But such messages might also decrease belief that the vaccines work or remove an incentive to get vaccinated, ultimately undermining vaccine intentions - as articulated by this random sample of twitter folk: 3/n

We were interested in messages like these -- do they increase people’s intentions to follow guidance once vaccinated? (This is something the UK govt. was specifically interested in: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950723/s0978-spi-b-possible-impact-covid-19-vaccination-programme-adherence-to-rules-guidance.pdf…) 2/n

Another study from our new pre-print: Do reminders to continue protective behaviours (masks , distancing etc.) after vaccination increase intention to do so? & might they have perverse effects on vaccination intentions? Neither it seems!

The FDA’s top vaccine official vowed to complete the process ‘as rapidly as possible,’ but would not speculate on the timetable. Other officials have suggested it could be a matter of weeks.

The John Snow Society Annual Pumphandle Lecture will be given by Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), entitled "COVID-19: Lessons Learned and Remaining Challenges".

The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.More than 615,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Fears of backfire effects are overblown, and advice to listen and interact still stands.

A group of junior doctors from Scotland have written to young people in their age group to try to ease concerns they may have about receiving the covid-19 vaccine.

Dignity lies at the heart of our shared humanity. The Latin root of the word dignity, dignitātem, suggesting “merit” and “worth,” originally applied to persons of noble birth, or persons holding high rank. To this day, we sometimes equate dignity with social standing and bearing.

Malta, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Ireland overtake UK in fully jabbed percentages

The delta variant is very contagious. Here’s how epidemiologists are thinking through how to control it.

A single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is highly effective in preventing severe illness and death from the Delta and Beta variants of the coronavirus, data from a clinical trial in South Africa suggest.

New English law will make vaccination a condition of employment for eligible care home workers, following similar moves in Italy, France, and Greece for healthcare staff. This is reasonable, argues Michael Parker, because care institutions have a duty to protect patients; but Helen Bedford, Michael Ussher, and Martine Stead worry that such a blunt approach is unnecessary and could be counterproductive

Background The period from February to June 2021 was one during which initial wild-type SARS-CoV-2 strains were supplanted in Ontario, Canada, first by variants of concern (VOC) with the N501Y mutation (Alpha/B1.1.17, Beta/B.1.351 and Gamma/P.1 variants), and then by the Delta/B.1.617 variant. The increased transmissibility of these VOCs has been documented but data for increased virulence is limited. We used Ontario’s COVID-19 case data to evaluate the virulence of these VOCs compared to non-VOC SARS-CoV-2 infections, as measured by risk of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death.

10.1101/2021.07.05.21260050

Vaccine maker Moderna has reported net income of $2.8bn for the three months to June 30th. Rasmus Bech Hansen is chief executive of the life sciences data analytics company Airfinity, and tells us how the company's coronavirus vaccine has boosted its prospects. Also in the programme, workers at Minera Escondida, which is the world's largest copper mine, in Chile, have voted to go on strike. The BBC's Jane Chambers updates us on the negotiations from Santiago, and Julian Kettle, mining analyst with Wood Mackenzie considers the potential impact on the global copper market. We hear how games console maker Nintendo is faring after a bumper year in 2020 as a result of lockdowns, from Dr Serkan Toto, chief executive of the games industry consultancy Kantan Games in Tokyo. Plus, in the wake of the saga of office sharing company WeWork, the BBC's Ed Butler explores whether technology startup founders have become the latest wave of cult leaders.

Moderna said its COVID-19 vaccine remained 93% effective through six months after the second shot, as it reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

Brooks Fallis is a critical care physician and the former medical director and division head of critical care at the William Osler Health System.

The World Health Organization called for a moratorium on Covid-19 booster shots to enable poorer countries to catch up in vaccination rates.

Florida education officials on Friday agreed to extend private school vouchers to parents who say requiring students to wear masks amounts to a form of harassment, escalating tensions over how to slow the spread of the coronavirus as the school year approaches and cases spike.

Forecasting the evolution of contagion dynamics is still an open problem to which mechanistic models only offer a partial answer. To remain mathematically or computationally tractable, these models must rely on simplifying assumptions, thereby limiting the quantitative accuracy of their predictions and the complexity of the dynamics they can model. Here, we propose a complementary approach based on deep learning where effective local mechanisms governing a dynamic on a network are learned from time series data. Our graph neural network architecture makes very few assumptions about the dynamics, and we demonstrate its accuracy using different contagion dynamics of increasing complexity. By allowing simulations on arbitrary network structures, our approach makes it possible to explore the properties of the learned dynamics beyond the training data. Finally, we illustrate the applicability of our approach using real data of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain. Our results demonstrate how deep learning offers a new and complementary perspective to build effective models of contagion dynamics on networks.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health messaging, including guidance regarding protective health behavior (e.g., use of non-medical masks), changed over time. Although many revisions were a result of gains in scientific understanding, we nonetheless hypothesized that making changes in guidance salient would negatively impact evaluations of experts and health-protective intentions. In Study 1 (N = 300), we demonstrate that describing COVID-19 guidance in terms of inconsistency (versus consistency) leads people to perceive scientists and public health authorities less favorably (e.g., as less expert). Among a Canadian subsample, making guidance change salient also reduced intentions to download the COVID Alert contact tracing app. In Study 2 (N = 1399), we show that a brief forewarning intervention mitigates detrimental effects of changes in guidance. In the absence of forewarning, emphasizing inconsistency harmed judgments of public health authorities and reduced health-protective intentions, but forewarning eliminated this effect.

For some church choristers, whose means of livelihood were attached to church performance, the COVID-19 pandemic became challenging. How did these choristers fare during the COVID-19? 69% of the respondents claimed the church they performed in, used live online music that is being streamed live featuring just two or three members of the choir. In comparison, 14% used recorded music, either those performed by the church choristers themselves prior to the lockdown or other forms of gospel music already recorded. However, about 17% of the choristers claimed no music was used in their various churches during the online church services during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This gave room for concern; this study identified problems associated with the low-performance level of church choristers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through questionnaires purposely distributed to over a hundred and thirty (134) choristers on the researcher's WhatsApp platforms, these respondents were equally asked to send the same to their friends or family who sing in the choir residing predominantly within the Lagos metropolis in Nigeria.Responses were, therefore, collated via the Google forms. Descriptive analyses were made. The chi-square test/cross-tabulation and the Kendal tau were used to find the correlation between online performance and social media use. The study finds that the use of social media does not have a relationship with online performance. The study's implication reveals that, if the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts the choristers, then other aspects of the economy are not in saved hands from the havoc the pandemic has wrecked. Hence, singers and teachers of music should ensure they are technologically inclined. The teaching of music in school should also include computer music and how to perform online, which may lead to the school reforming her curriculum.

Most of Wales' remaining Covid rules will be lifted as the nation enters the "final lap" of the pandemic, the first minister has said.

