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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>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>COVID-19 and Cognitive Impairment: Severity, Evolution, and Functional Impact during Inpatient Rehabilitation</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objective: To determine the frequency, magnitude, and change in cognitive impairment in patients with COVID-19 undergoing acute inpatient rehabilitation. We secondarily evaluated correlates of cognitive impairment and the relationship between cognition and functional gain. Design: Cross-sectional observational study with assessments at admission and discharge Setting: Acute inpatient rehabilitation unit within a large, urban academic medical center Participants: 77 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and subsequently admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation unit between March-August 2020, 45 of whom were re-assessed at discharge. Interventions: N/A Main Outcome Measures: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores on admission and discharge (when available) and Quality Indicator for Self-Care (QI-SC) scores on admission and discharge. Results: 62/77 (80.5%) of patients demonstrated cognitive deficits on the MoCA at admission: 39/77 (50.6%) were mildly impaired, 20/77 (26%) moderately impaired, and 3/77 (3.9%) severely impaired. Cognitive impairment was associated with a prior history of delirium, but not age or length of acute care hospitalization. 32/45 (71.1%) patients with discharge scores improved and met the MoCA minimally clinically important difference (MCID); however, 35/45 (77.8%) continued to score in the impaired range. Patients who met the MoCA MCID demonstrated significantly greater QI-SC score gains than those that did not meet the MCID (p=.02). Conclusion: Cognitive impairment is common among hospitalized COVID-19 patients requiring acute inpatient rehabilitation. Cognitive impairment improves over the course of inpatient rehabilitation, and is associated with functional gain. Nonetheless, cognitive deficits frequently remain present at discharge, indicating the need for systematic assessment and follow-up, especially given the association with functional outcome.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253637v1" target="_blank">COVID-19 and Cognitive Impairment: Severity, Evolution, and Functional Impact during Inpatient Rehabilitation</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Hospitalisation rates differed by city district and ethnicity during the first wave of COVID-19 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands</strong> -
<div>
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Background It is important to gain insight into the burden of COVID-19 at city district level to develop targeted prevention strategies. We examined COVID-19 related hospitalisations by city district and migration background in the municipality of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Methods We used surveillance data on all PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 hospitalisations in Amsterdam until 31 May 2020, matched to municipal registration data on migration background. We calculated directly standardised (age, sex) rates (DSR) of hospitalisations, as a proxy of COVID-19 burden, per 100,000 population by city district and migration background. We calculated standardised rate differences (RD) and rate ratios (RR) to compare hospitalisations between city districts of varying socio-economic and health status and between migration backgrounds. We evaluated the effects of city district and migration background on hospitalisation after adjusting for age and sex using Poisson regression. Results Between 29 February and 31 May 2020, 2326 cases (median age 57 years [IQR=37-74]) were notified in Amsterdam, of which 596 (25.6%) hospitalisations and 287 (12.3%) deaths. 526/596 (88.2%) hospitalisations could be matched to the registration database. DSR were higher in individuals living in peripheral (South-East/New-West/North) city districts with lower economic and health status, compared to central districts (Centre/West/South/East) (RD=36.87,95%CI=25.79-47.96;RR=1.82,95%CI=1.65-1.99), and among individuals with a non-Western migration background compared to ethnic-Dutch individuals (RD=57.05,95%CI=43.34-70.75; RR=2.36,95%CI=2.17-2.54). City district and migration background were independently associated with hospitalisation. Conclusion City districts with lower economic and health status and those with a non-Western migration background had the highest burden of COVID-19 during the first wave of COVID-19 in Amsterdam.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253597v1" target="_blank">Hospitalisation rates differed by city district and ethnicity during the first wave of COVID-19 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Real-World Effectiveness and Tolerability of Monoclonal Antibodies for Ambulatory Patients with Early COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Importance: Interventions to reduce hospitalization of patients with COVID-19 are urgently needed. Randomized trials for efficacy suggest that anti-SARS-CoV2 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAb) may reduce medically-attended visits and hospitalization but effectiveness has not been confirmed in a real-world setting. Objective: Estimate the effectiveness of MAb infusion in a real-world cohort of ambulatory patients with early symptomatic COVID-19 at high risk for hospitalization. Design: Quasi-experimental observational cohort study using target trial emulation and causal inference methodology in pre-and post-implementation groups. Setting: Infusion centers and urgent care clinics within an integrated healthcare system in the United States Participants: 13,534 high-risk adult outpatients with symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within 7 days of symptom onset. Exposures: A single intravenous infusion of either bamlanivimab 700 mg or casirivimab/imdevimab 1200 mg/1200 mg. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was emergency department visit or hospitalization within 14 days of positive test. Patients who received MAb infusion were compared to contemporaneous controls using inverse probability of treatment weighting, and to a pre-implementation cohort using propensity-weighted interrupted time series analysis. An exploratory analysis compared effectiveness of casirivimab/imdevimab and bamlanivimab. Results: 7404 patients who would have been MAb-eligible were identified in a pre-implementation cohort (July 1-November 27, 2020). In the post-implementation period (November 28, 2020-January 28, 2021), 594 received MAb treatment and 5536 MAb-eligible patients did not. Among Mab recipients, 479 (80.6%) received bamlanivimab and 115 (19.4%) casirivimab/imdevimab. The primary outcome occurred in 75 (12.6%) MAb recipients, 1018 (18.4%) contemporaneous controls, and 1525 (20.6%) patients in the pre-implementation cohort. MAb treatment was associated with fewer subsequent emergency department visits and hospitalizations (odds ratio estimating the average treatment effect 0.69, 95% CI 0.60-0.79). After implementation, propensity-weighted probability of emergency department visit or hospitalization decreased by 0.7% per day (95% CI 0.03-0.10%, p&lt;0.001). Overall, 7 (1.2%) MAb patients experienced an adverse event; two (0.3%) were considered serious. In the exploratory analysis, the effect of casirivimab/imdevimab versus bamlanivimab was not significant (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.17-1.63, p=0.26). Conclusions and Relevance: MAb treatment of high-risk ambulatory patients with early COVID-19 was well-tolerated and effective at preventing the need for subsequent medically-attended care.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253646v1" target="_blank">Real-World Effectiveness and Tolerability of Monoclonal Antibodies for Ambulatory Patients with Early COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Female gender and knowing a person positive for COVID-19 significantly increases fear levels in the Cuban population</strong> -
<div>
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The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between sociodemographic factors and fear of COVID-19 in a Cuban population. A web-based study with a cross-sectional design was conducted. The sample comprised 1145 participants. To explore fear, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used. Our results suggest that women were more likely to experience medium to high levels fear compared to men. Additionally, knowing a person positive to COVID-19 significantly increases fear levels in Cuban participants.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.14.21253561v1" target="_blank">Female gender and knowing a person positive for COVID-19 significantly increases fear levels in the Cuban population</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Seroreactivity to SARS-CoV-2 in individuals attending a university campus in Bogota Colombia</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Most community-specific serological surveys for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies have been done in healthcare workers and institutions. In this study, IgG antibodies specific for the virus were evaluated in individuals working at one university in Bogota-Colombia. The aim of this work was to determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in those attending the campus during city lockdown. A total of 237 individuals including 93 women and 144 men were evaluated using chemiluminescent detection of IgG anti N-viral protein. There were 32 positives giving a seroprevalence of 13.5% (10 women and 22 men) and mostly asymptomatic (68.75%). Only 13 of the seropositive individuals had previous positive detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RT-qPCR done in average 91 days before serological test. Seropositive individuals did not come from localities having higher percentages of SARS-CoV-2 cases in the city. Three cluster of seropositive individuals were identified. This survey was carried out after the first peak of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the city, and before the preparedness to reopening the campus for students in 2021. These results will help to develop some of the strategies stablished to control virus spread in the campus.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253609v1" target="_blank">Seroreactivity to SARS-CoV-2 in individuals attending a university campus in Bogota Colombia</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Factors associated with the stigma-discrimination complex towards healthcare workers among university students during the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The COVID-19-related stigma towards healthcare workers negatively influences their performance and job satisfaction, and well-being. The frequency of COVID-19-related stigma towards healthcare workers and its associated factors has not been sufficiently investigated. The objective was to determine the frequency and variables associated with COVID-19-related stigmatisation towards health workers in emerging-age university adults in Mexico. Analytical and cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire in 1,054 students between 18 and 29 years of age. Demographic variables, religiosity, fear of COVID-19 and stigma-discrimination related to COVID-19 towards healthcare workers were analysed. The latter was set as the dependent variable, while demographic variables, religiosity and high fear of COVID-19 were the independent variables. For the association between the variables, a binomial and logarithmic generalised linear model was designed to calculate the adjusted prevalence ratios. The proportion of high stigma-discrimination was 12.4%, and this was associated with a high fear of COVID-19 (APR 1.51, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.23). The main limitations were the cross-sectional nature, social desirability bias, non-probabilistic sampling. The results highlight the importance of establishing programmes to reduce COVID-19-related stigmatisation towards healthcare workers.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.14.21253547v1" target="_blank">Factors associated with the stigma-discrimination complex towards healthcare workers among university students during the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Characterizing altruistic motivation in potential volunteers for SARS-CoV-2 challenge trials</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
