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<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
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<title>31 January, 2022</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Supreme Court Appears Ready, Finally, to Defeat Affirmative Action</strong> - Moderate conservative Justices voted with liberals to protect the program in the past, but there are no such Justices now. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-supreme-court-appears-ready-finally-to-defeat-affirmative-%20action">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Disillusionment of a Young Biden Official</strong> - Andrea Flores’s efforts to roll back Trump’s immigration policies faced opposition inside and outside the White House. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/the-disillusionment-of-a-young-biden-official">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Makes Putin Fear Ukraine?</strong> - The Kyiv-based journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk says that the country’s embrace of democracy and anti-corruption efforts makes it a threat to the Russian leader. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-makes-putin-fear-ukraine">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bruce McCall’s “Boxing Rink”</strong> - The artist discusses improvised hockey rinks and being inspired by advertising. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2022-02-07">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Three Economic Scenarios for an Election Year</strong> - With ten months to the midterms, growth is strong but inflation is hurting the chances of Joe Biden and the Democrats. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/three-economic-scenarios-for-an-election-year">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What causes long Covid? Scientists are zeroing in on the answer.</strong> -
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<figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q5dll32wi2DMJmgizLfCR-
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JPoRM=/604x0:6203x4199/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70452475/GettyImages_1237468038.0.jpg"/></p>
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<figcaption>
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A line of people wait in the rain to be tested for Covid in Los Angeles, California, on December</figcaption></figure></li>
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</ul>
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<ol start="29" type="1">
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">| Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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</li>
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</ol>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“We are really working day and night” to figure out long Covid, one researcher said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DCM9Ys">
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Even as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html">the number of new Covid-19 cases</a> in the US is dropping, hundreds of thousands of Americans are still testing positive every day. More than 28 million new cases have been reported since Omicron emerged in the US just two months ago, and the variant now drives <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions">99.9 percent of cases,</a> as of January 22, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9n7JBi">
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Thanks to vaccines, boosters, and increasingly available treatments, most people who get infected today <a href="https://www.vox.com/22894978/covid-19-vaccine-lives-saved-deaths-avoided-omicron-chart">won’t end up in the hospital or die</a>. A big question, however, looms over the survivors: What about <a href="https://www.vox.com/22893535/long-covid-symptoms-treatment">long Covid</a>?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5sBq1G">
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Long Covid is a condition that arises after acute infection and often includes shortness of breath, fatigue, and “brain fog” but can also involve a wide range of debilitating problems in the heart, brain, lungs, gut, and other organs. According to the World Health Organization’s <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Post_COVID-19_condition-
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Clinical_case_definition-2021.1">working definition</a>, long Covid usually occurs three months after symptomatic Covid-19 begins and lasts for at least two months. Sometimes, the symptoms just never go away after the initial infection. Occasionally, they appear months after recovery or after an asymptomatic case. This means that if you’ve recovered from Covid-19, you’re not necessarily in the clear.
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</p>
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<aside id="alaIPY">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8Ei19j">
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No one knows exactly how many people have or had long Covid. Estimates so far are “wildly disparate” in part because researchers define the condition differently and because the people seeking care may only be a small portion of those affected, said Nahid Bhadelia, an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine. Studies on the conservative end have found that <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Post_COVID-19_condition-
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Clinical_case_definition-2021.1#:~:text=Download,(890.7%20kB)">10 to 20 percent</a> of Covid-19 survivors get long Covid, while others report <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784918">50 percent</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FPxuRz">
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Scientists have proposed numerous hypotheses to explain long Covid’s myriad symptoms since research began in earnest after the first wave of cases in 2020. Early suspects <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02598-6">included</a> a weakened immune system, widespread inflammation, and even low <a href="https://www.vox.com/22166236/long-term-side-effects-covid-19-symptoms-heart-
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fatigue">sex hormone levels</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fDdFXC">
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There are no firm answers yet, but there’s now greater consensus among researchers about the two leading theories and the ways they may be connected. Scientists also have a better understanding of the people who are susceptible to long Covid.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9FN8BG">
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While many used to think that the condition only affected people with severe illness, patients now range from teens to older adults, some of whom had only mild or even asymptomatic illness, said Kathleen Bell, a professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at UT Southwestern Medical Center, on a recent press call. <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00072-1">Early</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27797-1">research</a> is pointing to factors that may raise a person’s risk of long Covid, such as low levels of certain antibodies, reactivated viruses in the bloodstream, and existing conditions such as diabetes or asthma.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vBqmKQ">
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Amid pressure from patients and concerns that the vast numbers of <a href="https://www.deseret.com/coronavirus/2021/12/23/22850161/omicron-variant-long-haul-covid-wave-
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february">omicron infections might drive a new wave of long Covid</a>, researchers around the world are racing to understand what causes the condition and how it might be diagnosed and treated. “We are really working day and night,” Resia Pretorius, a professor of physiological sciences at Stellenbosch University in South Africa whose research is explaining the role of blood clots in long Covid, told me.
