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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Synthesis of High-Resolution Research-Quality MRI Data from Clinical MRI Data in Patients with COVID-19</strong> -
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Pathophysiological mechanisms of neurological disorders in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are poorly understood, partly because of a lack of high-resolution neuroimaging data. We applied SynthSR, a convolutional neural network that synthesizes high-resolution isotropic research-quality data from thick-slice clinical MRI data, to a cohort of 11 patients with severe COVID-19. SynthSR successfully synthesized T1-weighted MPRAGE data at 1 mm spatial resolution for all 11 patients, each of whom had at least one brain lesion. Correlations between volumetric measures derived from synthesized and acquired MPRAGE data were strong for the cortical grey matter, subcortical grey matter, brainstem, hippocampus, and hemispheric white matter (r=0.84 to 0.96, p≤0.001), but absent for the cerebellar white matter and corpus callosum (r=0.04 to 0.17, p&gt;0.61). SynthSR creates an opportunity to quantitatively study clinical MRI scans and elucidate the pathophysiology of neurological disorders in patients with COVID-19, including those with focal lesions.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.25.21266090v1" target="_blank">Synthesis of High-Resolution Research-Quality MRI Data from Clinical MRI Data in Patients with COVID-19</a>
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<li><strong>Population-level changes in the mental health of UK workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study using Understanding Society</strong> -
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Objectives The COVID−19 pandemic has substantially affected workers mental health. We investigated changes in UK workers mental health by industry, social class, and occupation and differential effects by UK country of residence, gender and age. Methods We used representative Understanding Society data from 6,474 adults (41,207 observations) in paid employment who participated in pre−pandemic (2017−2020) and at least one COVID-19 survey. The outcome was psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire-12; score≥4). Exposures were industry, social class and occupation and are examined separately. Mixed−effects logistic regression was used to estimate relative (OR) and absolute (%) increases in distress before and during pandemic. Differential effects were investigated for UK countries of residence (Non−England/England), gender (Male/female), and age (Younger/Older) using 3−way interaction effects. Results Psychological distress increased in relative terms most for professional, scientific and technical (OR:3.15, 95% CI 2.17−4.59) industry in the pandemic versus pre−pandemic period. Absolute risk increased most in hospitality (+11.4%). For social class, small employers/self−employed were most affected in relative and absolute terms (OR:3.24, 95% CI 2.28− 4.63; +10.3%). Across occupations Sales and customer service (OR:3.01, 95% CI 1.61− 5.62; +10.7%) had the greatest increase. Analysis with 3−way interactions showed considerable gender differences, while for UK country of residence and age results are mixed. Conclusions Psychological distress increases during the COVID−19 pandemic were concentrated among professional and technical and hospitality industries, small employers/self−employed and sales and customers service workers. Female workers often exhibited greater differences in risk by industry and occupation. Policies supporting these industries and groups are needed.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.25.21266866v1" target="_blank">Population-level changes in the mental health of UK workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study using Understanding Society</a>
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<li><strong>Homeworking during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for research and practice for sustainable (home)working in government</strong> -
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, public servants in many countries were mandated to work from home. The unprecedented nature of the situation entailed considerable challenges for providing adequate HR support. In this study, we explored how Dutch public servants experienced mandatory homeworking by conducting a template analysis. Based on in-depth analyses of 985 written accounts, we inductively expanded an a priori template derived from the Job-Demands-Resource (JD-R) framework, to understand and analyze how public servants experienced their new situation. We found that components of mandatory homeworking trigger different experienced resources and demands with divergent consequences for different employees. Our study raises awareness about the effects of contextual factors, specifically personal background characteristics and working conditions, that are important to understand their divergent experiences with mandatory homeworking. Our findings are translated into propositions that extend the JD-R model. We end with lessons to create sustainable (home)working conditions in government.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/dshfp/" target="_blank">Homeworking during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for research and practice for sustainable (home)working in government</a>
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<li><strong>Rapid evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against VOC/VOIs by genetic mismatch</strong> -
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Timely evaluation of the protective effects of COVID-19 vaccines is challenging but urgently needed to inform the pandemic control planning. Based on vaccine efficacy/effectiveness (VE) data of 11 vaccine products and 297,055 SARS-CoV-2 sequences collected in 20 regions, we analyzed the relationship between genetic mismatch of circulating viruses against the vaccine strain and VE. Variations from technology platforms are controlled by a mixed-effects model. We found that the genetic mismatch measured on the RBD is highly predictive for vaccine protection and accounted for 72.0% (p-value &lt; 0.01) of the VE change. The NTD and S protein also demonstrate significant but weaker per amino acid substitution association with VE (p-values &lt; 0.01). The model is applied to predict vaccine protection of existing vaccines against new genetic variants and is validated by independent cohort studies. The estimated VE against the delta variant is 79.3% (95% prediction interval: 67.0 - 92.1) using the mRNA platform, and an independent survey reported a close match of 83.0%; against the beta variant (B.1.351) the predicted VE is 53.8% (95% prediction interval: 39.9 - 67.4) using the viral-vector vaccines, and an observational study reported a close match of 48.0%. Genetic mismatch provides an accurate prediction for vaccine protection and offers a rapid evaluation method against novel variants to facilitate vaccine deployment and public health responses.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.22.21254079v2" target="_blank">Rapid evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against VOC/VOIs by genetic mismatch</a>
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<li><strong>Covid-19 vaccination coverage and break through infections in urban slums of Bengaluru, India: A cross sectional study.</strong> -
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Background: The ongoing pandemic of Corona virus disease 2019(covid 19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Corona virus 2(SAR COV 2). The world health organization declared it as public health emergency of international concern on January 2020 and later declared as pandemic on 11 March 2020.One of the high risk groups for COVID 19 disease are people residing in urban overcrowded slums and as most of the population is migrant, they are less aware of the pandemic and have less access to health care facilities. Vaccinating these high risk groups can decrease disease burden and control the ongoing pandemic. Objectives: 1] To estimate COVID 19 vaccination coverage 2] To assess the factors responsible for COVID 19 vaccination coverage and vaccine hesitancy 3] To study AEFI pattern following COVID 19 vaccination 4] To determine the prevalence of breakthrough infections after COVID 19 Vaccination in urban slums of Bengaluru, India. Methodology: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in Urban slums belonging to Urban Health and Training Centre, Department of community medicine, Akash Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Bengaluru Rural District, Karnataka, India. After obtaining Institutional ethical clearance and informed consent from study participants, data was collected from 1638 participants, fulfilling inclusion criteria using a predesigned, pretested, structured questionnaire. Data was entered in Microsoft excel and analyzed using SPSS version 24. Chi square test and Fischers exact test was applied and p &lt;0.05 considered as statistically significant. Results: In the present study, 35.5% (583 out of 1638) of the study participants had taken COVID Vaccine, of which 533 (91.42%) were partially vaccinated and remaining 50 (8.5%) were fully Vaccinated. Majority i.e. 98.45% have taken vaccine at Govt health centers. 63.65% vaccinated with Covishield reported adverse events, whereas 18.6% vaccinated with Covaxin reported adverse events. Adverse events were more likely to be reported by women (74.7%) compared to men (58.6%) , this observation was consistent across all age groups. Vaccination coverage was high among 18 to 45 years age group (37.75%), males (64.86%), Christians (47.05%) followed by Hindus (43.56%), graduates (95.67%), clerical and skilled workers (70.75%), Upper middle socioeconomic class (72.41%). This difference was statistically significant. Our study reported Break through infections in 7 out of total 583 vaccinated with a prevalence of 1.2%. The break through infections was very high among partially vaccinated (85.71%) as compared to fully vaccinated individuals (14.28%). This was observed among those vaccinated with Covaxin only. Conclusion: The COVID 19 vaccine coverage was low in urban slums. The prevalence of Break through infections in our study was higher as compared to available data/reports in the country. Break through infections was very high among partially vaccinated as compared to fully vaccinated individuals. This study on break through infections on COVID vaccination is first study in South India on general population. The most important factor for vaccine hesitancy is the occurrence of mild or serious adverse effects following immunization, and this may be the biggest challenge in the global response against the pandemic. Key words: COVID 19 vaccination, Break through infections, Vaccine hesitancy, Adverse events COVID vaccination, Urban slums
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.21.21262716v1" target="_blank">Covid-19 vaccination coverage and break through infections in urban slums of Bengaluru, India: A cross sectional study.</a>
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<li><strong>Exploring the Temporal Dynamics of County-Level Vulnerability Factors on COVID-19 Outcomes</strong> -
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As the outbreak of COVID-19 has become a severe worldwide pandemic, every country fights against the spread of this deadly disease with incredible efforts. There are numerous researches along with every conceivable dimension for COVID-19. Among these researches, different demographic and contextual factors of populations and communities also play an essential role in providing more information for decision-makers. This paper mainly utilizes existing data on county contextual factors at the United States county-level to develop a model that can capture the dynamic trajectory of COVID-19 (i.e., cases) and its impacts across the United States. Moreover, our methods applied to contextual data achieves better results compared with existing measures of vulnerability.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266757v1" target="_blank">Exploring the Temporal Dynamics of County-Level Vulnerability Factors on COVID-19 Outcomes</a>
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<li><strong>Changes in antidepressant use in Australia: A nationwide analysis prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2015-2021)</strong> -
