Skip to main content

Will the Next Pandemic Start With Chickens?

Boyce Upholt The New Republic
This spring, a virulent strain of bird flu ripped through U.S. farms. The public hardly noticed. That we could ignore the disease shows just how little we’ve learned about the origin of new viruses.

Friday Nite Videos | December 17, 2021

Portside
Sen. Raphael Warnock: Bipartisanship at Whose Expense? The Children Will Rise Up! | Nandi & Roman, With Tom Morello. A Universal Flu Vaccine Is Closer Than You Think. Red Rocket | Movie. Fighting Algorithmic Bias | Joy Buolamwini.

A Dose of Optimism, as the Pandemic Rages On

Donald G. McNeil Jr. New York Times
The months ahead will be difficult. But the medical cavalry is coming, and the rest of us know what we need to do. The final death toll from Covid-19 will depend both on how we behave going forward and how quickly innovations arrive.

Flu Shots: Facts & Fallacies

Harriet Hall, M.D. The Skeptic
Influenza kills around 36,000 people annually in the U.S. but they are the least effective of all our vaccines. The influenza virus is constantly changing, and there is a lot of guesswork involved in choosing which strains to use in each year’s vaccine.The benefit to the population depends on individuals getting the vaccine. They may not benefit personally, but they indirectly benefit others by reducing transmission rates in the community and increasing herd immunity.
Subscribe to influenza