Links 5/19/2020
Forget murder hornets. Giant gypsy moths could bring ‘serious, widespread damage’ to the US. USA Today. Worry, worry, worry.
We Can Prevent a Great Depression. It’ll Take $10 Trillion. The Atlantic. So, two Iraq wars, but we get to build stuff instead of blowing it up? And we don’t blow a few hundred thousand faraway brown people to pink mist? Where do I sign up?
Pay Attention to the Central Bankers Behind the Curtain Bloomberg
Digital Greenbacks Forbes
Howard Marks Knows the Value of 2020 Hindsight Bloomberg
#COVID19
The science:
Potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 identified by high-throughput single-cell sequencing of convalescent patients’ B cells Cell. “[W]e showed that human neutralizing antibodies could be efficiently discovered by high-throughput single B-cell sequencing in response to pandemic infectious diseases.”
Targets of T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in humans with COVID-19 disease and unexposed individuals (PDF) Cell. From the Summary: “Understanding adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is important for vaccine development, interpreting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis, and calibration of pandemic control measures…. [C[irculating SARS-CoV-2−specific CD8+ and CD4+= T cells were identified in ~70% and 100% of COVID-19 convalescent patients, respectively. CD4+ T cell responses to spike, the main target of most vaccine efforts, were robust and correlated with the magnitude of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA titers. … Importantly, we detected SARS-CoV-2−reactive CD4+ T cells in ~40-60% of unexposed individuals, suggesting cross-reactive T cell recognition between circulating ‘common cold’ coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2.” Sounds hopeful. Note: Peer-reviewed, accepted for publication. Not a pre-print. See also South China Morning Post.
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Data:
State and Federal Data on COVID-19 Testing Don’t Match Up The Atlantic
How are COVID-19 deaths counted? Live Science
As Florida re-opens, COVID-19 data chief gets sidelined and researchers cry foul Florida Today. “But researchers who have relied on unobstructed access to underlying raw data said they interpret Jones’ removal as a clear indication of government censorship of science. ‘We would not accept this lack of transparency for any other natural disaster, so why are we willing to accept it here?’ said Jennifer Larsen, a researcher at the University of Central Florida’s LabX.”
A ‘cuckoo’ graph with no sense of time or place shows how Georgia bungled coronavirus data as it reopens Business Insider (Re Silc).
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Spread:
Coronavirus infection rate in L.A. County is falling. But it’s still in the danger zone Los Angeles Tims
What settings have been linked to SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters? [version 1; peer review: 1 approved with reservations] Wellcome Open Research. From the abstract: “We found many examples of SARS-CoV-2 clusters linked to a wide range of mostly indoor settings. Few reports came from schools, many from households, and an increasing number were reported in hospitals and elderly care settings across Europe… However, in part due to the limits in surveillance capacities in many settings, the gathering of information such as cluster sizes and attack rates is limited in several ways: inherent recall bias, biased media reporting and missing data.”
Estimating the overdispersion in COVID-19 transmission using outbreak sizes outside China [version 1; peer review: 1 approved] Wellcome Open Research. From the abstract: “Our model suggested a high degree of individual-level variation in the transmission of COVID-19…. Our finding of a highly-overdispersed offspring distribution highlights a potential benefit to focusing intervention efforts on superspreading. As most infected individuals do not contribute to the expansion of an epidemic, the effective reproduction number could be drastically reduced by preventing relatively rare superspreading events.”
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Masks:
Meltblown procedure: Producing coronavirus mask filter fleece Deutsche Welle (nvl). Fascinating. I just wish there were a (plant-based?) substitute for polypropylene, though clearly making masks from oil is more sensible than burning it.
Aerosol Filtration Efficiency of Common Fabrics Used in Respiratory Cloth Masks ACS Nano. Interesting:
We made measurements for three variations: combining one layer 600 TPI cotton with two layers of silk, two layers of chiffon, and one layer of flannel. The results are also compared with the performance of a standard N95 mask. All three hybrid combinations performed well, exceeding 80% efficiency in the 90% in the >300 nm range. These cloth hybrids are slightly inferior to the N95 mask above 300 nm, but superior for particles smaller than 300 nm.
Fit is also critical, but I view that as an artiffact of treating fabric masks as disposable, as opposed to articles of clothing. It’s good to see so much ingenious experimentation going on here.