In human challenge trials, volunteers are deliberately infected with a pathogen to accelerate vaccine development and answer key scientific questions. In the U.S., preparations for challenge trials with the novel coronavirus are complete, and in the U.K., challenge trials have recently begun. However, ethical concerns have been raised about the potential for invalid consent or exploitation. These concerns largely reflect worries that challenge trial volunteers may be unusually risk-seeking or too economically vulnerable to refuse the payments these trials provide, rather than being motivated primarily by altruistic goals. We conducted the first large-scale survey of intended human challenge trial volunteers and found that SARS-CoV-2 challenge trial volunteers exhibit high levels of altruistic motivations without any special indication of poor risk perception or economic vulnerability. Findings indicate that challenge trials with the novel coronavirus can attract volunteers with background conditions, attitudes, and motivations that should allay key ethical concerns.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.14.21253548v1" target="_blank">Characterizing altruistic motivation in potential volunteers for SARS-CoV-2 challenge trials</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Quantitative Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test and Antigen Testing Algorithms: A Decision Analysis Simulation Model</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 offer advantages over nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs, such as RT-PCR), including lower cost and rapid return of results, but show reduced sensitivity. Public health organizations continue to recommend different strategies for utilizing NAATs and antigen tests in various settings. There has not yet been a quantitative comparison of the expected performance of these strategies. Methods: We utilized a decision analysis approach to simulate the expected outcomes of six algorithms for implementing NAAT and antigen testing, analogous to testing strategies recommended by public health organizations. Each algorithm was simulated 50,000 times for four SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence levels ranging from 5% to 20% in a population of 100,000 persons seeking testing. Primary outcomes were number of missed cases, number of false-positive diagnoses, and total test volumes. Outcome medians and 95% uncertainty ranges (URs) were reported. Results: Algorithms that use NAATs to confirm all negative antigen results minimized missed cases but required high NAAT capacity: 92,200 (95% UR: 91,200-93,200) tests (in addition to 100,000 antigen tests) at 10% prevalence. Substituting repeat antigen testing in lieu of NAAT confirmation of all initial negative antigen tests resulted in 2,280 missed cases (95% UR: 1,507-3,067) at 10% prevalence. Selective use of NAATs to confirm antigen results when discordant with symptom status (e.g., symptomatic persons with negative antigen results) resulted in the most efficient use of NAATs, with 25 NAATs (95% UR: 13-57) needed to detect one additional case at 10% prevalence compared to exclusive use of antigen tests. Conclusions: No single SARS-CoV-2 testing algorithm is likely to be optimal across settings with different levels of prevalence and for all programmatic priorities; each presents a trade-off between prioritized outcomes and resource constraints. This analysis provides a framework for selecting setting-specific strategies to achieve acceptable balances and trade-offs between programmatic priorities and constraints.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253608v1" target="_blank">Quantitative Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test and Antigen Testing Algorithms: A Decision Analysis Simulation Model</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Associations of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness with patient age and comorbidities</strong> -
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Vaccinations are considered the major tool to curb the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of the BNT162b2 vaccine has demonstrated a 95% efficacy in preventing COVID-19 disease. These results are now corroborated with statistical analyses of real-world vaccination rollouts, but resolving vaccine effectiveness across demographic groups is challenging. Here, applying a multivariable logistic regression analysis approach to a large patient-level dataset, including SARS-CoV-2 tests, vaccine inoculations and personalized demographics, we model vaccine effectiveness at daily resolution and its interaction with sex, age and comorbidities. Vaccine effectiveness gradually increased post day 12 of inoculation, then plateaued, around 35 days, reaching 91.2% [CI 88.8%-93.1%] for all infections and 99.3% [CI 95.3%-99.9%] for symptomatic infections. Effectiveness was uniform for men and women yet declined mildly but significantly with age and for patients with specific chronic comorbidities, most notably type 2 diabetes. Quantifying real-world vaccine effectiveness, including both biological and behavioral effects, our analysis provides initial measurement of vaccine effectiveness across demographic groups.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.16.21253686v1" target="_blank">Associations of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness with patient age and comorbidities</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Understanding Convergence Between Non-Hispanic Black and White COVID-19 Mortality: A County-Level Approach</strong> -
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Non Hispanic Black populations have suffered greater per capita COVID19 mortality at more than 1.5 times that of White populations. Previous work has established that, over time, rates of Black and White mortality have converged; however, some studies suggest that regional shifts in COVID19 prevalence may play a role in the relative change between racial groups. The study objective was to investigate changes in Black and White COVID19 mortality over time and uncover potential mechanisms driving these changes. Methods and Findings: Using county level COVID-19 mortality data stratified by race, we investigate the trajectory of non Hispanic Black mortality, White mortality, and the Black/White per capita mortality ratio from June 2020 to January 2021. Over this period, in the counties studied, cumulative mortality rose by 56.7% and 82.8% for Black and White populations respectively, resulting in a decrease in mortality ratio of 0.369 (23.8%). These trends persisted even when a county-level fixed-effects model was used to estimate changes over time within counties (controlling for all time invariant county level characteristics and removing the effects of changes in regional distribution of COVID19). Next, we leverage county level variation over time in COVID19 prevalence to show that the declines in the Black/White mortality ratio can be explained by changes in COVID19 prevalence. Finally, we study heterogeneity in the time trend, finding that convergence occurs most significantly in younger populations, areas with less dense populations, and outside of the Northeast. Limitations include suppressed data in counties with fewer than 10 deaths in a racial category, and the use of provisional COVID19 death data that may be incomplete. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that convergence in Black/White mortality is not driven by county level characteristics or changes in the regional dispersion of COVID19, but instead by changes within counties. Further, declines in the Black/White mortality ratio appear strongly linked to changes in COVID19 prevalence, rather than a time specific effect. Further studies on changes in exposure by race over time, or on the vulnerability of individuals who died at different points in the pandemic, may provide crucial insight on mechanisms and strategies to further reduce COVID19 mortality disparities.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253566v1" target="_blank">Understanding Convergence Between Non-Hispanic Black and White COVID-19 Mortality: A County-Level Approach</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Vaccine escape in a heterogeneous population: insights for SARS-CoV-2 from a simple model</strong> -
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As a counter measure to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic there has been swift development and clinical trial assessment of candidate vaccines, with subsequent deployment as part of mass vaccination campaigns. However, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has demonstrated the ability to mutate and develop variants, which can modify epidemiological properties and the potentially also the effectiveness of vaccines. The widespread deployment of highly effective vaccines may rapidly exert selection pressure on the SARS-CoV-2 virus directed towards mutations that escape the vaccine induced immune response. This is particularly concerning whilst infection is widespread. By developing and analysing a mathematical model of two population groupings with differing vulnerability and contact rates, we explore the impact of the deployment of vaccine amongst the population on R, cases, disease abundance and vaccine escape pressure. The results from this model illustrate two insights (i) vaccination aimed at reducing prevalence could be more effective at reducing disease than directly vaccinating the vulnerable; (ii) the highest risk for vaccine escape can occur at intermediate levels of vaccination. This work demonstrates a key principle that the careful targeting of vaccines towards particular population groups could reduce disease as much as possible whilst limiting the risk of vaccine escape.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.14.21253544v1" target="_blank">Vaccine escape in a heterogeneous population: insights for SARS-CoV-2 from a simple model</a>
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<li><strong>Impact of booster COVID-19 vaccine for Moroccan adults: A discrete age-structured model approach</strong> -
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Public health control strategies, such as lockdown, seem to be effective in reducing the spread of the pandemic, but are ineffective as a whole since lockdown is responsible of global economic crisis and badly lived by the majority of children and adults who have developed mental health disorders and familial problems as well. Thus, the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 is needed to control this disease. We have developed a discrete age-structured model and followed the Moroccan vaccination program to assess the impact of booster vaccination targeting Moroccan adults against COVID-19. Using the derived model, we estimated some relevant model parameters related to COVID-19 using collected cumulative mortality and reported Moroccan data. A control reproduction number R_{c}, which determines the necessary level of vaccine uptake that lead to COVID-19 eradication is determined. Furthermore, a herd immunity threshold above which the population can be protected from COVID-19 infection is derived. Analyzing the model, sufficient and necessary conditions for the eradication of the disease are obtained as well. Next, we perform numerical simulations to study the impact of several uptake levels of the potential vaccine on the persistence and the extinction of COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show that the COVID-19 is expected to last past 2021 in the absence of a vaccination program. Moreover, a vaccination of the adult population at rate 0.6% per day needs at least 67% of vaccine efficacy and 90% of immunogenicity rate to eradicate the disease. Using Sinopharm vaccine, the herd immunity can be achieved when about half of Moroccan adult population is immunized against the COVID-19. However, using Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine, less than 60% of adult population must be immunized against the disease to achieve the herd immunity. Finally, if vaccine efficacy is about 80% and the immunogenicity is about 50% then vaccinating adults at rate of 0.6% per day could protect roughly 22% of children from COVID-19 infection.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.14.21253555v1" target="_blank">Impact of booster COVID-19 vaccine for Moroccan adults: A discrete age-structured model approach</a>
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<li><strong>Rapid base-specific calling of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern using combined RT-PCR melting curve screening and SIRPH technology</strong> -
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The emergence of novel variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 demands a fast and reliable detection of such variants in local populations. Here we present a cost-efficient and fast workflow combining a pre-screening of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples using RT-PCR melting curve analysis with multiplexed IP-RP-HPLC-based single nucleotide primer extensions (SIRPH). The entire workflow from positive SARS-CoV-2 testing to base-specific identification of variants requires about 24 h. We applied the sensitive method to monitor the local VOC outbreaks in a few hundred positive samples collected in a confined region of Germany.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253586v1" target="_blank">Rapid base-specific calling of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern using combined RT-PCR melting curve screening and SIRPH technology</a>
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<li><strong>Patterns of compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviours: a latent class analysis of 20,000 UK adults</strong> -
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Background: Governments have implemented a range of measure to tackle COVID-19, primarily focusing on changing citizens9 behaviours in order to lower transmission of the virus. Few studies have looked at the patterns of compliance with different measures within individuals: whether people comply with all measures or selectively choose some but not others. Such research is important for designing interventions to increase compliance. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 20,947 UK adults in the COVID-19 Social Study collected 17 November to 23 December 2020. Self-report compliance was assessed with six behaviours: mask wearing, hand washing, indoor household mixing, outdoor household mixing, social distancing, and compliance with other guidelines. Patterns of compliance behaviour were identified using latent class analysis, and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess demographic, socioeconomic and personality predictors of behaviour patterns. Results: We selected a four latent class solution. Most individuals reported similar levels of compliance across the six behaviour measures. High levels of compliance was the modal response. Lower self-reported compliance was related to young age, high risk-taking behaviour, low confidence in government, and low empathy, among other factors. Looking at individual behaviours, mask wearing had the highest level of compliance whilst compliance with social distancing was relatively low. Conclusion: Results suggest that individuals choose to comply with all guidelines, rather than some but not others. Strategies to increase compliance should focus on increasing general motivations to comply alongside specifically encouraging social distancing.