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Background: Depression and anxiety affect 4% to 14% of Australians every year; symptoms may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined recent patterns of antidepressant use in Australia in the period 2015 to 2021, which includes the first year of the pandemic. Methods: We used national dispensing claims for people aged ≥10 years to investigate annual trends in prevalent and new antidepressant use (no antidepressants dispensed in the year prior). We conducted stratified analyses by sex, age group and antidepressant class. We report outcomes from 2015 to 2019 and used time series analysis to quantify changes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 to February 2021). Results: In 2019 the annual prevalence of antidepressant use was 170.4 per 1,000 women and 101.8 per 1,000 men, an increase of 7.0% and 9.2% from 2015, respectively. New antidepressant use also increased for both sexes (3.0% for women and 4.9% for men) and across most age groups, particularly among adolescents (aged 10-17 years; 46%-57%). During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed higher than expected prevalent use (+2.2%, 95%CI 0.3%, 4.2%) among females, corresponding to a predicted excess of 45,217 (95%CI 5,819, 84,614) females dispensed antidepressants. The largest increases during the first year of the pandemic occurred among female adolescents for both prevalent (+11.7%, 95%CI 4.1%, 20.5%) and new antidepressant use (+15.6%, 95%CI 8.5%, 23.7%). Conclusion: Antidepressant use continues to increase in Australia overall and especially among young people. We found a differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in treated depression and anxiety, greater among females than males, and greater among young females than other age groups, suggesting an increased mental health burden in populations already on a trajectory of increased use of antidepressants prior to the pandemic. Reasons for these differences require further investigation.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266837v1" target="_blank">Changes in antidepressant use in Australia: A nationwide analysis prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2015-2021)</a>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pandemic inequity in a megacity: a multilevel analysis of individual, community, and health care vulnerability risks for COVID-19 mortality in Jakarta, Indonesia</strong> -
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Background The 33 recognized megacities comprise approximately 7% of the global population, yet account for 20% COVID-19 deaths. The specific inequities and other factors within megacities that affect vulnerability to COVID-19 mortality remain poorly defined. We assessed individual, community-level and health care factors associated with COVID-19-related mortality in a megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia, during two epidemic waves spanning March 2, 2020, to August 31, 2021. Methods This retrospective cohort included all residents of Jakarta, Indonesia, with PCR-confirmed COVID-19. We extracted demographic, clinical, outcome (recovered or died), vaccine coverage data, and disease prevalence from Jakarta Health Office surveillance records, and collected sub-district level socio-demographics data from various official sources. We used multi-level logistic regression to examine individual, community and sub-district-level health care factors and their associations with COVID-19-mortality. Findings Of 705,503 cases with a definitive outcome by August 31, 2021, 694,706 (98.5%) recovered and 10,797 (1.5%) died. The median age was 36 years (IQR 24-50), 13.2% (93,459) were &lt;18 years, and 51.6% were female. The sub-district level accounted for 1.5% of variance in mortality (p&lt;0.0001). Individual-level factors associated with death were older age, male sex, comorbidities, and, during the first wave, age &lt;5 years (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.56, 95%CI 1.04-2.35; reference: age 20-29 years). Community- level factors associated with death were poverty (aOR for the poorer quarter 1.35, 95%CI 1.17-1.55; reference: wealthiest quarter), high population density (aOR for the highest density 1.34, 95%CI 1.14-2.58; reference: the lowest), low vaccine coverage (aOR for the lowest coverage 1.25, 95%CI 1.13-1.38; reference: the highest). Interpretation In addition to individual risk factors, living in areas with high poverty and density, and low health care performance further increase the vulnerability of communities to COVID-19-associated death in urban low-resource settings.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266809v1" target="_blank">Pandemic inequity in a megacity: a multilevel analysis of individual, community, and health care vulnerability risks for COVID-19 mortality in Jakarta, Indonesia</a>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Anatomy of the first six months of COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign in Italy</strong> -
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We analyze the effectiveness of the first six months of vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 in Italy by using a computational epidemic model which takes into account demographic, mobility, vaccines, as well as estimates of the introduction and spreading of the more transmissible Alpha variant. We consider six sub-national regions and study the effect of vaccines in terms of number of averted deaths, infections, and reduction in the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) with respect to counterfactual scenarios with the actual non-pharmaceuticals interventions but no vaccine administration. Furthermore, we compare the effectiveness in counterfactual scenarios with different vaccines allocation strategies and vaccination rates. Our results show that, as of 2021/07/05, vaccines averted 29,350 (IQR: [16,454-42,826]) deaths and 4,256,332 (IQR: [1,675,564-6,980,070]) infections and a new pandemic wave in the country. During the same period, they achieved a -22.2% (IQR: [-31.4%; -13.9%]) reduction in the IFR. We show that a campaign that would have strictly prioritized age groups at higher risk of dying from COVID-19, besides frontline workers, would have implied additional benefits both in terms of avoided fatalities and reduction in the IFR. Strategies targeting the most active age groups would have prevented a higher number of infections but would have been associated with more deaths. Finally, we study the effects of different vaccination intake scenarios by rescaling the number of available doses in the time period under study to those administered in other countries of reference. The modeling framework can be applied to other countries to provide a mechanistic characterization of vaccination campaigns worldwide.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266820v1" target="_blank">Anatomy of the first six months of COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign in Italy</a>
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<li><strong>COVID-19 due to the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant compared to B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant of SARS-CoV-2: two prospective observational cohort studies</strong> -
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Background The Delta (B.1.617.2) variant became the predominant UK circulating SARS-CoV-2 strain in May 2021. How Delta infection compares with previous variants is unknown. Methods This prospective observational cohort study assessed symptomatic adults participating in the app-based COVID Symptom Study who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 from May 26 to July 1, 2021 (Delta overwhelmingly predominant circulating UK variant), compared (1:1, age- and sex-matched) with individuals presenting from December 28, 2020 to May 6, 2021 (Alpha (B.1.1.7) predominant variant). We assessed illness (symptoms, duration, presentation to hospital) during Alpha- and Delta-predominant timeframes; and transmission, reinfection, and vaccine effectiveness during the Delta-predominant period. Findings 3,581 individuals (aged 18 to 100 years) from each timeframe were assessed. The seven most frequent symptoms were common to both variants. Within the first 28 days of illness, some symptoms were more common with Delta vs. Alpha infection (including fever, sore throat and headache) and vice versa (dyspnoea). Symptom burden in the first week was higher with Delta vs. Alpha infection; however, the odds of any given symptom lasting ≥7 days was either lower or unchanged. Illness duration ≥28 days was lower with Delta vs. Alpha infection, though unchanged in unvaccinated individuals. Hospitalisation for COVID-19 was unchanged. The Delta variant appeared more (1.47) transmissible than Alpha. Re-infections were low in all UK regions. Vaccination markedly (69-84%) reduced risk of Delta infection. Interpretation COVID-19 from Delta or Alpha infections is clinically similar. The Delta variant is more transmissible than Alpha; however, current vaccines show good efficacy against disease. Funding UK Government Department of Health and Social Care, Wellcome Trust, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK Research and Innovation London Medical Imaging &amp; Artificial Intelligence Centre for Value Based Healthcare, UK National Institute for Health Research, UK Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer9s Society, and ZOE Limited.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266748v1" target="_blank">COVID-19 due to the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant compared to B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant of SARS-CoV-2: two prospective observational cohort studies</a>
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<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 vaccination predicts COVID-19 progression and outcomes in hospitalized patients</strong> -
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Background SARS-CoV-2 vaccination might impact on clinical progression of cases with breakthrough COVID-19 disease. Objective to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on disease progression in COVID-19 hospitalized patient Methods and Findings Two-hundred eighty-four consecutive COVID-19 hospitalized patients, including 50 vaccinated cases entered the study. Compared to unvaccinated cases, vaccinated patients were older, exhibited more comorbidities and did not differ for COVID-19 severity at admission. During hospitalisation, unvaccinated patients showed worse disease progression, including higher need of oxygen and higher risk of death compared to vaccinated patients (OR 3.3; 1.05-10.7 95% CI in the whole cohort and OR 54.8; 3.5-852 in the ventilated cases). Discussion These findings argue for an important reduction in severity among vaccine breakthrough infection compared to unvaccinated cases in COVID-19 disease.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.21.21266633v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 vaccination predicts COVID-19 progression and outcomes in hospitalized patients</a>
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<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Convalescent Sera Binding and Neutralizing Antibody Concentrations Compared with COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy Estimates Against Symptomatic Infection</strong> -
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Previous vaccine efficacy (VE) studies have estimated neutralizing and binding antibody concentrations that correlate with protection from symptomatic infection; how these estimates compare to those generated in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is unclear. Here, we assessed quantitative neutralizing and binding antibody concentrations using standardized SARS-CoV-2 assays on 3,067 serum specimens collected during July 27, 2020-August 27, 2020 from COVID-19 unvaccinated persons with detectable anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using qualitative antibody assays. Quantitative neutralizing and binding antibody concentrations were strongly positively correlated (r=0.76, p&lt;0.0001) and were noted to be several fold lower in the unvaccinated study population as compared to published data on concentrations noted 28 days post-vaccination. In this convenience sample, ~88% of neutralizing and ~63-86% of binding antibody concentrations met or exceeded concentrations associated with 70% COVID-19 VE against symptomatic infection from published VE studies; ~30% of neutralizing and 1-14% of binding antibody concentrations met or exceeded concentrations associated with 90% COVID-19 VE. These data support observations of infection-induced immunity and current recommendations for vaccination post infection to maximize protection against symptomatic COVID-19.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266812v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Convalescent Sera Binding and Neutralizing Antibody Concentrations Compared with COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy Estimates Against Symptomatic Infection</a>
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<li><strong>Role of antibodies, inflammatory markers, and echocardiographic findings in post-acute cardiopulmonary symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