Copper masks are the latest craze. Should you buy one? Fast Company
Mask in a restaurant? This one can gobble like Pac-Man Reuters
PPE and pestilence: The origins of medical masks Agence France Presse
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Treatment:
Trump says he’s taking hydroxychloroquine, the drug he touted as coronavirus treatment, despite FDA warnings USA Today. Big if true. Big if false. Notably, Trump is combining hydroxychloroquine with zinc, both of unknown dosages, and using the combination as a preventative, a scenario that the observational studies have not, to my knowledge tested, and which also seems to represent a rough consensus for appropriate use in the NC commentariat among students of hydroxychloroquine (we are not doctors!) The FDA recommendation is irrelevant given a physician’s prescription for off-label use. We have controlled studies coming, we don’t have them yet.
Toward Universal Deployable Guidelines for the Care of Patients With COVID-19 JAMA
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Vaccine:
Moderna Says Initial Covid-19 Vaccine Results Are Positive WSJ
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Economic effects:
Facebook Survey Shows 31% of Small Businesses Stopped Operating Bloomberg
Knock-Knock No More: Doors Are Being Redesigned Amid COVID-19 NBC10 Philadelphia
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Political response:
Fed Chair Says Coronavirus-Stricken Economy Might Not Recover Until End Of 2021 Bloomberg. Jerome Powell: “You really can’t put into words the pain people are feeling.”
US to back away from WHO move on Covid-19 drug patents FT
Coronavirus could push Social Security to insolvency before 2030 Politico. It’s bipartisan!
The Miner’s Canary: COVID-19 and the Rise of Non-Traditional Security Threats Defense One
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Remedies and ameliorations:
China?
Over 100 Million in China’s Northeast Face Renewed Lockdown Bloomberg
Caught between China and the United States: why Hong Kong is the latest battleground in the rivalry and Article 23 could be the tinder to the explosive relationship South China Miorning Post
The US needs Chinese students Asia Times
South Korea
From Haunting to Healing: On the Gwangju Uprising and ‘Human Acts’ Catapult
India
Modi’s coronavirus ‘stimulus’ for India leaves business and investors deflated FT
Allow plying of more migrant trains, Centre tells states Times of India
Indonesia’s gravediggers battle virus fears, stigma Agence France Presse
Filipino immigrant nurses pay heavy price as Covid-19 pandemic races across the globe Straits Times
New Cold War
Shock Resistance Prevention: Lessons From the 2020 Pandemic Valdai Discussion Club
Burger King, Subway and Privatization: Who is Samuel Doria Medina? Kawsachun Coca
RussiaGate
This video from Greenwald is worth listening to, and as you see it comes recommended. Grab a cup of coffee:
Great job by @ggreenwald on #systemupdate on the Flynn case – among other things, he goes into detail about the illegality of leaks to the Washington Post, why they were so unusual: https://t.co/xIP8msGzO6
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) May 17, 2020
The Media and Pundits Are Lying–The Flynn Unmasking Was Uncommon and Unusual Larry Johnson, Sic Semper Tyrannis. Very interesting, like a police procedural. It’s a shame this version of an “intelligence community” has not found its LeCarré.
RAY McGOVERN: Turn Out the Lights, Russiagate is Over Ray McGovern, Consortium News
Trump Transition
Rettig Affirms Filing Deadline, Asks Patience for IRS Reopening Tax Notes
The tyranny of the Congressional Budget Office Ryan Cooper, The Week
Health Care
Hospitals Knew How to Make Money. Then Coronavirus Happened. NYT. Wait, what? Hospitals are profit-making enterprises?
Failed State
New Jersey gym reopens in defiance of coronavirus measures Associated Press. Read the detail. Third World stuff.
Class Warfare
Pandemic diary 2020-05-05: Segregation cannot set you free Interfluidity. Today’s must-read.
Humans are not resources. Coronavirus shows why we must democratise work Guardian
Five robots that hope to save the US food supply chain FT
What I Want the Woman Behind the Counter to Know NYT. “I hope when we can take off our masks, I get to tell you how much I need you.” Consider doing what you can to improve her material conditions?
Blind people ‘read’ letters traced on their brains with electricity Nature. Don’t tell Marketing!
Antidote du Jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
I love it: This is the armadillo defense mechanism #wildlife #animals #science #fun pic.twitter.com/YoOj0erWhl
— Alexander Verbeek 🌍 (@Alex_Verbeek) January 14, 2018
More appropriate for Monday, perhaps…
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
