Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine is Highly Effective Against Variants, Studies Find

Fake news, like conjuring, plays on our weaknesses — but with a little attention, we can fight back

What magic teaches us about misinformation

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In psychology, causal inference—both the transport from lab estimates to the real world and estimation on the basis of observational data—is often pursued in a casual manner. Underlying assumptions remain unarticulated; potential pitfalls are compiled in post-hoc lists of flaws. The field should move on to coherent frameworks of causal inference and generalizability that have been developed elsewhere.

The Only Thing That Can Stop Bad Causal Inference Is Good Causal Inference

Northwestern study reveals need for two doses of mRNA vaccines for mild and asymptomatic cases

Community-Based Research Shows More People Exposed to COVID-19 Virus Than Previously Known

One year ago today: A paper in Clinical Infectious Diseases identifies a 16.3% rate of in-household COVID-19 infection, with a 21% rate in adults and 4% in children. Among cases where the first household member to be infected self-quarantined at home, the rate was 0%.

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External enforcement policies aimed to reduce violations differ on two key components: the probability of inspection and the severity of punishments. Different lines of research offer competing predictions regarding the relative importance of each component. In three incentive compatible studies, students and Prolific crowdsourcing participants (Ntotal=430) repeatedly faced temptations to commit violations under two enforcement policies. Controlling for expected value, the results indicated that a policy combining High probability of Inspection with Low Severity of fine (HILS) was more effective than a policy combining Low probability of Inspection with High Severity of fine (LIHS). Consistent with the prediction of Decisions from Experience research, this finding held even when the severity of the fine was stated in advance to boost deterrence. In addition, the advantage of HILS over LIHS was greater as participants’ baseline rate of violation (without enforcement) was higher, implying that HILS is more effective among frequent offenders.

Enforcement policies: Frequency of inspection is more important than the severity of punishment

Experts say we should investigate “breakthrough infections” to look out for variants and understand who’s vulnerable. In many cases, that’s not happening. Crucial pieces of the puzzle are being tossed in the trash.

A Tiny Number of People Will Be Hospitalized Despite Being Vaccinated. We Have to Learn Why.

10.31234/osf.io/st5b2

● Prior to the pandemic there was a 4-5% annual rise in the number of mental health related GP referrals in Scotland. ● There was a 27% drop in referrals in 2020, affecting 43,522 patients. ● Previous pandemic related research shows that restrictions imposed to curb infections led to higher incidence of mental health problems and therefore it is likely that the true figure of those in need of referral far exceeds this figure. ● If the mental health services are restored to their pre-pandemic levels, the tens of thousands of patients who have not been referred yet, will face years on waiting lists before specialist help can be provided. ● There is an urgent need to re-evaluate COVID imposed restrictions on the operations of NHS services to address the challenges.

The expanding backlog of mental health patients: Time for a major rethink in COVID-19 policy

INTRODUCTIONAs the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic continues, the deployment of safe and effective vaccines presents a key intervention for mitigating disease severity and spread. Numerous logistical challenges and shortages have emerged alongside the international distribution of approved vaccines. In response, several countries have chosen to delay the second dose in an effort to increase the number of individuals receiving at least one dose. A key question then becomes how the timing of delivery of the second dose will affect future epidemiological and evolutionary outcomes.RATIONALEWe build on an existing immuno-epidemiological framework that assumes that, without vaccination, individual immunity after recovery from primary infection may eventually wane, leading to (a potentially reduced) susceptibility to secondary infections. To explore epidemiological outcomes, we extend the model to incorporate two vaccinated classes, corresponding to individuals who have received either one dose or two doses of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. As with natural immunity, we allow for one- or two-dose vaccinal immunity to wane, and we consider a continuous spectrum for the interdose period between vaccines. To reflect the increase in available doses resulting from a delayed second dose, we model the rate of administration of the first dose as an increasing function of the interdose period. We then consider evolutionary outcomes by coupling this framework to a simple phylodynamic model for potential viral adaptation under different evolutionary scenarios, each with its own assumptions regarding viral abundance and within-host selection for the different partially susceptible classes.RESULTSWe find that delaying second vaccine doses reduces COVID-19 infections in the short term by increasing the proportion of immune individuals. In the longer term, however, both the infection burden and the relative potential for viral adaptation are highly dependent on the robustness of natural or vaccinal immune responses. Notably, we find that even if immunity conferred by a single vaccine dose is poor, starting with a one-dose policy early on to increase the number of individuals immunized and then switching to the manufacturer-recommended two-dose regime as vaccine capacity increases can mitigate potential negative longer-term epidemiological and evolutionary outcomes. This mitigation can also be achieved by ramping up overall vaccination rates as availability improves.CONCLUSIONThe deployment of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines will strongly shape postpandemic epidemiological trajectories and characteristics of accumulated population immunity. Our models show that the combination of different vaccine dosing regimes and variations in the robustness of natural and vaccinal immunity may result in a wide range of potential epidemiological and evolutionary outcomes in the medium term. It is therefore imperative to determine the strength and duration of clinical protection and transmission-blocking immunity through careful clinical evaluations in order to enforce sound public policies. In places where vaccine deployment is delayed and vaccination rates are low, our results stress the subsequent negative epidemiological and evolutionary impacts that may emerge. Particularly because these consequences (for example, the evolution of new variants) could emerge as global problems, there is an urgent need for global equity in vaccine distribution and deployment.