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.16.21253717v1" target="_blank">Patterns of compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviours: a latent class analysis of 20,000 UK adults</a>
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<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology on a Public University Campus in Washington State</strong> -
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Background: Testing programs have been utilized as part of SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies on university campuses, and it is not known which strategies successfully identify cases and contain outbreaks. Objective: Evaluation of a testing program to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission at a large university. Design: Prospective longitudinal study using remote contactless enrollment, daily mobile symptom and exposure tracking, and self-swab sample collection. Individuals were tested if the participant was (1) exposed to a known case, developed new symptoms, or reported high-risk behavior, (2) a member of a group experiencing an outbreak, or (3) at baseline upon enrollment. Setting: An urban, public university during Autumn quarter of 2020. Participants: Students, staff, and faculty. Measurements: SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing was conducted, and viral genome sequencing was performed. Results: We enrolled 16,476 individuals, performed 29,783 SARS-CoV-2 tests, and detected 236 infections. Greek community affiliation was the strongest risk factor for testing positive. 75.0% of positive cases reported at least one of the following: symptoms (60.8%), exposure (34.7%), or high-risk behaviors (21.5%). 88.1% of viral genomes (52/59) sequenced from Greek-affiliated students were genetically identical to at least one other genome detected, indicative of rapid SARS-CoV-2 spread within this group, compared to 37.9% (11/29) of genomes from non-Greek students and employees. Limitations: Observational study. Conclusion: In a setting of limited resources during a pandemic, we prioritized testing of individuals with symptoms and high-risk exposure during outbreaks. Rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 occurred within outbreaks without evidence of further spread to the surrounding community. A testing program focused on high-risk populations may be effective as part of a comprehensive university-wide mitigation strategy to control the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253227v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology on a Public University Campus in Washington State</a>
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<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>Clinical Study in the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Molixan;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Pharma VAM<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>Dose-Ranging Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Melatonin in Outpatients Infected With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Melatonin;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   State University of New York at Buffalo;   National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS)<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>A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Brilacidin in Hospitalized Participants With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Brilacidin;   Drug: Placebo;   Drug: Standard of Care (SoC)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.<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>A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of OT-101+Artemisinin in Hospitalized COVID-19 Subjects</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: OT-101;   Drug: Artemisinin;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Oncotelic 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>JS016 (Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody)With Mild and Moderate COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 Asymptomatic Infection Subects</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant Human Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody(25mg/kg;50mg/kg;100mg/kg);   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Shanghai Junshi Bioscience Co., Ltd.<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>Study of the Tolerability, Safety, Immunogenicity and Preventive Efficacy of the EpiVacCorona Vaccine for the Prevention of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: EpiVacCorona (EpiVacCorona vaccine based on peptide antigens for the prevention of COVID-19);   Other: Placebo (sodium chloride, a 0.9% solution for the preparation of dosage forms for injections)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Federal Budgetary Research Institution State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”<br/><b>Active, not 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 of mRNA Vaccine Formulation Against COVID-19 in Healthy Adults 18 Years of Age and Older</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine formulation 1;   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine formulation 2;   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine formulation 3;   Biological: Placebo (0.9% normal saline)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sanofi Pasteur, a Sanofi Company<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>Trial to Determine the Efficacy/Safety of Plitidepsin vs Control in Patients With Moderate COVID-19 Infection</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Plitidepsin;   Drug: Dexamethasone;   Drug: Remdesivir<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   PharmaMar<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>Safety and Immunogenicity Study of a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Variant Vaccine (mRNA-1273.351) in Naïve and Previously Vaccinated Adults</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   COVID-19 Immunisation<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: mRNA-1273;   Biological: mRNA-1273.351<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   ModernaTX, 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>Safety and Tolerability of Emricasan in Symptomatic Outpatients Diagnosed With Mild-COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Emricasan;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Histogen<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>Efficacy of Reinforcing Standard Therapy in COVID-19 Patients With Repeated Transfusion of Convalescent Plasma</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Convalescent Plasma with antibody against SARS-CoV-2.;   Other: Standard treatment for COVID-19<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Hospital Son Llatzer;   Fundació d’investigació Sanitària de les Illes Balears<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>Diagnostic Performance of the ID Now™ COVID-19 Screening Test Versus Simplexa™ COVID-19 Direct Assay</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: ID Now™ COVID-19 Screening Test<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph<br/><b>Active, not 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>DCI COVID-19 Surveillance Project</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay for Detection of COVID-19 Infection<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Temple University;   Dialysis Clinic, Inc.<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>Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Second Generation VIR-7831 Material in Non-hospitalized Participants With Mild to Moderate COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: VIR-7831 (Gen1);   Biological: VIR-7831 (Gen2)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Vir Biotechnology, Inc.;   GlaxoSmithKline<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>Off-the-shelf NK Cells (KDS-1000) as Immunotherapy for COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: KDS-1000;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Kiadis Pharma<br/><b>Not yet 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>A brief review on potential application of mesenchymal stem cell and secretome in combating mortality and morbidity in COVID-19 patients</strong> - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), is typically associated with severe respiratory distress and has claimed more than 525,000 lives already. The most fearful aspect is the unavailability of any concrete guidelines and treatment or protective strategies for reducing mortality or morbidity caused by this virus. Repurposing of drugs, antivirals, convalescent plasma and neutralizing antibodies are being considered for…</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 coronaviruses and therapeutic drug discovery</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: During the spread of COVID-19 outbreak, great efforts have been made in therapeutic drug discovery against the virus, although the pharmacological effects and adverse reactions of some drugs under study are still unclear. However, well-designed high-quality studies are needed to further study the effectiveness and safety of these potential drugs so as to provide valid recommendations for better control of the COVID-19 pandemic.</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>COVIDENZA - A prospective, multicenter, randomized PHASE II clinical trial of enzalutamide treatment to decrease the morbidity in patients with Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a structured summary of a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial</strong> - OBJECTIVES: The main goal of the COVIDENZA trial is to evaluate if inhibition of testosterone signalling by enzalutamide can improve the outcome of patients hospitalised for COVID-19. The hypothesis is based on the observation that the majority of patients in need of intensive care are male, and the connection between androgen receptor signalling and expression of TMPRSS2, an enzyme important for SARS-CoV-2 host cell internalization.</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>A review: Mechanism of action of antiviral drugs</strong> - Antiviral drugs are a class of medicines particularly used for the treatment of viral infections. Drugs that combat viral infections are called antiviral drugs. Viruses are among the major pathogenic agents that cause number of serious diseases in humans, animals and plants. Viruses cause many diseases in humans, from self resolving diseases to acute fatal diseases. Developing strategies for the antiviral drugs are focused on two different approaches: Targeting the viruses themselves or the host…</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>Seroconversion stages COVID19 into distinct pathophysiological states</strong> - COVID19 is a heterogeneous medical condition involving diverse underlying pathophysiological processes including hyperinflammation, endothelial damage, thrombotic microangiopathy, and end-organ damage. Limited knowledge about the molecular mechanisms driving these processes and lack of staging biomarkers hamper the ability to stratify patients for targeted therapeutics. We report here the results of a cross-sectional multi-omics analysis of hospitalized COVID19 patients revealing that…</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>Computational approach to decipher cellular interactors and drug targets during co-infection of SARS-CoV-2, Dengue, and Chikungunya virus</strong> - The world is reeling under severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, and it will be frightening if compounded by other co-existing infections. The co-occurrence of the Dengue virus (DENV) and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has been into existence, but recently the co-infection of DENV and SARS-CoV-2 has been reported. Thus, the possibility of DENV, CHIKV, and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection could be predicted in the future with enhanced vulnerability. It is essential to elucidate…</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>Repurposing CFDA-approved drug carrimycin as an antiviral agent against human coronaviruses, including the currently pandemic SARS-CoV-2</strong> - COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection severely threatens global health and economic development. No effective antiviral drug is currently available to treat COVID-19 and any other human coronavirus infections. We report herein that a CFDA-approved macrolide antibiotic, carrimycin, potently inhibited the cytopathic effects (CPE) and reduced the levels of viral protein and RNA in multiple cell types infected by human coronavirus 229E, OC43, and SARS-CoV-2. Time-of-addition 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>The serotonin reuptake inhibitor Fluoxetine inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in human lung tissue</strong> - To circumvent time-consuming clinical trials, testing whether existing drugs are effective inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, has led to the discovery of Remdesivir. We decided to follow this path and screened approved medications “off-label” against SARS-CoV-2. Fluoxetine inhibited SARS-CoV-2 at a concentration of 0.8 µg/ml significantly in these screenings, and the EC50 was determined with 387 ng/ml. Furthermore, Fluoxetine reduced viral infectivity in precision-cut human lung slices showing its…</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>Unique and complementary suppression of cGAS-STING and RNA sensing- triggered innate immune responses by SARS-CoV-2 proteins</strong> - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of human deaths. The efficient replication and population spread of SARS-CoV-2 indicates an effective evasion of human innate immune responses, although the viral proteins responsible for this immune evasion are not clear. In this study, we identified SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins, accessory proteins, and the main viral protease as potent inhibitors of host innate…</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>Resveratrol-mediated Attenuation of Superantigen-driven Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome is Mediated by Microbiota in the Lungs and Gut</strong> - Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is triggered by a variety of agents, including Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (SEB). Interestingly, a significant proportion of patients with COVID-19, also develop ARDS. In the absence of effective treatments, ARDS results in almost 40% mortality. Previous studies from our