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| I find myself fantasizing about a Covid-19 vaccine that will get us back to living our lives. About a triumphant announcement that the trial was a resounding success, and science has won, that there is a safe effective vaccine in production, and that we should all line up to get our shots — a vaccine that will give us back freedom of association, freedom of travel, freedom from the various kinds of worry, anxiety and fear that are filling our news cycles and our minds. It’s a comforting fantasy, but for now it’s just a fantasy. | I find myself fantasizing about a Covid-19 vaccine that will get us back to living our lives. About a triumphant announcement that the trial was a resounding success, and science has won, that there is a safe effective vaccine in production, and that we should all line up to get our shots — a vaccine that will give us back freedom of association, freedom of travel, freedom from the various kinds of worry, anxiety and fear that are filling our news cycles and our minds. It’s a comforting fantasy, but for now it’s just a fantasy. |
| Caught in this endless nonstop news swirl, many people — parents and others — can probably understand what it’s like to be hoping — and waiting — and maybe even praying — for a vaccine. It’s a moment that should connect us with our not-too-distant history, and maybe make us wonder whether we’ve lost some valuable perspective. | Caught in this endless nonstop news swirl, many people — parents and others — can probably understand what it’s like to be hoping — and waiting — and maybe even praying — for a vaccine. It’s a moment that should connect us with our not-too-distant history, and maybe make us wonder whether we’ve lost some valuable perspective. |
| In 1955, when the first clinical trials showed that Jonas Salk’s new polio vaccine was “safe, effective and potent,” it was front-page headline, above-the-fold news. The New York Times offered this: SALK POLIO VACCINE PROVES SUCCESS; MILLIONS WILL BE IMMUNIZED SOON; CITY SCHOOLS BEGIN SHOTS APRIL 25. | In 1955, when the first clinical trials showed that Jonas Salk’s new polio vaccine was “safe, effective and potent,” it was front-page headline, above-the-fold news. The New York Times offered this: SALK POLIO VACCINE PROVES SUCCESS; MILLIONS WILL BE IMMUNIZED SOON; CITY SCHOOLS BEGIN SHOTS APRIL 25. |
| “It was a remarkable moment when an entire nation breathed a sigh of relief that this hideous childhood disease could be prevented,” said David Oshinsky, a professor of medicine at N.Y.U. Langone Health, and the author of “Polio: An American Story.” “When that announcement was made, church bells chimed, factory whistles went off, adults ran into the street and began hugging each other.” | “It was a remarkable moment when an entire nation breathed a sigh of relief that this hideous childhood disease could be prevented,” said David Oshinsky, a professor of medicine at N.Y.U. Langone Health, and the author of “Polio: An American Story.” “When that announcement was made, church bells chimed, factory whistles went off, adults ran into the street and began hugging each other.” |
| Can you imagine the sigh of relief when there’s an effective coronavirus vaccine? Given the intensity of the news cycle right now, it’s not actually so hard to imagine we might have an international moment like the one that came when the Salk trial results were announced: banner headlines, church bells ringing. A medical V-Day, where V meant both vaccine and victory, over a feared and previously deadly enemy. | Can you imagine the sigh of relief when there’s an effective coronavirus vaccine? Given the intensity of the news cycle right now, it’s not actually so hard to imagine we might have an international moment like the one that came when the Salk trial results were announced: banner headlines, church bells ringing. A medical V-Day, where V meant both vaccine and victory, over a feared and previously deadly enemy. |
| For most of us alive now, it’s a new experience to be longing for a vaccine. The success of the Ebola vaccine (approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2019) was a great and speedy achievement, but I’m not sure that the general public in the United States was profoundly aware of it, or profoundly relieved. And the vaccines that have been added into the schedule in recent years work wonderfully, but it’s not clear that people were living in fear, waiting and hoping for an HPV vaccine, or even a meningitis vaccine. One vaccine that many people wished for urgently — but that never arrived — was an H.I.V. vaccine, which is still not close. | For most of us alive now, it’s a new experience to be longing for a vaccine. The success of the Ebola vaccine (approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2019) was a great and speedy achievement, but I’m not sure that the general public in the United States was profoundly aware of it, or profoundly relieved. And the vaccines that have been added into the schedule in recent years work wonderfully, but it’s not clear that people were living in fear, waiting and hoping for an HPV vaccine, or even a meningitis vaccine. One vaccine that many people wished for urgently — but that never arrived — was an H.I.V. vaccine, which is still not close. |