During February and March 2020, the Italian government decided to provide guidelines in order to counter the spreading of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Several studies have shown that the first Lockdown deeply affected the psychological well-being of the individuals, but the role of possible protective variables is currently not known. In the present study we aimed to investigate the impact of several behavioral variables on individuals’ mental states and emotions experienced during the first Lockdown in Italy. Participants were 172 Italian adults and they were asked to answer several questions regarding the intensity of mental states and emotions experienced, the perceived usefulness of lockdown, the feeling of living a normal life, and the coping strategies implemented to face the pandemic. Results showed that, during the first wave of COVID-19 in Italy, only the perceived usefulness of lockdown positively affected people’s emotions. This result suggests that a better communication of the experimental findings supporting the political decisions made, and behavioral measures shaped to increase people’s commitment to the proposed rules are crucial in order to enhance people’s wellbeing. While this result is limited to the first wave and the first lockdown, future research should assess the role of rule acceptance and coping strategies in subsequent waves of COVID-19, and consequent partial or total lockdowns.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has been highly stressful for parents and children, it is clear that strategies that promote long-term family resilience are needed to protect families in future crises. One such strategy, the Family Foundations program, is focused on promoting supportive coparenting at the transition to parenthood. In a randomized trial, we tested the long-term intervention effects of Family Foundations on parent, child, and family wellbeing one to two months after the imposition of a national shelter-in-place public health intervention in 2020. We used regression models to test intervention impact on outcomes reported on by parents in a standard questionnaire format and a series of 8 days of daily reports. We also tested moderation of intervention impact by parent depression and coparenting relationship quality. Relative to control families, intervention families demonstrated significantly lower levels of individual and family problems (general parent hostility, harsh and aggressive parenting, coparenting conflict, sibling relationship conflict, and children’s negative mood and behavior problems), and higher levels of positive family relationship quality (positive parenting, couple relationship quality, sibling relations, and family cohesion). For some outcomes, including coparenting conflict, harsh parenting, and child behavior problems, intervention effects were larger for more vulnerable families—that is, families with higher pre-pandemic levels of parent depression or lower levels of coparenting relationship quality. We conclude that targeted family prevention programming is able to promote healthy parent and child functioning during unforeseen future periods of acute stress. The long-term benefits of a universal approach to family support at the transition to parenthood indicate the need for greater investment in the dissemination of effective approaches.

Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) COVID-19 vaccine is working well in South Africa, offering protection against severe disease and death, the co-head of a trial in the country said on Friday.

The population's adhesion to measures to ensure social distancing represents a great management challenge. Evidence has shown that social distancing is effective. However, it is challenging to separate government measures from social distancing driven by personal initiatives. Theory: It is possible that the output of protective behaviors, such as adherence to protective measures and staying in social isolation, is influenced by individual characteristics, such as personality traits or symptoms of mental distress of anxiogenic nature. We hypothesized that individuals with more expressive symptoms of fear or anxiety would have a more protective behavioral tendency in terms of risk exposure, leaving less home during the pandemic. In contrast, individuals with greater emotional stability, as they feel more secure and with a lower perception of risk, could go out more often. Material and Methods: A total of 2709 individuals from all regions of Brazil participated in the study (mean age = 42 years; 2134 women). Correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between personality traits according to the big five model and Psychopathological Symptoms (BSI). Then investigate how people that go out usually differ from people that stay at home, in both symptoms and personality traits. Finally, to investigate the predictors for going out usually, we use multiple regression analysis, using gender, marital status, level of education, and personality traits. Results: During the second wave of COVID-19 in Brazil, individuals with higher emotional stability tended to leave home more than those with more expressive levels of anxiogenic dysregulation. These results reinforce the role of both personality traits and psychopathological symptoms in prophylactic behavior during COVID-19 pandemics.

Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non- utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others (‘instrumental harm’) reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally (‘impartial beneficence’) may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioral (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioral measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis.

We didn’t vaccinate enough people. Unfortunately, that means that everyone will suffer the consequences of that problem.“But I’m vaccinated.” You think. “Why should I suffer?”Let me explain. This is gonna be a long journey. Let’s go.

KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: June 2021 Liz Hamel Follow @lizhamel on Twitter , Lunna Lopes , Audrey Kearney Follow @audrey__kearney on Twitter , Grace Sparks Follow @gracesparks on Twitter , Mellisha Stokes , and Mollyann Brodie Follow @Mollybrodie on Twitter Published: Jun 30, 2021 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Findings Methodology The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor is an ongoing research project tracking the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations. Using a combination of surveys and qualitative research, this project tracks the dynamic nature of public opinion as vaccine development and distribution unfold, including vaccine confidence and acceptance, information needs, trusted messengers and messages, as well as the public’s experiences with vaccination.

The highly contagious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects the respiratory tract and is transmitted, in part, by respiratory droplets and aerosols. Consequently, unvaccinated people are encouraged to wear masks in public, self-quarantine if symptomatic, and practice social distancing. Despite these precautions, millions are dying. As the pandemic takes its toll, vaccines are once again headline news, notably for the speed of their development and the success of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. Given the respiratory tropism of the virus, however, it seems surprising that only seven of the nearly 100 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines currently in clinical trials are delivered intranasally. Advantages of intranasal vaccines include needle-free administration, delivery of antigen to the site of infection, and the elicitation of mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract.

People often exhibit biases in probability weighting such as overweighting small probabilities and underweighting large probabilities. Our research examines whether increased social distance would reduce such biases. Participants completed valuation and choice tasks of probabilistic lotteries under conditions with different social distances. The results showed that increased social distance reduced these biases in both hypothetical (Studies 1 and 2) and incentivized (Study 3) settings. This reduction was accompanied by a decrease in emotional intensity and an increase in the attention to probability in the decision-making process (Study 4). Moreover, the bias-buffering effect of social distance was stronger in the gain domain than in the loss domain (Studies 1–4). These results suggest that increasing the social distance from the beneficiaries of the decisions can reduce biases in probability weighting and shed light on the relationship between social distance and the emotional-cognitive process in decision-making.

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

BackgroundSeveral cases of unusual thrombotic events and thrombocytopenia have developed after vaccination with the recombinant adenoviral vector encoding the spike protein antigen of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (ChAdOx1 nCov-19, AstraZeneca). More data were needed on the pathogenesis of this unusual clotting disorder. MethodsWe assessed the clinical and laboratory features of 11 patients in Germany and Austria in whom thrombosis or thrombocytopenia had developed after vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCov-19. We used a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect platelet factor 4 (PF4)–heparin antibodies and a modified (PF4-enhanced) platelet-activation test to detect platelet-activating antibodies under various reaction conditions. Included in this testing were samples from patients who had blood samples referred for investigation of vaccine-associated thrombotic events, with 28 testing positive on a screening PF4–heparin immunoassay. ResultsOf the 11 original patients, 9 were women, with a median age of 36 years (range, 22 to 49). Beginning 5 to 16 days after vaccination, the patients presented with one or more thrombotic events, with the exception of 1 patient, who presented with fatal intracranial hemorrhage. Of the patients with one or more thrombotic events, 9 had cerebral venous thrombosis, 3 had splanchnic-vein thrombosis, 3 had pulmonary embolism, and 4 had other thromboses; of these patients, 6 died. Five patients had disseminated intravascular coagulation. None of the patients had received heparin before symptom onset. All 28 patients who tested positive for antibodies against PF4–heparin tested positive on the platelet-activation assay in the presence of PF4 independent of heparin. Platelet activation was inhibited by high levels of heparin, Fc receptor–blocking monoclonal antibody, and immune globulin (10 mg per milliliter). Additional studies with PF4 or PF4–heparin affinity purified antibodies in 2 patients confirmed PF4-dependent platelet activation. ConclusionsVaccination with ChAdOx1 nCov-19 can result in the rare development of immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia mediated by platelet-activating antibodies against PF4, which clinically mimics autoimmune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. (Funded by the German Research Foundation.)

