Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Despite having lived in our house for six months now, I have several quirks and feature discoveries each week. Thankfully the findings are typically pleasant or curious (like a small collection of VHS videotapes in the basement joists). As someone who doesn't like to read manuals, I appreciate this "joy of discovery." And thanks to the insane real estate market, I spent more time understanding the trade-offs of our flat-screen TV than I spent pre-sale on this house. Post-sale, however, continues to be an accelerated graduate education on nights and weekends. By the time I start traveling again, I will be board-certified in my house - able to draw the house's complete blueprints, including wiring and plumbing, from memory.
---
CDC National Hospitalization trend data
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#hospitalizations
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=casesf
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
Vaccine Tracker
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends
-----
In addition to the FDA expanding the Pfizer vaccine's EUA to include 12-15-year-olds, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has to vote to recommend use as well. At least in Maryland, vaccination sites are not scheduling 12 to 15-year-olds until the ACIP meets and approves the Pfizer vaccine in this age group later today.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations-process.html
and
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/committee/index.html
More broad-spectrum oral antiviral agents are in phase 3 testing. Meet Molnupiravir, a compound that increases G to A and C to U transition mutations in replicating coronaviruses.
https://www.miragenews.com/university-of-alberta-lab-reveals-how-a-much-558302/
and
https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(21)00563-9/fulltext
Nature offered an in-depth article on the variants currently spreading in India. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01274-7
More misinformation is floating around, increasingly (and wrongly) focused on infertility. Vaccines do not cause infertility.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/10/health/covid-vaccine-infertility-myth-wellness/index.html
Here is one last link for today on critical thinking and logic. Less than 1000‽ loyal readers shared this Twitter thread on factually accurate but misleading statistics. https://twitter.com/DLeonhardt/status/1392103077201731588
Infographic of the day: Clean Hands edition
https://twitter.com/compoundchem/status/1389908047133351936/photo/1
---Bonus Round - Historical perspectives on pandemics
Two articles of note from my wanderings:
1) Evidence that historical epidemics created a differential genetic distribution in local human populations. In this case, researchers found that human populations in some areas of Germany were increasingly likely to have specific genetic markers over time. The hypothesis is the pressure of repeated outbreaks of Yersinia Pestis (the bacteria that causes the Black Death) shifted the population. What is unique is being able to document the genetic variation over time.
https://www.science20.com/news_staff/if_the_bubonic_plague_didnt_kill_you_it_helped_make_your_descendants_stronger-254293
But biology is more complex and nuanced - the lack of plague outbreaks is not because of a culling of the genetically susceptible. Read this Atlantic interview with the author of the above article on Yersinia to get a broader understanding - the environment, the rodents, the bacteria, and the humans living conditions are all changing over time.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/04/teeth-ancient-pathogen-dna/618700/
2) Many moons ago (like April 2020), I wrote about Edward Jenner and the development of inoculating (vaccinating) against smallpox. I found this review of the anti-vax movement from the early 1800s. Fear, uncertainty, ignorance, and wrong information are certainly not new.
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-mark-of-the-beast-georgian-britains-anti-vaxxer-movement
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
Despite having lived in our house for six months now, I have several quirks and feature discoveries each week. Thankfully the findings are typically pleasant or curious (like a small collection of VHS videotapes in the basement joists). As someone who doesn't like to read manuals, I appreciate this "joy of discovery." And thanks to the insane real estate market, I spent more time understanding the trade-offs of our flat-screen TV than I spent pre-sale on this house. Post-sale, however, continues to be an accelerated graduate education on nights and weekends. By the time I start traveling again, I will be board-certified in my house - able to draw the house's complete blueprints, including wiring and plumbing, from memory.
---
CDC National Hospitalization trend data
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#hospitalizations
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=casesf
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
Vaccine Tracker
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends
-----
In addition to the FDA expanding the Pfizer vaccine's EUA to include 12-15-year-olds, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has to vote to recommend use as well. At least in Maryland, vaccination sites are not scheduling 12 to 15-year-olds until the ACIP meets and approves the Pfizer vaccine in this age group later today.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations-process.html
and
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/committee/index.html
More broad-spectrum oral antiviral agents are in phase 3 testing. Meet Molnupiravir, a compound that increases G to A and C to U transition mutations in replicating coronaviruses.
https://www.miragenews.com/university-of-alberta-lab-reveals-how-a-much-558302/
and
https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(21)00563-9/fulltext
Nature offered an in-depth article on the variants currently spreading in India. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01274-7
More misinformation is floating around, increasingly (and wrongly) focused on infertility. Vaccines do not cause infertility.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/10/health/covid-vaccine-infertility-myth-wellness/index.html
Here is one last link for today on critical thinking and logic. Less than 1000‽ loyal readers shared this Twitter thread on factually accurate but misleading statistics. https://twitter.com/DLeonhardt/status/1392103077201731588
Infographic of the day: Clean Hands edition
https://twitter.com/compoundchem/status/1389908047133351936/photo/1
---Bonus Round - Historical perspectives on pandemics
Two articles of note from my wanderings:
1) Evidence that historical epidemics created a differential genetic distribution in local human populations. In this case, researchers found that human populations in some areas of Germany were increasingly likely to have specific genetic markers over time. The hypothesis is the pressure of repeated outbreaks of Yersinia Pestis (the bacteria that causes the Black Death) shifted the population. What is unique is being able to document the genetic variation over time.
https://www.science20.com/news_staff/if_the_bubonic_plague_didnt_kill_you_it_helped_make_your_descendants_stronger-254293
But biology is more complex and nuanced - the lack of plague outbreaks is not because of a culling of the genetically susceptible. Read this Atlantic interview with the author of the above article on Yersinia to get a broader understanding - the environment, the rodents, the bacteria, and the humans living conditions are all changing over time.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/04/teeth-ancient-pathogen-dna/618700/
2) Many moons ago (like April 2020), I wrote about Edward Jenner and the development of inoculating (vaccinating) against smallpox. I found this review of the anti-vax movement from the early 1800s. Fear, uncertainty, ignorance, and wrong information are certainly not new.
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-mark-of-the-beast-georgian-britains-anti-vaxxer-movement
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
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