Pandemic Endgame

Social Distancing

Second Anniversary of the COVID-19 Pandemic

March 11 marked the second anniversary of WHO's declaration of the pandemic and the beginning of its third year. Cases continue to plummet in the U.S. and plateau globally while war in Europe has overshadowed the virus that has killed 6 million.

March 16, 2022 - The Associated Press

COVID-19 and Public Health

Let the Endemic Planning Begin

The first state in the nation to issue a stay-at-home order to slow the spread of a novel coronavirus that humans had no immunity from became the first to release an actual endemic plan, complete with a fancy acronym, SMARTER.

February 23, 2022 - The Washington Post

COVID-19

Beware Endemics!

The pandemic will end and SARS-CoV-2 may evolve to become a mild, endemic cold coronavirus, warns Aris Katzourakis, a professor of viral evolution and genomics in an opinion for Nature. Examples of other endemic diseases are malaria and tuberculosis.

January 31, 2022 - Nature

A woman wears a mask during the Covid-19 pandemic in a large crowd at a transit station in New York City.

After Omicron

Don't count on Omicron ending the pandemic, cautioned America's top infectious disease expert on Jan. 17. "Get ready to learn new Greek letters," warned the Associated Press as daily COVID deaths topped the peak set in the Delta wave.

January 24, 2022 - New York Post

Pandemic Endgame: Danish Epidemiologist's Prediction

Based on the results of a new study on the transmission of the Omicron variant in Denmark released by the Statens Serum Institut, Tyra Grove Krause, the institute's chief epidemiologist, said, "We will have our normal lives back in two months."

January 10, 2022 - Daily Mail

A vial of blood marked "Omicron" sits on top of paperwork indicating relevance to Covid-19.

Your Date With Omicron

“All of us have a date with omicron,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told The Associated Press on Dec. 20, adding "...and the best way you can encounter this is to be fully vaccinated.”

December 29, 2021 - The Hill

One man, wearing a mask, walks down an otherwise empty 16th St in Denver.

COVID: Colorado Activates Partial Crisis Standards of Care

In a sign that the pandemic is far from over, Colorado reactivated its crisis standards of care for staffing of health care systems on Nov. 9 as infections increased modestly nationwide. Gov. Polis made all vaccinated adults eligible for a booster.

November 14, 2021 - Bloomberg Prognosis

A restaurant in Singapore places tape on seats to maintain distance between diners during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Pandemic Geography: What's Going on in Singapore?

With 82% of its population fully vaccinated, mostly with mRNA vaccines, COVID case incidence on Nov. 1 is the same as Wyoming, where 44% of the population is fully vaccinated. Hospitals are feeling the strain, and deaths are at their highest level.

November 2, 2021 - Reuters

COVID-19 Vaccinations

The Major Shortcoming in Biden's COVID Action Plan

Dr. Leana S. Wen, an emergency physician and public health expert, writes that Covid will become a 'manageable problem' with three key actions, only one of which hasn't received the attention it deserves in the Biden administration's action plan.

October 21, 2021 - The Washington Post

COVID-19 Pandemic

Boosters Bring Normalcy Back to Tel Aviv

Life in Tel Aviv is bustling again since COVID-19 vaccine boosters became accessible to anyone over 12 years of age. Traffic is now more of a concern than COVID, Mayor Ron Huldai told Bloomberg CityLab during a visit to 'quiet' Manhattan.

October 18, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

Mass Vaccination

Coronavirus Litigation: Can Employers Require Employee Vaccinations?

The plaintiffs in one of the nation's first court cases over employer-required COVID vaccinations are among the heroes of the pandemic—nurses fighting to remain unvaccinated. Houston Methodist Hospital suspended unvaccinated employees on June 6.

June 10, 2021 - JD Supra

Coronavirus and Lime

Return to Normal...For the Unvaccinated?

Americans are experiencing their first near-normal holiday weekend, though masks are still required for all traveling at airports and on planes, buses and trains. We take a look back and forward at where the U.S. may be heading in the pandemic.

June 1, 2021 - CNN

Mass Vaccination

Vaccination Disparities Between Urban and Rural America

The pandemic has largely been measured by case incidence, down significantly in recent weeks in most states. A new metric, the vaccination rate, may determine where the virus strikes next. The urban-rural divide is a major factor, says the CDC.

May 25, 2021 - CNBC

Coronavirus

Will CDC's Revised Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People Prolong the Pandemic?

The CDC abruptly changed its masking guidance on May 13 to further distinguish behavior for those who are fully vaccinated from those who are not, prompting states, counties and businesses to end indoor mask mandates and social distancing.

May 17, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

COVID-19 Pandemic

Pandemic Endgame: Redefining the Herd Immunity Goal

So much for vaccines enabling the U.S. to achieve the cherished goal of herd immunity for COVID-19. It is becoming increasingly clear to many public health experts that likely will not happen, according to a New York Times global health reporter.

May 4, 2021 - The New York Times

COVID-19 Vaccinations

The Pandemic's Next Phase in the U.S.: When Vaccine Supply Exceeds Demand

The 'light at the end of the tunnel' has become brighter after the vaccination rate tripled since President Biden took office. According to an analysis, a vaccination enthusiasm tipping point will be reached in 2-4 weeks that could dim the light.

April 22, 2021 - Kaiser Family Foundation

Coronavirus

A Fourth Coronavirus Surge is Likely

The plunge in daily new coronavirus cases has ceased and may be climbing again, but the news is brighter when looking at the summer. Most of the public health experts interviewed by The New York Times believe a surge is likely but not inevitable.

March 1, 2021 - The New York Times

Pandemic Board Game

Are We 'Rounding the Corner' in the Pandemic?

All the coronavirus data is moving in the right direction in most of the U.S., yet 130,000 additional Americans are projected to die from COVID-19 by June according to one widely used model.

February 16, 2021 - CNN

COVID-19 Pandemic

Will Israel Show Us the Way Out of the Pandemic?

If vaccinations are key to ending the pandemic, Israel may get there first as it has the highest rate by far of any nation. Paradoxically, it also has the world's second-highest rate of daily new COVID-19 cases.

February 14, 2021 - The New York Times

Coronavirus and Urbanism

Post-Pandemic: Living with COVID

With coronavirus Infections decreasing and vaccinations increasing throughout the nation, health and science reporters are writing about what the end of the pandemic may look like—from a disease perspective.

January 31, 2021 - National Geographic

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