Israel says technical issues have scuppered deal to give UK Covid vaccines expiring on 30 July

A third coronavirus wave fueled by the highly contagious delta variant is battering two of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations on opposite coasts, Los Cabos in the Pacific and Cancun on the Caribbean.

Experts react with dismay to ‘frightening’ attitude of Sajid Javid towards removing protections

Health experts agree the COVID-19 vaccines have proved to be extremely effective against the virus, including providing protection from the highly contagious Delta variant.

On Tuesday morning, I stood outside the Knox County Health Department and asked people walking in why they were finally getting their COVID shot. Only 45.7 percent of Knox County residents are fully vaccinated, and COVID cases are rising here, with the seven-day average of cases at its highest level since early May. Last week, Tennessee’s top vaccination official, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, was fired from her position at the state’s Department of Health after Republican lawmakers objected to the department’s COVID outreach to teenagers (listen to Slate’s interview with Fiscus here). The department has halted all vaccination outreach to minors, not only for COVID.

Canada's demand for COVID-19 vaccines is slowly dropping, experts say, and they warn that those waiting to see whether cases spike before getting their jabs are wasting time the body needs to build sufficient immunity.

Conversations about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 felt by racially minoritised communities in the UK have also highlighted the pervasive and longstanding health inequalities they experience.

The politics of misinformation related to COVID-19 The politicization of COVID-19 Partisanship, demographics and the infodemic problem Report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on Antivaxxers: modern snake-oil salesmen affect public perception about COVID-19 and vaccines Vested interests affect COVID-19 policies Politicization of COVID-19 vaccines Politicization of delayed rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the EU Misinformation regarding Covid-19 vaccines in EU countries The politicization of COVID-19 Research Climate denial and covid denial

Dr. Brytney Cobia said Monday that all but one of her COVID patients in Alabama did not receive the vaccine. The vaccinated patient, she said, just needed a little oxygen and is expected to fully recover. Some of the others are dying.

The COVID-19 pandemic along with the restrictions that were introduced within Europe starting in spring 2020 allows for the identification of predictors for relationship quality during unstable and stressful times. The present study began as strict measures were enforced in response to the rising spread of the COVID-19 virus within Austria, Poland, Spain and Czech Republic. Here, we investigated quality of romantic relationships among 313 participants as movement restrictions were implemented and subsequently phased out cross-nationally. Participants completed self-report questionnaires over a period of 7 weeks, where we predicted relationship quality and change in relationship quality using machine learning models that included a variety of potential predictors related to psychological, demographic and environmental variables. On average, our machine learning models predicted 29% (linear models) and 22% (non-linear models) of the variance with regard to relationship quality. Here, the most important predictors consisted of attachment style (anxious attachment being more influential than avoidant), age, and number of conflicts within the relationship. Interestingly, environmental factors such as the local severity of the pandemic did not exert a measurable influence with respect to predicting relationship quality. As opposed to overall relationship quality, the change in relationship quality during lockdown restrictions could not be predicted accurately by our machine learning models when utilizing our selected features. In conclusion, we demonstrate cross-culturally that attachment security is a major predictor of relationship quality during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, whereas fear, pathogenic threat, sexual behavior, and the severity of governmental regulations did not significantly influence the accuracy of prediction.

Amid a COVID surge in Africa, vaccine promises from richer nations are not enough to bring an early end to the pandemic, experts say.

A number of leaders on the right suddenly urged their audiences to get vaccinated in the past day. Why now?

Fully vaccinated Britons could miss out on going abroad because of “human error” which means jabs aren’t always being saved onto the NHS app.

From the start of the worldwide coronavirus vaccination campaign, the anti-vaccine movement and vaccine skeptics picked an unfortunate case study: Israel. The country shot to the lead of the pack with an aggressive vaccination campaign, but its results weren’t as instantaneous as these critics suggested they should have been. Cases in Israel kept rising for a little while! So they pitched Israel as evidence that maybe the vaccines didn’t really work that well.

This is the third installment of a four-part insights report series, published at the start of each month, that provides a summary of the key trends and insights on information disorder related to vaccines over the past 30 days. As First Draft continues to monitor Covid-19 vaccine misinformation around the world, these reports are designed to highlight the most relevant media trends, narratives, emerging threats and data deficits we identify.

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Two doses of Pfizer (PFE.N) or AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine are nearly as effective against the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant as they are against the previously dominant Alpha variant, a study published on Wednesday showed.

Vaccines based on the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 are being rolled out globally to control transmission and limit morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19. Current evidence indicates strong immunogenicity and high short-term efficacy for BNT162b2 (Pfizer–BioNTech) and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford–AstraZeneca).1Polack FP Thomas SJ Kitchin N et al.Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.N Engl J Med. 2020; 383: 2603-2615Crossref PubMed Scopus (1358) Google Scholar,  2Voysey M Clemens SAC Madhi SA et al.Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK.Lancet. 2021; 397: 99-111Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (609) Google Scholar,  3Lopez Bernal J Andrews N Gower C et al.Effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines on covid-19 related symptoms, hospital admissions, and mortality in older adults in England: test negative case-control study.BMJ. 2021; 13: 373Google Scholar Both vaccines are delivered through a prime-boost strategy, and many countries, including the UK, have used dose intervals longer than 3–4 weeks, expecting to maximise first-dose coverage and immunogenicity. With continued high global incidence, and potential for more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants, data on longer-term vaccine efficacy and antibody dynamics in infection-naive individuals are essential for clarifying the need for further booster doses.

Health information sources and the level of trust in a particular source may influence the subsequent adoption of advocated health behaviors. Information source preference and levels of trust are also likely to be influenced by sociodemographic (culture, age, gender) variables. Understanding these source-trust-behavior relationships across various national and cultural contexts is integral to improved health messaging. The present study identified the sources most frequently consulted to obtain information about COVID-19 during the pandemic's early stages in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study quantified levels of trust across an array of information sources, factoring in sociodemographic variables. Finally, the study explored the relationship between sociodemographic variables, levels of trust in information sources, and the adoption of COVID-19 related protective behaviors. Participants (n = 1585) were recruited during the first 2 weeks of April 2020 via announcements in the UAE media and through email networks. All participants completed a web-based survey presented in English or Arabic, as preferred. The most frequently consulted information sources were websites (health information websites), social media, government communications, and family and friends. The sources rated most trustworthy were: personal physicians, health care professionals, and government communications. There were differences in the use of sources and levels of trust according to age, gender, and education. The levels of trust in sources of information were associated with the adoption of protective behaviors, significantly so for citizens of the UAE. These findings may help inform the improvement of pandemic–related health messaging in multicultural contexts.

That’s a bit short of “go get vaccinated,” sure, but it’s at least a step in the direction that many critics have been hoping to push the network. Polling repeatedly shows that Republicans are more likely to express opposition to being vaccinated against the virus, and Fox News is the most popular network among Republican viewers.