laboratory demonstrated that resveratrol (RES), a stilbenoid, with potent anti-inflammatory properties can attenuate SEB-induced ARDS. In the current study, we investigated the role 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>Inhibition of interferon-stimulated gene 15 and lysine 48-linked ubiquitin binding to the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease by small molecules: In silico studies</strong> - The SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PL^(pro)) is a suitable target for drug development, and its deubiquitinating and deISGylating activities have also been reported. In this study, molecular docking was used to investigate the binding properties of a selection of dietary compounds and naphthalene-based inhibitors to the previously characterised binding site of GRL-0617. The structures of the SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV PL^(pro) in complex with interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) and lysine 48…</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>Antiviral activity of oleandrin and a defined extract of Nerium oleander against SARS-CoV-2</strong> - With continued expansion of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2), both antiviral drugs as well as effective vaccines are desperately needed to treat patients at high risk of life-threatening disease. Here, we present in vitro evidence for significant inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by oleandrin and a defined extract of N. oleander (designated as PBI-06150). Using Vero cells, we found that prophylactic (pre-infection) oleandrin (as…</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>Umifenovir and coronavirus infections: a review of research results and clinical practice</strong> - Coronaviruses are known to cause acute respiratory infections. Antiviral therapy, including for COVID-19, is based on clinical practice, experimental data and trial results. The purpose of this review is to: provide and systematize actual preclinical data, clinical trials results and clinical practice for antiviral agent umifenovir (Arbidol). Databases Scopus, Web of Science, RSCI and medRxiv were used for publication searching from 2004. A meta-analysis of clinical trials results was performed….</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>Tocilizumab: From Rheumatic Diseases to Covid-19</strong> - Tocilizumab is a humanised interleukin-6 receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody that is currently approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other immune-related conditions. Recently, tocilizumab has been investigated as a possible treatment for severe coronavirus-induced disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite the lack of direct antiviral effects, tocilizumab could reduce the immune-induced organ damage caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection. Until…</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>Cinnamon and Hop Extracts as Potential Immunomodulators for Severe COVID-19 Cases</strong> - No abstract</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>Peptides and their use in diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU319943278">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT OF COVID 19 POSITIVE PATIENTS</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU319942709">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sars-CoV-2 vaccine antigens</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU318283136">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-COV-2 BINDING PROTEINS</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU318004130">link</a></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Gerät zur Unterstützung und Verstärkung natürlicher Lüftung</strong> -
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Lüftungssystem für einen mit öffnbaren Fenstern (16) ausgestatteten Gebäuderaum, gekennzeichnet dadurch, dass es ein Gehäuse (18) und einen Ventilator (20) aufweist, wobei durch das Gehäuse eine vom Ventilator erzeugte Luftströmung strömen kann, wobei das Gehäuse dafür eine Einströmöffnung (24) für Luft und eine Ausströmöffnung (22) für Luft enthält, wobei eine der beiden Öffnungen der Form eines Öffnungsspalts (26) zwischen einem Fensterflügel (12) und einem Blendrahmen (14) des Fensters (16) angepasst ist.</p></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=DE319927546">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>X射线图像识别方法、装置、计算机设备及存储介质</strong> - 本申请涉及一种X射线图像识别方法、装置、计算机设备和存储介质。通过获取X射线图像，将X射线图像作为训练样本；构建多注意力交互网络，多注意力交互网络包括卷积批处理标准化网络、特征提取网络和输出网络；其中特征提取网络包括多注意力交互特征提取模块和批标准化模块，特征提取网络通过学习通道之间的相关性，多通道之间的信息交互来达到增强模型的识别能力。利用训练样本对多注意力交互网络进行训练，得到X射线图像识别模型；获取待测X射线图像；将待测X射线图像输入到X射线图像识别模型中，得到X射线图像的类别。本方法减少了网络的参数量和计算量，提高了模型的泛化能力。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN319953046">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>利用HEK293细胞制备新型冠状病毒核衣壳蛋白的方法</strong> - 本发明提供一种利用HEK293细胞制备新型冠状病毒核衣壳蛋白的方法，包括：1）构建新冠病毒核衣壳蛋白（N蛋白）重组表达载体；2）用重组表达载体转染HEK293细胞；3）体外培养细胞，从培养上清中分离纯化N蛋白。利用HEK293表达系统可在短时间内获得大量新冠病毒N蛋白，通过一步亲和层析法可获得纯度高达98%以上的N蛋白。与大肠杆菌相比，采用HEK293表达系统制备的N蛋白在与抗体的结合活性及新冠抗体胶体金检测方面均表现出极大优势，且HEK293表达系统制备的N蛋白其蛋白空间构象接近于病毒N基因在宿主体内的蛋白表达构象，具有更高的免疫诊断和抗体制备的准确性，将其用于制作诊断试剂和疫苗前景广阔。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN319953048">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Compositions and methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU317343760">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>偶联新型冠状病毒S2蛋白的磁珠及其制备方法与应用</strong> - 本发明提供偶联新型冠状病毒S2蛋白的磁珠及其制备方法与应用。所述偶联新型冠状病毒S2蛋白的磁珠是将表面修饰有链霉亲和素的磁珠与生物素标记的新型冠状病毒S2蛋白结合制得的。本发明还提供偶联后磁珠的冻干过程，以及偶联后磁珠的酵母展示scFv文库的筛选。该磁珠具有结合能力强，特异性好，稳定性高，便于操作的特点，既可用于新冠病毒S2抗体的富集，也可用于表达S2抗体的酵母细胞的淘选。利用本发明磁珠进行S2蛋白抗体的富集和表达S2蛋白抗体的细胞筛选，可将低浓度的特异性抗体捕获后进行浓缩，提高了灵敏度。在酵母展示scFv文库细胞筛选上，比流式细胞分选方法所需周期短，可快速筛出目标克隆酵母细胞，提高筛选效率。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN319952963">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>靶向SARS-CoV-2的抗体及其制备方法和应用</strong> - 本发明提供了靶向SARS‑CoV‑2的抗体及其制备方法和应用，该抗体包含VH和VL，所述VH包含以下CDR：氨基酸序列如SEQ ID NO:1、2、3所示的VH CDR1、VH CDR2、VH CDR3；所述VL包含以下的CDR：氨基酸序列如SEQ ID NO:4、5、6所示的VL CDR1、VL CDR2、VL CDR3。该抗体能够高亲和且特异地结合SARS‑CoV‑2的S蛋白的RBD，抑制RBD蛋白与受体ACE2蛋白的结合，高效地抑制SARS‑CoV‑2感染细胞，同时对潜在的免疫逃逸突变的假病毒具有很好的中和活性，从而可有效应用于SARS‑CoV‑2病毒及相关疾病的诊断、预防和治疗中。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN319687581">link</a></p></li>
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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>Why COVID-19 Vaccines Aren’t Yet Available to Everyone</strong> - President Biden has promised that all adults will be eligible to receive a vaccine by May. But manufacturing and distributing enough doses will depend on a lot of things going right. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-medicine/why-covid-19-vaccines-arent-yet-available-to-everyone">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Flowers for Sarah Everard</strong> - In the aftermath of a horrific kidnapping and murder, the U.K. reckons with the omnipresence of misogyny. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/flowers-for-sarah-everard">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Kansas Bookshop’s Fight with Amazon Is About More Than the Price of Books</strong> - The owner of the Raven bookstore, in Lawrence, wants to tell you about all the ways that the e-commerce giant is hurting American downtowns. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/a-kansas-bookshops-fight-with-amazon-is-about-more-than-the-price-of-books">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Alabama Workers Trying to Unionize an Amazon Fulfillment Center</strong> - South of Birmingham, warehouse employees are voting on whether or not to form a union. Their decision could have ripple effects around the country. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/the-alabama-workers-trying-to-unionize-an-amazon-fulfillment-center">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Learning Pods Might Outlast the Pandemic</strong> - It’s possible to imagine home schools becoming like sidewalk dining—an experiment that sticks. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-education/why-learning-pods-might-outlast-the-pandemic">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>3.9 million years</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Photo collage of people under a tree with a few falling leaves." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZdO1zdlFxU2FYjSUYJ6wJkfx0rU=/225x0:1576x1013/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68980278/Lead_image_board_2.0.jpg"/>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The pandemic took lives far too soon. How much human potential has been lost?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ooes7I">
This year, Catalina Castillo is unsure whether her family of five will congregate for a holiday photo shoot. It’s a simple concern, but a traumatic one. Historically, it’s been her mother, Carola Montero, who urges Catalina and her four siblings to pose for a portrait — for memory’s sake. But this past December, Carola died of complications of Covid-19. “She was the reason we did a Christmas photo or any family photo,” Catalina said. Now someone else will have to make sure this ritual goes unforgotten.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HzV6M7">
For so many people like Catalina, who have lost loved ones during the pandemic, they look out on their futures and see these missing spaces. They think about the things their loved ones would have done. They think about the loving actions that are so small but that in sum are what fill family life with such richness.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eEbXHW">
More than 518,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the United States, but that figure hardly begins to explain the magnitude of the loss.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MF2PSs">
It’s easy to look at such a big number — half a million — and feel a bit numb about it. Death, in any single case, can be hard to fathom and make sense of. But with half a million deaths in the US, and millions more abroad, how many family photos won’t be taken? How many holidays will feel emptier? What human potential has been wiped off the earth?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KZVFOS">
No number will suffice in answering this question. But there is a statistic that helps. It’s what public health researchers call “years of potential life lost,” and it’s a statistic commonly used to calculate the toll of premature death. It can help shatter that feeling of numbness.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NqeUI9">
When researchers calculate years of potential life lost, they are asking a simple, devastating question: Were people taken by Covid-19 too soon? How much time would they have had left? They do this by essentially subtracting the age someone died from that person’s estimated projected life span.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HfL91r">
On average, a <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.02.21252715v1">new analysis</a> from researchers at the University of South Florida and the Baylor College of Medicine finds, every Covid-19 death in the US has led to 9.2 years of life lost. For men, it’s a little higher, at 9.5 years. For women who died, it’s a little lower, 8.8 years. That’s eight or nine years of Thanksgivings, birthdays, weddings, and so much more.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ClxqEa">
This figure recognizes deaths from Covid-19 are not a one-dimensional statistic. Yes, death is a moment, a point in time. But the effects of death ripple out across years. What does it mean when a person isn’t there to make a favorite dish for a holiday meal? What projects have been left unfinished? What garden will go untended? What paychecks won’t provide for families anymore? What children won’t get to know and be cared for by their grandparent? What dreams died?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="943Kme">
In all, it’s estimated that, as of January 31 and about 420,000 US deaths, there were 3.9 million years of potential human life lost. (Keep in mind that in February, tens of thousands more deaths occurred, and they’re not accounted for in this figure.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ut5fWa">
This number — 3.9 million years lost — is staggering. But also, it’s not that abstract. Each of us can imagine a year of our own lives, and all the richness contained within it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5LSgWc">
Consider a year of life — of your own, of a loved one; think of that being lost. Now try to multiply all that 3.9 million times. That’s the scale of what these deaths mean, not just in the moment but over time.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H-i5HiRHbOAxrXZtz06yFla5Q1k=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22376075/lost_leaves_tree.jpg"/> <cite>Christina Animashaun/Vox</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y6A4bB">
The years of life lost metric can also help us understand ethnic and racial disparities produced by the pandemic in a starker light. Minorities in the US have been more likely to die of Covid-19 at younger ages than white people. When a person dies younger, more years of potential life are lost. And so these groups are left with an undue burden of lost potential.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="25DK2s">
These numbers aren’t meant to be <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/42/4/717/5901977">absolutely precise</a>. They’re meant to demonstrate the scale of what’s lost. In calculating years of life lost, the researchers have to make overly broad assumptions about how long people would have lived. In the case of the 3.9 million years lost figure, the researchers reduced the average life expectancies of those who died by 25 percent in their analysis. This accounted for the fact that people who die of Covid-19 are more likely to have underlying conditions, which could lead to a lower-than-average life span.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8z4xGy">
Even with this reduction in mind, these numbers are still haunting. But they’re also just numbers. We wanted to breathe some life into them and figure out what long shadows these deaths will cast.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o1s7CG">
To do that, we reached out to the families of three people who died of Covid-19 to learn what their loved ones were planning for the rest of their lives. We heard stories of celebrations and singing, of long-awaited reconciliations and nightly dinners, of people who lived and had so much more living left to do.