| Yes, there was powerful advocacy by people whose children’s lives had been destroyed by meningitis (the so-called meningitis vaccine actually specifically works against one very particular bacteria, Neisseria meningitidis, so named for its propensity to cause meningitis). But it wasn’t something that had the general public terrorized, as polio terrorized parents in the 1930s and 1940s and 1950s. | Yes, there was powerful advocacy by people whose children’s lives had been destroyed by meningitis (the so-called meningitis vaccine actually specifically works against one very particular bacteria, Neisseria meningitidis, so named for its propensity to cause meningitis). But it wasn’t something that had the general public terrorized, as polio terrorized parents in the 1930s and 1940s and 1950s. |
| “Right after the vaccine was described as safe, potent and effective, Jonas Salk was invited to the White House,” to meet President Eisenhower, Dr. Oshinsky said. “And for the first time in anyone’s memory, Ike really choked up, thanked him for saving the children of the world, and that really is just a high moment in science, it’s hard to imagine the gratitude people felt.” | “Right after the vaccine was described as safe, potent and effective, Jonas Salk was invited to the White House,” to meet President Eisenhower, Dr. Oshinsky said. “And for the first time in anyone’s memory, Ike really choked up, thanked him for saving the children of the world, and that really is just a high moment in science, it’s hard to imagine the gratitude people felt.” |
| If we get a vaccine for the coronavirus, it will immediately make our world a safer, easier, more reassuring place once again. Science will have solved a problem, so that we can once more walk (and fly and sail) more comfortably through the world — at least until the next problem comes along. | If we get a vaccine for the coronavirus, it will immediately make our world a safer, easier, more reassuring place once again. Science will have solved a problem, so that we can once more walk (and fly and sail) more comfortably through the world — at least until the next problem comes along. |
| Vaccines have given us such remarkable peace of mind that we have come to take them for granted. Can we really any longer imagine the world before vaccines? Imagine for a minute what it was like when the virus out there was smallpox, a much deadlier epidemic disease than Covid-19. Or more recently, when the virus out there was polio, which regularly caused paralysis and death in children. People still had to go about their business and make their decisions about every detail of daily life: Attend a social gathering? Let your kid go to the swimming pool on a hot day? | Vaccines have given us such remarkable peace of mind that we have come to take them for granted. Can we really any longer imagine the world before vaccines? Imagine for a minute what it was like when the virus out there was smallpox, a much deadlier epidemic disease than Covid-19. Or more recently, when the virus out there was polio, which regularly caused paralysis and death in children. People still had to go about their business and make their decisions about every detail of daily life: Attend a social gathering? Let your kid go to the swimming pool on a hot day? |
| Vaccines give us a way to protect ourselves individually, but they also give us a way to create a safer world. Smallpox vaccine was not only a person-by-person triumph, but a huge international human victory over an accumulated historical tide of human misery and death. | Vaccines give us a way to protect ourselves individually, but they also give us a way to create a safer world. Smallpox vaccine was not only a person-by-person triumph, but a huge international human victory over an accumulated historical tide of human misery and death. |
| People have lost that sense of awe and gratitude for both the individual safety that vaccines represent, and also for the glorious communal project of collectively wiping out a source of pain and disability and death. | People have lost that sense of awe and gratitude for both the individual safety that vaccines represent, and also for the glorious communal project of collectively wiping out a source of pain and disability and death. |
| “Polio really taught people that science could do it,” Dr. Oshinsky said. “What made vaccines so vitally important at that time was that they were providing protection against diseases that were out there that people saw every day.” | “Polio really taught people that science could do it,” Dr. Oshinsky said. “What made vaccines so vitally important at that time was that they were providing protection against diseases that were out there that people saw every day.” |