10.1126/science.abg8663

Epidemiological and evolutionary considerations of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dosing regimes

One shot of the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reduces coronavirus infections by nearly two-thirds and protects older and more vulnerable people as much as younger, healthy individuals, a study has found.The results from Oxford University and the Office for National Statistics are a welcome boost to the vaccination programme and the first to show the impact on new infections and immune responses in a large group of adults in the general population.By driving down rates of infection the vaccines will not only prevent hospitalisations and deaths but help break chains of transmission and so reduce the risk of a damaging resurgence of disease as the UK reopens.

One dose of Pfizer or Oxford jab reduces Covid infection rate by 65% – study

10.1038/d41586-021-01048-1

For decades, Africa has imported 99% of its vaccines. Now the continent’s leaders want to bring manufacturing home.

How COVID spurred Africa to plot a vaccines revolution

As safety concerns delay the use of two COVID-19 vaccines, Nature looks at the questions that scientists want answered.

COVID vaccines and blood clots: five key questions

10.1101/2021.04.06.21254882

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been raging for over a year, creating global detrimental impact. The BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine has demonstrated high protection levels, yet apprehension exists that several variants of concerns (VOCs) can surmount the immune defenses generated by the vaccines. Neutralization assays have revealed some reduction in neutralization of VOCs B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, but the relevance of these assays in real life remains unclear. Here, we performed a case-control study that examined whether BNT162b2 vaccinees with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to become infected with B.1.1.7 or B.1.351 compared with unvaccinated individuals. Vaccinees infected at least a week after the second dose were disproportionally infected with B.1.351 (odds ratio of 8:1). Those infected between two weeks after the first dose and one week after the second dose, were disproportionally infected by B.1.1.7 (odds ratio of 26:10), suggesting reduced vaccine effectiveness against both VOCs under different dosage/timing conditions. Nevertheless, the B.1.351 incidence in Israel to-date remains low and vaccine effectiveness remains high against B.1.1.7, among those fully vaccinated. These results overall suggest that vaccine breakthrough infection is more frequent with both VOCs, yet a combination of mass-vaccination with two doses coupled with non-pharmaceutical interventions control and contain their spread.

Evidence for increased breakthrough rates of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in BNT162b2 mRNA vaccinated individuals

Pediatricians should be vigilant, experts said, after the release of the largest U.S. study of the syndrome, MIS-C, that can strike young people weeks after their coronavirus infection.

Many Children With Serious Inflammatory Syndrome Had No Covid Symptoms

10.1001/jama.2021.3370

As COVID-19 cases resulting from infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants accumulate in the US and around the world, one question looms large: How well do the COVID-19 vaccines developed so far protect against these novel coronavirus spinoffs? “The virus is telling us it’s going to throw out a lot of mutations,” infectious disease specialist Jesse Goodman, MD, MPH, who, as then-chief scientist at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), led the agency’s response to the H1N1 influenza A pandemic, said in an interview. “Even if we don’t have a critical situation right at the moment…there’s a realistic possibility that variants will continue to evolve that have potential to avoid vaccine immunity.” That’s to be expected, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told JAMA Editor in Chief Howard Bauchner, MD, in a February 3 podcast. Regardless of the platform on which the vaccine is based, Fauci said, “you still have a fixed immunogen and a virus that’s changing. Sooner or later, you’re going to get a mutant that evades that.”