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</p>
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<h3 id="NU5MWg">
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It’s too early to predict an omicron wave of long Covid, but scientists are cautious
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OSR2zt">
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Scientists I spoke to agreed that it’s too early to know whether omicron will lead to a new wave of long Covid because less than three months have passed since the variant emerged. But David Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, is erring on the side of caution. “Right now, we have no reason to think any differently about long Covid.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rHkXsY">
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Whether different variants change the likelihood of developing long Covid is a fundamental question among researchers, Michael Peluso, an infectious diseases doctor who co-leads a long Covid research effort at the University of California San Francisco, told me. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003773">Severe initial Covid-19 infection</a>, he noted, tends to correlate with who is at risk, so “it’s encouraging that early data suggest that omicron might be less severe, but obviously not enough time has passed.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OdY4jg">
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Still, long Covid can develop after mild or even asymptomatic Covid-19, too. “If you say omicron’s mild, it doesn’t say anything about long Covid,” Amy Proal, a microbiologist at PolyBio Institute, told me. “We don’t even know how mild omicron is.” The WHO has <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-virtual-press-conference-transcript---
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6-january-2022">pushed back</a> against calling omicron “mild,” but it seems to result in less severe illness, especially <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1479167003109859328">among the vaccinated</a>. This may be because it’s better at evading the immune system, which isn’t a good thing because it raises the possibility that the virus is remaining in the body, Proal added.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VXwttZ">
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Even if long Covid turns out to be less common among people who have been infected with omicron, the sheer number of cases right now means that millions may still develop the condition. “Even if it’s rare,” said Peluso, “it will affect a lot of people.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aH3P0Q">
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“We’re worried,” said Proal. “It’s not being communicated to the public as one of the things to take into consideration in how to live these days. Not as much as it should be.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0Ade05">
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Vaccination appears to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03495-2">offer some protection against long Covid</a>, but it’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/22632695/long-covid-19-vaccines-delta-variant-pandemic">not clear how much</a>. It certainly helps by preventing serious illness in the first place, and it may help clear the virus before it can lodge in the body for the long term. It also spurs the immune system to specifically target the virus, rather than raise defenses throughout the whole body, which could cause collateral damage elsewhere.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_9sqDlofhuDXqHGaT__Egb3LQmU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23202516/GettyImages_1230985303.jpg"/> <cite>Amy Osborne/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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People stand in line at the mass vaccination site at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California, on February 5, 2021.
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</figcaption>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9sw2XV">
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An encouraging recent preprint from Israel shows that fully vaccinated people who had breakthrough Covid-19 between March 2020 and November 2021 <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.05.22268800v2">report fewer long Covid symptoms</a> than unvaccinated people who were infected, suggesting “that some ability to fight off the virus is helpful for long Covid as it is for acute Covid,” Leora Horwitz, director for the Center for Healthcare Innovation and Delivery Science at NYU Langone Health, told me.
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</p>
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<h3 id="TTkt3d">
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The immune system likely plays a leading role in long Covid
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qtNCkj">
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The sheer range of symptoms reported by people with long Covid — more than 200 across 10 groups of organ systems, according to <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00299-6/fulltext">one patient-led survey</a> — makes uncovering their biological origins a gargantuan task. There are likely several subtypes of long Covid, each with its own cluster of symptoms and cause. “We’re not talking about a monolithic, single entity,” said Horwitz.
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</p>
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Scientists have <a href="https://www.vox.com/22369734/long-hauler-covid-
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vaccine">proposed many explanations </a>for long Covid, but several I spoke to agreed that there are now two leading theories: that symptoms are driven by the immune system or by the persistence of the virus in the body. Importantly, these aren’t mutually exclusive, and it’s likely that both factors are at play and interconnected, together with a number of other mechanisms.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rmGaHW">
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The immune theory suggests that Covid-19 turns the immune system against the body. This could explain symptoms like racing heart, dizziness, weakness, and microclots in the blood, said Putrino, whose research focuses on the former. A large proportion of his long Covid patients seem to have dysautonomia, a condition that interferes with processes like balance, heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and digestion. With Yale University immunologist Akiko Iwasaki, Putrino is studying the blood of long-haulers for evidence of an abnormal immune response that might be throwing the autonomic nervous system off track.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nYkQbn">
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Flurries of microclots — tiny blood clots — observed in the blood of people with acute and long Covid may be fueling the immune system’s reaction. Clots in healthy people usually break down easily, but those in people with long Covid resist digestion and continue to drift throughout the circulation. Pretorius’s team has discovered <a href="https://cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12933-021-01359-7">inflammatory molecules concealed inside these microclots</a> that she thinks may spur the production of autoantibodies. Having clots in circulation can cause the whole vascular system to become inflamed, ultimately choking off the supply of oxygen to cells and leading to a range of issues throughout the body. “Many of the symptoms that are related to long Covid can actually be traced back to a general oxygen deprivation state,” she said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uc3use">
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One of the primary functions of the immune system is to keep pathogens in line — including those that live inside our bodies, like dormant viruses and normally benign gut bacteria. When it isn’t working properly, these pathogens can act up and cause illness. “Patients might clear [SARS- CoV-2] itself from tissue, but immune dysregulation might allow other viruses and pathogens to reactivate and then drive chronic systems,” said Proal. Epstein-Barr virus, for example, seems to be <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-90351-y#Sec5">reactivated in people with Covid-19</a>, and scientists are studying whether the herpes viruses and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a12i01DU5uE&ab_channel=PolyBioResearchFoundation">common parasite Toxoplasma</a> do the same.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Vud9Jx">
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It’s possible, too, that the reactivation of these pathogens contributes to autoimmunity. Research recently published in <em>Science</em> posited that <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj8222">prior infection with the Epstein-Barr virus drives multiple sclerosis</a>, a chronic disease, by spurring production of autoantibodies. Proal suggested that a similar mechanism could be at play in long Covid. “What it really means is that overall, autoantibodies can be generated as part of the immune system response to infection,” she said.
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</p>
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Lingering virus may also be to blame
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Proal is also investigating theories linked to viral persistence, the other overarching long Covid theory. The virus can remain in the body and brain long after acute infection, and its genetic material can persist up to 230 days after symptoms arise, as a recent <a href="https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-1139035/v1_covered.pdf?c=1640020576">National Institutes of Health preprint found</a>. Lingering virus is often found not in the blood but in the tissues, an important consideration for researchers studying and developing diagnostic tools for long Covid, Proal and others emphasized.