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BACKGROUND Shortness of breath, chest pain, and palpitations occur as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), but whether symptoms are associated with echocardiographic abnormalities, cardiac biomarkers, or markers of systemic inflammation remains unknown. METHODS In a cross-sectional analysis, we assessed symptoms, performed echocardiograms, and measured biomarkers among adults &gt;8 weeks after PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. We modeled associations between symptoms and baseline characteristics, echocardiographic findings, and biomarkers using logistic regression. RESULTS We enrolled 102 participants at a median 7.2 months (IQR 4.1-9.1) following COVID-19 onset; 47 individuals reported dyspnea, chest pain, or palpitations. Median age was 52 years (range 24-86) and 41% were women. Female sex (OR 2.55, 95%CI 1.13-5.74) and hospitalization during acute infection (OR 3.25, 95%CI 1.08-9.82) were associated with symptoms. IgG antibody to SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (OR 1.38 per doubling, 95%CI 1.38-1.84) and high- sensitivity C-reactive protein (OR 1.31 per doubling, 95%CI 1.00-1.71) were associated with symptoms. Regarding echocardiographic findings, 4/47 (9%) with symptoms had pericardial effusions compared to 0/55 without symptoms (p=0.038); those with pericardial effusions had a median 4 symptoms compared to 1 without (p&lt;0.001). There was no strong evidence for a relationship between symptoms and echocardiographic functional parameters (including left ventricular ejection fraction and strain, right ventricular strain, pulmonary artery pressure) or high-sensitivity troponin, NT-pro-BNP, interleukin-10, interferon-gamma, or tumor necrosis factor-alpha. CONCLUSIONS Among adults in the post-acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection, SARS-CoV-2 RBD antibodies, markers of inflammation and, possibly, pericardial effusions are associated with cardiopulmonary symptoms. Investigation into inflammation as a mechanism underlying PASC is warranted.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266834v1" target="_blank">Role of antibodies, inflammatory markers, and echocardiographic findings in post-acute cardiopulmonary symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
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<li><strong>High Burden of COVID-19 among Unvaccinated Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters</strong> -
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Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs), firefighters, and other first responders are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to healthcare personnel but have relatively low COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Resistance to COVID-19 vaccine mandates among first responders has the potential to disrupt essential public services and threaten public health and safety. Using data from the HEROES-RECOVER prospective cohorts, we report on the increased illness burden of COVID-19 among unvaccinated first responders. From January to September 2021, first responders contributed to weekly active surveillance for COVID-19-like illness (CLI). Self-collected respiratory specimens collected weekly, irrespective of symptoms, and at the onset CLI were tested by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) assay for SARS-CoV-2. Among 1415 first responders, 17% were LEOs, 68% firefighters, and 15% had other first responder occupations. Unvaccinated (41%) compared to fully vaccinated (59%) first responders were less likely to believe COVID-19 vaccines are very or extremely effective (17% versus 54%) or very or extremely safe (15% versus 54%). From January through September 2021, among unvaccinated LEOs, the incidence of COVID-19 was 11.9 per 1,000 person-weeks (95%CI=7.0-20.1) compared to only 0.6 (95%CI=0.2-2.5) among vaccinated LEOs. Incidence of COVID-19 was also higher among unvaccinated firefighters (9.0 per 1,000 person-weeks; 95%CI=6.4-12.7) compared to those vaccinated (1.8 per 1,000; 95%CI=1.1-2.8). Once they had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, unvaccinated first responders were sick for a mean+/-SD of 14.7+/-21.7 days and missed a mean of 38.0+/-46.0 hours of work. These findings suggest that state and local governments with large numbers of unvaccinated first responders may face major disruptions in their workforce due to COVID-19 illness.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.24.21266396v1" target="_blank">High Burden of COVID-19 among Unvaccinated Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters</a>
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<li><strong>Multiverse analyses in the classroom</strong> -
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Most empirical papers in psychology involve statistical analyses performed on a new or existing dataset. Sometimes the robustness of a finding is demonstrated via data-analytical triangulation (e.g., obtaining comparable outcomes across different operationalizations of the dependent variable), but systematically considering the plethora of alternative analysis pathways is a rarity. In contrast, researchers conducting a multiverse analysis precisely aim to assess the robustness of a finding by methodically examining the seemingly-arbitrary choices pertaining to data processing and/or model building. In the present paper, we describe how the multiverse approach can be successfully implemented in student research projects within psychology programs, drawing on personal experience as instructors. Embedding a multiverse project in students’ curricula addresses an important scientific need, as studies examining the robustness or fragility of phenomena are largely lacking in psychology. More importantly, it offers students an ideal opportunity to put various statistical methods into practice, thereby also raising awareness about the abundance and consequences of arbitrary decisions in data-analytic processing. An attractive practical feature is that one can reuse existing datasets, which proves especially useful when resources are limited, or when circumstances such as the COVID-19 lockdown measures restrict data collection possibilities.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/4eh6b/" target="_blank">Multiverse analyses in the classroom</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</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 to Evaluate the Effects of RO7496998 (AT-527) in Non-Hospitalized Adult and Adolescent Participants With Mild or Moderate COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: RO7496998;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Hoffmann-La Roche<br/><b>Suspended</b></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>Mesenchymal Stem Cell Secretome In Severe Cases of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Injection of secretome - mesenchymal stem cell;   Other: Placebo;   Drug: Standard treatment of Covid-19<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Indonesia University<br/><b>Completed</b></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>Allogenic UCMSCs as Adjuvant Therapy for Severe COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid 19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Normoxic Allogenic UCMSC;   Other: Normal saline solution<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Kementerian Riset dan Teknologi / Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, Indonesia;   Dr. Moewardi General Hospital, Surakarta, Indonesia;   Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia;   Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia;   PT Bifarma Adiluhung<br/><b>Recruiting</b></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>Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Derived Extracellular Vesicles Infusion Treatment for Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19: A Phase II Clinical Trial</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: ExoFlo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Direct Biologics, LLC<br/><b>Recruiting</b></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>Physical Fitness in Young Healthy Adults After COVID-19 Infection</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Physical Activity Level;   Other: Evaluation of knee extension and elbow flexion muscle strength;   Other: Evaluation of functional strength of trunk muscles;   Other: Muscle Endurance;   Other: Flexibility;   Other: Balance;   Other: Fatigue<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Baskent University<br/><b>Enrolling by invitation</b></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>The South Proxa-Rescue AndroCoV Trial Against COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Proxalutamide;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Corpometria Institute;   Hospital da Brigada Militar de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil;   Hospital Arcanjo Sao Miguel, Gramado, Brazil;   Hospital Unimed Chapeco, Chapeco, Brazil<br/><b>Completed</b></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>Vitamin D Supplementation and Clinical Improvement in COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D3 10000 IU;   Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D3 1000 IU<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Bumi Herman<br/><b>Completed</b></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>Feasibility Pilot Clinical Trial of Omega-3 Supplement vs. Placebo for Post Covid-19 Recovery Among Health Care Workers</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Omega-3 (EPA+DHA);   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Hackensack Meridian Health<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></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>Controlled Trial of Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB) &amp; Chemokine Receptor Type 2 (CCR2) Antagonist for the Treatment of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Candesartan Cilexetil;   Drug: Repagermanium;   Drug: Candesartan Placebo;   Drug: Repagermanium Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
University of Sydney;   The George Institute for Global Health, India<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></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>Partnerships to Address COVID-19 Inequities</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Crowdsourced campaign package;   Behavioral: Standard information<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Duke University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></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>Study to Evaluate the inHaled Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector) On the Protective-Efficacy in Adults (SeiHOPE)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (adenovirus type 5 vector) for Inhalation (Ad5-nCoV-IH);   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   CanSino Biologics Inc.;   Beijing Institute of Biotechnology<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></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>Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Safety of Single-dose Sotrovimab in High-risk Pediatric Participants With Mild to Moderate COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Sotrovimab<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
GlaxoSmithKline;   Vir Biotechnology, Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></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>PREVENT-COVID-19: A Q-Griffithsin Intranasal Spray</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Prevention<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Q-Griffithsin;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Kenneth Palmer;   United States Department of Defense<br/><b>Recruiting</b></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>Inhaled Recombinant Non-immunogenic Staphylokinase vs Placebo in Patients With COVID-19 - FORRIF Trial</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Recombinant nonimmunogenic staphylokinase;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Supergene, LLC;   Russian Academy of Medical Sciences<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></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>Nutritional Supplementation of Vitamin D, Quercetin and Curcumin With Standard of Care for Managing Mild Early Symptoms of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Standard of care;   Dietary Supplement: Investigational treatment<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   King Edward Medical University<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</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>ADAM17/MMP inhibition prevents neutrophilia and lung injury in a mouse model of COVID-19</strong> - Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by lung injury, cytokine storm, and increased neutrophil-to- lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Current therapies focus on reducing viral replication and inflammatory responses, but no specific treatment exists to prevent the development of severe COVID-19 in infected individuals. Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) is the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, but it is also critical for maintaining the correct functionality of…</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>Amilorides inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro by targeting RNA structures</strong> - [Figure: see text].</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>Coronavirus transmissible gastroenteritis virus antagonizes the antiviral effect of the microRNA miR-27b via the IRE1 pathway</strong> - Although the functional parameters of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been explored to some extent, the roles of these molecules in coronavirus infection and the regulatory mechanism of miRNAs in virus infection are still unclear. Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is an enteropathgenic coronavirus and causes high morbidity and mortality in suckling piglets. Here, we demonstrated that microRNA-27b-3p (miR-27b-3p) suppressed TGEV replication by directly targeting porcine suppressor of cytokine…</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>Three-dimensional reconstruction by electron tomography for the application to ultrastructural analysis of SARS- CoV-2 particles</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of COVID-19. The three-dimensional morphology of viral particles existing and multiplying in infected cells has not been established by electron tomography, which is different from cryo-electron tomography using frozen samples. In this study, we establish the morphological structure of SARS-CoV-2 particles by three-dimensional reconstruction of images obtained by electron tomography and transmission electron microscopy of biological samples embedded in epoxy resin. The…</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>Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 1,5-disubstituted α-amino tetrazole derivatives as non-covalent inflammasome-caspase-1 complex inhibitors with potential application against immune and inflammatory disorders</strong> - Compounds targeting the inflammasome-caspase-1 pathway could be of use for the treatment of inflammation and inflammatory diseases. Previous caspase-1 inhibitors were in great majority covalent inhibitors and failed in clinical trials. Using a mixed modelling, computational screening, synthesis and in vitro testing approach, we identified a novel class of non-covalent caspase-1 non cytotoxic inhibitors which are able to inhibit IL-1β release in activated macrophages in the low μM range, in line…</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>Combined deep learning and molecular docking simulations approach identifies potentially effective FDA approved drugs for repurposing against SARS-CoV-2</strong> - The ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a serious threat to global public health. Drug repurposing is a time-efficient approach to finding effective drugs against SARS-CoV-2 in this emergency. Here, we present a robust experimental design combining deep learning with molecular docking experiments to identify the most promising candidates from the list of FDA-approved drugs that can be repurposed to treat COVID-19. We have employed a deep learning-based Drug Target…</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>Nanovesicles derived from bispecific CAR-T cells targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 for treating COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we demonstrate that nanovesicles derived from CAR-T cells targeting the spike protein of SARS- COV-2 have the ability to neutralize Spike-pseudotyped virus and target antiviral drugs. This novel therapeutic approach may help to solve the dilemma faced by neutralizing antibodies and small-molecule drugs in the treatment of COVID-19.</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>Human Defensins from antivirals to vaccine adjuvants: rediscovery of the innate immunity arsenal</strong> - Human defensins are a class of antimicrobial peptides, belonging to the innate immunity system. These peptides are expressed at the level of respiratory tract (both upper and lower) where they represent the first line of defense against pathogens; they are also known for their activity against different viruses, acting through diverse mechanisms, including direct binding to the virus, inhibition of viral replication, and aggregation of virions. It has been recently reported they are also…</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>SARS-CoV-2: Can sunlight exposure reduce the risk of developing severe consequences of COVID-19?</strong> - Herein it is proposed that sufficient exposure to sunlight (UVB) modulates host gene expression, offering protection against severe consequences of COVID-19. This could be in addition to sunlight (UVB)-mediated protection by directly inactivating the virus and limiting the viral load. It is suggested that inhibition of CCR2, DPP9, HSPA1L, IFNAR2, OAS1, and TYK2 may, in part, explain UVB-mediated protection against severe consequences of COVID-19.</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>Both Baicalein and Gallocatechin Gallate Effectively Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Replication by Targeting M(pro) and Sepsis in Mice</strong> - The emergence of severe acute syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 has led to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Although the symptoms of most COVID-19 patients are mild or self-curable, most of severe patients have sepsis caused by cytokine storms, which greatly increases the case fatality rate. Moreover, there is no effective drug that can limit the novel coronavirus thus far, so it is more needed to develop antiviral drugs for the SARS-CoV-2. In our research, we employed the…</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>NSAIDs and Kelleni’s protocol as potential early COVID-19 treatment game changer: could it be the final countdown?</strong> - We have previously published several papers illustrating numerous immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory potential benefits when we repurposed safe, generic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)/nitazoxanide/azithromycin (Kelleni’s protocol), to early manage our COVID-19 pediatric, adult, and pregnant patients. In this manuscript, we discuss some recently published meta-analysis and clinical studies supporting our practice and discuss a molecular study that might be interpreted as an…</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>Phytonutrient Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2/NSP5-Encoded Main Protease (M(pro)) Autocleavage Enzyme Critical for COVID-19 Pathogenesis</strong> - The genomic reshuffling, mutagenicity, and high transmission rate of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen highlights an urgent need for effective antiviral interventions for COVID-19 control. Targeting the highly conserved viral genes and/or gene- encoded viral proteins such as main proteinase (M^(pro)), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and helicases are plausible antiviral approaches to prevent replication and propagation of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Coronaviruses (CoVs) are prone to extensive…</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 silico screening and covalent binding of phytochemicals of Ocimum sanctum against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID 19) main protease</strong> - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has compelled the scientific community to search for an effective drug that can cure or a vaccine that can prevent the disease. Alternatively, symptomatic treatment and traditional immunity boosters are prescribed. Holy Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) has been known as an ancient remedy for cure of common cold and respiratory ailment. Several reports have come on virtual screening of phytochemicals…</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>Molecular docking of anthocyanins and ternatin in Clitoria ternatea as coronavirus disease oral manifestation therapy</strong> - Herbal active compound with immunoregulator ability is considered a potential therapy for COVID-19 oral manifestation by downregulating pro-inflammatory cytokine storm. Meanwhile, anthocyanin and ternatin are the active compounds in Clitoria ternatea, which may act as a potential immunoregulator for COVID-19 therapy. The intention of this investigation was to investigate anthocyanin and ternatin as active compounds in C. ternatea that may be able to increase anti-inflammatory cytokine and…</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>Fighting SARS-CoV-2 with green seaweed Ulva sp. extract: extraction protocol predetermines crude ulvan extract anti- SARS-CoV-2 inhibition properties in in vitro Vero-E6 cells assay</strong> - Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to screen for novel compounds with antiviral activity against SARS- COV-2. Here we compared chemical composition and the in vitro anti- SARS-COV-2 activity of two different Ulva sp. crude ulvan extracts: one obtained by an HCl-based and another one by ammonium oxalate-based (AOx) extraction protocols. The composition of the crude extracts was analyzed and their antiviral activity was assessed in a cytopathic effect reduction assay using Vero E6…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A DOORBELL SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND RECORDING A PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA OF A PERSON</strong> - AbstractTitle: A doorbell system for monitoring and recording a physiological data of a person The present invention provides a doorbell system 500 for monitoring and recording a physiological data of a person. The doorbell system 500 having a transmitter module 100 and a receiving module 200. The transmitter module 100 is having a TOF sensor module 110, an ultrasound detector 120, and an infrared detector 130. Further, a speech recognition system 150, a facial recognition system 160, and a temperature detector 190 are provided for recognizing speech, face, and temperature of the person by comparing pre-stored data. A controlling module 180 is set with a predefined commands for communicating with the transmitter module 100 and receiving module 200. The collected facial and speech data is compared and matched with the pre-stored data then the temperature detector 190 triggers and the door opens when the captured body temperature of the person is matched within the predefined range of temperature.Figure 1 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340503637">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A study of contemporary trends in investing patterns, household savings, and economic investment.</strong> - Because household savings and household investments are intertwined and interdependent, they are discussed briefly in this paper. Household savings account for more than half of a country’s capital formation, which fluctuates due to a variety of economic factors such as inflation and interest rates. Households should gradually shift their savings and investments from physical assets to financial assets to avoid a sudden change in wealth. They should also save and invest using a variety of platforms. Trends in investing and saving will be easier to track and measure this way. This year’s domestic saving rate in India is 2.3 percent lower than last year’s and 1.2 percent lower than the year before. Since 2011, general domestic savings have been steadily declining, with the trend continuing into the following year. According to official data, the GDP in 2020 shrank by 23.9%, the least in previous years and the least since the Covid-19 pandemic in previous years. As a result, the information presented in this paper is drawn from and evaluated from other sources - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340502149">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PROLIPOSOMAL DRY POWDER INHALER OF REMDESIVIR</strong> - The present invention is related to Proliposomal Dry Powder Inhaler of Remdesivir and its method thereof for the treatment of viral infections such Coronaviridae (including COVID-19 infection). - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN342291904">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Use of Diminazene Aceturate, Xanthenone, ACE 2 activators or analogs for the Treatment and therapeutic use of COVID-19 on human patients.</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU340325322">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ACTIVE RIDER SAFETY SYSTEM FOR TWO WHEELERS</strong> - The present invention relates to an active rider safety system for two wheelers comprising, a protective case equipped by a user for riding, where the case is integrated with multiple piezoelectric sensor that determines fastening of the case by user, a processing unit linked to the sensor, where the unit detects absence of case upon fetching data from the sensor below a threshold value and thereby terminates operation of ignition by stopping a coupled motor operated via a radio frequency module, an alcohol detection sensor that detects presence of alcohol and send data to processing unit, a temperature sensor that measures temperature of the user, an accelerometer sensor that activates upon ignition us tuned on to determine presence of a crash and a navigation module that via communication module sends location of user to pre saved users and concerned authorities. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340503361">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and uses thereof I</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU339290405">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and uses thereof II</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU339290406">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Secured Health monitoring system using cloud computing</strong> - As used in public health surveillance, the invention generally relates to remote health monitoring systems with cloud computing. This is particularly relevant about a multi-user remote health monitoring system that can detect and gather data from healthcare professionals on the ground and systems in laboratories and hospitals to help the public health sector. It is possible to utilize the system for tracking, monitoring, and collecting patient data and for querying and collecting more information on the health of the people. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340500672">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bst DNA聚合酶重组突变体、其编码DNA及超快磁珠LAMP检测方法</strong> - 本发明在野生型Bst DNA聚合酶序列上进行了Ser358Asp、Thr480Asn、Asp533Glu、Ala539Gly几个点位的突变，然后将进行点突变后的Bst DNA聚合酶的292‑305的氨基酸EGLLKVVRPDTKKV替换成DPLPDLIHPRTLRL，在突变后Bst DNA聚合酶序列的C端融合了一个DNA结合蛋白，在突变后Bst DNA聚合酶序列的N端融合了一个HP47多肽序列（SEQ ID No.17），在HP47多肽序列前面融合了一个CL7‑SUMO‑Tag，得到一种具有高活性和热稳定性的Bst DNA聚合酶重组突变体Super‑Bst（SEQ ID No.16）。Super‑Bst在热稳定性、特异性、链置换能力、延伸能力和逆转录酶活性上得到了显著地提升，能够耐受高盐和各类抑制剂，且可以通过原核表达和亲和纯化大量获得。本发明还公开了其编码DNA，以及一种超快磁珠LAMP检测方法。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN341345614">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>一种新型冠状病毒及其德尔塔突变株检测试剂盒及其检测方法</strong> - 本发明提供了一种新型冠状病毒及其德尔塔突变株检测试剂盒及其检测方法，属于分子生物学检测技术领域。本发明重新设计了一系列引物探针组，增加检测靶点，从而有效区分新型冠状病毒野生型和德尔塔突变株。可用于体外定性检测新型冠状病毒或德尔塔突变株感染的肺炎疑似病例、疑似聚集性病例患者、其他需要进行新型冠状病毒感染诊断或鉴别诊断者的鼻咽拭子、痰液等样本中的新型冠状病毒基因。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN341345646">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Andrew Cuomo’s Downfall Began with a Book Deal</strong> - A new report details how the former New York governor forced aides to work on his lucrative pandemic memoir, and how that scandal connects to the others that brought him down. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/andrew-cuomos-downfall-began-with-a-book-deal">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Russia Hasn’t Cracked Down on COVID-19</strong> - The country’s fragile political climate has repeatedly undermined its response to the pandemic. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/why-russia-hasnt-cracked-down-on-covid-19">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Reëxamining the Legacy of Race and Robert E. Lee</strong> - The historian Allen C. Guelzo believes that the Confederate general deserves a more compassionate reading. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/reexamining-the-legacy-of-race-and-robert-e-lee">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Best Music of 2021</strong> - I found myself pulled toward albums that were elemental, tender, free. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2021-in-review/the-best-music-of-2021">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kurt Gödel’s Loophole and Donald Trump’s Defiance</strong> - Enforcing the law is harder than it might seem when those having the law enforced against them have contempt for it. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/kurt-godels-loophole-and-donald-trumps-defiance">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>How Puerto Rico became the most vaccinated place in America</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/JSBCkoOv1K6EO8O8JY4sfd_sxc0=/763x126:5351x3567/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70194864/GettyImages_1231633240.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A man waits in line to be inoculated with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a Puerto Rico National Guard vaccination center in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on March 10. | Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Politics — or the lack thereof — was a key factor.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fGY0dB">
Florida shares deep connections with Puerto Rico as home to the territory’s largest diaspora community on the US mainland. But when it comes to Covid-19, the two places have little in common.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S9VM2r">
While Florida, like many states in the South, has seen high infection rates and troubling death counts, Puerto Rico has been something of a coronavirus success story. As of November 22, Puerto Rico had fully vaccinated <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-fully-percent-total">74 percent</a> of its population — a higher proportion than any other US state or territory — and had among the lowest Covid-19 death rates since the start of the pandemic, with <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-
tracker/#cases_deathsper100k">102 in 100,000</a> people dying from the virus.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Dvsrbb">
By comparison, Florida’s vaccination rate is far more typical for the US; it has administered two shots to <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-fully-percent-total">60.9 percent</a> of its population, slightly above the national average of 59.2 percent. That’s after Florida <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/florida-and-texas-lead-us-covid-19-surge">led the country in total caseloads</a> for months, and after significant loss of life: Florida residents have died of the virus at <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_deathsper100k">nearly triple the rate</a> of Puerto Rico residents.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YA3Kby">
Throughout the US, politics has been a key factor in determining how states have fared during the Covid-19 pandemic. States that embraced the individualistic approach of the Trump administration, sometimes ignoring scientific guidelines and avoiding mandates, have seen worse outcomes than states that took more comprehensive actions to stop the spread of Covid-19.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bpioqs">
Florida Republican Gov. Ron De Santis has been threatening government agencies with <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/desantis-florida-fines-covid-vaccine-mandates/">millions in fines</a> if they mandate vaccines for employees and has <a href="https://www.wftv.com/news/local/space-coast-
federal-employees-protest-vaccine-mandates/ZGGUJ7ERHRAQPMWMZAMNNBM6RI/">boosted the voices of anti-vaxxers</a>. At the same time, Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro R. Pierluisi, a member of the Partido Nuevo Progresista who caucused with Democrats while a commissioner in Congress,<em> </em>has quietly implemented some of the broadest vaccine mandates in the country across the private and public sectors.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D0CCQL">
And while Floridians have taken to the streets with signs reading “<a href="https://www.wftv.com/news/local/space-coast-federal-employees-protest-vaccine-
mandates/ZGGUJ7ERHRAQPMWMZAMNNBM6RI/">No jab, no job, no way</a>,” Puerto Ricans have largely embraced the mandates without protest. Though <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/11/16/1056232480/u-s-covid-cases-rising-
holidays">coronavirus cases have risen</a> across the mainland in recent weeks, Puerto Rico has avoided a spike, with cases and hospitalizations even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/puerto-rico-covid-
cases.html">trending downward</a>.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/SWUuo411up0kc0ZCzA4BD59UUaA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23041008/AP21121616030115.jpg"/> <cite>Carlos Giusti/AP</cite></figure></li>
</ul>
<figcaption>
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, center, attends a mass vaccination campaign against Covid-19 at the Maria Simmons elementary school in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on March 10.
</figcaption>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ed6lHn">
So, how was Puerto Rico able to insulate itself from political polarization around the virus and outpace the rest of the country on vaccinations? Officials and NGOs had already built public trust and infrastructure in the aftermath of other recent crises, including Hurricane Maria in 2017. And importantly, scientists and physicians — not politicians — led Puerto Rico’s response to the pandemic.
</p>
<h3 id="vML79h">
Puerto Rico had already weathered several public health crises in recent years
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n6qAiT">
A series of crises over the last few years made Puerto Rico’s public health system more resilient in the face of disaster than those in other states and territories, and its residents more receptive to the scientists leading the response.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dMz6Zi">
This process began when Hurricane Maria made landfall in 2017. The category 4 storm left more than 5,000 dead and wreaked $90 billion in damage, destroying homes, roads, and bridges, and causing island-wide power outages.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="paqOdv">
The public health consequences were <a href="https://www.kff.org/other/issue-brief/public-health-in-puerto-rico-after-hurricane-maria/">disastrous</a>. Many Puerto Ricans had limited access to food and safe drinking water. Without adequate hygiene and sanitation, they faced increased risk from infectious diseases. Nearly every hospital was closed for days after the hurricane hit, and when they reopened, many had to rely on generators for power for months thereafter, causing disruptions to services. For many people with chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes, that meant <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/photos/darkroom/bs-dk-puerto-rico-maria-ap-20180919-htmlstory.html">traveling far for lifesaving treatments</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tbdssX">
Then, in late 2019, a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
politics/2020/2/24/21148670/puerto-rico-earthquake-disaster-aid-crisis-congress">6.4 magnitude earthquake</a> hit the island, followed by dozens of significant aftershocks and a second quake, this one at magnitude 5.9. That caused additional damage to critical infrastructure and hampered the island’s rebuilding efforts. Tens of thousands of people were relegated to emergency tent shelters with limited access to medical care.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YsHEij">
The federal and Puerto Rican governments <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/09/12/feature/residents-see-a-
failure-at-all-levels-of-government/">failed to adequately respond</a> to the hurricane and the quakes, with the Trump administration deliberately <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/22/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-trump-
delayed-aid">delaying more than $20 billion in relief</a>. The Puerto Rican government <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/01/20/797996503/political-unrest-in-puerto-rico-after-discovery-of-unused-hurricane-
aid">mismanaged the funds</a> that were delivered.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7bJADc">
NGOs and community leaders picked up the pieces, which built trust with the people they served. In the immediate aftermath, they helped assess the damage, mobilized volunteers, set up emergency support centers, helped clear routes to water sources and medical facilities, and distributed basic supplies including non-perishable food, medicine, water purifiers, hygiene kits, and tents.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DccAgQ">
“It was the NGOs that put together everything because the government, locally and federally, couldn’t deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria,” said José Rodríguez-Orengo, executive director of the Puerto Rico Public Health Trust (PRPHI), a public health institution that partners with the Puerto Rican government and community groups.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1dC3oq">
Data gathered after Hurricane Maria was crucial. PRPHI captured data on individuals whose homes had been damaged or destroyed and who were staying in camps in the southwest of the island. It provided that information to the local Department of Health to ensure that victims received the services they needed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SqMZR8">
And Voces, a coalition of Puerto Rican community groups and health care providers focused on immunization, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/resource-center/partners/success-stories/voces-flu-vaccines.htm">provided flu vaccines</a> in the wake of both disasters to people who could not otherwise access a vaccination site. That was important because the lack of clean drinking water and overpopulation at emergency shelters was creating the ideal conditions for the flu to spread and become a serious public health issue.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gnEr6Y">
By the time the coronavirus pandemic hit, such organizations had already established the infrastructure and community relationships necessary for effective Covid-19 prevention and vaccination campaigns under difficult circumstances — an advantage that Puerto Rico might have had over other states and territories. Voces alone, for example, has administered close to a quarter of a million vaccine shots.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/TTszULeUZUqlF2SK_KKSBU7BaW8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23041138/GettyImages_1231048747__1_.jpg"/> <cite>Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Senior citizens receive Moderna Covid-19 vaccines during a priority Covid-19 vaccination program for the elderly at a Puerto Rico National Guard vaccination center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on February 8.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ptz3bC">
“The island has developed an expertise around addressing public health emergencies,” said María Fernanda Levis-Peralta, a consultant in Puerto Rico working on improving systems for public health delivery. “These organizations were already set up and deployed to do community outreach.”