COVID-19 Vaccines vs Variants—Determining How Much Immunity Is Enough

10.31234/osf.io/rvgs7

As the pandemic limited our lives, people engaged in their favorite activities; either in alternative ways or while disregarding the restrictions. These major activities and our engagement in these activities of life are considered to have a significant impact on our mental health. Thus, this study aimed to examine the relationship between two types of passion (harmonious passion and obsessive passion), fear of COVID-19 (emotional fear responses, symptomatic expressions of fear), and mental distress. To this end, 322 Japanese participants completed an online questionnaire. The results showed that harmonious passion (HP) was positively related to emotional fear responses and negatively to mental distress. On the other hand, obsessive passion (OP) was positively associated with symptomatic expressions of fear and negatively with mental distress. Symptomatic expressions of fear have a stronger positive relationship with mental distress than emotional fear reactions. This study evidenced that HP is a protective factor against pandemics as it improves mental health while appropriately recognizing fear of COVID-19. Focusing on different types of passion may prove effective in improving mental health amidst the pandemic.

The effect of passion for activities on fear of COVID-19 and mental health among the Japanese population

A viral video on Facebook includes a number of false and misleading claims about the Covid-19 pandemic.  The video consists of a woman recommending a publication in New Zealand called The Real News, which she summarises and reads from. There are a number of false or misleading claims in this video. This article considers some of them. There are  many other claims included in the video that we have not checked, which may or may not be true. 

Viral video contains several false pandemic claims

The CDC's sweeping COVID-19 response has involved teams deployed to trace outbreaks in vulnerable communities, consultations with hospitals and schools to mitigate transmission, embeds and trainings with state and local health departments, coordinating vaccine distribution, and major efforts to wrangle data from disparate sources to paint a clear picture of the pandemic's trajectory. For much of the pandemic, the work has been largely invisible to the public. The agency was sidelined and contradicted by the Trump administration, leading to mixed messaging on topics such as mask use, school reopenings and testing.

Inside The CDC's Battle To Defeat The Virus

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through virus-containing aerosol particles has been established as an important pathway for Covid-19 infection. Suitable measures to prevent such infections are imperative, especially in situations when a high number of persons convene in closed rooms. Here we tested the efficiency and practicability of operating four air purifiers equipped with HEPA filters in a high school classroom while regular classes were taking place. We monitored the aerosol number concentration for particles >3 nm at two locations in the room, the aerosol size distribution in the range from 10 nm to 10 µm, PM10 and CO2 concentration. For comparison, we performed similar measurements in a neighboring classroom without purifiers. In times when classes were conducted with windows and door closed, the aerosol concentration was reduced by more than 90% within less than 30 min when running the purifiers (air exchange rate 5.5 h−1). The reduction was homogeneous throughout the room and for all particle sizes. The measurements are supplemented by a calculation estimating the maximum concentration levels of virus-containing aerosol from a highly contagious person speaking in a closed room with and without air purifiers. Measurements and calculation demonstrate that air purifiers potentially represent a well-suited measure to reduce the risks of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 substantially. Staying for 2 h in a closed room with a highly infective person, we estimate that the inhaled dose is reduced by a factor of six when using air purifiers with a total air exchange rate of 5.7 h−1.

10.1080/02786826.2021.1877257

Testing mobile air purifiers in a school classroom: Reducing the airborne transmission risk for SARS-CoV-2

Extremist organizations are now bashing the safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in an effort to try to undermine the government.