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It’s not fully understood what these so-called “viral reservoirs” do in the body. Proal’s <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2018.00373/full">previous work</a> on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome), an illness that has substantial similarity with long Covid, suggests that persistent virus — Epstein-Barr virus, in the case of ME/CFS — can wreak havoc on the body long after acute infection.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lAPQEK">
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In long Covid, viral reservoirs could continue to injure tissues directly. They may leak viral proteins into the bloodstream, where they can spur the formation of the aforementioned microclots and activate the immune system, leading to inflammation and further damage. Or they may do nothing at all.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qBSZeB">
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One theory is that inflammation in tissues caused by persistent virus can trigger inflammation in the brain via the far-reaching vagus nerve, which runs the length of the spine and connects to the brainstem. A recent <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.07.475453v1.full">preprint</a> from a team co-led by Yale’s Iwasaki showed that mice with mild Covid-19 had activated brain microglia cells and higher levels of some inflammatory molecules. One of those molecules has been observed at high levels in the <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.07.475453v1.full.pdf">brains of long-haulers experiencing cognitive issues like brain fog</a>. “You can start to see a scope of connected symptoms that can really make someone ill,” said Proal.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZDiaDr">
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Like the symptoms of long Covid, the research is all over the place. “It’s a mess — anyone who says they get it is lying,” said Putrino. But patterns in the data are steadily emerging, which many of the researchers I spoke to attributed to collaboration among long Covid research teams and patient advocacy groups. Organizations like the Long Covid Alliance and Survivor Corps have been instrumental in helping recruit participants and lobby for much-needed funding since research on the condition began, they said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kVpqCU">
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Recent research identifying the people who are most at risk is especially promising. A small study recently published in <em>Cell</em> named <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00072-1">four factors that may put people at higher risk for </a>long Covid: higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the blood in the early stages of infection, Type 2 diabetes, reactivated Epstein-Barr virus (which infects over <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235690/">90 percent of the global population</a>), and the presence of certain autoantibodies — which target the body’s own cells as if they were intruders. Other risk factors could include low levels of antibodies called IgM and IgG3 and preexisting asthma, as a recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27797-1">study</a> in <em>Nature Communications </em>suggested. Bell cautioned, however, that such factors are for “research purposes only” and shouldn’t be viewed as metrics for diagnosis.
|
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EpkhKT">
|
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Fortunately, many researchers studying the basic science of long Covid already have treatment — and diagnosis — in mind. Putrino said that 70 to 80 percent of his patients respond well to intensive autonomic rehabilitation therapy, which involves coaching to improve breathing followed by physical exercises. With <a href="https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2021/10/01/recover-builds-large-nationwide-study-population-research-long-
|
|||
|
|
covid">RECOVER</a>, an NIH-funded nationwide study on long Covid, Horwitz is developing a list of medications and vaccines to test and put through clinical trials.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AxD1TM">
|
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“I am quite optimistic that there will be things that will be helpful,” she said. Pretorius is developing a diagnostic tool for long Covid, and she’s trying to get funding for a clinical trial involving clot-busting drugs. “We’re not going to rest,” she said.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AYY1Kd">
|
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<em>Yasmin Tayag is a science editor and writer. She has written for the Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Guardian, and she was previously the lead editor of the Medium Coronavirus Blog. </em>
|
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</p>
|
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<ul>
|
|||
|
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<li><strong>Why Covid-19 surges seem to end as suddenly as they begin</strong> -
|
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<figure>
|
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|
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
|
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|
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cdn.com/thumbor/fhvYP4_kgSXgbT37aVQ6HF96oOI=/0x0:3000x2250/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70452414/GettyImages_1361791375.0.jpg"/>
|
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|
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<figcaption>
|
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|
|
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
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|
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</figure>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
How the omicron surge became a steep spike instead of a hill or plateau.
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5zWwNq">
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lxcaVs">
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UTmI4F">
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5l5AtR">
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qlzSMP">
|
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</p>
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Yy9Q1J">
|
|||
|
|
The omicron variant of Covid-19 was discovered less than three months ago, but it rocketed case numbers to record highs. Yet almost as rapidly as they rose, new infections plummeted in countries like the United Kingdom, South Africa, and now the United States.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EswdHh">
|
|||
|
|
Omicron caused some of the pandemic’s tallest, sharpest spikes in Covid-19 infections as it overtook previous variants like delta, but several waves triggered by earlier variants followed a remarkably similar pattern. Almost as steeply as cases rose, they fell.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DhHzF4">
|
|||
|
|
Why did this happen? Why didn’t omicron cases rise and fall slowly — or level out at a high or moderate level?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M1RWxJ">
|
|||
|
|
“I think you may get different answers from different experts,” said <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sph/profile/eleanor-murray/">Eleanor Murray</a>, an epidemiologist at Boston University, in an email. This isn’t just a curiosity: Researchers are trying to tease out the reasons in the hope of flattening peaks in the future.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7hjAHi">
|
|||
|
|
Understanding why cases are rising and falling is crucial for figuring out what kinds of public health strategies are working. It’s also important for anticipating what comes next and how to deploy resources like medical workers, hospital beds, vaccines, and treatments.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZhIuqu">
|
|||
|
|
The Covid-19 spikes we’re seeing are not just an intrinsic fact of nature. They’re partly a consequence of how we respond — or don’t — to changes in the virus and in our society. And as steep spikes are eventually replaced by shallower slopes, they will also reveal when the acute Covid-19 pandemic has ebbed and given way to an endemic disease.<strong> </strong>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="s4N9IX">
|
|||
|
|
Why omicron shot up — and down — so fast
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J4gavG">
|
|||
|
|
The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, appeared at just the right time to cause a huge infection spike. It took root in the Northern Hemisphere as holiday travel picked up and cooler temperatures pushed people indoors, helping it travel long distances and spread locally through person-to-person contact.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LvqX5Z">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.vox.com/22846696/omicron-covid-19-variant-virology-mutation-vaccine">Omicron also had the right mix of traits</a> to catch fire. The omicron variant contains mutations that allow it to better evade immune protection while spreading faster than any prior known variant. Even people vaccinated against Covid-19 began getting infected in large numbers as protection from their initial doses started to waver, though most experienced <a href="https://www.vox.com/22851808/omicron-symptoms-covid-19-vaccine-mild-variant">mild symptoms</a>. All these factors together led to lots of infections happening very quickly.
