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"content": "\u003cp>Now that Steph Curry set the NBA career record for 3-pointers, all eyes are back on Klay Thompson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his left knee. The ACL is a strip of tissue that runs through the middle of a knee and acts as a stabilizer. A year later, he tore his right Achilles tendon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Warriors fans are wondering when the team’s sharp-shooting guard could be ready to \u003ca href=\"https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/12/06/klay-thompson-says-return-could-be-in-few-weeks-maybe-a-month/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hit the court.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Find hope in a recent Stanford \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34778484/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> that links NBA playing styles and their impact on certain knee injuries, like ACL tears. Basketball players who often drive to the hoop are more likely to suffer a tear, but also more likely to make a full recovery, researchers found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It always takes a little bit of time to ease back into things. But in general, from our study, that’s what we found,” said Kevin Thomas, a lead author on the study and a graduate student at Stanford, studying medicine and biomedical informatics. “[And that’s] we can hopefully expect from players like him over the long run.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED morning host Brian Watt talked about this research with Thomas, who said he and his team looked at four decades of data and media reports on NBA players.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: What did your study conclude about the ACL injury?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin Thomas: We were interested in identifying how a basketball player’s style of play, or their way of scoring points, affects their risk of getting an ACL tear. And we also wanted to know when ACL tears do happen in players — whether they’re able to make a full recovery and play at the same level of play that you’d expect them to have if they didn’t get injured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So this comes down to whether a player drives, penetrates through the lane or has to weave through defenders. Is that what we’re talking about?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s right. We identified that for players who frequently drive the ball to the basket in order to score their points, they typically have a higher risk of ACL tears relative to other players.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So those guys have a higher risk, and once they come back from a surgery that sort of reconstructs the ACL, they’re still good. They haven’t lost a step.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We found that when you take a player, just before their injury happens, and you find other similar players to them, and then you follow them over the next several years, the players that get injured and then are able to come back are playing at the same level as their peer players, who never had the injury in the first place. So they’re able to make a full comeback and perform at the same level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I have to assume you’re a basketball fan. You’re speaking clinically about this stuff, but I hear a fan.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know, I’m living in the Bay Area now, but I grew up in Phoenix. I’m a Phoenix [Suns] guy. It was heartbreaking to see Dario [Saric] \u003ca href=\"https://www.nba.com/news/suns-dario-saric-torn-acl-out-indefinitely\">tear\u003c/a> his ACL last season, but hopefully he’ll be able to come back and make a full recovery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So do you think Klay Thompson has read your study?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, hopefully after being on the radio with you, we might be able to get a little bit more attention from the Warriors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CWJ-kq-v_n3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Now that Steph Curry set the NBA career record for 3-pointers, all eyes are back on Klay Thompson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his left knee. The ACL is a strip of tissue that runs through the middle of a knee and acts as a stabilizer. A year later, he tore his right Achilles tendon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Warriors fans are wondering when the team’s sharp-shooting guard could be ready to \u003ca href=\"https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/12/06/klay-thompson-says-return-could-be-in-few-weeks-maybe-a-month/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hit the court.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Find hope in a recent Stanford \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34778484/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> that links NBA playing styles and their impact on certain knee injuries, like ACL tears. Basketball players who often drive to the hoop are more likely to suffer a tear, but also more likely to make a full recovery, researchers found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It always takes a little bit of time to ease back into things. But in general, from our study, that’s what we found,” said Kevin Thomas, a lead author on the study and a graduate student at Stanford, studying medicine and biomedical informatics. “[And that’s] we can hopefully expect from players like him over the long run.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED morning host Brian Watt talked about this research with Thomas, who said he and his team looked at four decades of data and media reports on NBA players.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: What did your study conclude about the ACL injury?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin Thomas: We were interested in identifying how a basketball player’s style of play, or their way of scoring points, affects their risk of getting an ACL tear. And we also wanted to know when ACL tears do happen in players — whether they’re able to make a full recovery and play at the same level of play that you’d expect them to have if they didn’t get injured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So this comes down to whether a player drives, penetrates through the lane or has to weave through defenders. Is that what we’re talking about?