onfocus

In addition to Covid-19 transmission that takes place directly in schools, researchers also attributed the increase to “spillover” factors like parents being able to do more outside of the house if their kids are in school, and school reopenings sending an “incorrect signal” that “normal activities are safe again” to the broader community.

Seems obvious, but good to see a study that confirms this because there's so much denial about schools playing a role in spreading covid.

We're talking about a guy who received one complaint from a student who came to his office to talk to him, and then he himself voluntarily canceled the course. He took his ball and went home. And yet we're supposed to be like, “All of these kids today, they're so over-sensitive”.

Fantastic conversation that connects 90s political correctness discourse with cancel culture discourse. They show how flimsy moral panic stories were fabricated, used as evidence of liberal overreach, and repeated ad nauseam.

As a 28-year-old, he didn't feel in any particular danger, but he finally decided he should start looking for a Covid-19 vaccination clinic this week. Then he heard the magic words.

‘Free beer’, he said.

Heart these incentive stories. More free beer everywhere, please!

"The press needs to start taking this even more seriously than it does now. Every elected Republican who has played footsie with the Big Lie should have to defend that record before they can speak on any other topic. They can’t be allowed to dodge."

Dan Rather on The Big Lie reminding us that we’re still in a dangerous moment in the country.

"The mRNA platform used in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can be readily tweaked, enabling the companies to produce newer versions within weeks. Moderna began modifying its vaccine to combat the variant identified in South Africa, after reports emerged that the existing vaccines are slightly less effective against that variant."

I am happy to sign up for these Moderna service packs.

"After all the build-up, the actual vaccination was a bit of an anticlimax. It was over in seconds."

Fun story from Australia about spontaneously deciding to get vaccinated. I’d like to see hundreds of variations on this here in the US. I mean, why are people waking up and deciding to get vaccinated that day?! Please figure that out, media. What is motivating them? Are they happy with their snap decision? What unexpected niche groups have done this? What are some unusual clinic locations and the interesting things people get to see there?

It’s the only vaccine decision story I want to read.

"The Lomax Digital Archive provides free access to audio/visual collections compiled across seven decades by folklorist Alan Lomax (1915–2002) and his father John A. Lomax (1867–1948)."

Fascinating folk music archive to wander through.

"The station has stuck to its pledge in its day-to-day coverage ever since, by simply and without fanfare including boilerplate language about how lawmakers conducted themselves during the attempts to overturn the election whenever they are mentioned in the course of regular news coverage."

Daily journalism with a memory is rare.

As Scientific American reported last fall, the drop-off in flu numbers was both swift and universal. Since then, cases have stayed remarkably low. “There’s just no flu circulating,” says Greg Poland, who has studied the disease at the Mayo Clinic for decades.

I wonder if masks could help with keeping flu numbers down post-covid.

Are you experiencing muscle aches?

A) Yes, I’m so achy.

B) Yes, but to be fair, I think that’s the literal definition of what muscles are? The achy things all over your body?

This article is too on the nose. Not funny.

"Those who are vaccinated can still be infected by, and test positive for, SARS-CoV-2; they’re just way, way less likely to get sick as a result. The sticky element is whether not-sick-but-still-infected vaccinated people can spread the virus to others and get them sick. So far, the early data have been promising, showing that the vaccines stop at least some transmission, but the matter is not scientifically settled."

It’s complicated but “way, way less likely to get sick” and “stop at least some transmission” is worth it in a pandemic.

iOS users must now give explicit permission for apps to track their behavior and sell their personal data, such as age, location, spending habits and health information, to advertisers. While many apps have allowed people to manage or opt-out of this for years, it's typically buried deep in user settings and wordy privacy policies.

Nice.