|
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|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PumPAq">
|
|||
|
|
“It has infected everybody that could be infected out and about — and that means automatically it will run out of people to infect and start coming down as fast as it went up,” said <a href="https://www.healthdata.org/about/ali-mokdad">Ali Mokdad</a>, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xW3pCO">
|
|||
|
|
While omicron has been the most extreme example of this phenomenon, earlier variants also caused sharp spikes and declines. South Africa, for instance, saw distinct peaks associated with different variants. Most of these peculiar “stalagmites” in South Africa were symmetrical except for the delta wave last summer, which saw a brief resurgence on its way down.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="A chart showing Covid-19 cases in South Africa in four distinct peaks over time." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-uHxpa8VbC2lNdUcqa-CU8aSQy8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23201400/Screen_Shot_2022_01_28_at_10.32.56_AM.png"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/south-africa" target="_blank">Our World in Data</a></cite></figure></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
A seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 cases in South Africa.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0A4uzN">
|
|||
|
|
“[T]he shape of a spike then decline is what we generally expect in a single population,” said <a href="https://sph.unc.edu/adv_profile/justin-lessler-phd/">Justin Lessler</a>, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, in an email.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D2FAHb">
|
|||
|
|
A key variable is the basic reproductive number of the virus, or R<sub>0</sub>, which is the average number of people that one infected individual tends to infect. “If that number is above one, the epidemic grows exponentially; if it is below one, it declines exponentially,” Lessler said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o7y3Jl">
|
|||
|
|
As more people get infected with a coronavirus variant, there are fewer people left to infect. When the basic reproductive number falls below one, new infections reach their peak and then decline. To plateau, the rate of new infections has to stabilize somewhere near one, but that would require an unusual set of conditions, according to Lessler.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AxWIqT">
|
|||
|
|
The idea that disease outbreaks are generally symmetrical is an old one. William Farr observed in the 1840s that smallpox epidemics followed a mathematical pattern, though his formula, known as <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239175">Farr’s law</a>, resulted in a bell-shaped curve. But diseases rarely follow such neat curves.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gEkez4">
|
|||
|
|
“That has been generally discredited as a ‘law’ since it doesn’t allow for things like changes in susceptibility due to different levels of immunity/immune waning, movement in and out of populations, and changes to risk and exposure behaviors,” said Murray.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WSzgjw">
|
|||
|
|
That’s been evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some countries like South Korea saw more gentle hills as different variants took root, while others like Brazil experienced asymmetrical, jagged peaks throughout the pandemic. Some of that is due to delays in identifying and reporting cases. In some places, variants like delta and omicron overlapped. At the country level, case curves can change shape as the pandemic spreads over time from urban to rural areas or can peak at different times depending on the region.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XuSk8v">
|
|||
|
|
Then one has to account for public health interventions. Vaccines offer significant immune protection (and recovery from Covid-19 can be protective too). Measures like wearing face masks, limiting public gatherings, more rigorous testing, and boosting vaccination efforts also assist in “flattening the curve” and help waves to crest. People also change their behavior in response to rising infections. In the US, surges in vaccination and testing followed spikes in cases.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MMluPG">
|
|||
|
|
“That increase in testing and implementation of public health interventions helps us not only reduce transmission, but also more accurately and timely identify dips in cases,” said <a href="https://schar.gmu.edu/profiles/spopesc2">Saskia Popescu</a>, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University, in an email. “These are also good examples of how effective the vaccines have been and our ability to rapidly respond to spikes and novel variants.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yB2h7t">
|
|||
|
|
So both the shape and the size of an infection spike can be altered with public health tactics. Over time, as immunity builds up in the population, experts expect to stop seeing tall, sharp spikes in Covid-19 cases. The virus probably won’t go away entirely, but case counts could form seasonal waves as new variants arise, immunity wanes, and exposure opportunities increase, according to Mokdad.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="Ce0BGw">
|
|||
|
|
Omicron cases are poised to drop further, but only if we remain vigilant
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MQ0pL8">
|
|||
|
|
Covid-19 cases spurred by omicron appear to have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/22/us/omicron-cases-us-deaths.html">peaked already in the US</a>, but the health care system is still facing a stressful time ahead.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hSUlOi">
|
|||
|
|
When an outbreak peaks in a given community, “50 percent of the infections have occurred and now another 50 will happen as we come down,” Mokdad said. “So we still have a couple of weeks ahead of us that are dangerous in the United States. … A small fraction of them are going to the hospitals, but a small fraction of a huge number is a lot.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5zarR0">
|
|||
|
|
If public health measures like masking and social distancing are relaxed too soon, cases can bounce back up on their way down. The UK, for instance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/world/europe/london-schools-covid-omicron.html">reopened schools</a> and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/19/uk-pm-johnson-wants-to-relax-covid-limits-amid-threat-to-his-
|
|||
|
|
position">relaxed Covid-19 rules</a> before the omicron wave flattened out. Then infections stopped dropping.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="Chart showing Covid-19 cases in the UK" src="https://cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/thumbor/5SSF1RXCmLKGP7LJMSCKRyCMpKI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23202553/Screen_Shot_2022_01_28_at_5.46.14_PM.png"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/south-africa?country=~GBR" target="_blank">Our World in Data</a></cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
The omicron wave in the UK peaked in early January but saw a bump on its way down as the country relaxed some of its restrictions.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="peOXal">
|
|||
|
|
The same thing could happen to other countries. “That sharp decline will slow down at one point, then it goes back [down] sharply again,” Mokdad said. “That’s what we are noticing globally.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bGKbu8">
|
|||
|
|
Even after the omicron wave recedes, the US will still have to contend with people who remain unvaccinated against Covid-19, both inside the country and around the world. And the virus is always changing: <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/01/27/1076123109/new-covid-variant-
|
|||
|
|
omicron-ba-2">Omicron now has a subvariant called BA.2</a> that is gaining some ground, though it’s not yet clear what it means for the pandemic overall.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UP3XBP">
|
|||
|
|
The more the virus spreads, the more likely it is to mutate in dangerous ways. As the current variants have shown, they can quickly spread around the world, regardless of where they originate.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QTsBP5">