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s right. We identified that for players who frequently drive the ball to the basket in order to score their points, they typically have a higher risk of ACL tears relative to other players.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So those guys have a higher risk, and once they come back from a surgery that sort of reconstructs the ACL, they’re still good. They haven’t lost a step.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We found that when you take a player, just before their injury happens, and you find other similar players to them, and then you follow them over the next several years, the players that get injured and then are able to come back are playing at the same level as their peer players, who never had the injury in the first place. So they’re able to make a full comeback and perform at the same level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I have to assume you’re a basketball fan. You’re speaking clinically about this stuff, but I hear a fan.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know, I’m living in the Bay Area now, but I grew up in Phoenix. I’m a Phoenix [Suns] guy. It was heartbreaking to see Dario [Saric] \u003ca href=\"https://www.nba.com/news/suns-dario-saric-torn-acl-out-indefinitely\">tear\u003c/a> his ACL last season, but hopefully he’ll be able to come back and make a full recovery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So do you think Klay Thompson has read your study?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, hopefully after being on the radio with you, we might be able to get a little bit more attention from the Warriors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Here Are 8 Lingering Questions About the New COVID Pills From Merck and Pfizer",
"headTitle": "Here Are 8 Lingering Questions About the New COVID Pills From Merck and Pfizer | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"big-cap-wrap\">\u003cspan class=\"big-cap\">T\u003c/span>\u003c/span>he past two months have brought extremely good news in the fight against COVID-19. Two different oral treatments have proved effective at both preventing people newly diagnosed with COVID-19 from entering the hospital and from dying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re accelerating our path out of this pandemic,” President Biden said after data on the second COVID pill became available. The wide availability of oral drugs could make COVID-19 less lethal, making it less risky for people to return to in-person work and to their normal lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/01/mercks-antiviral-pill-reduces-hospitalization-of-covid-patients-a-possible-game-changer-for-treatment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first results\u003c/a>, from Merck and Ridgeback Therapeutics, were released in October and will be considered by an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration in December. That could lead to an emergency use authorization in the U.S. by the end of the year. That drug, molnupiravir, reduced hospitalizations by 50% and prevented deaths entirely a large randomized clinical trial when it was given within five days of when symptoms began. The pill is given as a five-day course during which patients take a total of 40 pills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November, Pfizer announced that its COVID pill, Paxlovid, reduced hospitalizations by 89% and also prevented deaths in its own large randomized study. As with the Merck drug, Paxlovid is given as a five-day course. It must be given with a second medicine, a booster, called ritonavir, which is made by AbbVie, another large drug firm. The Pfizer regimen involves taking 30 pills over a five-day period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the topline results are similar, the medicines could have different risks and benefits. The companies have only issued data in press releases, not scientific articles, and doctors need to know a lot more about both. Here is an overview of what we still don’t know about the COVID pills and when we might learn it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Which one works better?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>At the headline level, Pfizer’s pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/11/05/experimental-pfizer-pill-prevents-covid-hospitalizations-and-deaths/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 89%,\u003c/a> while Merck showed \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/01/mercks-antiviral-pill-reduces-hospitalization-of-covid-patients-a-possible-game-changer-for-treatment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a reduction of 50%\u003c/a>. But neither firm has disclosed detailed data from its pivotal studies, and the trials were not identically designed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The studies enrolled similar populations — unvaccinated people with mild to moderate COVID-19 and at least one risk factor for severe disease — but they had slightly different measures of efficacy. Pfizer’s 89% figure comes from patients who started getting its pill, Paxlovid, within three days of their first COVID-19 symptoms. Merck’s 50% applies to patients who began treatment within five days. In the Paxlovid study, patients who started treatment within five days saw an 85% improvement in hospitalization or death versus placebo. Merck has not shared data on patients who got its drug within three days of symptom onset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What the studies had in common was 100% efficacy against death, regardless of when patients started treatment. Merck’s study counted eight deaths among patients on placebo, and Pfizer’s observed 10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the safety side, the rate of side effects in both studies was similar between the treatment groups and placebo groups. In each study, fewer patients in the treatment group left the study due to side effects compared to those in the placebo group. Neither company has disclosed detailed data on the type and severity of side effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each treatment is administered twice a day for five total days, amounting to 10 doses in total. Pfizer’s drug is co-administered with a common antiviral called ritonavir.