Far-Right Extremists Move From ‘Stop the Steal’ to Stop the Vaccine

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Central to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic strategy, COVID-19 vaccination depends on the population’s uptake decisions. Because at least 60% of the population needs to be vaccinated, but fewer, for example, in Germany are expected to do so, it is important to know how to convince those who are undecided or skeptical. According to the health care standard of enabling citizens to make informed decisions based on balanced information (boosting) – instead of persuasion or seduction (nudging) – a comparison of benefits and harms of having or not having the vaccination would be required to inform these groups. With the help of a representative survey, we investigated the contribution of fact boxes, an established intervention format for informed intentions. Study 1 shows the development of knowledge and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccinations by German citizens between Nov 2020 and Feb 2021. Study 2 reveals objective information needs and subjective information requirements of those laypeople at the end of Nov. Study 3 shows that the fact box format is effective for risk communication about COVID-19. Based on these insights, a fact box on the efficacy and safety of mRNA-vaccines was implemented with the help of a national health authority. Study 4 shows that fact boxes increase vaccination knowledge and positive evaluations of the benefit-harm ratio of vaccination in skeptics and undecideds. Our results demonstrate that simple fact boxes can be an effective boost of informed decision making among undecided and skeptical people, and that informed decisions can lead to more positive vaccination evaluations of the public. See less

How skeptics could be convinced (not persuaded) to get vaccinated against COVID-19

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SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy in the United States is currently at a high level. To enable a better understanding of this hesitancy, this study explores the association between affective wellbeing measures and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We consistently find a positive association between the two, regardless of which of ten different affect state variables (two positive, and eight negative) or their composite, is used. For example, people who experience more worry or anxiety (two negative affect wellbeing states) are less vaccine-hesitant, and vice versa. The association is found to hold even when controlling for potential confounds such as income bracket, political affiliation, gender and employment status. Associations are strongest for the fully employed, and for those in the middle-class income bracket. While consistent at the national level, considerable dispersion is found at the county level. We discuss the implications of these findings briefly. See less

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is positively associated with affective wellbeing

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Improvements to the validity of psychological science depend upon more than the actions of individual researchers. Editors, journals, and publishers wield considerable power in shaping the incentives that have ushered in the generalizability crisis. These gatekeepers must raise their standards to ensure authors’ claims are supported by evidence. Unless gatekeepers change, changes made by individual scientists will not be sustainable.

The Crisis from Above: Gatekeepers Need Better Standards

THE B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant first spotted in the UK is poised to cause a surge in cases worldwide. In many areas of Europe and North America, the variant, which is more transmissible, is now responsible for most new coronavirus infections. Globally, since late February there has been a small uptick in coronavirus infections. Before this, case numbers had been falling sharply. The big question is what happens next.

UK variant looks set to cause a surge in global coronavirus cases

10.31234/osf.io/5guc3

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of children abruptly moved to online schooling, which required high levels of parental involvement. Family routines were disrupted, potentially increasing parental stress, and may be reflected in greater media screen time use in children. Objectives: To determine whether 1) parenting styles and 2) parenting stress were associated with children’s screen time use during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. Methods: Parents (>18 years of age) were recruited to complete an online survey regarding changes in their children’s (6-12 years) screen time use and daily activities before and during the pandemic. Stress and parental involvement were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Alabama Parenting Questionnaires respectively. General linear models assessed whether parenting style and parent stress was associated with children’s screen time during the pandemic, adjusting for demographic variables and daily activities. Results: 104 parents were enrolled, and 78 (75%) parents completed the surveys. Children’s screen time (e.g., watching television and playing video games) increased significantly, from 2.6 hours to 5.8 hours a day (p=.001) during pandemic-related school closures. Smaller changes in children’s screen time use were significantly associated with more parental involvement (p=.017). Parent stress (p=.018) significantly predicted children’s screen time use. Lower household income was associated with increased hours of screen time in both models (both, p<.05). Conclusions: Children’s screen time nearly doubled during the initial months of the pandemic. Parent stress and parenting styles may be modifiable risk factors to promote children’s wellbeing during the ongoing pandemic.