Täglich prasselt eine Vielzahl von Informationen zur Coronaimpfung auf die Menschen ein – dabei sind längst nicht alle Fakten wissenschaftlich belegt und damit verlässlich.

Biden said social media companies are ‘killing people’ by spreading vaccine misinformation

Enhancing vaccine uptake is a critical public health challenge1. Overcoming vaccine hesitancy2,3 and failure to follow-through on vaccination intentions3 requires effective communication strategies3,4. We present two sequential randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to test the impact of behavioral interventions on COVID-19 vaccine uptake. We designed text-based reminders that make vaccination salient and easy, and delivered them to patients of a healthcare system one day (first RCT; N=93,354, clinicaltrials #NCT04800965) and eight days (second RCT; N=67,092, NCT04801524) after they received notification of vaccine eligibility. The first reminder boosted appointments and vaccination rates within the healthcare system by 6.07 (84%) and 3.57 (26%) percentage points, respectively; the second reminder increased those outcomes by 1.65 and 1.06 percentage points, respectively. The first reminder was more impactful when it made patients feel the vaccine was already theirs. However, we find no evidence that combining it with an information intervention addressing vaccine hesitancy heightened its effect. Online studies (N=3,181) examining vaccination intentions reveal divergent patterns from the first RCT, underscoring the importance of pilot-testing interventions in the field. These findings inform the design of behavioral nudges for promoting health decisions5, highlighting the value of making vaccination easy and inducing feelings of ownership.

Any global-health researcher can tell you that solving one problem at a time is not enough. As the COVID-19 pandemic surges in Africa, securing access to vaccines is the dominant focus. But more must be done to ensure citizens will get them. The best option, in my view, is cash incentives.

People may repeatedly encounter the same misinformation when it “goes viral.” The results of four main experiments (two preregistered) and a pilot experiment (total N = 2,587) suggest that repeatedly encountering misinformation makes it seem less unethical to spread—regardless of whether one believes it. Seeing a fake-news headline one or four times reduced how unethical participants thought it was to publish and share that headline when they saw it again—even when it was clearly labeled as false and participants disbelieved it, and even after we statistically accounted for judgments of how likeable and popular it was. In turn, perceiving the headline as less unethical predicted stronger inclinations to express approval of it online. People were also more likely to actually share repeated headlines than to share new headlines in an experimental setting. We speculate that repeating blatant misinformation may reduce the moral condemnation it receives by making it feel intuitively true, and we discuss other potential mechanisms that might explain this effect.

While effective vaccines against the SARS-COV-2 virus have been developed and countries around the world have invested heavily to secure vaccine rollout, a fundamental challenge remains. How do policy-makers around the world ensure high vaccine uptake? What is lacking is a comprehensive assessment that captures a total spectrum of features related to the development of a vaccine, the vaccine's characteristics as well as the implementation of the vaccination program. To provide such an assessment, we designed a conjoint experiment embedded in large-scale surveys based on a random sample from the central database of Danish social security numbers (N = 3,099), providing a sample that is representative for the adult Danish population. In the conjoint experiment, we vary features relating to three dimensions: 1) the stage of vaccine development, 2) the specific characteristics of the vaccine, and 3) the implementation of the vaccination strategy. We show that the features relating to characteristics of the specific vaccine have the strongest impact on vaccine acceptance. The features relating to vaccine development were the second most powerful, while the features relating to the implementation of the vaccination strategy were the least.

People rely heavily on information from the social world to inform their real-world beliefs. We ask whether the perceived prevalence of a belief, divorced from any direct evidence, serves as an independent cue in belief updating. Using real-world pseudoscientific and conspiratorial claims, our experiment (N = 403 American adults) shows that increases in people’s estimates of the prevalence of a belief led to increases in their endorsement of said belief. Belief change was most dramatic when initial beliefs were most uncertain and when novel prevalence information was most convincing, suggesting that people weigh social information rationally with other information sources. We discuss the implications of our results in the context of online misinformation.

Although it is under-studied relative to other social media platforms, YouTube is arguably the largest and most engaging online media consumption platform in the world. Recently, YouTube’s scale has fueled concerns that YouTube users are being radicalized via a combination of biased recommendations and ostensibly apolitical “anti-woke” channels, both of which have been claimed to direct attention to radical political content. Here we test this hypothesis using a representative panel of more than 300,000 Americans and their individual-level browsing behavior, on and off YouTube, from January 2016 through December 2019. Using a labeled set of political news channels, we find that news consumption on YouTube is dominated by mainstream and largely centrist sources. Consumers of far-right content, while more engaged than average, represent a small and stable percentage of news consumers. However, consumption of “anti-woke” content, defined in terms of its opposition to progressive intellectual and political agendas, grew steadily in popularity and is correlated with consumption of far-right content off-platform. We find no evidence that engagement with far-right content is caused by YouTube recommendations systematically, nor do we find clear evidence that anti-woke channels serve as a gateway to the far right. Rather, consumption of political content on YouTube appears to reflect individual preferences that extend across the web as a whole.

BACK in March, an eventual end to the coronavirus pandemic appeared to be in sight. The number of covid-19 cases were plummeting in the UK and the US as vaccination levels rose. It seemed the same might gradually happen in country after country around the world.

There is great theoretical and applied interest in understanding the psychology of risk - but what are defining features of lay people's semantic representation of this concept? We contribute a new approach to mapping the semantics of risk based on word associations that promises to provide insight into individual and group differences. Specifically, we introduce a novel mini-snowball word-association paradigm and use the tools of network and sentiment analysis to characterize the semantics of "risk" from 1,205 respondents (age range = 18-86; 50\% female). We find that association-based representations extend those extracted from past survey- and text-based approaches to the semantics of risk. Crucially, we show that the semantics of risk vary systematically across demographic groups, with older and female respondents showing more negative connotations and mentioning more often certain types of activities (e.g., recreational activities) relative to younger adults and males, respectively. Our work has implications for the measurement of risk-related constructs by suggesting that "risk" means different things to different individuals.

False and misleading information is readily accessible in people’s environments, oftentimes reaching people repeatedly. This repeated exposure can significantly affect people’s beliefs about the world, as has been noted by scholars in political science, communication, and cognitive, developmental, and social psychology. In particular, repetition increases belief in false information, even when the misinformation contradicts prior knowledge. We review work across these disciplines, identifying factors that may heighten, diminish, or have no impact on these adverse effects of repetition on belief. Specifically, we organize our discussion around variations in what information is repeated, to whom the information is repeated, how people interact with this repetition, and how people’s beliefs are measured. A key cross-disciplinary theme is that the most influential factor is how carefully or critically people process the false information. However, several open questions remain when comparing findings across different fields and approaches. We conclude by noting a need for more interdisciplinary work to help resolve these questions, as well as a need for more work in naturalistic settings so that we can better understand and combat the effects of repeated circulation of false and misleading information in society.

Conspiracy theories quickly flourished as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and this may have been an underlying factor for some individuals in their reluctance to adhere to lockdown policies. In the present study, we surveyed a community sample of 1358 adults just prior to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our results supported that right-wing individuals tended to have higher hesitancy associated with taking the COVID-19 vaccine. However, we demonstrated that this association, in part, can be explained by a corresponding belief in COVID-19 related conspiracies. Further, this association only emerged when associated with a general distrust in science. Our findings indicated that public interventions seeking to increase trust in science may mitigate right-wing endorsement of conspiracy theories and thus lead to a more unified and positive response to public health behaviours such as vaccination.