</p>
<h3 id="P10ASK">
From scientists to community leaders, the message was the same: Mask up and get vaccinated
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ilavpE">
Puerto Rico wasn’t untouched by the kind of vaccine misinformation that remains prevalent in the mainland US. Rodríguez-Orengo said his organization encountered Puerto Ricans who had heard conspiracy theories that they were being <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/10/01/why-theres-no-5g-tracking-microchip-in-the-covid-
vaccine.html">injected with a microchip</a> that would allow the government to track them or that the first-of-its-kind mRNA vaccine could <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-coronavirus-vaccines/fact-check-controversial-mit-
study-does-not-show-that-mrna-vaccines-alter-dna-idUSL1N2PK1DC">permanently alter their DNA</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NACQUw">
But those conspiracy theories simply weren’t allowed to take hold in Puerto Rico, in part because the local political parties did not tolerate them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dbZjcn">
“Our main sport in Puerto Rico is politics. We are a very political society,” Rodríguez-Orengo said. “What helped us out from the beginning was that the main political parties in Puerto Rico were saying the same message: ‘Let’s start with the scientists. They will lead us in public policymaking.’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JlsLRK">
Initially, Puerto Ricans were somewhat skeptical of the vaccine. In November 2020, before the vaccines were available to the public, the Puerto Rico Public Health Trust conducted a study in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Puerto Rico Department of Health that found that only 57 percent of Puerto Ricans wanted the jab, Rodríguez-Orengo said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ky9YLZ">
But government officials, scientists, physicians, pharmacists, the National Guard, and religious and community leaders rallied in a unified campaign around the vaccine and Covid-19 prevention.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TX3yzU">
The science always came first: Even when the CDC <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996617490/cdc-loosens-mask-guidance-for-vaccinated-people-a-major-shift-in-
pandemic-life">loosened its guidance on masking</a> in May, the Puerto Rican government heeded the advice of local public health officials to <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/these-are-the-states-with-mask-
mandates#pr">maintain universal mask mandates</a> in all indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status. That decision was later vindicated by the resurgence in cases due to the delta variant.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9mHTKw">
Public messaging also focused on how the vaccine could help protect families, a sentiment that resonated with the island’s “strong communitarian ethic that values helping and supporting one’s neighbors,” said Krista Perreira, a health economist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has studied health care access in Puerto Rico. “When we get vaccines, we protect each other, protect our communities, and protect our futures.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9YDH1p">
Unlike on the mainland, there wasn’t a singular figure like Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the White House’s chief medical adviser, who became the face of the vaccine campaign. This allowed for a multitude of trusted voices to advocate for vaccination, including the US’s first <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/first-hispanic-surgeon-general-covid-use-common-sense-family-
rcna1742">Hispanic surgeon general, Antonia Coello Novello</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="42P2EW">
“People trusted their physicians to provide them with health information,” Levis-Peralta said. “And one of the things that Puerto Rico has had is a very vocal physician community and consistent communication from folks on both sides of the aisle.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2JCuFL">
As a result, the share of Puerto Ricans who wanted the vaccine had grown to 85 percent by February 2021, according to Rodríguez-Orengo. At that point, <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-
monitor-february-2021/">only 55 percent</a> of US adults overall indicated that they wanted to get the vaccine or had already received it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LjURAq">
That public support laid the groundwork for a successful vaccine drive and compliance with later vaccine mandates.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/mLtXOTnM-1dZ8RkywiCxwMhoIKE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23041150/GettyImages_1231633084.jpg"/> <cite>Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
People wait in line to be inoculated with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a Puerto Rico National Guard vaccination center in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on March 10.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3 id="wvPyTp">
Puerto Rico made it easy — and for many, mandatory — to get the vaccine
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CdHpPP">
Importantly, Puerto Rico made it simple to get the vaccine for free, even for people who face mobility challenges or are in medically underserved areas.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="862lmu">
According to the federal government, 72 of the island’s 78 municipalities are <a href="https://data.hrsa.gov/topics/health-workforce/shortage-areas">medically underserved</a> and have “<a href="http://www.salud.gov.pr/Estadisticas-Registros-y-
Publicaciones/Publicaciones/2015%20Puerto%20Rico%20Primary%20Care%20Needs%20Assesment.pdf">unmet health care needs</a>.” <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/puerto-rico.html">Nearly half of Puerto Ricans are on Medicaid</a> and <a href="https://publichealth.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/downloads/GGRCHN/GG%3ARCHN%20Policy%20Issue%20Brief%20%2350%20FV.pdf">350,000 people</a> rely on Medicaid-funded community health centers to access primary care services, especially in rural areas.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XuMI8L">
The National Guard and Puerto Rico Department of Health <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2021/11/03/mandates-a-well-organized-campaign-no-politics-how-puerto-ricos-vaccine-drive-
turned-into-a-success/">operated at least a dozen mass vaccination sites</a> across the island for months. The island’s <a href="https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2014/05/puerto-rico-first-in-the-world-with-walgreens-and-walmart-per-
square-mile/">high concentration of pharmacies</a> and community health centers also helped in administering vaccines. And NGOs have led large-scale vaccination events and even gone door-to-door to vaccinate bedridden people in their homes and improve vaccination rates in communities with low uptake.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jph34D">
Voces, for example, has been able to give out nearly 250,000 shots by holding as many as 25 events daily across the island, meeting people where they live and work.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ymGPz1">
“Creating access directly in the community is very important because not everybody has a car to go to the pharmacy or the hospital or the clinic,” said Lilliam Rodríguez Capó, president of Voces’s board of directors. “There was no excuse not to get the vaccine.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pdjLbr">
For many, there was also no choice but to get the vaccine. Puerto Rico adopted far-reaching vaccine mandates well before any of the 50 states or the federal government had implemented anything similar. And it did so with relatively little fanfare — a testament to the success of collective messaging efforts to build public support.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kIew7P">
In July, Puerto Rico’s governor required all students to <a href="https://www.littler.com/files/ao-2021-509.pdf">show proof of receiving at least one dose of the vaccine</a> in order to return to school after the summer break. And in August, he extended the mandate to all employees in the public sector and at salons, spas, gyms, child care centers, grocery stores, casinos, gas stations, restaurants, and theaters, as well as on visitors to any establishment where food and drink is provided. In November, he expanded that mandate even further to <a href="https://www.jacksonlewis.com/publication/puerto-rico-expands-mandatory-
covid-19-vaccination-private-employers-least-50-employees">all private businesses</a> with at least 50 employees.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jXfCwu">
By comparison, it wasn’t until September — just as delta cases were at their peak on the mainland — that President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring that all <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
room/presidential-actions/2021/09/09/executive-order-on-requiring-coronavirus-disease-2019-vaccination-for-federal-
employees/">federal employees</a> get vaccinated. Also that month, his administration pushed out a policy that would require employees of private companies with 100 or more workers to get vaccinated or undergo regular testing and wear masks. But the move immediately drew <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/582778-biden-administration-
asks-court-to-revive-workplace-vaccine-mandate">legal challenges</a> that could prevent the policy from going into effect. Having used politics, culture, and public health infrastructure to get buy-in from Puerto Rico’s population, the island’s government has faced no such challenges.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uiluyI">
Getting three-fourths of its population vaccinated took time and groundwork, meaning other states and territories may not be able to directly emulate its strategy. The previous presidential administration didn’t prioritize science over politics, and it is too late to go back and change that. Had the Trump administration made choices as those in Puerto Rico did, there might not have been such resistance to vaccination. It’s not too late to apply lessons to the future, however: States and the federal government can make greater investments in public health infrastructure and can continue to work to make it easy to access vaccines.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JXqHyS">
“Let the scientists lead public health policy. And once this is over, we can continue discussing politics,” Rodríguez-Orengo said.
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Licorice Pizza proves Paul Thomas Anderson is a master of unexpected romance</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A young woman stands in the foreground wearing a T-shirt that reads “You’ve Come a Long Way,
Baby.” In the background a teenage boy watches her." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/rhQdSv6HTegtkPGChhVNtYb5Vcg=/0x0:3332x2499/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70194741/licorice2.0.jpeg"/>
<figcaption>
Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in <em>Licorice Pizza.</em> | Courtesy of MGM
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
There’s more to it than swoony love in his films — including this one.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sRfCUe">
Memorable images abound in Paul Thomas Anderson’s movies — frogs dropping from the sky in <em>Magnolia</em>, Adam Sandler stockpiling pudding cups in <em>Punch-Drunk Love</em>, Bradley Cooper yelling in his latest, <em>Licorice Pizza</em> — but the scenes that stick with me most crackle with electric connection between two weirdos who’ve spotted, at last, their match.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2fOX23">
Like Emily Watson telling Sandler, ecstatically, that “I want to chew your face, and I want to scoop out your eyes and I want to eat them and chew them and suck on them.” John C. Reilly and Melora Walters in <em>Magnolia </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0JIohn0pfU">confessing to one another</a> that they’re afraid if the other knows them, they won’t like them. Joaquin Phoenix intently listening as Philip Seymour Hoffman, the leader of a cult in <em>The Master</em>, tells the group that “when we’re in love we experience pleasure, and extreme pain.” A much younger, sweatier Hoffman eyeing new adult film star Mark Wahlberg in <em>Boogie Nights</em> and struggling to contain his desire. Clean-shaven Daniel Day-Lewis watching with hungry eyes as Vicky Krieps makes him a poisonous mushroom omelet in <em>Phantom Thread</em>. Even mustachioed Daniel Day-Lewis in <em>There Will Be Blood </em>hurling bowling balls at his nemesis, Paul Dano, in his absurd private bowling alley, hollering about drinking his milkshake.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SYO65N">
You could cut the tension with a hacksaw in every scene, and dozens of others, and yet you couldn’t easily describe what’s going on. Hate? Lust? Yearning? Envy? Love? The characters don’t know either, but they’ll spend the whole movie trying to figure it out, and so will we.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ghc8OV">
Anderson makes romances, even when they’re not exactly romantic; he’s always looking for what connects two people with a bond that seems etched by fate. There’s always something wild and untamable and unnerving in his pairings. They’re never quite what you expect. They explode the narrow borders we draw around the definition of romance.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YZcy78">