School's out: parenting stress and screen time use in school-age children during the COVID-19 pandemic

The decision to temporarily suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 raised debate about the suspension's potential effects on the levels of acceptance of the overall vaccination program against COVID-19. Here, we trace the impact of first the Danish decision and subsequent national decisions on general COVID-19 vaccine acceptance by comparing levels of acceptance on different specific dates in eight countries. Overall, the findings suggest that the Danish decision to suspend the vaccine may have had (at least, short-term) cross-national ripple effects on acceptance of a vaccine against COVID-19. Importantly, these adverse ripple effects were specific for individuals within countries that are most closely tied to the same informational eco-system as Denmark (i.e., other Western European countries). These countries (in particular, Italy) may furthermore have been negatively affected twice following both the Danish and the national suspension decisions. This raises the possibility that the decision to suspend vaccines following adverse events poses a collective action problem and highlights the importance of coordination between national health authorities.

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Did the suspension of the AstraZeneca-vaccine decrease vaccine acceptance?

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Anti-Asian racism is a public health concern, and it has escalated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Bystanders—individuals who witness acts of racism—can help by discouraging perpetrations of discrimination (and other forms of interpersonal violence), offering help and support to victims, and reinforcing (antiracist) prosocial norms. Yet, little is known about who engages in antiracist bystander intervention behaviors in response to discriminatory events, and who engages in proactive bystander behaviors in general. In the current study, 456 US community adults of diverse ethnic 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 COVID-related discrimination during a one-week period. Among individuals who witnessed anti-Asian discrimination during the COVID-19 outbreak, 45% of them engaged in any antiracist reactive bystander interventions. More frequent everyday discrimination experiences predicted greater odds of reactive bystander behaviors, over and above ethnicity, gender, and attitudes about the acceptability of discrimination. Initial evidence supported the utility of a new measure assessing bystander behaviors in response to racial discrimination. Prior exposure to discrimination may contribute to individuals’ active engagement in antiracist bystander behaviors. Future research directions on antiracist bystander actions and allyship are discussed.

Anti-Asian Discrimination and Antiracist Bystander Behaviors amid the COVID-19 Outbreak

Wie NDR 1 Radio MV berichtet, haben Forscher der Unimedizin Greifswald die Ursache für Hirnthrombosen nach AstraZeneca-Impfung gefunden. Demnach löst das Vakzin bei einigen Menschen einen Abwehrmechanismus aus.

AstraZeneca: Greifswalder Forscher finden Thrombose-Ursache

The EU’s drug watchdog said on Thursday it is still convinced the benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks following an investigation into reports of blood disorders that prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend its use.Following are reactions after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave an update on its views on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

QUOTES-EU's drug regulator backs AstraZeneca vaccine after safety investigation

Research shows that high levels of media multitasking (either situationally induced or chronic) may be associated with a decreased cognitive function. Since cognitive capacity is required for efficient correction of one’s judgment after learning that the judgement base is no longer valid, we expected that high levels of media multitasking would decrease one’s ability to adequately update their beliefs. We ran two studies in which participants were asked to form an impression of a target person based on their online profile from a professional networking site. The profile contained either neutral information (control condition) or negative comment from a former supervisor which was later debunked (false information conditions). We additionally manipulated media multitasking demands (in Study 1) or measured participants’ frequency of media multitasking (Study 2) and tested whether the level of media multitasking is related to the degree to which the initial attitudes were adjusted after learning that the negative comment was false. We found a significant but rather small effect of manipulation in Study 1 indicating that participants in both multitasking conditions had more negative attitudes after correction compared to the baseline, but not to the mono-tasking condition. Crucially, media multitasking demands did not impact attitude adjustment. Results of Study 2 showed that the relationship between media multitasking frequency measured with a scale and attitude adjustment were non-significant. Overall, the current findings suggest that media multitasking, experimentally manipulated or chronic, plays a negligible role in correction after misinformation.

10.1080/23743603.2021.1884495

Multitasking and correction of false information

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One of the appeals of conspiracy theories in times of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is that they provide a scapegoat – someone to blame for what has happened. By doing this, they increase distrust, negative feelings, and even hostility toward implicated actors, whether those are powerful social outgroups or one’s own government representatives. We report two studies to examine such social consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy theories. In Study 1 (N = 501), we showed the distinct pattern of relationships between China-specific and generic COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and prejudice and discrimination toward three social groups associated with the pandemic. In Study 2 (N = 1024), lowered trust in government regulations and increased hostility associated with the COVID-19 and generic conspiracy beliefs predicted justification of and willingness to engage in non-compliance with government regulations, violent attacks on 5G masts, and anti-government protests. Also, across both studies, increased exposure to information about COVID-19 was associated with endorsing fewer conspiracy theories, but it also brought about stronger feelings of anxiety and lack of control, which in turn contributed to higher conspiracy belief. We highlight the potential social problems associated with the wide-spread COVID-19 conspiracy theories as well as potential solutions to counteract them.