With the rise of social media, everyone has the potential to be both a consumer and producer of online content. As a result, the role that word of mouth plays in news consumption has been dramatically increased. Although one might assume that consumers share news because they believe it to be true, widespread concerns about the spread of misinformation suggest that truthfulness may actually not be a dominant driver of sharing online. Across two studies with 5,000 participants, we investigate what makes news sharable on social media. We find that sharing is positively predicted by two separate factors. One factor does involve the headline’s perceived accuracy, as well as its familiarity. The second, however, involves the headline’s perceived importance and emotional evocativeness. This second factor is negatively associated with the headline’s objective veracity, and less decision weight is put on the second factor by subjects with more cognitive reflection and political knowledge, and by subjects who are less politically conservative. These findings have important implications for news publishers, social media platforms, and society at large.

COVID-19 and the 2021 U.S. Capitol attacks have highlighted the potential dangers of pseudoscientific and conspiratorial belief adoption. Approaches to combating misinformed beliefs have tried to “pre-bunk” or “inoculate” people against misinformation adoption and have yielded only modest results. These approaches presume that some citizens may be more gullible than others and thus susceptible to multiple misinformed beliefs. We provide evidence of an alternative account it’s simply too hard for all people to be accurate in all domains of belief, but most individuals are trying. We collected data on a constellation of human beliefs across domains from more than 1,700 people on Amazon Mechanical Turk. We find misinformed beliefs to be broadly, but thinly, spread among the population. Further, we do not find that individuals who adopt one misinformed belief are more likely to engage in pseudo-scientific or conspiratorial thinking across the board, in opposition to “slippery slope” notions of misinformation adoption.

Explanations of science denial rooted in individual cognition tend to focus on general trait-like factors such as cognitive style, conspiracist ideation or delusional ideation. However, we argue that this focus typically glosses over the concrete, mechanistic elements of belief formation, such as hypothesis generation, data gathering, or hypothesis evaluation. We show, empirically, that such elements predict variance in science denial not accounted for by cognitive style, even after accounting for social factors such as political ideology. We conclude that a cognitive account of science denial would benefit from the study of complex (i.e., open-ended, multi-stage) problem solving that incorporates these mechanistic elements.

Researchers aim to determine optimal gap between doses as well as explore potential side-effects in more detail

Anti-Asian racism is a public health concern, and it has escalated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Bystanders—individuals who directly witness or become aware of acts of racism—can help by discouraging perpetrations of discrimination (and other forms of violence), offering help and support to victims, and reinforcing antiracist prosocial norms. Yet, little is known about who engages in antiracist bystander interventions in response to discriminatory events, and who engages in proactive bystander behaviors to discourage future acts of racism. In the current study, 456 US community adults of diverse ethnoracial backgrounds (18-85 years, Mage = 48.8, 52.0% women, 212 Asian Americans) reported on their experiences with discrimination, attitudes about the acceptability of discrimination, and engagement in proactive and reactive bystander behaviors. About 40% of the Asian American participants experienced discrimination during a one-week period in early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among individuals who witnessed anti-Asian discrimination during the study period, 45% of them engaged in antiracist reactive bystander interventions. Controlling for ethnicity, gender, and attitudes about the acceptability of discrimination, individuals who reported more frequent experiences with everyday discrimination prior to the pandemic were more likely to engage in reactive bystander behaviors in response to anti-Asian discrimination. Lifetime experiences with discrimination may contribute to individuals’ active engagement in antiracist bystander behaviors. Future research directions on antiracist bystander actions and allyship are discussed.

Sexual and gender minorities (SGM) constitute vulnerable groups in many countries. Thus, they might be affected to a different extent than heterosexual and cisgender individuals by the Coronavirus pandemic. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the current state of international research on the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on SGM individuals. Following the PRISMA protocol, we synthesized 35 publications including different article formats. Key findings yield that SGM individuals overall suffer to a larger extent from combinations of both minority- and pandemic-specific stressors. Some evidence was contradicting across studies, for example changes in the extent of risk behavior, and minority stress experiences during the pandemic. Although our review distinctively spots on the impact of the pandemic on SGM individuals’ lives, its pathways still remain to be better understood. Moreover, future research should also examine the yet unforeseeable long-term consequences of the pandemic for SGM populations.

Background There have been recent reports of myocarditis (including myocarditis, pericarditis or myopericarditis) as a side-effect of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in young males. Less information is available regarding the risk of myocarditis from COVID-19 infection itself. Such data would be helpful in developing a complete risk-benefit analysis for this population.Methods A de-identified, limited data set was created from the TriNetX Research Network, aggregating electronic health records from 48 mostly large U.S. Healthcare Organizations (HCOs). Inclusion criteria were a first COVID-19 diagnosis during the April 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021 time period, with an outpatient visit 1 month to 2 years before, and another 6 months to 2 years before that. Analysis was stratified by sex and age (12-17, 12-15, 16-19). Patients were excluded for any prior cardiovascular condition. Primary outcome was an encounter diagnosis of myocarditis within 90 days following the index date. Rates of COVID-19 cases and myocarditis not identified in the system were estimated and the results adjusted accordingly. Wilson score intervals were used for 95% confidence intervals due to the very low probability outcome.Results For the 12-17-year-old male cohort, 6/6,846 (0.09%) patients developed myocarditis overall, with an adjusted rate per million of 876 cases (Wilson score interval 402 - 1,911). For the 12-15 and 16-19 male age groups, the adjusted rates per million were 601 (257 - 1,406) and 561 (240 - 1,313).For 12-17-year-old females, there were 3 (0.04%) cases of myocarditis of 7,361 patients. The adjusted rate was 213 (73 - 627) per million cases. For the 12-15- and 16-19-year-old female cohorts the adjusted rates per million cases were 235 (64 - 857) and 708 (359 - 1,397). The outcomes occurred either within 5 days (40.0%) or from 19-82 days (60.0%).Conclusions Myocarditis (or pericarditis or myopericarditis) from primary COVID19 infection occurred at a rate as high as 450 per million in young males. Young males infected with the virus are up 6 times more likely to develop myocarditis as those who have received the vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccination efforts are underway offering hope for saving lives and eliminating the pandemic. The most promising vaccines require two injections separated 3-4 weeks apart. To achieve heard immunity, 70-90% of the population or perhaps more must be inoculated. Anticipation of adherence challenges has generated commentaries on strategies to enhance adherence including financial incentives. A notable gap in these commentaries is any discussion of the scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of financial incentives for increasing vaccine adherence. This commentary addresses that gap. There is a body of controlled trials on incentivizing vaccine adherence, mostly to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine among injection drug users (IDUs). Prevalence of HBV infection is increasing as part of the opioid addiction crisis. The HBV vaccine entails a three-dose regimen (typically 0, 1, and 6 months) which has created adherence challenges among IDUs. Systematic literature reviews document significant benefit of financial incentives. For example, a 2019 meta-analysis (Tressler & Bhandari, 2019) examined 11 controlled trials examining HBV-vaccine adherence strategies, including financial incentives, accelerated dosing schedules, and case-management/enhanced services. Financial incentives were most effective resulting in a 7-fold increase in adherence to the vaccination regimen relative to no financial incentives (OR, 7.01; 95% CI, 2.88-17.06). Additional reviews provide further support for the efficacy of financial incentives for promoting adherence with vaccination (HBV & influenza). Overall, this literature suggests that financial incentives could be helpful in promoting the high levels of adherence to COVID-19 vaccines that experts project will be necessary for herd immunity.