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="3EiaI5"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TRSmS6">
<strong>Hector Cantu, 50</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fG4S4i">
<strong>San Diego, Texas</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WiyutZ">
When Michelle Reneé Cantu thinks of her father, Hector, she is reminded of music: vibrant mariachi tunes, hit songs from the ’80s, and the sound of the trumpet, his favorite instrument. Hector, 50, died of Covid-19 complications in January. He had spent more than two decades teaching music to high schoolers in Premont, Texas, before moving to San Diego, Texas, where he worked for six years as assistant band director and head mariachi director. Just last year, the mariachi group he led won the state contest.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UDBdzz">
The loss of Hector has devastated the communities he was so involved in; he was the first teacher from the San Diego Independent School District to die of Covid-19. Former and current students, parents, and colleagues expressed their condolences across social media.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/a9I37KNcCBvWsdAmmPnyHfupjmA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22375221/hector_card_2.jpg"/>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Vz1eRE">
For Michelle, who is 28, Hector was “everything [she] had,” and his untimely loss left a gaping hole in her family’s future. Hector married her stepmom, Melissa, whom he met while teaching in Premont, just last March, after spending 24 years as a single parent. Melissa was the love of Hector’s life, Michelle said, and the pair wasn’t able to go to Colorado for their honeymoon, since stay-at-home orders were implemented a week after their wedding. “Our family had a lot of travel goals we missed out on because of the pandemic,” Michelle said. “We didn’t get together as much, and we kept just saying and thinking, ‘When all this ends.’ And it ended up with my dad being taken away from us.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wetPud">
Hector raised Michelle and her younger brother, Jacob, as a single father. He encouraged them to play various musical instruments. As the siblings matured into adulthood, so did their relationship with Hector — but the fun remained. “I miss going out and cruising with him, and listening to all types of music, from ’80s tunes to bachata,” Michelle said. “At home, we loved watching movies, or sometimes we played Name That Tune, where we put on different songs and guess the title. If we didn’t get it, we’d have to take a drink.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fue3rq">
The Cantus were big on celebrating holidays, and Hector was always eager to bring the family together, whether for Halloween or Christmas. This past Christmas Eve, which was his last, Hector had the idea to host a pajama party at his mother’s house. “He was always living his best life,” Michelle said. That’s what makes the sudden loss so hard. Hector’s enthusiasm was so infectious and his love so consistent that it’s difficult for Michelle to imagine a world without it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ooSrcB">
“After my dad passed, people would tell me and my brother, ‘He was so proud of you. He loved you,’” she said. “But I always knew that. He told us, and he always believed in us.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Szns56">
There is a sense of comfort, though, that Hector achieved some of his biggest milestones in the months before the pandemic: leading the mariachi group to the state competition and marrying his true love. Yet there are countless small moments that Michelle finds herself missing: The post-football game Bud Lights, when Hector would talk about the marching band’s performance. The family dinners and drinks over hearty home-cooked food. The jokes and the stories he would tell. “He had so much more love to give,” she said. “It feels wrong that he isn’t a text or a phone call away anymore.”
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="lU2DWs"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pMhoSV">
<strong>Carola Montero, 46</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T6LgTG">
<strong>Milwaukie, Oregon </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="04we9B">
Grocery shopping used to be a weekly errand Catalina Castillo enjoyed with her mother, Carola Montero. But since Carola, 46, died of Covid-19 complications in December, Catalina, the second-eldest sibling, has taken on the shopping duties alone for her family of five. The 21-year-old sometimes aimlessly circles her car around the supermarket parking lot, reminiscing about her mother. “I was extremely close with my mom,” she said. “I would take her grocery shopping and to doctor’s appointments. She was my mom first, but also my best friend.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ul03EI">
Throughout Catalina’s and her siblings’ childhoods, Carola had been there every step of the way: as a chaperone on field trips, a front-row audience member at concerts and graduations, and a trusted confidante. Carola, an immigrant from Chile, had spent more than two decades as a full-time mother and homemaker before returning to the workforce in February 2020, when the Castillos needed additional income to pay their bills. At the time, Catalina and her older sister, Constanza, 23, were still in college and couldn’t work.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CEP8l5UqVzFxZ0C81BvkiZ1J7CY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22375079/carola_family_card.jpg"/>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TH4a2z">
Carola sought out a job at Providence Portland Medical Center in Oregon and worked in the environmental services department as a housekeeper and cleaner. She was saving up to get her youngest son, Mathias, a computer for middle school, Catalina said, and extra funds for family vacations. “My mom had always wanted to go to amusement parks like Universal Studios, since she never got the chance when she was younger,” she added. “She also wanted to go back to Chile to see her cousins and uncles, then to San Francisco and other major cities, but we had to put those ideas on pause until the pandemic cooled down.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vmWjQY">
The entire family, with the exception of Constanza, contracted the coronavirus in late November, and everyone recovered, except for Carola. It was a life-altering blow at the end of a traumatic year; their kitchen had caught fire the month before, and the family was temporarily residing in a nearby rental home.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Yep34N">
Carola’s death still feels like a fresh wound for the Castillos. She was the glue that held the family together. One of the most painful realizations for Catalina is that her mother would no longer be around to experience the “common life things” with her and her siblings, as they enter young adulthood. She always cooked the Thanksgiving turkey, and knew how to appease her children’s picky appetites. She calmed them of their anxieties, and loved to go hiking and plan movie nights so the family could bond. “She was the reason we did a Christmas photo or any family photos,” Catalina said. “She also loved Detroit Lake in Oregon, where we go for our annual family trip.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ez5dOv">
Catalina’s siblings and her father are seeking therapy to help them process the loss of Carola. That doesn’t make living through it any easier though; she was such a constant presence in each of their lives.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ps7SVt">
“I always thought she would be at my wedding or by my side in the operating room when I’m in labor,” Catalina said. “We all relied on her to be there, and we all feel like a part of us is missing.”
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="rPlMJi"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZOocgH">
<strong>Epati Ala’ilima, 62</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fr6esA">
<strong>Duarte, California</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="24O9pK">
Manumalo Ala’ilima, or Malo, remembers their eldest brother, Epati Ala’ilima, as a protector. As the youngest of seven siblings, Malo naturally saw Epati as their role model in adolescence: He was a Marine, a gifted musician, and a martial artist. Malo, 47, said their roles as the youngest and eldest siblings “defined where everybody’s position was in [the] family.” After Epati, 62, died of Covid-19 complications in July, they felt like they lost “the other bookend.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HIUuYF">
Epati had retired in Southern California a few years earlier, and hunkered down with his wife, Sheila, and teenage daughters Jaylen and Kianna when the pandemic hit. He was the only one going out to get groceries and essentials for the family, since his wife and daughters were immunocompromised. “He was very devoted to them,” said Epati “Junior” Ala’ilima, 36, the oldest of Epati’s six children. “They really took every precaution and measure, so it was a big surprise to us that he got Covid.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_1_DFTCITZu-TgX6cBCiJ1Ru6CA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22375227/popz_family_card.jpg"/>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VXm2yZ">
There is a lingering sense of incompleteness now that Epati has passed, Malo said: “I really felt like there were years that have been taken away from me, our family, his wife and children, prematurely.” Epati won’t get the chance to grow old with his grandchildren, and he had yet to see his youngest daughters go through the milestones of young adulthood, like dressing up for prom, receiving their diploma at high school graduation, and being sent off to college. There were so many moving parts in Epati’s life, even after he retired, that Covid-19 suddenly halted.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2jDNFs">
“We used to see each other, if not daily, at least once a week,” said Junior. “In our culture, you know, Samoan people are very family- and community-oriented. All of those things had to be altered with the pandemic. I rarely saw my dad face to face, and it was hard, knowing that’s how he spent the last year of his life.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sb8KR4">
The week of Epati’s funeral was the weekend Malo had originally planned to wed their fiancée in Portland, Oregon, where they lived. Epati was one of the first people who preemptively booked a trip to Oregon to celebrate with Malo. “He was so excited to visit us, and it was beautiful to hear that from my eldest brother,” Malo recalled. “His excitement to my joy means a lot. He is a reborn Christian and has dedicated his life to the Christian God. Yet he was so excited for me. I remember a long time ago sharing that I was queer, and he really took the time to understand and figure out what made me happy.”
