gyms, but more than one out of five fitness facilities had already closed permanently by June 2021, and tens of…

Health & Fitness Association

Adenoviral vector vaccine platforms in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic - npj Vaccines

Nature

A giant trial of COVID-19 treatments is restarting. Here are the drugs it’s betting on

Science | AAAS

COVID-19 spread, detection, and dynamics in Bogota, Colombia - Nature Communications

Detailed information on SARS-CoV-2 infection rates in Latin America by occupation, socioeconomic group and geographic area are rarely available. Here, the authors provide these estimates for in Bogota, Colombia using data from a sentinel surveillance scheme, and find that over half the population had been infected by March 2021.

Nature

California to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for health workers

The order, issued Thursday by the California Department of Public Health, is different when Governor Gavin Newsom announced health care workers would have the choice of either getting vaccinated or submitting to weekly testing.

PBS

COVID-19 vaccine equality, ‘most pressing issue of our times’ – UN chief

The remarkable and rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines offers “great hope” that the devastating pandemic can be overcome, the UN chief told the first International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation on Thursday, but everyone must be reached everywhere, “as quickly as possible”.

UN News