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Will the antiviral be available for vaccinated patients with breakthrough infections?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Both companies conducted their studies entirely in patients who were at high risk of complications if they caught COVID and who also had not been vaccinated. That leads to a big question for policymakers: Should those who have been vaccinated, but who develop a breakthrough infection of SARS-CoV-2, be given the pills?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now that is a question without data. A third antiviral pill, from the biotech firm Atea and the large drug firm Roche, failed to prove it was effective in its own study, and Wall Street analysts suspect the reason is that the companies included vaccinated patients in the research. For those who have received the vaccine, hospitalization and death are much less likely. This means that it is harder for a drug to show efficacy, because there are fewer infections to prevent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So regulators and public health officials will have to make a judgement on the risks and benefits of the COVID pills for people with breakthrough infections — without direct data in these populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pfizer is running a clinical trial, with results due next year, that does include vaccinated patients, and the company’s executives have expressed confidence based on the results so far that the treatment should work. Both Merck and Pfizer are also running studies to show that the drugs can prevent people from developing symptoms if they take the antivirals after they are exposed to the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Do the drugs work the same way?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>No, not really. While both drugs interfere with the process the coronavirus uses to reproduce itself, each drug interferes at a very different point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Merck’s drug throws a wrench into the works quite early. After someone takes molnupiravir, the drug is transformed into something uncannily similar to one of RNA’s chemical building blocks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The modification is so subtle that not only will the coronavirus use molnupiravir in place of other building blocks when it replicates itself, but coronaviruses’ unusual proofreading mechanism can’t even pick up on the imposter compound. Over time, the drug will encourage the virus to introduce even more mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, this leads to what’s known as error catastrophe. It’s introducing so many different mutations that, eventually, nothing further can happen,” said Katherine Seley-Radtke, a medicinal chemist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “You’ve got this completely mutated RNA.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid, acts at a completely different point in the virus’ reproductive process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s apples and oranges,” said Ronald Swanstrom, a biochemistry professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike molnupiravir, Paxlovid allows the strings of viral RNA to be assembled correctly. It even allows those strings to be used to create viral proteins, which are initially produced in one big chunk. Like a bolt of fabric before it’s cut to a clothing pattern, this protein needs to be chopped down to size before it can work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That cutting is what Paxlovid prohibits. The drug is designed to bind to a particularly important point in an enzyme called a protease which slices up proteins. Without a functioning protease, the virus can’t create functional copies; no working virus, no problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protease inhibitors have been used for decades to create more than a dozen drugs for HIV and hepatitis C; in some cases, they’ve also been used as cancer drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a long history of medicinal chemistry targeting proteases,” said Bryan Dickinson, a chemical biologist at the University of Chicago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paxlovid is designed with a SARS-CoV-2-specific protease in mind, so it works more specifically on this coronavirus than molnupiravir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Paxlovid can’t work as well if it’s taken on its own. The body’s defense mechanisms will get rid of anything that it doesn’t recognize — including drugs, which can be digested by enzymes in a person’s liver. Another drug called ritonavir blocks the liver enzyme that would likely chew up Paxlovid, which gives the latter drug the space it needs to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How do they compare with monoclonal antibodies?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have each won FDA authorization for antibody combination therapies that keep recently diagnosed COVID-19 patients from hospitalization and death. In a Phase 3 study enrolling recently diagnosed patients at high risk for severe disease, Regeneron’s treatment reduced the risk of hospitalization or death \u003ca href=\"https://investor.regeneron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/phase-3-trial-shows-regen-covtm-casirivimab-imdevimab-antibody\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 70%\u003c/a> compared to placebo. In a similar study, Lilly’s therapy showed \u003ca href=\"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lillys-bamlanivimab-and-etesevimab-together-reduced-hospitalizations-and-death-in-phase-3-trial-for-early-covid-19-301243984.