Social consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: Evidence from two studies in Slovakia

10.31234/osf.io/sjfbn

Recent research suggests that shifting users’ attention to accuracy increases the quality of news they subsequently share online. Here we help develop this initial observation into a suite of deployable interventions for practitioners. We ask (i) how prior results generalize to other approaches for prompting users to consider accuracy, and (ii) for whom these prompts are more versus less effective. In a large survey experiment examining participants’ intentions to share true and false headlines about COVID-19, we identify a variety of different accuracy prompts that successfully increase sharing discernment across a wide range of demographic subgroups while maintaining user autonomy. Research questions: * There is mounting evidence that inattention to accuracy plays an important role in the spread of misinformation online. Here we examine the utility of a suite of different accuracy prompts aimed at increasing the quality of news shared by social media users. * Which approaches to shifting attention towards accuracy are most effective? * Does the effectiveness of the accuracy prompts vary based on social media user characteristics? Summary: Using survey experiments with N=9,070 American social media users (quota-matched to the national distribution on age, gender, ethnicity, and geographic region), we compared the effect of different treatments designed to induce people to think about accuracy when deciding what news to share. Participants received one of the treatments (or were assigned to a control condition), and then indicated how likely they would be to share a series of true and false news posts about COVID-19. We identified three lightweight, easily-implementable approaches that each increased sharing discernment (the quality of news shared, measured as the difference in sharing probability of true versus false headlines) by roughly 50%, and a slightly more lengthy approach that increased sharing discernment by close to 100%. We also found that another approach that seemed promising ex ante (descriptive norms) was ineffective. Furthermore, gender, race, partisanship, and concern about COVID-19 did not moderate the effectiveness of the accuracy prompts, while the prompts were more effective for participants who were more attentive, reflective, engaged with COVID-related news, concerned about accuracy, college-educated, and middle-aged. From a practical perspective, our results suggest a menu of accuracy prompts that are effective in our experimental setting and that technology companies could consider testing on their own services.

Developing an accuracy-prompt toolkit to reduce COVID-19 misinformation online

As the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines enter the market, and global immunisation programmes are implemented, the time is right to remind researchers and regulatory agencies of the critical importance of including biological sex as a variable in trial data analysis and reporting.1Bischof E Wolfe J Klein SL Clinical trials for COVID-19 should include sex as a variable.J Clin Invest. 2020; 130: 3350-3352Crossref PubMed Scopus (21) Google Scholar The phase 3 Oxford–AstraZeneca trial interim report indicates more participation from women, which the investigators attribute to a recruitment focus on health-care workers,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 (96) Google Scholar but they have not yet reported or discussed how biological sex could influence the data. Future reporting of sex-disaggregated data and a discussion of how sex factors influence the trial outcomes would benefit regulatory and public decision making and the design of mass vaccination programmes.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00384-6

Sex-disaggregated data in COVID-19 vaccine trials

There is little difference in reluctance to take the coronavirus vaccine among Black and white people in the U.S., according to the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey. Among those who responded to the survey, 73% of Black people and 70% of White people said that they either planned to get a coronavirus vaccine or had done so already; 25% of Black respondents and 28% of white respondents said they did not plan to get a shot. Latino respondents were slightly more likely to say they would not get vaccinated at 37%, compared with 63% who either had or intended to get a vaccine. The findings come amid concerns in some states over who is getting vaccinated and who is not, with data in some states suggesting stark racial disparities. The pandemic has had an outsized impact on people of color, especially Black Americans.