As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, the possibility of ‘pandemic fatigue’ has raised worldwide concerns. Here, we examine whether there was a gradual reduction in adherence to protective behaviours against COVID-19 from March through December 2020, as hypothesized in expectations of fatigue. We considered self-report behaviours from representative samples of the populations of 14 countries (N = 238,797), as well as mobility and policy data for 124 countries. Our results show that changes in adherence were empirically meaningful and geographically widespread. While a low-cost and habituating behaviour (mask wearing) exhibited a linear rise in adherence, high-cost and sensitizing behaviours (physical distancing) declined, but this decline decelerated over time, with small rebounds seen in later months. Reductions in adherence to physical distancing showed little difference across societal groups, but were less intense in countries with high interpersonal trust. Alternative underlying mechanisms and policy implications are discussed.

The government has a moral duty to encourage vaccine uptake, though it must find a way to minimise the backlash

The Australian Labor party has suggested using money to encourage Covid vaccinations, a strategy that is popular around the word

Spectrum of measures including incentives and hardline laws have met with responses varying from rise in uptake to wave of protests

Researchers in US reveal messaging increased rates across demographic groups, even among most hesitant

More than 20,000 people a minute book jabs after cafes, malls and trains ruled out of bounds for the unvaccinated

Roughly one-fifth of Americans were initially hesitant about or squarely against getting the Covid-19 vaccine but have since gotten their shots, according to polling released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

At the beginning of 2021 as vaccine distribution began in the U.S., KFF conducted interviews with a nationally representative sample of adults using open-ended questions to better understand public concerns around receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Six months later, we recontacted these individuals to find out whether they chose to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, their reasoning behind their decisions, and how they are feeling about their choice. The vast majority (92%) of those who planned to get vaccinated “as soon as possible” in early 2021 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as have slightly more than half (54%) of individuals who had previously said they wanted to “wait and see” before getting vaccinated. On the other hand, a majority (76%) of people who had previously said they would “only get vaccinated if required” or said they would “definitely not” get a COVID-19 vaccine remain unvaccinated. One-fifth of adults (21%) now report being vaccinated after saying in January they planned on waiting to get vaccinated, would only get it if required, or would definitely not get vaccinated. Many of these individuals noted the role of their friends and family members as well as their personal doctors in persuading them to get a vaccine. Seeing their friends and family members get vaccinated without serious side effects, talking to family members about being able to safely visit, and conversations with their personal doctors about their own risks were all persuasive factors for these individuals. A small but meaningful share also say the easing of restrictions for vaccinated people was a factor in their decision to get a vaccine. When asked to name the feeling that best describes how they feel now that they have been vaccinated, nearly a quarter of vaccinated adults offer responses around feeling safe (24%) and relieved (22%). Other positive feelings reported were freedom, confidence, and more certainty that if they did get COVID-19 it would be less serious or they were less likely to die from it. And while most respondents react with some positive emotion, one in ten said they felt the same or neutral. This feeling was more common among those who initially said they would “wait and see” in January or who said they would only get vaccinated if required or would not get vaccinated. Conversations with family members and friends have played a major role in persuading people to get vaccinated. Two-thirds of vaccinated adults say they have tried to persuade their friends and family members to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and 17% of adults who are now vaccinated after saying in January they planned on waiting to get vaccinated, would only get it if required, or would definitely not get vaccinated, say they were persuaded to do so by a family member and 5% say they were persuaded by a friend. In addition to this, others cite protecting friends and family members as the main reason for getting vaccinated and others offer being able to see their friends and family members as well as family pressure or encouragement as the main reasons why they chose to receive a vaccine. About one-fourth of those who previously said they planned on getting vaccinated “as soon as possible” or were wanting to “wait and see” before getting a vaccine, remain unvaccinated six months later. Some of these individuals either have an appointment to get a vaccine or still plan on getting it as soon as they are able, but one in ten (6% of total) now say they either will “only get vaccinated if required” or say they will “definitely not” get a vaccine. When asked what changed their mind, many offer concerns about the side effects of the vaccine as the reasons why they now do not plan on getting vaccinated. Being concerned about side effects is the top reason offered by unvaccinated people for why they haven’t gotten a COVID-19 vaccine. When asked what would motivate them to get vaccinated against COVID-19, most in the “wait and see” group say they just want more time to see how the vaccine affects others who have already gotten it.

In the latest salvo of the social media wars, a coalition of liberal individuals and groups has written to Facebook and Twitter urging them to ban 12 people who, one study found, spread the bulk of disinformation about coronavirus vaccines. 

The B.1.617.2 (delta) variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), has contributed to a surge in cases in India and has now been detected across the globe, including a notable increase in cases in the United Kingdom. The effectiveness of the BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines against this variant has been unclear.

A fresh wave of deaths and hospitalizations like the ones that crippled the country last year loom on the horizon if people don’t wise up and get vaccinated against COVID-19, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees Wednesday that they will delay office returns by a month to October.The company said it will require employees on campus to be vaccinated.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is associated with a risk for vaccine-induced immune thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome in the range of one to two cases per 100 000 vaccinations, with younger women showing the highest risk.1Greinacher A Thiele T Warkentin TE Weisser K Kyrle PA Eichinger S Thrombotic thrombocytopenia after ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination.N Engl J Med. 2021; 384: 2092-2101Crossref PubMed Scopus (159) Google Scholar,  2Scully M Singh D Lown R et al.Pathologic antibodies to platelet factor 4 after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination.N Engl J Med. 2021; 384: 2202-2211Crossref PubMed Google Scholar Additional cases have been reported for the Johnson & Johnson adenoviral vector-based Ad26.CoV2.S COVID-19 vaccine.3MacNeil JR Su JR Broder KR et al.Updated recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for use of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine after reports of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome among vaccine recipients—United States, April 2021.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021; 70: 651-656Crossref PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar Vaccine-induced antibodies against platelet factor 4 have been implicated in the pathogenesis.1Greinacher A Thiele T Warkentin TE Weisser K Kyrle PA Eichinger S Thrombotic thrombocytopenia after ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination.N Engl J Med. 2021; 384: 2092-2101Crossref PubMed Scopus (159) Google Scholar,  2Scully M Singh D Lown R et al.Pathologic antibodies to platelet factor 4 after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination.N Engl J Med. 2021; 384: 2202-2211Crossref PubMed Google Scholar These antibodies might be amplified by booster vaccination with an adenoviral vector, which prompted recommendations to boost with an mRNA-based vaccine instead, although data on safety and efficacy of heterologous prime–boost regimens are sparse.4

Thirty-two deaths from the swine flu vaccine in 1976 halted the programme. Our verdict Full Fact could not find a confirmed number of deaths reported after a swine flu vaccine in 1976, but reports suggest that a number of the deaths could not be directly linked with the vaccine. The rollout was halted because of a number of reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome, and the fact the swine flu cases never reached pandemic levels.

