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This Day in COVID: August 6, 2020

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The need for an independent evaluation of the COVID-19 response in Spain

The Lancet

300,000 Deaths By December? 9 Takeaways From The Newest COVID-19 Projections

What's driving this death toll? Could anything improve the outlook? How reliable are these predictions anyway? We get into the weeds.

NPR

The Next Global Depression Is Coming and Optimism Won’t Slow It Down

The economic impact of COVID-19 will cut deeper than any recession in recent memory

Time

Michigan's top election official warns November results could be delayed without changes

Reuters

Global recovery could be faster if COVID vaccine made available to all: WHO chief

Reuters

Defeat COVID-19 by requiring vaccination for all. It's not un-American, it's patriotic.

USA Today

Trump says it’s possible U.S. could have coronavirus vaccine before 2020 election

President Donald Trump said it's possible the U.S. could have a safe and effective vaccine for the coronavirus before the upcoming presidential election.

CNBC

Moderna Backtracks to Open Covid Vaccine Trial to Those With HIV

Bloomberg

Man Wakes From Coma to Find Out Coronavirus Killed His Entire Household

Newsweek

Biker rally expects 250,000 people but not requiring masks

CNN

Trump says coronavirus vaccine possible before Nov. 3

Reuters

Coronavirus: NYC setting quarantine checkpoints, J&J producing 100 million vaccine doses for U.S.

The coronavirus has infected more than 18.8 million people around the world as of Wednesday, killing at least 707,666 people.

CNBC

Fauci: Coronavirus task force to examine aerosolized spread

Axios

Birx Warns of Troubling Coronavirus Trends in 9 Cities

US News

Five simple steps would tame COVID-19

Anthony Fauci, one of the government’s top authorities on the coronavirus pandemic, said that simple measures including wearing masks, avoiding bars, and spending time outdoors can tame the pandemic, but only if widely adopted.

Harvard

Fauci tells of death threats as Birx pinpoints fresh areas of Covid concern

Expert says he has hired security to protect him and his family, while taskforce colleague Birx tells group of US cities to ‘get on top’ of virus

The Guardian

What Ebola Taught Susan Rice About the Next Pandemic

Six years ago, the U.S. was caught flat-footed by a rampaging infection overseas. And one of Joe Biden’s top VP candidates was right in the middle.

Politico

The pandemic deals a blow to Pakistan’s democracy

While Pakistan has brought new coronavirus cases and deaths under control in the past month, the pandemic’s aftershocks have weakened the country’s current civilian government, further emboldened its military, and brought about a broader crackdown on dissent.

Brookings

Real Life Horror Stories From the World of Pandemic Motherhood

New York Times

A growing side effect of the pandemic: Permanent job loss

More jobs are disappearing for good, dashing hopes of a rapid economic rebound.

Politico

The next virus pandemic is not far away | Free to read

Scientists say new diseases will jump from animals unless humans change the way they live

How The Portland Protest Story Escalated And Why News Consumers Were Frustrated

The conflict in Portland between federal agents and protesters escalated rapidly. As NPR responded, doing 40 stories over 15 days, some audience members saw bias.

NPR

Coronavirus: The viral rumours that were completely wrong

In the early days the pandemic, lots of misleading posts went viral. Many were just plain wrong.

BBC

A Wisconsin man with visual impairment tried to vote. The coronavirus got in his way.

Don Natzke says he was stymied by a series of insurmountable voting barriers as Wisconsin held its April 7 election during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wisconsin Watch

More states are using ballot drop boxes for absentee voters, but the boxes are already drawing skepticism

Washington Post

Learning ‘pods’: a new solution to the coronavirus school crisis

Parents are banding together to form education pods for children to learn in groups, but not everyone can afford them.

Al Jazeera

More Shutdowns Are Avoidable, But The Public Needs To Trust Science, Dr. Fauci Says At Harvard

After thousands became infected with the coronavirus last spring, hard hit states like Massachusetts had to impose months of restrictions to bring the pandemic to heel. As communities ease back into something resembling normal life, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Dr. Anthony Fauci said further complete shutdowns should not be necessary.

WBUR

Peter Navarro clashes with CNN host over Fauci criticism, hydroxychloroquine

CNN host Erin Burnett blasted White House trade adviser Peter Navarro as “irresponsible” during a heated interview about hydroxychloroquine and Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.

Fox News

With Old Allies Turning Against Her, Birx Presses On Against the Coronavirus

New York Times

UNC Students, Faculty Hold ‘Die-In’ Protest, Call for Virtual Classes Amid the Pandemic

UNC students and faculty held a 'die-in' protest on Wednesday and called for the university to hold exclusively virtual classes due to the pandemic.

Chapelboro

Michelle Obama suffering from 'low-grade depression' due to racial inequality, coronavirus

'Not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it,' Obama said.

NBC

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 6, 2021

Details

About One in Five Americans Remain Vaccine-Resistant

Most U.S. adults who would not agree to be vaccinated against COVID-19 say they are unlikely to change their mind.

Gallup News

New device can diagnose Covid-19 from saliva samples

A new device can detect SARS-CoV-2 from saliva in about an hour. Developed by MIT and Harvard engineers, the diagnostic is just as accurate as PCR tests and can identify Covid-19 variants.

MIT News

How COVID-19 delta variant is impacting younger people

Mayo Clinic News Network

Will mask wearing still be common in Britain after the pandemic is over?

In east Asian countries, past disease outbreaks have made face masks part of everyday life – but the social context supporting such behaviour isn’t present in the UK.

