Analysis

Americans are being more careful to avoid catching and spreading the coronavirus but are still not being careful enough to slow the pandemic, especially with worrisome, apparently more contagious new variants looming.

That's the conclusion of the latest findings, released Friday, from the largest national survey tracking behavior during the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's good news-bad news," says David Lazer of Northeastern University, who is helping run the survey with colleagues at Harvard, Rutgers and Northwestern universities.

"The good news is we've improved a lot in terms of mask-wearing and social distancing. The bad news is, to bend the curve they really need to be much better," Lazer says.

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Study: In pandemic era, older adults isolated but resilient

Sat, 2021-01-16 11:45 — mike kraft

Study: In pandemic era, older adults isolated but resilient Since the pandemic’s descent, they have generally been viewed as among those at higher risk — older Americans, some of them medically vulnerable, figuring out how to navigate life in a... AP NEWS

Since the pandemic’s descent, they have generally been viewed as among those at higher risk — older Americans, some of them medically vulnerable, figuring out how to navigate life in a COVID-saturated, increasingly isolated world.

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CDC says U.K. coronavirus variant could become predominant strain in U.S. by March

Fri, 2021-01-15 19:36 — mike kraft

CDC says U.K. coronavirus variant could become predominant strain in U.S. by March Though fewer than 100 cases of the variant have been detected in the U.S., models project "rapid growth" in coming months. NBC News

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In LA, ambulances circle for hours and ICUs are full. Is this what Covid-19 has in store for the rest of the country?

Fri, 2021-01-15 17:54 — mike kraft

In Los Angeles, ambulances circle for hours and ICUs are full - STAT LA issued strict mask and stay-at-home orders so quickly last spring it beat the coronavirus back. But that early success did not last. Usha Lee McFarling STAT

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Pretend it didn't happen – expert advice on how to behave after receiving a single dose of any of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Fri, 2021-01-15 11:02 — mike kraft

How effective is a single vaccine dose against Covid-19? Pretend it didn't happen – expert advice on how to behave after receiving a single dose of any of the Covid-19 vaccines. Zaria Gorvett BBC_Future

... Most vaccines require booster doses to work.

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Study: Pandemic will reduce life expectancy for Black and Latino populations by three to four times more than Whites

Thu, 2021-01-14 20:52 — mike kraft

Study: Pandemic will reduce life expectancy for Black and Latino populations by three to four times more than Whites The coronavirus pandemic is set to knock more than a year off the average US life expectancy, and will reduce life expectancy for Black and Latino populations by three to four times more than Whites, researchers reported Thursday. By <a href="/profiles/helen-regan">Helen Regan</a>, Adam Renton, Florence Davey-Attlee, Ed Upright and Hira Humayun, CNN CNN

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Study: The Future of the Coronavirus? An Annoying Childhood Infection

Thu, 2021-01-14 12:58 — mike kraft

As millions are inoculated against the coronavirus, and the pandemic’s end finally seems to glimmer into view, scientists are envisioning what a post-vaccine world might look like — and what they see is comforting.

The coronavirus is here to stay, but once most adults are immune — following natural infection or vaccination — the virus will be no more of a threat than the common cold, according to a study published in the journal Science on Tuesday.

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RESEARCH: A mutation undercuts the immune response to the COVID virus

Thu, 2021-01-14 10:01 — mike kraft

NATURE

A mutation undercuts the immune response to the COVID virus

A handful of mutations to SARS-CoV-2 can help it to escape the immune response mounted by a subset of infected people.

Researchers have identified thousands of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 samples, but the vast majority are unlikely to have much effect on the virus’s biology. To identify potentially important mutations, Jesse Bloom at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, and his colleagues studied antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 isolated from the blood serum of people who had recovered from COVID-19 (A. J. Greaney et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/ghr85d; 2021).

The team tested the antibodies’ response to samples of the virus’s spike protein. Each sample protein carried different versions of a region called the receptor binding domain (RBD), which recognizes host cells and is a major target for antibodies.

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