Vaccines are thought to be the best available solution for controlling the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, the emergence of vaccine-resistant strains may come too rapidly for current vaccine developments to alleviate the health, economic and social consequences of the pandemic. To quantify and characterize the risk of such a scenario, we created a SIR-derived model with initial stochastic dynamics of the vaccine-resistant strain to study the probability of its emergence and establishment. Using parameters realistically resembling SARS-CoV-2 transmission, we model a wave-like pattern of the pandemic and consider the impact of the rate of vaccination and the strength of non-pharmaceutical intervention measures on the probability of emergence of a resistant strain. As expected, we found that a fast rate of vaccination decreases the probability of emergence of a resistant strain. Counterintuitively, when a relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions happened at a time when most individuals of the population have already been vaccinated the probability of emergence of a resistant strain was greatly increased. Consequently, we show that a period of transmission reduction close to the end of the vaccination campaign can substantially reduce the probability of resistant strain establishment. Our results suggest that policymakers and individuals should consider maintaining non-pharmaceutical interventions and transmission-reducing behaviours throughout the entire vaccination period.

Real-world evidence from a medical centre links high levels of potent antibodies after vaccination to a reduced risk of infection.

A Black couple who refused to be vaccinated because of concerns about the federal government's infamous Tuskegee study have died from COVID-19.

They’re not all anti-vaxxers, and treating them as such is making things worse.

Government seeks to drive up vaccination rate amid resurgence in coronavirus infections

To enter nightclubs and some other venues, proof of two coronavirus jabs will be compulsory for most

Staff making reminder calls are being threatened for carrying out NHS work, say doctors’ leaders

Five days after the World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University began cataloging misinformation efforts surrounding the spread of the coronavirus in collaboration with Microsoft Research. Our initial goal was to support industry efforts to limit the spread of false narratives about the pandemic, and we realized that categorizing the stories we found in a systematic way and making the data public could contribute to a much broader understanding of trends in COVID-19 misinformation. Led by Jacob Shapiro, a professor at Princeton, and research specialists Samikshya Siwakoti and Jan Oledan, our team of undergraduate students from Princeton tapped into their language skills to scour the internet and social media the world over to identify, record, and track COVID-19 misinformation narratives. We eventually recruited an international network of 28 research assistants from six universities across 10 countries, covering misinformation stories in every region of the world, from Europe and the Middle East, to Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the United States. By December 2020, we recorded 5,613 distinct misinformation stories from over 80 countries, in 35 languages. The global reach of the pandemic created a unique opportunity for a regional analysis of misinformation trends. It allowed us to explore the ways in which misinformation actors in many countries, regions, and cultural contexts responded against the common backdrop of COVID-19. We observed several overlapping misinformation narratives. No matter where in the world we looked, there were plenty of claims of false cures or fake home remedies, outlandish accounts of supposed government conspiracies, and reports of exaggerated case counts meant to instill fear— trends we explored in a series of articles in the Bulletin over the past year. Most of these stories appear to have been efforts to shape political debates. But a myriad of motivations likely prompted the misinformation we found—including people seeking ideological ends, political gain, and financial profit. An overwhelming majority—80 percent of the stories—were spread by individuals on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, while 17 percent were spread by media outlets and political figures. It is often suggested that all politics is local; so is misinformation. Contrary to what one might expect from the globalized information environment, the salient themes in pandemic-related false narratives varied significantly across regions and countries; localized false narratives prevailed over global ones. When generating misinformation, social media users seemed to absorb a common set of COVID-19 background conditions and use them to falsify specific narratives to reflect local and regional realities.

LONG THREAD on masks. Mute if not interested. Do masks work? Why do some people claim they don’t work? Do they cause harm? What kinds of masks should we wear? How does masking need to change now we know that Covid is airborne? When can we stop wearing them? Get your popcorn. 1/

But partisanship isn’t the only thing that has shaped Americans’ vaccination status. Unvaccinated Americans tend to be younger, less well-educated and poorer; they are also more likely to be a person of color. The situation we’re in is not just because of politics but also because of access to the vaccine and broader skepticism of the health care system.

Objectives To estimate the absolute risk of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in the two weeks following a diagnosis of COVID-19, and to assess the relative risks (RR) compared to influenza or the administration of an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19.Design Retrospective cohort study based on an electronic health records networkSetting Linked records between primary and secondary care centres within 59 healthcare organisations, primarily in the USAParticipants All patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 between January 20, 2020 and March 25, 2021 were included (N=537,913, mean [SD] age: 46.2 [21.4] years; 54.9% females). Cohorts (matched for age, sex, and race) of participants diagnosed with influenza (N=392,424) or receiving the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccine (N=366,869) were used for comparison.Main outcome measures Diagnosis of CVT (ICD-10 code I67.6) or PVT (ICD-10 code I81) within 2 weeks after a diagnosis of COVID-19.Results The incidence of CVT after COVID-19 diagnosis was 42.8 per million people (95% CI 28.5–64.2) including 35.3 per million (95% CI 22.6–55.2) first diagnoses. This was significantly higher than the CVT incidence in a matched cohort of patients with influenza (RR=3.83, 95% CI 1.56–9.41, P<0.001) and people who received an mRNA vaccine (RR=6.67, 95% CI 1.98–22.43, P<0.001). The incidence of PVT after COVID-19 diagnosis was 392.3 per million people (95% CI 342.8–448.9) including 175.0 per million (95% CI 143.0–214.1) first diagnoses. This was significantly higher than the PVT incidence in a matched cohort of patients with influenza (RR=1.39, 95% CI 1.06–1.83, P=0.02) and people who received an mRNA vaccine (RR=7.40, 95% CI 4.87–11.24, P<0.001). Mortality after CVT and PVT was 17.4% and 19.9% respectively.Conclusions The incidence of CVT and PVT is significantly increased after COVID-19. The data highlight the risk of serious thrombotic events in COVID-19 and can help contextualize the risks and benefits of vaccination in this regard.

As the world reflects upon one year since the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and prepare for and experience surges in cases, it is important to identify the most crucial ethical issues that might lie ahead so that countries are able to plan accordingly. Some ethical issues are rather obvious to predict, such as the ethical issues surrounding the use of immunity certificates, contact tracing, and the fair allocation of vaccines globally. Yet, the most significant ethical challenge that the world must address in the next year and beyond is to ensure that we learn the ethical lessons of the first year of this pandemic. Learning from our collective experiences thus far constitutes our greatest moral obligation. Appreciating that decision-making in the context of a pandemic is constrained by unprecedented complexity and uncertainty, beginning in June 2020, an international group of 17 experts in bioethics spanning 15 countries (including low-, middle-, and high-income countries) met virtually to identify what we considered to be the most significant ethical challenges and accompanying lessons faced thus far in the COVID-19 pandemic. Once collected, the group met over the course of several virtual meetings to identify challenges and lessons that are analytically distinct in order to identify common ethical themes under which different challenges and lessons could be grouped. The result, described in this paper, is what this expert group consider to be the top five ethical lessons from the initial experience with COVID-19 that must be learned.