It’s why <em>Licorice Pizza</em>, his latest, feels so assured and confident, so perfectly notched into his filmography. This time the pair at its center is young, though not exactly carefree. Alana Kane (Alana Haim, of the band Haim, who is perfect) is a photo assistant in her mid-20s living in the San Fernando Valley with her parents and older sisters, all of whom have experienced failure to launch. (They’re played by the whole Haim family.) It’s 1971, and everything from the Vietnam War to mounting gasoline shortages looms in the background, but mostly Alana’s just bored.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Young woman side-eyes the
camera from the front seat of a car; there’s a teenager and a kid in her car." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/VxxY2LYSrRYXzjb7iVSfq2JKygc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23040555/licorice6.jpeg"/> <cite>Courtesy of MGM</cite>
<figcaption>
Just so bored.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ewwJmj">
Disaffected and having no idea what she wants from life, Alana is drawn into a strange friendship — a romance, kind of — with Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman, son of Philip Seymour Hoffman), a teenager who has the world by the tail. Or, at least, he acts like it. He’s an actor who’s booked some mid- level gigs; he talks like he’s 40; he’s always coming up with some new business to run. He, of course, lives with his mother (Mary Elizabeth Ellis).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w1yjlC">
Gary spots Alana in line on school picture day and asks her out. When she scoffs at the notion — she is, after all, technically an adult, 10 years older than him, and he’s technically a child — he doesn’t give up. Through some conniving on Gary’s part, and surrender to the inevitable and a growing curiosity on Alana’s, they become not a couple, but friends. Gary’s constantly asking Alana for more, with the eagerness only a teenage boy can muster. A master of the devastating eye roll, she looks like she wants to punch him all the time, but she does like his company. Something about hanging out with him and his friends invigorates her and reminds her of … what? She doesn’t even know. But it’s been a long time since she’s smiled.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TXlwX4">
That push and pull between them leads them on all kinds of adventures, backed by the kind of soundtrack you’ve got to dance to and shot with the shaggy, grainy looseness that richly demonstrates Anderson’s ease with films of the era. Gary starts a waterbed company and gets Alana on board (after all, she has a driver’s license). They have a wild night on the town with director Jack Holden (Sean Penn) and daredevil Rex Blau (Tom Waits) in which they realize they’ve got to protect one another. The greatest and most memorable scene happens when they have to bring a waterbed to the home of Jon Peters (a gonzo Bradley Cooper) — who <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Peters">in real life</a> was a film producer, Barbra Streisand’s boyfriend, and the inspiration for the movie <em>Shampoo</em> — and run into hilarious trouble with, well, everything.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zA5h5g">
Strife and frustration with one another drive them apart. But when Alana brushes up against the reality of adulthood while working on the mayoral campaign of the idealistic Joel Wachs (Benny Safdie), it’s clarifying, for both Alana and for the movie. <em>Licorice Pizza</em> (named for a series of record shops in LA at the time) is about a couple of young people who may or may not be <em>in</em> love but certainly love one another. It’s also about how much adulthood sucks, and about a girl who can’t quite bring herself to wade into those waters, not yet.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="In a white tuxedo, Bradley Cooper crouches between two cars,
screaming." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GHe_uRBw1hycez11x55UjXINAmU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23040577/licorice4.jpeg"/> <cite>Courtesy of MGM</cite></figure></li>
</ul>
<figcaption>
Bradley Cooper as Jon Peters in <em>Licorice Pizza.</em>
</figcaption>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d1zAvE">
And it’s all set in a Los Angeles that’s sitting right on a fault line, just a few years after <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/8/20707915/joan-didion-sharon-tate-manson-white-album">the Manson murders famously rocked the city’s glitterati</a> and in the midst of an upheaval in the movie business, which was getting busted open by independent filmmakers. Everything was changing, and not everyone was ready.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VEMdRB">
Anderson has said he based the film on his own memories (though he’s younger than his characters, born in 1970) and on the experiences of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Goetzman">real-life actor Gary Goetzman</a>, who among other things co-founded Playtone with Tom Hanks. You can tell; the film, which is structured as a series of set pieces that Alana and Gary stumble into and out of, is far too strange and specific and sometimes cringey to simply be made up, even by someone with as fertile an imagination as Anderson.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GzWgz7">
But, of course, he’s treading familiar ground. This is a romance. The key ingredients are all there. We’re used to thinking of romance in terms of moony lovey- dovey smooches, longing sighs, stolen glances, maybe passionate romps in the hay. But in Anderson’s vocabulary, the word is more capacious. In his worlds, a romance springs up between two people who cross one another’s eyeline and instantly recognize that something they’re missing, something they need to survive — a comforter, a cheerleader, a lover, a nemesis — is right in front of them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dfKQs5">
Those are never uncomplicated romances, and they’re always backed, not (always) by sex, but by the desire to keep the thread that ties one to the other intact. In his past films, some manifest as outright antagonism — you’re never quite sure if Daniel and Eli or Freddie and Dodd will kiss or kill one another. Others come in terms that are sweeter, but always laced with danger; a mushroom omelet is never just a mushroom omelet.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u28jUF">
In the case of <em>Licorice Pizza</em>, the central (and fundamentally goofily chaste) romance is about feeling safe in the middle of a world that seems to be barreling downhill backward into madness. It’s about knowing someone really sees you and likes you, even loves you, anyhow.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wLhEG3">
Licorice Pizza <em>opens in limited theaters on November 26 and widely on December 22.</em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>In Sondheim’s Assassins, cornball Americana can’t cover a seething mass of violent rage</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A man in a suit is dancing in front of a trio of musicians. The musicians are wearing prison-
style jumpsuits in red, white, and blue. The dancing man in the suit is smiling hugely but his eyes are panicked." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1cHLEscMBaaLXU6fhEr6OcWk0M0=/414x0:5578x3873/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70194660/211111_CSC_Assasins_563.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Will Swenson (center) as Charles Guiteau in Classic Stage Company’s <em>Assassins</em>, with Brad Giovanine, Rob Morrison, and Katrina Yaukey. | Courtesy of Julieta Cervantes
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A new revival from John Doyle lays bare the country’s dark fairground heart.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="38h6Ij">
“What a wonder is a gun,” a character muses early on in <em>Assassins</em>, now revived in an excellent production at Classic Stage Company. And the second you see a gun point across the stars- and-stripes-painted set, you’re going to think of the last American mass shooting you heard about.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3BPLTh">
Yet despite the repeated image of guns leering out of posters and programs in this show, <em>Assassins</em> is not just about weapons. It’s about what we’ve all been living through over the past year, the past two years, the past five years, and what it’s brought out in the country. It’s about why America seems to love her weapons so.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JlHGcu">
The characters of <em>Assassins</em>, each of whom will eventually attempt to kill a US president, all feel betrayed, forgotten, left behind by those who matter. The Proprietor (Eddie Cooper) of the nightmarish fairground where they meet tells them he has a cure for their problems, and that it is a gun. He also sells the assassins the promise that they are right to feel betrayed. “Everybody’s got the right to be happy,” he sings, counting his cash with a flourish as his customers take turns aiming their new guns. “Everybody’s got the right to their dreams.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TTVwiz">
It’s this dark echo of the Declaration of Independence that keeps winding its way through <em>Assassins</em>’s deceptively cheerful score, before it finally resolves into “Another National Anthem.” We’ve all got the right to the pursuit of happiness. If yours doesn’t succeed, well — who pays?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5ekXFV">
Everyone does, answer the assassins. Everyone else in the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KMjbgt">
<em>Assassins</em>, with a score by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman, has a long and troubled history. It first premiered off-Broadway in 1990 to decidedly mixed reviews, perhaps due in part, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/28/theater/review-theater-
sondheim-and-those-who-would-kill.html?scp=1&amp;sq=&amp;pagewanted=1">the New York Times theorized at the time</a>, to the “relatively jingoistic” Gulf War era, which did not care to see a series of US presidents be shot in effigy. A revival planned for 2001 was rapidly postponed (guess why), and so the show wouldn’t end up making its way to Broadway until 2004, in a production directed by Joe Mantello with Neil Patrick Harris playing the Proprietor’s counterpoint character, the Balladeer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CkcImT">
The 2004 <em>Assassins</em>, safely distanced from either a popular war or a national tragedy, was a massive critical success, winning five Tonys. The production effectively rehabilitated the show’s reputation from a problem show to one of Sondheim’s most darkly funny and ironic works. (Sondheim <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/look-i-made-a-hat-collected-lyrics-1981-2011-with-attendant-comments-amplifications-
dogmas-harangues-digressions-anecdotes-and-mi/9780307593412">has said</a> he considers it to be “perfect.”)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G4JFp3">
In our own moment, which seems to offer up another national tragedy every month, <em>Assassins</em> feels less funny and more like a dark confirmation of what you already feared might be true. It’s like an insight into the worst part of our national character that wouldn’t become unavoidably clear until 30 years after it was written.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SaoLyf">
If ever there was a director who should be a perfect match for <em>Assassins</em>, it’s Sondheim vet John Doyle, who takes the reins at Classic Stage Company. Starting with his <a href="https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/theater/reviews/14970/"><em>Sweeney Todd</em> revival in 2004</a>, Doyle popularized the stripped-down approach to musical theater: small casts, minimal sets, actors playing their own instruments. And <em>Assassins</em>, whose chronology spans John Wilkes Booth shooting Lincoln in 1865 and Samuel Byck stalking Nixon in 1974, with all of the main players mingling across the centuries on that nightmarish fairground, benefits from an approach so stark you can see its bones.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qKd6WN">
With Doyle’s sparse arrangements, we can hear more strongly than ever how false the countermelody to the other national anthem rings. That countermelody is provided by the folksy Balladeer (Ethan Slater), who strums his guitar with an unnervingly placid smile and serves as a narrator of sorts for long stretches of the show. He’s selling us the twangy, jingoistic legend of America. “I just heard, on the news, how the mailman won the lottery!” he sings. “Goes to show, when you lose, what you do is try again.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uGaWER">
While the Balladeer allows to the audience that “every now and then the country goes a little wrong” and that a madman or two, or nine, might happen to come along with a gun, he assures us that we have nothing to worry about in the long run. “Doesn’t stop the story,” he croons. “Story’s pretty strong.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AZANk8">
Which story do you think is stronger, <em>Assassins</em> asks, the Balladeer’s song or the Proprietor’s? The story that tells you this is a country where dreams come true or the story that tells you if your dream has failed, you are owed retribution? Is there really a difference?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bjb9Ch">
Still, there are times when Doyle’s strategy is sometimes more stark than is helpful. On the long barren stage, jutting into the audience and exposed on three sides, the actors seem adrift in time and space. In the dialogue scenes they struggle to land Weidman’s spiky, jagged-toothed jokes: there’s nowhere to ground the punchlines.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1DBnYr">