</p>
<p class="c-end-para" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LE2nO9">
Junior believes that, if not for Covid, his father would’ve gotten more involved in the church ministry. Church became a big part of Epati’s life after his retirement, and Junior said his father felt like he had a calling to serve others. That’s why he always felt like the family’s protector, as Malo described. “He was a loving and caring father,” Junior said. “It’s unfortunate that he won’t be present at these family reunions we’d planned for after the pandemic. He was patient and kind, and we miss him so much.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uPc8Q6">
<em>Brian Resnick is a science reporter at Vox, covering social and behavioral sciences, space, medicine, the environment, and anything that makes you think, “Whoa, that’s cool.” Before Vox, he was a staff correspondent at National Journal, where he wrote two magazine cover stories and reported on breaking news and politics.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P8zmr7">
<em>Terry Nguyen is a reporter for The Goods by Vox. She broadly covers consumer and internet trends, and technology that influences people’s online lives and behaviors.</em>
</p></li>
<li><strong>The best case against withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NDevUA68DflphDvnvJ9KUvFt9RA=/416x0:3700x2463/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68980271/993821688.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A US Army soldier at a checkpoint in the eastern Afghanistan province of Nangarhar on July 8, 2018. | Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
President Biden must decide by May 1 if the US will stay in or leave Afghanistan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="im4G2w">
<em>This is a two-part series examining the arguments for and against withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan by May. Read the case for the withdrawal </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/e/22091641"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IklpbY">
President Joe Biden has a big, looming decision to make by May 1: whether or not to withdraw all 2,500 US troops from Afghanistan and end America’s 20-year war in the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NUrVeC">
Biden very broadly has two paths to choose from. He can abide by former <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/21/21147020/us-afghanistan-taliban-peace-deal-pompeo">President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban</a>, which would require all American service members to leave Afghanistan by that deadline. Or Biden can extend the US military mission, either unilaterally or by negotiating an extension with the Taliban, as a way to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/8/22319420/afghanistan-blinken-letter-leak-peace-plan">pressure the Taliban to strike a peace deal with the Afghan government</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xkQd6C">
Both options are fraught with risk. Experts warn that ending America’s presence will almost certainly lead the Taliban to take over the country, including the capital city of Kabul. Staying, though, will invite the insurgent group to restart killing American personnel in the country, adding to the over <a href="https://www.defense.gov/casualty.pdf">2,300</a> US personnel who have already been killed since the war began in 2001.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NsIZoB">
There’s simply no overarching consensus on which is the best course of action, underscoring just how difficult Biden’s decision — expected in a few weeks — will be.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2SdtgO">
But <a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/lisa-curtis">Lisa Curtis</a>, a senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, DC, is firmly on the side of continuing America’s military footing in Afghanistan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="THnBat">
“There are some costs associated with keeping US troops, but the risks of going completely to zero far outweigh the costs of keeping a small number of troops in,” Curtis, who also served as the top Afghanistan official on former President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, told me.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ihE0EB">
Not only will keeping troops in Afghanistan help defeat terrorists operating there, she said, it also will enable Washington to use “leverage with the Taliban to greater effect to get a real, genuine peace process in place.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P0w8q6">
I called Curtis and asked her to lay out the best case for why Biden should keep US troops in Afghanistan past the May 1 deadline. A transcript of our conversation, edited for length and clarity, follows.
</p>
<h4 id="sLK4tL">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e4s3pm">
What’s your main case for wanting US troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline?
</p>
<h4 id="l6kIwu">
Lisa Curtis
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pNSh1y">
There are three options for a way forward.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GHABtE">
The first option would be what you presented as pulling out all US troops. That would risk a civil war, the reemergence of a terrorist safe haven, and a tremendous loss of US credibility built with our allies. It would also empower a generation of extremists. And frankly, we may have to send troops back in: Look what happened in Iraq after US troops withdrew and ISIS took over. We sent forces back in.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gJ17Zm">
One other option would be to completely drop the peace process and just keep a minimal number of troops in the country. We could provide financial assistance, air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities for the Afghan forces.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xJPCZ4">
This would risk that the Taliban would resume attacks against US forces, which might be an unacceptable risk for many. But it would provide the Afghan government a fighting chance and mean that the US is not completely abandoning our partners of the last 20 years. Of course, it would also mean continued cost to the US taxpayer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WJYX6y">
The last option — and this is the option that I would support — would be using US leverage with the Taliban to greater effect to get a real, genuine peace process in place, which would mean keeping US forces in the country until that peace process is further along and shows more signs of progress.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lgCAVl">
This would mean more costs and resources for something that admittedly may not work, but it would allow the peace process to continue, preserve US credibility, and reduce risks to Americans from terrorism.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Okzsj8">
I think that the question really is this: Is the US willing to spend $5 billion annually, which means a small US force presence of about 2,500? Is that worth it, as an insurance policy to prevent another 9/11-style attack? I think if you ask most Americans, they would agree that that is worth it.
</p>
<h4 id="ebwb5B">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aQBFuE">
You say that withdrawing US troops will lead to civil war in Afghanistan, but one already exists, and there will be one regardless of how many Americans fight in Afghanistan. There’s no question it will get worse without US forces in the country, but there’s little America can do now with 2,500 troops there anyway. Simply put, we can’t stave off a broader civil war forever.
</p>
<h4 id="V0wqJ0">
Lisa Curtis
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lOssOG">
But if the US left, that war would be much worse, and you’d probably see the Afghan government collapse pretty quickly. Even though we do have war now, it’s not an all-out civil war with no state: We have a state, we have an Afghan security force.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="08lcLG">
This is important: Afghanistan’s forces, which are backed by an Afghan state, continue to help us in fighting terrorism. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/key-al-qaeda-leader-killed-in-afghanistan-11603626009">Senior al-Qaeda leaders were taken off the battlefield in the last 18 months</a> with the help of Afghan security forces. By contrast, we’re never going to be able to rely on the Taliban to protect our counterterrorism interests.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4f1kzi">
There may never be a full solution to the fighting in Afghanistan, but we have to remember we’re still protecting ourselves against terrorist threats.
</p>
<h4 id="q0GvKI">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OwFFkC">
Why doesn’t the US completely remove itself from the civil war then — tell Kabul and the Taliban to duke it out — and then just lead a counterterrorism operation? President Biden suggested such a plan during the campaign.
</p>
<h4 id="ilEZ1G">
Lisa Curtis
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5QH0vt">
That’s pretty much what we have now. Most American forces remaining there are involved in a <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2019/Aug/12/2002170083/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2019-110.PDF">train, advise, and assist mission</a>. We also provide air support, but we’re not out there fighting on the ground with the Afghan forces.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z4jSNw">
There’s a misunderstanding of our role: Our <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-war/u-s-led-mission-in-afghanistan-ends-combat-role-thousands-of-foreign-troops-remain-idUSKBN0K60FB20141228">combat role ended back in 2014</a>. Since then we’ve really been focusing on the counterterrorism mission, which does involve backstopping the Afghans by assisting and advising. But it’s not as if we’re going at it hand in hand with the Taliban.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qXmP4O">
But remember also that if the Taliban came back to power, you’ll see terrorists from all over the world — not just al Qaeda — you’ll see a convergence of extremists and terrorists back in Afghanistan. It’s likely to be a worse terrorist safe haven than it was before 9/11.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rX8PH98_aSEZ8KD_xsUNjGEiv8Q=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22372661/1231622825.jpg"/> <cite>Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
A policeman patrols the site of the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, on March 3, 2021.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h4 id="gLap83">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t5Octh">
Isn’t the Taliban going to take over anyway, even if we kept 2,500 troops in the country? Why put their lives at risk? Surely there are other ways for the US to keep tabs on terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
</p>
<h4 id="tqmePT">
Lisa Curtis
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nLKDGX">
The troops that we have there now are partnering with the Afghans, but also are enabling 8,500 or so NATO troops. If we left, the NATO troops would likely follow. What we’re doing is we’re an enabling force for other countries to also be there to ensure that the Afghan state remains intact and the Afghan forces can continue to fight. That is a good reason to keep a small number of troops in the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yzHyPu">
Let’s not forget that the US provides moral support, too. Having the US there is a source of reassurance for the Afghans. The minute the US says “we’re going to zero troops,” you’re going to see a lot of Afghans flee the country, you’re probably going to see a refugee crisis, which the Europeans are really worried about. There are a lot of impacts that happen when the US takes that ultimate step of going to zero.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rJ3O77">
That’s why I come back to this: There are some costs associated with keeping US troops in the country, but the risks of going completely to zero far outweigh the costs of keeping a small number of troops in.
</p>
<h4 id="esZLm5">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VLdzse">
One of those costs, as you’ve mentioned, is the possibility of another 9/11-style attack. But it’s 2021, not 2001, and the US and its partners have far more robust ways to stop that attack. We’ve made terrorism a larger intelligence priority than in the past, for example. Isn’t the risk of such a catastrophe exceedingly small, even if the US fully withdrew from Afghanistan?
</p>
<h4 id="9nqVME">
Lisa Curtis
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="41GsLx">
You make a very good point. We are obviously much more equipped to prevent that 9/11-style attack from happening on US soil, no doubt. The argument that I’m making is that if we withdraw to zero, the Taliban comes back, and terrorist groups and extremists pour back into Afghanistan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xl2ZD9">
That gives the Taliban a dangerous narrative to propagate, which is they were able to kick out the US and its NATO partners. “We succeeded,” they could say. That is the real danger, that we lose to terrorists and extremists and we provide an opportunity for them to regather strength.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dkW9qP">
And yes, you’re right, we do have the ability to stop terrorism much more than we did 20 years ago at our border. But it’s still a high cost for us to pay when we could continue to support partners that we’ve been supporting for 20 years. There’s no indication the Taliban feels pressure to break with al-Qaeda. Even the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54711452">UN has said the Taliban has not changed its relationship with al-Qaeda</a>.
</p>
<h4 id="u8Jouo">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UzP6Eb">
I get that giving the Taliban the ability to say “America lost” stings and is unpalatable. But <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-why-we-lost-a-generals-account-of-two-wars-by-daniel-bolger/2015/01/02/0d8675d2-8081-11e4-81fd-8c4814dfa9d7_story.html">haven’t we already lost</a>? Is spending billions to somewhat deny the Taliban that narrative a wise investment?
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="jvEkso">
<q>If the US left, that war would be much worse and you’d probably see the Afghan government collapse pretty quickly</q>
</aside>
</div>
<h4 id="Quh2Jy">
Lisa Curtis
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C0zSvA">
Let’s look at Iraq. When the US withdrew troops, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27778112">ISIS rose and took over Mosul in 2014</a>. We had to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/world/obama-will-send-forces-to-syria-to-help-fight-the-islamic-state.html">put troops back into Iraq and in even greater numbers</a>, and we had to redouble our efforts to stem the rise of ISIS.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YVhx5J">
We should learn from past mistakes that it’s not always a win-lose situation. We’re trying to manage threats, and we can manage the threat from Afghanistan by empowering and working with our Afghan partners who also don’t want the Taliban to take over their country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UrSpzD">
We’ve been there a long time, but at the same time, we have built up Afghan forces and Afghans have seen real improvements in their lives. It’s not as if there was nothing gained — there have been tremendous gains in Afghanistan. That just means that we may not be able to withdraw troops as soon as we’d like.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b28ypS">
And let’s face it, we’re down to 2,500 troops. We had <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2016/07/06/a-timeline-of-u-s-troop-levels-in-afghanistan-since-2001/">100,000 troops in Afghanistan</a> at one point. We really have right-sized our engagement there. We’re not looking for quick, easy solutions. We’re trying to manage threats and being able to manage the threat at roughly $5 billion a year, that seems like a good investment from a national security perspective.
</p>
<h4 id="mEXoVX">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RQOJLT">
Perhaps the fundamental question here is why should the US care so much about Afghanistan anyway? We have bigger issues to worry about, like China and Russia and climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8zCcVn">
I feel for the people of Afghanistan whose lives will get worse if the US withdraws by May 1, but America also has limited resources and limited power. We can’t do everything and be everything for everyone.