At least 6 weeks between Pfizer vaccine doses = higher neutralising antibody levels (than a 3-4 wk interval) For those with the delta variant, antibody levels were 2.3-fold higher with the longer interval Preprint from @pitchstudy @bmj_latest

As President Biden’s administration settles in, many feel an enormous sense of relief, an awareness that the United States dodged a proverbial bullet. But how do we ensure that Justice Ginsberg’s prediction becomes reality? This is not an academic question; Trump’s recent speech at CPAC all but announced his desire to return in 2024. Only by recognizing the underlying reason he succeeded in the first place and by making the structural changes necessary to prevent someone like him from succeeding again can we head off this eventuality.

Anti-vaccination websites employ vast configurations of ad, social media and analytics trackers to drive traffic, build audiences and monetize misinformation.

— COVID-19 disinformation is still rampant and getting more political. — A year into the pandemic, the digital divide between rich and poor is widening. — U.S. Senator Mark Warner on the need for a Western alliance against Chinese tech.

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine appears to be gaining acceptance in the European Union, as the head of Germany’s regulatory authority publicly praised the Covid-19 jab and Italy could become the first European country to produce the vaccine from the summer.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday that President Joe Biden’s administration was monitoring efforts tied to Russia’s intelligence services aimed at undermining the Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc coronavirus vaccines.

You may not use Twitter’s services to share false or misleading information about COVID-19 which may lead to harm.  Even as scientific understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop, we’ve observed the emergence of persistent conspiracy theories, alarmist rhetoric unfounded in research or credible reporting, and a wide range of unsubstantiated rumors, which left uncontextualized can prevent the public from making informed decisions regarding their health, and puts individuals, families and communities at risk. Content that is demonstrably false or misleading and may lead to significant risk of harm (such as increased exposure to the virus, or adverse effects on public health systems) may not be shared on Twitter. This includes sharing content that may mislead people about the nature of the COVID-19 virus; the efficacy and/or safety of preventative measures, treatments, or other precautions to mitigate or treat the disease; official regulations, restrictions, or exemptions pertaining to health advisories; or the prevalence of the virus or risk of infection or death associated with COVID-19. In addition, we may label Tweets which share misleading information about COVID-19 to reduce their spread and provide additional context.

Dear disinformation fighters, we decided to create a step-to-step guide on how members and partners of the SOMA network conduct a collaborative investigation.

In this week's #IWD2021 update: we highlight initiatives promoting gender equality and women safeguarding our digital information ecosystem. We also acknowledging the rise in online GBV and the threat of gendered disinformation.

Just before the start of the global pandemic, the pro-Kremlin media was gearing up for celebrating the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, by demanding from the world the unequivocal recognition of its achievement, and then pouting and sulking should anyone doubt its role as the sole force of resistance against fascism – both now and throughout history. One year and two waves of the global pandemic later, the pro-Kremlin media is demanding recognition of yet another achievement – the Sputnik V vaccine, by attacking the institution whose recognition it seeks.

The survey was addressed at fact-checking organisations and players and enquired about a number of aspects, including their work and strategies to fight disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and the disinformation narratives about the COVID-19 vaccine and the vaccination campaign they were witnessing in their respective countries.

EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has started a ‘rolling review’ of data on the antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab which are being developed by Eli Lilly to be used in combination for the treatment of COVID-19. The review will also look at bamlanivimab used alone.

Vaccines are first studied in the laboratory. Developers determine their quality, safety and efficacy. Then, clinical trials are undertaken with human volunteers. These help confirm how vaccines work and how many doses are needed. Next, the vaccine developer submits the testing results to the medicines regulatory authorities. The vaccine is approved after it is verified that its benefits outweigh any side effect or potential risks. Due to the public health emergency, COVID-19 vaccines are being developed and approved much faster, while following the same standards as all other medicines in the EU. This is possible because of early scientific advice, pooling of experts, massive investments and using existing facilities and methods as for other vaccines. 

We have cross-checked all the latest research on #FaceMasks use during the pandemic. Our position has not changed. Wear it to help slow down the spread of #COVID19! Combine it with #HandHygiene, #CoughEtiquette & #PhysicalDistancing. Be smart. Stay safe. Care about others.

The European Commission has reached an agreement with BioNTech-Pfizer for the supply of four million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines for Member States in the next two weeks in order to tackle coronavirus hotspots and to facilitate free border movement.

EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen to prevent COVID-19 in people from 18 years of age.

Visualizing the relationship between COVID-19 vaccine adoption and online (mis)information

"Outnumbered" co-host Kayleigh McEnany discussed why she got vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday, saying she trusted the vaccine development process and its effectiveness in the prevention of getting and transmitting the virus.KAYLEIGH MCENANY: Like Congressman Steve Scalise, I had COVID-19. Even though I was asymptomatic, I went and got the vaccine for a few reasons. Well first, let me say as I mentioned yesterday, I saw President Trump oversee this process. He appointed Dr. Stephen Hahn at the FDA, who approved this vaccine. He appointed Robert Redfield at the CDC. I got the vaccine because one, it could keep you from getting a variant. Number two, even if you get a variant, you're 95 percent less likely to be hospitalized. Our elderly, our most vulnerable … More important than any of that is it reduces your risk of transmitting the virus; so if you have a grandmother or a grandfather or a parent, do it for them, if not for yourself, even if you're a young person.

Many who received the shot may need to consider boosters, the authors said. But federal health officials do not recommend second doses.

The increasing prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has raised concerns regarding possible decreases in vaccine efficacy. Here, neutralizing antibody titers elicited by mRNA-based and an adenoviral vector-based vaccine against variant pseudotyped viruses were compared. BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273-elicited antibodies showed modest neutralization resistance against Beta, Delta, Delta plus and Lambda variants whereas Ad26.COV2.S-elicited antibodies from a significant fraction of vaccinated individuals were of low neutralizing titer (IC50 <50). The data underscore the importance of surveillance for breakthrough infections that result in severe COVID-19 and suggest the benefit of a second immunization following Ad26.COV2.S to increase protection against the variants.

Interim immunogenicity and efficacy data for the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine (Johnson & Johnson–Janssen) against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) have recently been reported.1-3 We describe here the 8-month durability of humoral and cellular immune responses in 20 participants who received the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine in one or two doses (either 5×1010 viral particles or 1011 viral particles) and in 5 participants who received placebo.2 We evaluated antibody and T-cell responses on day 239, which was 8 months after the single-shot vaccine regimen (in 10 participants) or 6 months after the two-shot vaccine regimen (in 10 participants), although the present study was not powered to compare the two regimens.3 We also report neutralizing antibody responses against the parental WA1/2020 strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as against the SARS-CoV-2 variants D614G, B.1.1.7 (alpha), B.1.617.1 (kappa), B.1.617.2 (delta), P.1 (gamma), B.1.429 (epsilon), and B.1.351 (beta).

The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, says it is unlikely lockdown measures can contain the Delta outbreak in New South Wales and has urged the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) to recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine for more age groups.Currently, the Atagi advice recommends the Pfizer vaccine, which is in short supply and high demand in Australia, “as the preferred vaccine for those aged 16 to under 60 years” due to the risk of rare but severe clotting known as TTS linked to AstraZeneca and more frequent in the under-60 age group.

The resistance to Covid vaccinations is eerily familiar to those who lived through the early days of the AIDS crisis.