|
|||
|
|
The recurring spikes of Covid-19 cases, fueled in part by variants, should inspire us to redouble our efforts at controlling the disease, especially with vaccines. “We’re still struggling to avoid these peaks as vigilant infection prevention efforts and global vaccine equity have been a challenge,” said Popescu.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UuzRps">
|
|||
|
|
A more robust global vaccination effort, coupled with better <a href="https://www.vox.com/22807542/omicron-
|
|||
|
|
coronavirus-variant-covid-19-california-testing-south-africa">disease surveillance</a> to catch variants before they spell trouble, could prevent the next wave and finally start to bring the pandemic under control.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Bachelor stars are suddenly shilling for crypto</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="Colton Underwood smiling, looking at a camera." src="https://cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/thumbor/_xEi0hVKAgTLJgICMu02_IZt_WE=/0x0:4119x3089/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70452340/1351278448.0.jpg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
<em>Bachelor</em> star Colton Underwood has a new project underway: cartoon animal NFTs. | Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Activision
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption></figure></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The stars of The Bachelor want to sell you some NFTs.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gjebqn">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uiLZuf">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7hMLU5">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/13/18263920/bachelor-finale-colton-underwood-cassie-
|
|||
|
|
randolph">Colton Underwood</a> has worn many hats during his media career — <em>Bachelorette </em>contestant, <em>Bachelor in Paradise </em>contestant, <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/1/7/18171965/the-bachelor-colton-
|
|||
|
|
premiere-virgin">first virgin <em>Bachelor </em>lead</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22384066/colton-
|
|||
|
|
underwood-gma-interview-gay">first gay <em>Bachelor </em>lead</a>, Netflix reality show person, and now … NFT guy.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OS8Gfw">
|
|||
|
|
In January, the athlete-turned-reality-star-turned-influencer launched a project called <a href="https://pocketfriends.io/">Pocket Friends</a>, a collection of NFT cartoon character animals, such as Sonya the duck and Betty the hamster. The friends, each of which is supposed to represent a “childhood struggle,” will live on the ethereum blockchain. Each character is supposed to appear in a book, and with 13,000 characters planned, that sounds like a lot of books.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f9k5tn">
|
|||
|
|
People can’t get the NFTs yet, but if and when they are able, they’re promised access to a “variety of benefits,” including a writers room — presumably for those many books — voting (it’s not clear on what), and “special access to events and celebrities.” For now, they can hang out with the Pocket Friends team, including Colton, on Discord. On Discord, participants are encouraged to invite as many others as they can to earn a spot on the “whitelist,” a sort of VIP list, and take part in a Twitter meme challenge to help Pocket Friends get followers. It’s all about building the community — and getting in early.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
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Underwood, 30, is hardly unique in his attempt to use his semi-celebrity to try to hop onto the crypto train and parlay his social media following into buzz around some sort of NFT project. He’s not the only member of the <em>Bachelor</em> franchise, which shot him into fame, to do so, either.
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|
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Former <em>Bachelor </em>star Matt James has taken a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/podcasts/new-money/from-bachelor-to-crypto-bull-the-matt-james-story/">head-first dive into crypto</a>, as evidenced by his Instagram profile with the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mattjames919/?hl=en">laser eyes</a>. Another former lead, Peter Weber, is <a href="https://www.gildable.com/pack/92bf206b-54ac-6239-d7d6-cf8a26603d3f">trying to sell</a> some sort of NFT playing cards of himself. Jade Roper Tolbert, who was with her husband one of the first franchise couples to really monetize their influencer status, is doing a lady-friendly NFT project called <a href="https://www.sacredskullsnft.com/">Sacred Skulls</a>.
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Nobody is on <em>The Bachelor</em> for the right reasons anymore, if they ever were. Most are there to be influencers and get Instagram followers, and there’s a bustling economy around <a href="https://www.racked.com/2017/12/27/16307098/bachelor-instagram-influencers-ads">being a Bachelor Nation member</a>.
|
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“It’s nothing new that celebrities bring dubious products to market or are spokespeople for things that seem a little shady or questionable. With influencers, the difference is that sense of intimacy and authenticity that comes from a place like social media,” said Erin Meyers, an associate professor of communication at Oakland University.
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<em>Bachelor </em>stars are normie influencers who will often try basically anything for money. They’re also excellent promoters — and not particularly discerning ones. These are qualities that crypto and NFTs, still in their early phases, really need. User acquisition is key for making these social constructs something real — the pool of believers has to constantly expand for it to work.
|
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|
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Investors in the space are moving fast, and it’s a great fit for people who were built to shill. They are accustomed to pushing something even when there’s no there there — like the narrative that 30 men or women are going to all fall in love with a single suitor on live TV, or, as influencers, that their audiences are getting a full picture of their real, authentic lives.
|
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You don’t know Colton, but you feel like you do. That gives him and others an avenue to you that more traditional advertisers maybe wouldn’t have — a path to get you to buy Calvin the chameleon, his new friend. Who is the child who wants one of Colton’s NFTs? It’s unclear.
|
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0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;">
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X_wmJZM_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size:
|
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14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Colton Underwood (<span class="citation" data-cites="coltonunderwood">@coltonunderwood</span>)</a>
|
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|
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<h3 id="6ZAI5j">
|
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Would you like an NFT with this rose?
|
|||
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|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NDtJYg">
|
|||
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|
The first rule of being on <em>The Bachelor</em>:<em> </em>The best-case scenario is generally to not win <em>The Bachelor, </em>but to come semi-close. The second rule is you’re not supposed to say the first rule. If you do, everybody gets mad at you for admitting you’d <a href="https://www.tvinsider.com/1003003/the-
|
|||
|
|
bachelorette-2021-episode-3-recap/">much rather be the next lead</a> or <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bachelor-nation-slams-paradise-contestants-for-openly-using-show-to-build-
|
|||
|
|
clout-050221302.html">get more Instagram followers</a>, both more lucrative situations if the goal is to join the creator economy.
