/Links 11/22/2020
UncategorizedNovember 22, 2020

Links 11/22/2020


Deep Frozen Arctic Microbes Are Waking Up Scientific American

D.C. Researchers Spent The Last Two Years Taking Photos For The Cat Census DCist. Now they’re counting them.

The Uniqueness of Mammals Area

In California, 1 million people lack access to clean water High Country News

Port of Los Angeles Reports Busiest Month Ever on Loaded Imports, Empty Exports gCaptain

ADM, InnovaFeed to build world’s biggest insect protein plant in Illinois Reuters

Panic buying of toilet paper hits U.S. stores again with new pandemic restrictions Reuters (Re Silc). Go long bidets. They’re better anyhow.

#COVID19

2 Companies Say Their Vaccines Are 95% Effective. What Does That Mean? NYT and Clinical Outcomes Of A COVID-19 Vaccine: Implementation Over Efficacy Health Affairs. Efficacy: trial results. Effectiveness: real world results.

A very a propos UCSF Grand Rounds:

For those with no time or inclination to listen, here’s a thread:

Big Pharma Is Always Good That’s Just Science Eschaton

* * *

Trends in County-Level COVID-19 Incidence in Counties With and Without a Mask Mandate — Kansas, June 1–August 23, 2020 Morbidity and Mortality Report. A natural experiment, from the Discussion: “After implementation of mask mandates in 24 Kansas counties, the increasing trend in COVID-19 incidence reversed. Although rates were considerably higher in mandated counties than in nonmandated counties by the executive order, rates in mandated counties declined markedly after July 3, compared with those in nonmandated counties. Kansas counties that had mask mandates in place appear to have mitigated the transmission of COVID-19, whereas counties that did not have mask mandates continued to experience increases in cases. The findings in this report are consistent with declines in COVID-19 cases observed in 15 states and the District of Columbia, which mandated masks, compared with states that did not have mask mandates (7).”

Hospital-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Infection JAMA. From the body: “Together, these findings suggest that overall hospital transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the setting of universal masking is likely rare, even during periods of high community prevalence. This has at least 2 important implications. First, it is imperative for the public to understand that hospitals with well-implemented universal masking policies are overwhelmingly safe, and public health messaging should emphasize that avoidance or delay of needed and urgent health care is not necessary. Second, despite the politicization of masking, this is an important and compelling proof of concept for the broader use of universal masking in crowded indoor settings, even with good ventilation.”

Face mask trial didn’t stop coronavirus spread, but it shows why more mask-wearing is needed LA Times. Study design matters (here it is; note the Limitation section).

If masks fog your glasses (1):

Or a band-aid. If masks fog your glasses (2):

* * *

Post-lockdown SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid screening in nearly ten million residents of Wuhan, China Nature. From the Abstract: “Stringent COVID-19 control measures were imposed in Wuhan between January 23 and April 8, 2020…. Here, we describe a city-wide SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid screening programme between May 14 and June 1, 2020 in Wuhan…. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan was therefore very low five to eight weeks after the end of lockdown.” From the Discussion: “The citywide nucleic acid screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan recruited nearly 10 million people, and found no newly confirmed cases with COVID-19. The detection rate of asymptomatic positive cases was very low, and there was no evidence of transmission from asymptomatic positive persons to traced close contacts. There were no asymptomatic positive cases in 96.4% of the residential communities.”

* * *

SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV viral load dynamics, duration of viral shedding, and infectiousness: a systematic review and meta-analysis The Lancet (this was a preprint in Links on July 31). From the Interpretation: “Although SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding in respiratory and stool samples can be prolonged, duration of viable virus is relatively short-lived. SARS-CoV-2 titres in the upper respiratory tract peak in the first week of illness. Early case finding and isolation, and public education on the spectrum of illness and period of infectiousness are key to the effective containment of SARS-CoV-2.” Summary with handy chart:

Hydroxychloroquine Inhibits the Trained Innate Immune Response to Interferons Cell Reports. From the Discussion: “We discovered a previously unknown immunomodulatory mechanism of hydroxychloroquine, namely that it prevents trained immunity through epigenetic modulation….The fact that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine avert trained immunity suggests that these drugs may not be beneficial for clearing viral infections like SARS-CoV-2 and argues against their use as a prophylactic for COVID-19.”