</p>
<h4 id="eqwE0h">
Lisa Curtis
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PXuNdc">
You’re right, we have many threats that we’re facing across the world. Strategic competition with China is where we should be putting the majority of our military and financial resources right now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jQVAGQ">
But we also have thousands of troops fighting off terrorists around the world. Is terrorism the number one threat? Maybe not. Does it deserve some of our resources and attention? I think it does. We’re a global power. We’re going to have our resources, our troops, in different parts of the world at any given time. We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EXtaFq">
Maybe it’s time to draw down the resources that we’re investing in Afghanistan, but let’s right-size it, let’s not throw out the whole objective that we went there for in the first place. Let’s draw down responsibly, and let’s give the peace process time.
</p></li>
<li><strong>The best case for withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Z_TXXRP2jQktga-vevSXUFr3FMI=/87x0:2059x1479/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68980258/1290580113.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A US Army soldier holds his 1-year-old son after returning from a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan on December 10, 2020. | John Moore/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
President Biden must decide by May 1 if the US will stay in or leave Afghanistan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="im4G2w">
<em>This is a two-part series examining the arguments for and against withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan by May. Read the case for staying in Afghanistan </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/e/22091165"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IklpbY">
President Joe Biden has a big, looming decision to make by May 1: Whether or not to withdraw all 2,500 US troops from Afghanistan and end America’s 20-year war in the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NUrVeC">
Biden, very broadly, has two paths to choose from. He can abide by former <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/21/21147020/us-afghanistan-taliban-peace-deal-pompeo">President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban</a>, which would require all American service members to leave Afghanistan by that deadline. Or Biden can extend the US military mission, either unilaterally or by negotiating an extension with the Taliban, as a way to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/8/22319420/afghanistan-blinken-letter-leak-peace-plan">pressure the Taliban to strike a peace deal with the Afghan government</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xkQd6C">
Both options are fraught with risk. Experts warn that ending America’s presence will almost certainly lead the Taliban to take over the country, including the capital city of Kabul. Staying, though, will invite the insurgent group to restart killing American personnel in the country, adding to the over <a href="https://www.defense.gov/casualty.pdf">2,300</a> US personnel who have already been killed in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OTGENv">
There’s simply no overarching consensus on which is the best course of action, underscoring just how difficult Biden’s decision — expected in a few weeks — will be.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2SdtgO">
But retired US Army Col. <a href="https://strategicleadersacademy.com/our-team/chris-kolenda/">Chris Kolenda</a>, who commanded troops in Afghanistan and also served as a senior adviser on the country to top US civilian defense officials and four-star generals, believes that, absent a short, six-month negotiated extension agreed upon by both the US and the Taliban, it’s time to bring the troops home.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hhk9C7">
In 2018, Kolenda and US diplomat Robin Raphel also privately engaged in <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-secret-taliban-talks-to-end-americas-longest-war">secret talks with the Taliban</a> aimed at bringing the war to an end. Those talks helped pave the way for the agreement the Trump administration later signed with the Taliban.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JWvEZA">
Should the US overstay its welcome, said Kolenda, now the founder of Strategic Leaders Academy, “The Biden administration will own the consequences of what looks to be an increasing calamity in Afghanistan.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kIusaU">
I called Kolenda and asked him to lay out the best case for why Biden should withdraw all remaining US troops from Afghanistan. A transcript of our conversation, edited for length and clarity, follows.
</p>
<h4 id="ndaVSW">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hQ9Yz1">
Why should the Biden administration lean more toward leaving Afghanistan than staying?
</p>
<h4 id="dsYmCh">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BNGaTn">
The administration should aim for a six-month extension to see if we can get the stalled peace process back on track. If we don’t get that extension, and getting one will require a heavy lift, then we should pull out the remaining 2,500 troops and apply penalties to whichever side breaks the peace process.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5RJvT6">
The US is in a reverse-Goldilocks position: 2,500 troops is too little to really do any good with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/world/asia/taliban-afghanistan.html">what’s coming from the Taliban</a>, and too big to get away quickly. We’re entertaining a lot of risk if we simply abrogate the agreement [signed between the Trump administration and the Taliban]. The United States will blame the Taliban for not meeting their end of the bargain, but at the end of the day, it’ll be the United States making the decision to tear up the agreement.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EdoTeA">
What happens then? From the Taliban’s point of view, the West can’t be trusted, and they’ll decide to go on an all-out offensive. The Taliban right now are surrounding eight to 10 provincial capitals. With 2,500 troops and the limited airpower that we have in Afghanistan, the math just simply doesn’t work that [we would be able to] sort all of that out. The Taliban is likely to gain some serious momentum.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ijvYhU">
For the Taliban to thrive, they’re going to need support from the West. But if the West proved itself untrustworthy by breaking the deal, then they will look to Russia and China, even knowing any aid will come with huge strings attached.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="BDAvY0">
<q>It breaks my heart to see the suffering of Afghans, and it breaks my heart to see continued policy- and strategy-making in the United States that is leading us to worse outcomes at huge costs in blood, treasure, and time.</q>
</aside>
</div>
<h4 id="7vEIlR">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y4i7rr">
Why seek an extension agreement at all? Why not just continue the status quo military mission as a way to keep the pressure on the Taliban? That would provide the US leverage in any peace-deal talks, wouldn’t it?
</p>
<h4 id="eF00hf">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qbgcw9">
Staying beyond May 1 without any extension agreement encourages the worst behaviors on the part of all of the actors.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="glQZwp">
The Afghan government is slow-rolling talks in hopes that we will stay. The Taliban is slow-rolling talks to see if we’re going to leave. And the regional actors are transferring security onto our shoulders while they stir up their proxies within Afghanistan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z92NzJ">
And what are the advantages of the status quo? The status quo locks in misery that the 38 million or so Afghans are living in. The only ones who are outside of that misery seem to be the elite bubble within Kabul. Afghanistan has among the most perennially <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020/index/nzl">corrupt governments</a> in the world; it’s the <a href="https://giwps.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WPS-Index-2019-20-Report.pdf">second-worst place in the world to be a woman</a> right next to Yemen.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UPBSBR">
That status quo is just not sustainable.
</p>
<h4 id="qTK5ns">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QcAd33">
The status quo is terrible, sure, but withdrawing all US troops condemns Afghanistan to an even worse fate. If the US leaves, so will other NATO countries, which will invite a free-for-all for terrorists and extremists to settle in. Won’t that imperil the lives of Afghans further and spark another refugee crisis Europe desperately wants to avoid?
</p>
<h4 id="TRDegr">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7eIMcd">
I’m just not convinced that 2,500 troops is going to stop all that from happening.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fTzrje">
The Taliban have already prepared militarily for this scenario. We’ve had a false sense of confidence over the past 14 months in which the Taliban have not attacked any US bases or facilities. If we tear up the agreement, we can look forward to a Vietnam-style, <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/tet">Tet-like offensive</a> by the Taliban in the summer of 2021. Some of those major attacks are going to be much more successful than the Tet Offensive was.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TaUfzE">
The Biden administration will own the consequences of what looks to be an increasing calamity in Afghanistan. One of the biggest risks for the United States is the specter of a <a href="https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/1529726/c-17-globemaster-iii/">C-17</a> [plane] screaming out of <a href="https://militarybases.com/overseas/afghanistan/bagram/">Bagram</a> [Air Base] on the heels of a Taliban offensive army.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4jA04d">
The risk is, it replaces the <a href="https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/april-30-1975-saigon-falls/">fall of Saigon in 1975</a> as a black eye for America. The alternative is that you leave in the manner in which it was agreed, while putting the peace process on a more stable platform.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/S6blj1pwiLaHLoLUmqTp5cWaOdU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22365982/515293252.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
The evacuation of Saigon in 1975.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wn8piC">
If fighting resumes, and it’s likely to resume, the Afghan government is going to be forced to get its act together and stand up and fight the Taliban to a new stalemate, which is what I personally think is likely to happen. Or they’re just going to collapse. And after 20 years of international investment, the Afghan government needs to earn the public support.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DkWxuv">
To the fears about a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/06/afghanistan-refugees-forty-years/">refugee crisis out of Afghanistan, it’s already happened</a>, for the most part, and most of the refugees in Afghanistan are internally displaced people in a very, very bad state of affairs. Again, the longer the status quo remains, the more we lock in the misery already felt by millions in that country.
</p>
<h4 id="HOHkiW">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vdXbEF">
Well, let’s even put the civil war aside. What about the terrorism problem? If the US leaves, and NATO follows, won’t it be harder to keep tabs on al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other groups operating throughout Afghanistan? Won’t they have an easier time planning a 9/11-style attack if they want to?
</p>
<h4 id="FLrNzz">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OUPgt0">
I’m not convinced the evidence for those assertions exist. There’s no evidence that 2,500 troops is a difference-maker in maintaining stability in Afghanistan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gqqxb1">
And al-Qaeda is a shadow of its former self in Afghanistan. There are a lot of groups, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/10/22/taliban-isis-drones-afghanistan/">Taliban included, that are interested in fighting ISIS</a>. You also get all sorts of <a href="https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/20-terrorist-groups-fighting-against-afghan-government">reports coming out of the Afghan government</a> about 20 or 25 terrorist groups in Afghanistan. Well, maybe they exist, and maybe they’re about three or four people sitting in a cave.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G7TOAO">
Again, I’m just not convinced that a withdrawal is just a prelude to another 9/11. The evidence for that is almost nonexistent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jrOMyT">
Plus, our capabilities 20 years after 9/11 — to detect and to strike any sort of emerging terrorist threat in a place like Afghanistan — are much, much higher. Our information networks in Afghanistan itself, as well as our detection and strike capabilities, really are the best insurance against a terrorist attack against the United States. It’s far better than keeping a small force presence in the country.
</p>
<h4 id="X54z0U">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aUktvO">
But if we leave, the Taliban will get to say it defeated <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2017/06/why-is-afghanistan-the-graveyard-of-empires/">another empire</a>. It can credibly claim it won against the US, and that might excite other groups to consider joining the Taliban or carry out their own extremist plans.