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HDLjgA">
|
|||
|
|
“You get more out of it if you don’t win, honestly, because it opens up avenues for you to do all of these influencer-type deals,” Meyers said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HU5Cbi">
|
|||
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|
“The contestants that come off the show that are in the top five, top three, typically come off with a very big following and an extremely engaged following,” said Ali Grant, the founder of Be Social, a communications agency focused on influencers. “It really matters what they do after that. A lot of them either do not much with the following and go back to regular life, or say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be an influencer, I’m going to monetize my social,’ and really make this a longstanding career.”
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h5pZYN">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.racked.com/2017/12/27/16307098/bachelor-instagram-influencers-ads">Plenty of former contestants have taken that route</a>, to varying degrees of success. As business and media trends change, so does what Bachelor Nation is trying to sell — hence the entrance of crypto.
|
|||
|
|
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|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qA3oqb">
|
|||
|
|
Matt James, the first Black lead of <em>The Bachelor</em>, now that his season is over, has fashioned himself as a bit of a crypto connoisseur. In May 2021, a crypto company called BlockFi <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blockfi-teams-with-matt-james-
|
|||
|
|
in-exclusive-partnership-focused-on-cryptocurrency-education-301293622.html">announced</a> a partnership with James, saying he would participate in educational videos, collaboration events, and “other social media activities” as part of the deal. At the very least, they got some <a href="https://twitter.com/mattjames919/status/1433163768586981378">tweets</a> out of the arrangement, with James ordering a pizza at one point with a BlockFi credit card.
|
|||
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|
|||
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<div id="VRvZZd">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
THE WAIT IS OVER - my <a href="https://twitter.com/BlockFi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="BlockFi">@BlockFi</span></a> credit card allows me to earn <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bitcoin</a> with every purchase! Pizza on me tonight, send me address & what toppings you want <a href="https://t.co/9R775RL9KQ">pic.twitter.com/9R775RL9KQ</a>
|
|||
|
|
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|
|||
|
|
— Matt James (<span class="citation" data-cites="mattjames919">@mattjames919</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattjames919/status/1414694449209303040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2021</a>
|
|||
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|
|||
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|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qpKx1d">
|
|||
|
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James often <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/now/bachelor-crypto-bull-matt-
|
|||
|
|
james-131100034.html">talks crypto</a> in <a href="https://cheddar.com/media/matt-james-talks-dymatize-partnership-
|
|||
|
|
crypto-and-financial-literacy">interviews</a> and tweets about <a href="https://twitter.com/mattjames919/status/1484929163429560323?s=20">bitcoin</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/mattjames919/status/1373743007741136898?s=20">NFTs</a>. When cryptocurrency prices dropped in late January, James, like a lot of crypto bros, tweeted through it.
|
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|
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|
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|
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|
|||
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Unfazed <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BTC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BTC</a> <a href="https://t.co/74ewEx5SNL">pic.twitter.com/74ewEx5SNL</a>
|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">— Matt James (<span class="citation" data-cites="mattjames919">@mattjames919</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattjames919/status/1484379618370936839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2022</a></p>
|
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|
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|
|||
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In public, he fashions himself as both a student and an expert in the space. It also appears that <a href="https://www.abcfoodtours.org/">ABC Food Tours</a>, a kid-focused nonprofit James and fellow Bachelor alum Tyler Cameron run, has been slightly refashioned to fold in crypto.
|
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|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oJE6Xb">
|
|||
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The organization rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq in early January, and James in an Instagram post at the time said its 2022 goal would be financial literacy — with a crypto twist. “Expect a wave of digital wallets being created and 50 percent of our education with students to take place in the Metaverse,” he wrote.
|
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|
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|
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYb5G0zLlzw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-
|
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height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Matt James (<span class="citation" data-cites="mattjames919">@mattjames919</span>)</a>
|
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|
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Jade Roper Tolbert gained much of her <em>Bachelor</em>-related fame after appearing in the spinoff <em>Bachelor in Paradise</em>, where she met her now-husband, Tanner Tolbert. Now she is dabbling in the NFT space. She’s the co-founder of Sacred Skulls, a women-led NFT project where the art is, as the name suggests, skulls. Her co-founder, Kayla Lane, is married to former <em>Bachelorette </em>contestant JJ Lane.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qyj04i">
|
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Like <a href="https://twitter.com/Killer_KBee/status/1484897532278890498">some other</a> women-led projects in the crypto space, it coopts boss-babe, female empowerment language. Sacred Skulls says it is “empowering women through financial independence” and aims to fill in the gender gap in NFTs. “Having a huge following of women, Kayla and I were just like, ‘We want to empower women in this space, we want to give them financial freedom,” Roper Tolbert said in an interview with Vox. Lane emphasized that they want to make sure “there’s an opportunity for women to have a seat at the NFT table.”
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gieAou">
|
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The pair said they don’t think their status as influencers — particularly on Instagram — gave them much of a leg up in their NFT endeavors. “A lot of people who follow me don’t even know what NFT stands for,” Roper Tolbert said. While Sacred Skulls appears from time to time in her Instagram stories, she doesn’t post about it there the way she does on Twitter. “This isn’t influencing, I’m not shilling a product for people to buy. I’m not saying, ‘Hey, go use this toothbrush,’” she said. “It’s more that this is an opportunity for people to get into, more women need to be in here before it gets completely taken over.”