Data Heroes of Covid Tracking Project Are Still Filling U.S. Government Void Bloomberg

I Traced My Covid-19 Bubble and It’s Enormous Farhad Manjoo, NYT

Fauci says Santa Claus has ‘innate immunity’, won’t be spreading COVID-19 to anyone this Christmas USA Today

Loneliness and me FT

1,000 U.S. Hospitals Are ‘Critically’ Short On Staff — And More Expect To Be Soon NPR

The Scientist Who Saved Japan Once Battles a New Virus Surge Bloomberg

China?

Apple is lobbying against a bill aimed at stopping forced labor in China MSN (Re Silc).

Xi says China ready to boost global COVID-19 vaccine cooperation Reuters

Tigray’s War Against Ethiopia Isn’t About Autonomy. It’s About Economic Power. Foreign Policy

Syraqistan

Azerbaijani leader hails handover of region ceded by Armenia AP

Turkey Not Happy With Karabakh Peace Deal – Part IV Awful Avalanche

Is Russia’s naval base in Sudan a signal to Turkey … and Biden? Al Monitor

Declassify America’s Dirty Secrets In Syria To Stop A Biden War The American Conservative

Protesters march against economic, social policies in Colombian cities Reuters

Brexit

Why there will be a Brexit deal FT. “The only snag — emotions — can be overcome.” A snag…

Brexit: UK and Canada agree deal to keep trading under EU terms BBC

New Cold War

Information Threats and Arms Control: Is Russian-US Dialogue Possible? Valdai Discussion Club

Trump Transition

CIA Awards Secret Multibillion-Dollar Cloud Contract NextGov

2020

A vindictive Trump seeks to undermine Biden’s presidency WaPo

Tucker Carlson’s viewers call him a ‘traitor’ for slamming Trump’s election fraud lawyer Sidney Powell after he demanded she produce a ‘single piece of evidence’ that 8M votes were stolen from the president Daily Mail. Powell:

There are plenty of problems with how Georgia acquired its voting machines and how it runs its elections, but that (Republican) Governor Kemp, (Republican) Secretary of State Raffensperger, the CIA, and Hugo Chavez (!) somehow rigged the machines to steal the election from Trump strikes me as implausible in the extreme.

Americans Deserve the Truth, Even If It’s Unpleasant National Review. On Sidney Powell’s tripe. Electronic voting now firmly in the saddle. I hate this timeline.

Last challenge to Maricopa County election results tossed by judge Arizona Republic

Michigan, national GOP seek to delay certification of election results Detroit News

Trump campaign files for new recount in Georgia The Hill

Federal judge dismisses Trump election lawsuit in Pennsylvania NBC. But there’s a new one–

Republican Pa. congressman seeks court order throwing out all mail ballots in long-shot suit The Inquirer (the filing).

Crying Wolf on Election Fraud Is OK at NYT—if Targets Are Official Enemies FAIR

The Parties Decide The Baffler

Biden Transition

MSM Already Helping Next Administration Hide Corruption Under ‘Diversity’ Banner Caitlin Johnstone

The Oldest President Ever Will Confront a Generational Wealth Gap Bloomberg. Handy chart:

The generational averages, of course, conceal income disparity within generations. Nevertheless.

Imperial Collapse Watch

I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There Medium (Henry Moon Pie). (parts two and three).

“I Screamed Into My Radio to Ignore the Order”—Pardoned Soldier’s Comrade Still Lives With Guilt of Murdered Civilians The War Horse (linked to by the Senior Advisor for Veterans Affairs for @ProjectLincoln, venue given an award by The Atlantic Council in 2016).

Class Warfare

Uber driver says company isn’t offering him aid after passenger repeatedly kicks his face, breaks his nose Arizona Republic

A Cal Football Player Opted Out Because of the Virus. Then Came the Tuition Bill NYT (Re Silc).

We’re headed to court on Thanksgiving Eve to fight our eviction Yasha Levine

Sex and the cities FT

Balancing Epistemic Humility and Prior Knowledge Zeynep Tufecki, Insight

Antidote du jour (via):

Bonus antidote:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/11/links-11-20-2020.html“>here.

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