Little Difference In Vaccine Hesitancy Among White And Black Americans, Poll Finds

A key issue in Britain’s referendum on European Union membership was the free movement of labour into Britain, with Brexit ‘Leavers’ having more negative attitudes towards immigrants compared to ‘Remainers’. Such anti-immigrant attitudes are driven by feelings of threat. As Brexit negotiations continued, the coronavirus pandemic presented a new threat, potentially heightening anti-immigrant attitudes. However, the prominent sacrifices of migrant workers in the fight against coronavirus suggests a potential for softening public attitudes. We ask: how did the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of ongoing Brexit negotiations, affected anti-immigrant attitudes and how did these effects differ between Leavers and Remainers? Through a survey experiment, we test the effects of priming COVID-19 thoughts, showing that COVID-19 may exacerbate anti-immigrant attitudes among Leavers while having little effect on Remainers. In doing so, we explore the effect of a viral threat on immigration attitudes and heterogeneity in that effect, based on political identities.

10.31234/osf.io/3vs4b

Brexit, COVID-19 and Attitudes Towards Immigration in Britain

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021258118

Although there is increasing awareness of disparities in COVID-19 infection risk among vulnerable communities, the effect of behavioral interventions at the scale of individual neighborhoods has not been fully studied. We develop a method to quantify neighborhood activity behaviors at high spatial and temporal resolutions and test whether, and to what extent, behavioral responses to social-distancing policies vary with socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. We define exposure density (ExρExρ<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>E</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mi>x</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msub><mml:mi>ρ</mml:mi></mml:math>) as a measure of both the localized volume of activity in a defined area and the proportion of activity occurring in distinct land-use types. Using detailed neighborhood data for New York City, we quantify neighborhood exposure density using anonymized smartphone geolocation data over a 3-mo period covering more than 12 million unique devices and rasterize granular land-use information to contextualize observed activity. Next, we analyze disparities in community social distancing by estimating variations in neighborhood activity by land-use type before and after a mandated stay-at-home order. Finally, we evaluate the effects of localized demographic, socioeconomic, and built-environment density characteristics on infection rates and deaths in order to identify disparities in health outcomes related to exposure risk. Our findings demonstrate distinct behavioral patterns across neighborhoods after the stay-at-home order and that these variations in exposure density had a direct and measurable impact on the risk of infection. Notably, we find that an additional 10% reduction in exposure density city-wide could have saved between 1,849 and 4,068 lives during the study period, predominantly in lower-income and minority communities.

Exposure density and neighborhood disparities in COVID-19 infection risk

We are writing as behavioural scientists to express concern about the timing of UK delay measures involving social distancing. As is clear from the disaster unfolding in Italy, there is a unique window for delaying the spread of COVID-19. Current government thinking seems to crucially involve the idea of “behavioural fatigue”. This is the worry that, if implemented too early, measures limiting social contact will be undercut just at the point at which they are most required, because people will have tired of the limitations and will revert to prior behaviour –in part precisely because those measures are effective in reducing spread and hence perceived risk.

Open letter to the UK Government regarding COVID-19

Americans who are less connected to their community are not disproportionately likely to embrace conspiracy theories. Thirty-nine percent of Americans who belong to at least two community groups believe in the deep state, while only 23 percent of Americans who report having no community connections do.More than one-quarter (27 percent) of white evangelical Protestants say the claim that Donald Trump has been fighting a group of child sex traffickers is mostly or completely accurate. This belief is far less prevalent among white Catholics (18 percent), white mainline Protestants (15 percent), religiously unaffiliated Americans (12 percent), and Hispanic Catholics (11 percent).People who are politically segregated are more likely to embrace conspiracies. Nearly one-third (34 percent) of Republicans who report having a large number of friends who are Trump supporters say the QAnon conspiracy is mostly or completely accurate, compared to only 21 percent of Republicans who have some, a few, or no friends who are Trump supporters.Even accounting for other personal traits, such as age, gender, education, and political identity, the politics of friendship networks is strongly predictive of belief in conspiracies. Americans with a large number of Trump supporters in their friendship group had a nearly 50 percent probability of believing that unelected government officials were acting against the interests of the Trump administration, while those with few if any social connections to Trump supporters had only an 11 percent probability.

Social isolation and community disconnection are not spurring conspiracy theories

This is what it looks like when a politician is finally honest about the fact that they lied to the country for months... so they could blame scientists for everything they did and failed to do during the pandemic. I give you: Matt Hancock in the Health Select Committee.

This is pretty interesting because it does seem to involve some rewriting of history.