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</p>
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<div id="NHHkhL">
|
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<blockquote class="twitter- tweet">
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
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Ahhh sending the love right back, <a href="https://twitter.com/QueerFriendsNft?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="QueerFriendsNft">@QueerFriendsNft</span></a>!! ✨✨A great group of amazing projects, too! <a href="https://t.co/oo3zZasfvR">https://t.co/oo3zZasfvR</a>
|
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|
</p>
|
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|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">— Jade Roper Tolbert (<span class="citation" data-cites="jadelizroper">@jadelizroper</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/jadelizroper/status/1484204968487776258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2022</a></p>
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</blockquote>
|
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</div>
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<div id="t9QNfw">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
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|
‼️Don’t miss out on this Women Led NFT drop! We opened up more WL Pre-Sale spots to join. Minting next week… ‼️<br/><br/>How to enter: <br/>1. Join our discord (link in twitter bio) <br/>2.Fill out our Pre-Sale WL form, (directions in the Pre-Sale channel on discord) <a href="https://t.co/XP8uEkWWaJ">pic.twitter.com/XP8uEkWWaJ</a>
|
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|
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</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Sacred Skulls: SOLD OUT (<span class="citation" data-cites="sacred_skulls">@sacred_skulls</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/sacred_skulls/status/1484636264607272960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2022</a>
|
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</blockquote>
|
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VNtBnH">
|
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|
|
Jade and Tanner, who met on the <em>Bachelor</em> spinoff series in 2015, were among the first in the franchise to capitalize on the influencer game. In 2016, Us magazine ran a story about them making a combined $1 million <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jade-roper-and-tanner-tolbert-on-
|
|||
|
|
track-to-earn-1-million-w164628/">for their sponsored posts</a>. The pair have also raised eyebrows with their activities. In 2020, Roper Tolbert was <a href="https://people.com/sports/jade-roper-tolbert-stripped-fantasy-football-
|
|||
|
|
prize-money/">stripped of a $1 million prize</a> she’d won playing fantasy football after allegedly cheating.
|
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|
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</p>
|
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|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FfqHlb">
|
|||
|
|
Peter Weber, another former <em>Bachelor </em>lead, is selling <a href="https://www.gildable.com/pack/92bf206b-54ac-6239-d7d6-cf8a26603d3f">collectible playing cards</a> of himself on a platform called <a href="https://www.gildable.com/pack/92bf206b-54ac-6239-d7d6-cf8a26603d3f">Gildable</a> that sells “collectible NFT cards by cultural icons.” As of this writing, he’s sold 86 out of the 100 packs available.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4aogIX">
|
|||
|
|
There’s nothing especially wrong with <em>Bachelor</em> alumni getting into crypto or into NFTs. Plenty of people are dabbling in the space right now, including high-profile, mid-profile, and low-profile celebrities. The projects they’re working on aren’t particularly notable.
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WkvtlB">
|
|||
|
|
“You hear they’re getting into NFTs, you tend to assume it’s going to be one of the more dubious projects,” said Matt Stephenson, a PhD candidate at Columbia University who researches behavioral economics and NFTs. He added that influencers finding success in NFTs is probably the “least interesting thing” that NFTs can do.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K3fYQK">
|
|||
|
|
NFTs are supposed to be in the camp of the decentralized “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/web3-gavin-wood-interview/">Web3</a>” internet; influencers depend heavily on Web2, meaning centralized social platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. “Social media-style platforms that have enabled influencers to use their influence and profit are just going to extend their influence and profit in new ways. It’s not ultimately interesting or different, and so in some sense would not be what you’d hope to see out of NFTs.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="89qjqV">
|
|||
|
|
At the same time, NFT projects often need social media and influencers to get a chance to take off. I found Colton’s cartoon characters Discord channel because I follow Colton on Instagram. Crypto needs hype to keep it going, and it’s finding some friends in <em>Bachelor </em>stars.<strong> </strong>Maybe they really believe in the future of the project; maybe they recognize a money-making opportunity when they see it.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jtJwUG">
|
|||
|
|
“Often it seems the line is this idea of do you, as the influencer, believe in what you’re selling? Or is this something authentic? And that’s a very fraught term,” said Megan Sawey, a PhD candidate at Cornell studying new media technologies. “At a certain point, we accepted that promotion was going to be part of the deal.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="zR3DXt">
|
|||
|
|
If you insist on getting crypto advice from <em>Bachelor </em>people, you should know they’re being paid for it
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4AItKs">
|
|||
|
|
I reached out to several experts to ask them what they make of <em>Bachelor </em>stars and, more broadly, influencers offering financial advice and pushing crypto online. Most told me the same thing: This isn’t really a question of <em>Bachelor</em> cast members’ choices, it’s a question of what regulators will do about any of this.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hv7uUq">
|
|||
|
|
“Sure, it’s unfortunate and disappointing that influencers might choose to work with particular brands or shill products where claims aren’t necessarily proven. That’s disappointing, but I think the bigger issue here is a lack of regulation for this industry,” said Emily Hund, a research affiliate at the Center on Digital Culture and Society at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
|
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|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NZKDih">
|
|||
|
|
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/1001a-influencer-
|
|||
|
|
guide-508_1.pdf">rules</a> around disclosures for social media influencers — basically, people are supposed to say if they’re being paid to recommend something. That’s why you see a lot of #ad and #sponsored tags on posts. But some experts say that’s not enough and worry that the FTC is behind the curve.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RV8NMk">
|
|||
|
|
“As we’ve become more reliant on humans as living billboards … their job got much harder, and they haven’t kept up on technology,” said Nizan Geslevich Packin, an associate professor of law at the Baruch College Zicklin School of Business.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zFl4Wp">
|
|||
|
|
Packin specifically worries about fintech and platforms such as Robinhood that have made it much easier for an inexperienced trader to buy and sell stocks and crypto, often on the recommendation of someone they saw on TikTok or Twitter. “The decade that the FTC has sort of frozen, in terms of updates, is also the decade that fintech has exploded,” she said.
|
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|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hlRA16">
|
|||
|
|
Technology and trends are moving much faster than the FTC does. Grant, from Be Social, estimates she gets approached by half a dozen companies a week seeking to launch an NFT with one of her creators or get one involved in some capacity. She says she advises her clients, which includes some former <em>Bachelor</em> contestants such as Cassie Randolph, to be discerning. “If you said yes to everything that came your way as an influencer, yes, you can make tons of money, so much money. But what you lose along the way is credibility, authenticity, and your biggest asset, your following.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KgQfhJ">
|
|||
|
|
Maybe Colton’s animal NFT project will take off. Maybe it will fade away and everybody will forget. Maybe it will cost his followers money — many NFT projects will probably fail — and they’ll think twice about following him into his next endeavor.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="Griys5">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
on wednesdays we drink wine and talk nfts. that’s a thing now!