Sondheim’s score is so sleek and insinuating that it by and large protects the songs from a similar fate, but even there, at certain moments, the tone is distorted. Giuseppe Zangara, the hapless Italian immigrant who tried and failed to assassinate FDR, gets a comic number in jokey stage dialect about how he was driven to assassination by stomach pains. It’s a funny song, it traditionally gets a laugh, and then Zangara traditionally interrupts the audience’s laughter with a chilling, vengeful howl: “<em>No laugh</em>! No funny.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z8kOcl">
The idea is that the joke and its destabilization together teach the audience how to watch this pitch-black show and its rage and its irony; how we will rarely sympathize with the assassins, but we must always take them seriously. But when I saw Doyle’s production, when Zangara (Wesley Taylor, nicely put-upon) shouted, “No laugh!,” he shouted into dead silence. The whole thing felt so solemn that the audience would never have dreamed of laughing in the first place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Yfp9fM">
Still, that empty stage does give the performers space to shoot out pulses of discordant, malevolent energy into the audience. Making the most of it, Adam Chanler-Berat resists the urge to be charming and goes inward, and incel, instead as John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot Reagan because he was obsessed with Jodie Foster. Will Swenson jolts the whole audience upright as oily, aggrandizing Charles Guiteau (who killed James Garfield), with a fake smug smile fixed permanently below his wide and frantic eyes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4uBWRb">
Most unsettling of all is Steven Pasquale’s John Wilkes Booth, the first American presidential assassin, who sweeps onto the stage in a rustle of silk and menace, with unmistakable intent. The other assassins sometimes seem to lash out at random, but Booth knows exactly what he’s doing, and he leads the rest of them along by his example. So strong is his conviction that he even gets the Balladeer to strum along to his sweet-toned ode to the Old South — right up to the point that it devolves into a snarl of racial slurs.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3SAB5Z">
Doyle’s somberness helps suit this <em>Assassins</em> to our own dark days. He rarely stoops to hokey literalism, but it is still impossible to watch this production and not think about the anti-lockdown rallies, the anti-mask rallies, the anti-vax rallies, the election rallies; how they can become riots.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N3NiCA">
As the assassins form their final tableau, they strap Covid-19 masks across their noses and mouths, printed with the American flag. In the background, on the same screen where we just saw Jackie Kennedy fling herself away from a just-shot JFK, footage of the January 6 Capitol riot flickers. One last final scream of rage from the part of the country we try to drown out with our ballads.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ni1xyh">
“They may not want to hear it,” the assassins tell us, “but they listen, once they think it’s gonna stop the game.” Walk out of the theater and try to stop listening.
</p></li>
</ul>
<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>Wankhede Stadium to have spectators for 2nd India-NZ Test but at limited capacity</strong> - A Mumbai Cricket Association official said they would try to get the limit increased from 25% to 50%</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>P.V. Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag lose in semifinals of Indonesia Open</strong> - Indian campaign ends at $850,000 Indonesia Open</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>ICC calls off Women’s World Cup Qualifier after new COVID-19 variant emerges</strong> - Travel restrictions have been introduced from a number of African countries after detection of the new variant in South Africa</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>Vaughan says he is sorry for pain felt by former team-mate Azeem Rafiq</strong> - The BBC on Wednesday said Vaughan will play no part in their coverage of the upcoming Ashes series after being named in the racism controversy involving Rafiq</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>Rahul Dravid: The silent fulcrum around which Indian cricket is set to pivot</strong> - Rahul Dravid brings valuable qualities to the coach’s job — rigour, adaptability, an eye for the big picture, an appetite for the small details, and a complete lack of bombast. He will need them, for the challenge he faces is stiff — add to the country’s trophy cabinet while navigating a transition</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>JD(S) leader to join Cong.</strong> - Janata Dal (Secular) State vice-president H.H. Devaraj has announced that he would quit the party and join the Congress. “I am quitting the JD(S), una</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>BSY appeal to party workers</strong> - Former Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa has appealed to BJP workers to make use of the MLC polls as an occasion to strengthen the party for the coming T</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>Land acquisition issue threatens to derail rail terminal project</strong> - State Govt. yet to act despite reminders from rly. authorities</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>State to move SC against RBI</strong> - Regulations imposed on cooperative bodies by the central bank</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>Supplyco mobile outlets to tour districts</strong> - As part of market intervention programmes to arrest price rise</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>Covid: Dozens test positive on SA-Netherlands flights</strong> - The results are being examined for cases of the new Omicron variant emerging in southern Africa.</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>Covid: Swiss vote on ending restrictions while cases surge</strong> - Sunday’s referendum is held in a country with one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe.</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>Channel migrants: Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson clash over crisis</strong> - The French president accuses the UK prime minister of not being serious as diplomatic row escalates.</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 conflict: Zelensky alleges coup plan involving Russians</strong> - He says an alleged plan to overthrow his government comes amid threats of a Russian invasion.</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>Russian coal mine: Dozens killed in Siberia accident</strong> - Fifty-one deaths have been confirmed in Russia’s worst mining disaster in a decade.</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>It’s time to fear the fungi</strong> - Humans have long been protected from fungal infections. Climate change could ruin that. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1815664">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>All the best Black Friday 2021 deals we can find [Updated]</strong> - We’ve cut through the Black Friday noise to find the deals worth your time. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1815967">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>David Tennant makes a dashing Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days preview</strong> - It’s the latest adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic 1873 adventure novel - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1816190">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>All the best Black Friday 2021 video game deals we can find, in one place [Updated]</strong> - Truckloads of Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC games are on sale today. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1814874">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The best smartwatches and fitness tracker deals for Black Friday [Updated]</strong> - Many of our top wearable picks are seeing strong discounts this week. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1815101">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><strong>Donald Trump is in Berlin for his first state visit with Angela Merkel. Trump quickly asks what the secret of her great success is.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Merkel tells him you just have to have a lot of intelligent people around you.
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“How do you know so quickly if someone is intelligent?” asks Trump.
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“Let me demonstrate.” She picks up the phone, calls Wolfgang Schäuble and asks him a question, “Mr. Schäuble, it’s your father’s son, but is not your brother. Who is it?”
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Without hesitation, Schäuble answers, “Quite simply, it’s me!” “You see,” Merkel tells Trump, “this is how I test people’s intelligence.”
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Thrilled, Trump flies home, immediately calling his running mate, Mike Pence, to ask him the same question. “It’s your father’s son, but is not your brother. Who is it?”
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After much back and forth, Pence says, “I have no idea, but I will try to find out the answer by tomorrow!” Pence just can’t figure it out and decides to seek advice from former President Obama. He calls him, “Mr. Obama, it’s your father’s son, but is not your brother. Who is it?” he asks Obama. “Easy, it’s me!”
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Happy to have found the answer, Pence calls Trump and says triumphantly, “I have the answer, it’s Barack Obama!” Trump rages and says, “No you jackass, it’s Wolfgang Schäuble!”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/TonyLeung82"> /u/TonyLeung82 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r2yly1/donald_trump_is_in_berlin_for_his_first_state/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r2yly1/donald_trump_is_in_berlin_for_his_first_state/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>An Englishman, a Frenchman, a ravishing blonde and a homely brunette…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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..are sharing a compartment on a train as it winds its way through the Alps. Every now and then the train passes through a tunnel, during which time the compartment is plunged into complete darkness. On one such occasion, a ringing slap is heard and as the train passes back into daylight, the Frenchman is rubbing his sore, red cheek.
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The brunette thinks ‘I bet that dirty Frenchman fondled the blonde and she struck the pervert.’
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The blonde thinks ‘I bet that filthy Frenchman was looking to grope me in the dark, mistook the dowdy brunette for me and she slapped the beast.’
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The Frenchman thinks ‘I bet that perfidious Englishman touched up the blonde in the dark and she slapped me by mistake.’
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The Englishman thinks ‘I can’t wait for another tunnel so I can slap that French twat again.’
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/revolut1onname"> /u/revolut1onname </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r3apd0/an_englishman_a_frenchman_a_ravishing_blonde_and/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r3apd0/an_englishman_a_frenchman_a_ravishing_blonde_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A group of engineering professors were invited to fly a plane</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Right after they were comfortably seated, they were informed the plane was built by their students.
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All but one got off their seats and headed frantically to the exits in maniacal panic.
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The one lone professor that stayed put, calmly in his seat, was asked: “Why did you stay put?”
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“I have plenty of confidence in my students. Knowing them, I for a fact can assure you this piece of shit plane will never even start”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/daydreaming17"> /u/daydreaming17 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r2rp91/a_group_of_engineering_professors_were_invited_to/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r2rp91/a_group_of_engineering_professors_were_invited_to/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A man wants to deposit money at a Swiss bank.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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“How much do you want to deposit?” asks the bank employee.
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Whispers the man, “Three million.”
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“You can speak up,” says the bank clerk. “In Switzerland, poverty is not a disgrace.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/TonyLeung82"> /u/TonyLeung82 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r2uagb/a_man_wants_to_deposit_money_at_a_swiss_bank/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r2uagb/a_man_wants_to_deposit_money_at_a_swiss_bank/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>My wife asked me to go get 6 cans of Sprite from the grocery store. I realized when I got home that…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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I had picked 7 up!
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Fairwaydivots"> /u/Fairwaydivots </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r3bo54/my_wife_asked_me_to_go_get_6_cans_of_sprite_from/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/r3bo54/my_wife_asked_me_to_go_get_6_cans_of_sprite_from/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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