The Conversation

Senior Medical Leaders Discuss COVID-19 Response

Health.mil

Fear of arrest among undocumented risks Malaysia vaccine push

Distrust among refugee and migrant communities after a year of mixed messages could hamper efforts to curb COVID-19 .

Al Jazeera

US prepares to mandate COVID jab for all active-duty military

About 750,000 members of the US military have not yet been vaccinated against the virus.

Al Jazeera

Couple separated by pandemic get travel exemption to marry

Chris Quealy is allowed to leave Australia to wed Penny Steven in England, after 18 months apart.

BBC

Covid: Metrolink forced to cut timetable due to coronavirus absences

Absences due to Covid-19 or staff self-isolating are forcing Metrolink to run a reduced timetable.

BBC

Fully vaccinated people who get a Covid-19 breakthrough infection can transmit the virus, CDC chief says | CNN

CNN

China doubles down on baseless ‘US origins’ Covid conspiracy as Delta outbreak worsens | CNN

CNN

Covid: Most of Wales' coronavirus rules to end Saturday

Nightclubs can reopen, but facemasks are likely to be required for the rest of the year.

BBC

Sharp decline in ads for Covid-19 vaccines, as the number of ‘persuadable’ Americans diminishes | CNN

CNN

Council Post: The Pandemic Has Changed Leadership For The Better: How Young Leaders Will Respond To Today’s Challenges

Our perceptions of quality leadership have changed during the pandemic, and young leaders have taken notice.

Forbes

Do vaccine incentives actually work?

This article was originally published in the Montreal Gazette In recent days, the question has become how we get our vaccination rate up high enough to avoid a fourth wave come the fall. While it is hard to know for sure what threshold will be necessary, we will need high vaccination rates to withstand the more infectious variants and prevent another wave. While most people have got their vaccines, a still sizeable minority have not — and motivating them to do so is a tricky business. Vaccine lo...

McGill University

Delta threatens rural regions that dodged earlier COVID waves

Data on the variant’s spread in India make researchers fearful for areas in developing nations that lack health care and vaccines.

Nature

COVID vaccine inequity, species swaps — the week in infographics

Nature highlights three key infographics from the week in science and research.

Nature

Seven-month kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and role of pre-existing antibodies to human coronaviruses - Nature Communications

Long-term characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 antibody kinetics is needed to understand the protective role of the immune response. Here the authors describe antibody levels and neutralisation activity in healthcare workers over seven months and investigate the role of immunity to endemic human coronaviruses.

Nature

The experience of children with a parent suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis during the COVID-19 pandemic - Scientific Reports

Nature

Mortality and risk factors associated with pulmonary embolism in coronavirus disease 2019 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Scientific Reports

Nature

Evidence for a thromboembolic pathogenesis of lung cavitations in severely ill COVID-19 patients - Scientific Reports

Nature

Florida 12-year-old advocates for mask mandates in schools

Lila Hartley wrote a letter advocating for a mask mandate to keep her brother and other children like him safe, saying “masks save lives, that’s a fact.”

NBC News

University Defends Vaccine Tests on Dogs After Dr. Fauci and NIH Criticized

Newsweek

Dr. Fauci Praises Trump for 'Wise Investment' in COVID-19 Vaccine Development

Newsweek

An ICU Nurse Made An Emotional Appeal For People In Louisiana To Get Vaccinated

As the delta variant spreads across swaths of the U.S., hospitals find themselves overwhelmed. Felicia Croft, an ICU nurse in Shreveport, says people in the hospital are younger and sicker.

NPR

United Becomes The 1st Major U.S. Airline To Require Employees Be Vaccinated

Citing "incredibly compelling" evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, United CEO Scott Kirby announced the policy change on Friday. It will affect the carrier's 67,000 U.S. employees.

NPR

How A Gay Community Helped The CDC Spot A COVID Outbreak — And Learn More About Delta

When his friends started to get sick after a week of parties, Michael Donnelly started keeping track. His work — and his community's willingness to help — led the CDC to a major pandemic discovery.

NPR

Russian Disinformation Targets Vaccines and the Biden Administration (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today (Published 2021)

The New York Times

No Work, No Food: Pandemic Deepens Global Hunger (Published 2021)

The New York Times

College Tuition Insurance Gains Attention in Pandemic (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Video: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Continues Despite Coronavirus Warning

The annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., will go on despite warnings from government officials about coronavirus cases and the Delta variant.

The New York Times

Amazon orders all U.S. employees to mask up at work

Reuters

China sees highest daily figure of COVID-19 patients in current outbreak

Reuters

Rep. Lauren Boebert lost a family member to COVID — but she's still a vaccine foe

Boebert's step-grandfather died in December, but her incoherent views on the "Fauci ouchie" haven't changed

Salon.com

Wind instruments may spread coronavirus. Here's the science behind preventing that

Performers struggled to find evidence that would free them from musical lockdown, so they partnered with researchers to get some answers.

Science News

Cerebral venous thrombosis after vaccination against COVID-19 in the UK: a multicentre cohort study

The Lancet

Pandemic profits: top US health insurers make billions in second quarter

Health companies see decline from record profits of last year – but where is the scrutiny of such vast sums?

The Guardian

Fact check: Coronavirus variants didn't come from migrants at border

COVID-19 has spread in immigration detention centers along the border. But migrants aren't the source of the coronavirus variants.

USA Today

Building resilient education systems beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Second set of considerations

The Considerations apply to access, learning, well-being, safety in schools and nutrition.

Unicef

Tokyo logs record coronavirus cases, as government struggles to contain spread

The Washington Post

At Citi Open exhibition, Coco Gauff talks about her bout with covid and getting vaccinated

The Washington Post

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 6 August

The World Economic Forum