| Updated June 30, 2020 | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| And with the disappearance of many of those diseases, that sense of imminent danger had perhaps been lost. Consider the measles epidemic of 2019, which meant that not only the children whose parents distrusted and refused a safe and effective vaccine were at risk, but also that babies too young to be vaccinated and people with immune deficiencies were suddenly living with the possibility that the virus might be in their surroundings. Now, recent events have reminded us all of what it is like to feel vulnerable and unprotected. | And with the disappearance of many of those diseases, that sense of imminent danger had perhaps been lost. Consider the measles epidemic of 2019, which meant that not only the children whose parents distrusted and refused a safe and effective vaccine were at risk, but also that babies too young to be vaccinated and people with immune deficiencies were suddenly living with the possibility that the virus might be in their surroundings. Now, recent events have reminded us all of what it is like to feel vulnerable and unprotected. |
| Same thing with flu — there’s a safe flu vaccine, not always perfect, but it lowers your odds of getting the disease, and of getting really sick if you do get the disease. And again, flu vaccine reduces the chance that the virus will be circulating in the population, and that the vulnerable (children, the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions) will be exposed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 20,000 (and possibly more than 50,000) deaths from flu this season in the United States, including over a hundred in children. | Same thing with flu — there’s a safe flu vaccine, not always perfect, but it lowers your odds of getting the disease, and of getting really sick if you do get the disease. And again, flu vaccine reduces the chance that the virus will be circulating in the population, and that the vulnerable (children, the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions) will be exposed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 20,000 (and possibly more than 50,000) deaths from flu this season in the United States, including over a hundred in children. |
| And yet, it’s a struggle every year to convince people to take flu seriously, to get vaccinated, to practice good handwashing — all the things that are suddenly understood to be matters of life and death. Maybe we could all resolve that next year (and yes, there will be a next year), we’ll take flu seriously and greet the flu vaccine with at least a little sense of celebration and appreciation of science and public health. | And yet, it’s a struggle every year to convince people to take flu seriously, to get vaccinated, to practice good handwashing — all the things that are suddenly understood to be matters of life and death. Maybe we could all resolve that next year (and yes, there will be a next year), we’ll take flu seriously and greet the flu vaccine with at least a little sense of celebration and appreciation of science and public health. |
| “It breaks my heart to see that the fear of a pandemic is the only thing that may bring this respect for science back,” Dr. Oshinsky said. “What we have now is sort of a rediscovery of the fact that we do need this sort of protection.” | “It breaks my heart to see that the fear of a pandemic is the only thing that may bring this respect for science back,” Dr. Oshinsky said. “What we have now is sort of a rediscovery of the fact that we do need this sort of protection.” |
| And when we do have that sort of protection, when the Covid vaccine comes, we will need to cooperate and think collectively and deploy it — as we should do with the flu vaccine — not only to save our individual selves, but to make a safer world. Vaccines are one of our human victories, a triumph of our ingenuity and intelligence, our science taking advantage of our biology by turning on our immune systems, and we need to be worthy of them. | And when we do have that sort of protection, when the Covid vaccine comes, we will need to cooperate and think collectively and deploy it — as we should do with the flu vaccine — not only to save our individual selves, but to make a safer world. Vaccines are one of our human victories, a triumph of our ingenuity and intelligence, our science taking advantage of our biology by turning on our immune systems, and we need to be worthy of them. |
| Dr. Perri Klass is the author of the forthcoming book “A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future,” on how our world has been transformed by the radical decline of infant and child mortality. | Dr. Perri Klass is the author of the forthcoming book “A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future,” on how our world has been transformed by the radical decline of infant and child mortality. |