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— coltonunderwood.eth (<span class="citation" data-cites="colton">@colton</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/colton/status/1486530942827044869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2022</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India squad arrives in Ahmedabad for ODIs against West Indies</strong> - ODI series against the West Indies begins on February 6</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>No more the captain, Kohli talks about contributing more as a batter</strong> - “One has to embrace all kinds of roles and responsibilities”</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Christian Eriksen set for playing return after signing for Brentford</strong> - The Denmark football star had suffered a cardiac arrest on the field at the European Championship</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>U-19 WC | Sri Lanka advance to 5th place play off, Uganda beat Scotland to finish 13th</strong> - Scotland ended their World Cup 51 runs short (D/L method) of Uganda finishing 14th in the tournament</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Fitness woes keep Hetmyer out as Windies name squad for T20Is against India</strong> - Eleven players feature in both the limited-overs squads — Pollard, Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith and Hayden Walsh Jr.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study highlights financial implications of Ennore thermal expansion project</strong> - It is likely to cause a debt burden of of ₹4,479 crore for Tangedco</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Artiste chosen by Janapada Academy dies before award is presented to him</strong> - H.N. Ramaiah was chosen for Janapada Academy honour for the year 2021</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>460 kg of ganja seized at Kodakara</strong> - Contraband found in lorry from A.P., three arrested</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Breast cancer leads to liver inflammation and fibrosis: JSSAHER study</strong> - The study had explored the most possible molecular mechanism behind breast cancer associated co-morbidities</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>‘Hawk’s Muffin’: Filmmaker Krishnendu Kalesh speaks on his debut film being screened at ongoing Rotterdam fest</strong> - Themes of war, plunder of land and oppression are densely packed in the film</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Portugal election: Socialists win unexpected majority</strong> - A snap election was called after Prime Minister António Costa’s budget failed to pass.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ayia Napa: Woman wins appeal against gang rape lie conviction</strong> - The woman’s appeal against her public mischief conviction is overturned at the Cypriot Supreme Court.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In eastern Ukraine, war-weary soldiers and civilians await Russia’s next move</strong> - On Ukraine’s eastern front lines, in the deep winter cold, soldiers and civilians await Russia’s next move.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine-Russia tensions: British troops ‘unlikely’ to fight - Truss</strong> - The foreign secretary says the UK is using “deterrence and diplomacy” to avoid further conflict.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Manhunt after German police officers shot dead near Kusel</strong> - Two officers were killed early on Monday during a routine traffic stop in western Germany.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Review: MNT Reform laptop has fully open hardware and software—for better or worse</strong> - Slow ARM CPU almost single-handedly derails an intriguing laptop experiment. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1827662">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>We’ve driven Ford’s other electric workhorse: the 2022 E-Transit</strong> - Ford will have the battery capacity to build more than 200,000 a year. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1830463">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kia’s new EV6 electric crossover goes straight to the head of the pack</strong> - It’s highly efficient, fun to drive, and loaded with equipment, too. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1830191">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>HP wins huge fraud case against Autonomy founder and CEO Mike Lynch</strong> - Hours after the ruling, the UK home secretary approved Lynch’s extradition to the US. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1830229">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The weekend’s best deals: Steam Lunar New Year Sale, Fitbit trackers, and more</strong> - Dealmaster also includes the newest <em>Pokémon</em> game, AirPods, and the Surface Pro 8. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1830105">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>My penis size is like Donald Trump’s net worth</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
It is a lot smaller than what I tell everyone it is.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Regular_Breakfast_15"> /u/Regular_Breakfast_15 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgp8c0/my_penis_size_is_like_donald_trumps_net_worth/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgp8c0/my_penis_size_is_like_donald_trumps_net_worth/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>A son tells his father, “I have an imaginary girlfriend.” The father sighs and says, “You know, you could do better.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“Thanks Dad,” the son says. The father shakes his head and goes, “I was talking to your girlfriend.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Candid-Cupcake-4301"> /u/Candid-Cupcake-4301 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgugf7/a_son_tells_his_father_i_have_an_imaginary/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgugf7/a_son_tells_his_father_i_have_an_imaginary/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>I was horrified when my wife told me that my six-year-old son wasn’t actually mine.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Apparently I need to pay more attention during school pick-up.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON
|
|||
|
|
-->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Mr_MyMumsAVirgin"> /u/Mr_MyMumsAVirgin </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgm09t/i_was_horrified_when_my_wife_told_me_that_my/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgm09t/i_was_horrified_when_my_wife_told_me_that_my/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>My girlfriend left me because I’m insecure.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Oh wait, she’s back. I guess she just went to the grocery store.
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Ripcord2"> /u/Ripcord2 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgjq95/my_girlfriend_left_me_because_im_insecure/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgjq95/my_girlfriend_left_me_because_im_insecure/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>What’s the difference between 10 dicks and a joke?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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The mods can’t take a joke
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</p>
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</div>
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<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ihavetwonoses"> /u/ihavetwonoses </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgmeel/whats_the_difference_between_10_dicks_and_a_joke/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sgmeel/whats_the_difference_between_10_dicks_and_a_joke/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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</ul>
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