</p>
<h4 id="lYBrfk">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pt6BX3">
The Taliban are going to say what they want to say, and we can’t control that. But their narrative will be a lot more credible if they pull off a Tet Offensive of their own this summer and then the US flees in a panic.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tNGKnI">
We therefore might as well leave when we said we would, absent an extension agreement. Let the Taliban say what they want to say — who really cares? At the end of the day, if Afghanistan is at peace with itself and its neighbors, if Afghanistan is no longer an international terrorist threat and stays that way, and Afghanistan as a whole becomes a better place to live, then I’d say that the United States attained its interests in Afghanistan and the future of Afghanistan became much brighter.
</p>
<h4 id="45g3v8">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="01OeTj">
Let’s talk about the peace process for a moment. What gives you confidence the Taliban would agree to an extension? And even if they did, shouldn’t the US keep troops in Afghanistan beyond the agreement to ensure the insurgent group sticks to the deal?
</p>
<h4 id="iDmZPB">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UOJFy0">
Right, wrong, or indifferent, the US-Taliban agreement is fraught with problems. One of those major problems is that a sitting US government said all troops would leave by May 1. The Taliban’s side of those agreements are much less demonstrable. Outside of no attacks on the US or its allies, the other elements are much more difficult to prove or disprove.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VLSPan">
That gives the Taliban the ability to say, “We held our end of the bargain, please leave.” They can claim no attacks on the US or its allies coming from Afghanistan, that they’ve told foreign fighters they’re unwelcome, that they’ve relieved commanders who have had foreign fighters in their ranks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mqWISV">
If the US proves itself untrustworthy by abrogating the deal, though, then it’s no-holds-barred. It’s back to the war, and they’re in a much stronger position than they were 14 months ago to pull off a major offensive.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cSmOma">
So we need to put the peace process on a more stable footing. We should look at the peace process in terms of a three-circle Venn diagram. Those circles are an internal peace process, a regional peace process, and then international guarantees. They’ve all got overlap.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dVqJd1">
Until now we’ve been too focused on internal Afghan politics, and not focused enough on the regional relationships. Part of a reset in the peace process, then, is getting the regional and international components moving forward. The hope is an extension helps with all that.
</p>
<h4 id="lbIsI0">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gw7Ot3">
Say we get an extension, we try to do all that, and we fail. If the US leaves at that point, won’t that just be rewarding the Taliban’s bad behavior and unwillingness to deal?
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="kfXjTg">
<q>If we tear up the agreement, we can look forward to a Vietnam-style, Tet-like offensive by the Taliban in the summer of 2021.</q>
</aside>
</div>
<h4 id="nlhZJD">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8zsEHi">
It takes two to tango, and the Taliban has had their share of prevarication during this peace process. But the Afghan government has had more of the prevarication. Both parties are at fault here.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QRPskd">
The United States is going to find its diplomatic leverage with both parties and with the region increased when we no longer have to have 2,500 troops in the mix of this. The US is going to be able to apply much more diplomatic leverage to gain productive behaviors from the Afghan government, the Taliban, and regional actors, instead of encouraging their worst behaviors.
</p>
<h4 id="EWcQrG">
Alex Ward
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Dw57KC">
This war is personal for you. You’ve fought and killed in it, you’ve had friends die there, you still have friends living there. You also <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-secret-taliban-talks-to-end-americas-longest-war'">worked secretly to open the door to Taliban talks</a>. What are you personally feeling as the May 1 deadline approaches?
</p>
<h4 id="jzRzsy">
Chris Kolenda
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y2XpFI">
The US has a history of missed opportunities in Afghanistan, and we’re at risk of adding another one. In 2001, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-afghanistan-taliban-peace-deal-might-have-been-had-many-years-and-thousands-of-lives-ago">the Taliban in effect offered to surrender</a>. Then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai not only said “No,” but “Heck no,” in terms of accepting the Taliban’s offer to stop fighting and just live in peace.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kPlK08">
There were also other overtures, some <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2020-02-10/how-good-war-went-bad">written</a> <a href="https://kansaspress.ku.edu/978-0-7006-2407-2.html">about</a> and others I’ve personally heard about, and again the United States and the Afghan government said, “No, we don’t agree.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MSCDj8">
In the negotiations I was involved in as the secretary of defense’s representative from 2010 to 2012, the United States did not put the political capital behind the effort. Washington just simply couldn’t get its act together to move forward [in] a peace process. The result was the Taliban eventually got frustrated and left the talks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fm5Y14">
Each time we forfeited these opportunities — the last time, when there were 100,000-plus international soldiers on the ground — the Taliban’s only demands were to do a detainee exchange, <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2017/10/16/16482270/bowe-bergdahl-guilty-plea-desertion-serial">[Bowe] Bergdahl</a> for the <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/10/30/5-freed-from-gitmo-in-exchange-for-bergdahl-join-insurgents-in-qatar-taliban-says/">Gitmo Five</a>, open a political office in Doha, and lift sanctions on their version of diplomats.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mSA70m">
You fast-forward all these years later to what we’re left with — an agreement where we essentially traded no troops for no terrorism with the Taliban — and it’s the best we could’ve gotten at this point.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7VlKTX">
Are we ready to miss another opportunity? It breaks my heart to see the suffering of Afghans, and it breaks my heart to see continued policy- and strategy-making in the United States that is leading us to worse outcomes at huge costs in blood, treasure, and time.
</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>Bopanna-Qureshi pair loses first match after reunion</strong> - The ‘Indo-Pak pair’ of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam ul Haq Qureshi lost its first match after rejoining forces, bowing out of the ATP 500 event here on W</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>Ind vs Eng, 4th T20 | In must-win game, India aim to negate toss factor</strong> - In the two games they lost after batting first, India struggled in the powerplay.</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>Eoin Morgan is a pioneer in white ball cricket, says Jos Buttler</strong> - Morgan, who had ended his country’s 44-year wait for maiden ODI World Cup title in 2019, on Tuesday became the first England player and fourth overall to make 100 appearances in T20 cricket</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>Ind vs Eng, 3rd T20 | Wood had a huge impact: Buttler</strong> - While he might have walked away with the Man-of-the-Match award for his superb unbeaten 83, Jos Buttler credited England’s bowlers for an impressive p</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>Ind vs Eng, 3rd T20 | Rahul gets Rathour’s backing</strong> - India batting coach Vikram Rathour threw his weight behind a struggling K.L. Rahul, who has scored just one run in the three matches of the T20I serie</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>Tamil Nadu Assembly polls | MDMK promises 50% reservation for women in legislature</strong> - Party manifesto assures 30% State revenue for panchayats</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>Parliament proceedings | EC proposal to link electoral roll with the Aadhaar under consideration: Government in Lok Sabha</strong> - The aim is to curb the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person at different places</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>Antilia scare | Param Bir shifted; Nagrale will be new Mumbai police chief</strong> - Sachin Vaze is at the focus of a probe by the National Investigating Agency in a case related to the recovery of an SUV with explosives near Ambani’s house in Mumbai</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>Kerala Assembly elections | Breaking the glass ceiling in politics</strong> - Though women outnumber men in the Kerala’s electoral pool, no political front has ever pushed for a fairer representation of women within party structures</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>No proposal to appoint regulator for social media: Prasad</strong> - “The social media platforms are enjoined to develop a robust grievance redressal system.”</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>Russia’s Putin authorised pro-Trump ‘influence’ campaign, US intelligence says</strong> - A US intelligence report alleges Russia’s president approved efforts to influence the 2020 election.</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>French glue-trapping of birds not allowed, says EU court</strong> - The practice, condemned by conservationists, was suspended by the French government last year.</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>Iceland shaken by more than 50,000 earthquakes in three weeks</strong> - Geologist Helga Torfadottir takes a BBC team to an active volcano area.</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>Sabine Schmitz: Former racing driver and Top Gear presenter dies aged 51</strong> - Former racing driver and Top Gear presenter Sabine Schmitz has died from cancer aged 51.</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>Dutch head to polls as Covid crisis looms large</strong> - The election comes after a government crisis and during the country’s strictest lockdown to date.</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>I was a teenage Twitter hacker. Graham Ivan Clark gets 3-year sentence</strong> - Florida teen pleads guilty to attack that took over Twitter’s internal systems. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1750206">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Google’s new Nest display wants to watch you while you sleep</strong> - There’s no camera—sleep tracking happens via a Soli radar chip. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1750055">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Google undercuts Apple with new 15% revenue share for Play apps</strong> - Unlike Apple, cut applies to first $1 million regardless of total revenue. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1750015">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Another self-driving startup got gobbled up by incumbents</strong> - Voyage tested a retirement-community taxi service but never went driverless. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1750110">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Cricut backs off plan to add subscription fee to millions of devices [Updated]</strong> - Cricut’s not the first to pull this—and won’t be the last, unless regulators catch up. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1749942">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>I just farted on my wallet</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Now I have Gas Money!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
*Told to me by my 9 year old daughter, who thought it’s hilarious! (I agree lol)
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Rare_Reflection7241"> /u/Rare_Reflection7241 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6nta3/i_just_farted_on_my_wallet/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6nta3/i_just_farted_on_my_wallet/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>My wife of 61 years said let’s go upstairs and make love.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I told her “Choose one, I can’t do both.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Edit: Thank you for all the awards and other jokes! I learned a few new ones I hadn’t heard before.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Kraagenskul"> /u/Kraagenskul </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m67eqb/my_wife_of_61_years_said_lets_go_upstairs_and/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m67eqb/my_wife_of_61_years_said_lets_go_upstairs_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>What’s the Wi-Fi password?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Bartender: You need to buy a drink first.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
OK, I’ll have a Coke.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Bartender: Three dollars.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
There you go. So what’s the Wi‑Fi password?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Bartender: “You need to buy a drink first.” No spaces, all lowercase.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/4x4Xtrm"> /u/4x4Xtrm </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6op73/whats_the_wifi_password/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6op73/whats_the_wifi_password/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A priest, a monk, and a rabbit walk in a bar. As they approach the bar, they see a blood donation booth. The rabbit hops to the nurse to be the first to donate. The nurse looks at him and ask: “What’s your blood group?”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The rabbit says: “I dunno, I think I might be a Type-O.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Antish12"> /u/Antish12 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6ujuf/a_priest_a_monk_and_a_rabbit_walk_in_a_bar_as/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6ujuf/a_priest_a_monk_and_a_rabbit_walk_in_a_bar_as/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>If I end up on life support, unplug me.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Then plug me back in. See if that works.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/oproot"> /u/oproot </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6l9t8/if_i_end_up_on_life_support_unplug_me/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/m6l9t8/if_i_end_up_on_life_support_unplug_me/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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