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an 87% reduction\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest difference is one of convenience. The antibody treatments are administered intravenously in a one-time, roughly hour-long process (Regeneron’s is authorized for subcutaneous injection when an IV procedure is not feasible). That could make the treatments from Pfizer and Merck, taken orally at home, preferable to patients unable to visit an infusion center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a difference in cost. Regeneron and Lilly have signed deals with the federal government to sell their treatments at about $1,250 per dose. Merck’s agreement with the U.S. works out to about $700 for a five-day course of molnupiravir. Pfizer is still negotiating contracts but is expected to set a similar price for Paxlovid.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How easy will they be to get?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A pill is a huge leap in terms of logistical ease over infused therapies like monoclonal antibodies. For those treatments, not only did people have to make their way to clinics for their infusions, but hospitals and other facilities had to set up places where people who were actively infectious could come get treated without risking others’ health. (The other antiviral authorized to treat COVID-19, Gilead’s remdesivir, is an infusion and approved only for hospitalized patients, but some data indicate that if it were to be given to patients earlier in their infections, it could have a greater effect. If its approval ever covered outpatients, however, it would still run into the same logistical challenges of an infused therapy.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the COVID pills come with a key challenge of their own. They’re most effective when given early in the infection, so people need to be able to get tested and get their prescription rapidly. And the U.S. testing landscape is still limited. PCR tests can take days to return a result, and though the Biden administration has upped its effort to expand the availability of at-home rapid tests, finding one at a store is still hit or miss — success feels like scoring this holiday season’s hottest gift. Any delay in getting diagnosed undercuts the power of these pills; even a day or two has real implications for a treatment meant to clear out an acute infection like COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Will it affect a patient’s DNA?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>This is really a question only for Merck’s molnupiravir, since it works by sneaking subtly corrupted parts into the coronavirus’s RNA sequence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the virus has mutated too much, it can’t work — mission accomplished. But there’s a theoretical chance that molnupiravir could also influence normal human DNA when it replicates, too. If mutations happen during that process, it could spell real trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Merck did some tests during molnupiravir’s development to check this possibility out. In two different types of animal studies using higher and longer doses than are given to humans, Merck’s scientists didn’t see any increased risk of unwanted mutations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very confident in the safety profile of molnupiravir based on our preclinical and clinical data,” executive vice president Dean Li told investors in an October conference call, according to a transcript in the financial database Sentieo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But UNC’s Swanstrom isn’t completely convinced that the tests Merck did were sensitive enough. In August, he and his colleagues \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33961695/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">published a paper in\u003c/a> the Journal of Infectious Diseases showing that a key metabolite of molnupiravir could mutate DNA in animal cells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given these results, Swanstrom said he would be particularly interested in seeing a long-term study of people who took molnupiravir to continue to monitor this potential effect over the next 10 or 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This thing is going to go into thousands of people. And are we just going to ignore the fact that there’s this potential risk?” he said. “The risk could be zero. It could be no worse than going to get a dental X-ray — or it could do something more. But unless we find out, you know, we’re going to learn this lesson the hard way, way later than we should.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What might the new antivirals mean for cancer patients?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Because the new antiviral Pfizer is developing is a protease inhibitor, infectious disease specialists are familiar with how it works. So we already know: These drugs have the potential to interfere with many therapies used to treat cancer, Tobias Hohl, chief of the infectious diseases service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, told STAT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re going to be very helpful [in our] armamentarium, but they will not substitute for prevention or vaccination efforts because these are not medicines that are completely benign and harmless in terms of their drug-drug interactions and toxicity,” he said. “So we’re going to have to be careful and thoughtful about how we use our protease inhibitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/10/winter-is-coming-as-flu-season-nears-americas-window-of-opportunity-to-beat-back-covid-19-is-narrowing/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Matthew Herper, Damian Garde, Kate Sheridan, Adam Feuerstein, Andrew Joseph, and Elizabeth Cooney contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"big-cap-wrap\">\u003cspan class=\"big-cap\">T\u003c/span>\u003c/span>he past two months have brought extremely good news in the fight against COVID-19. Two different oral treatments have proved effective at both preventing people newly diagnosed with COVID-19 from entering the hospital and from dying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re accelerating our path out of this pandemic,” President Biden said after data on the second COVID pill became available. The wide availability of oral drugs could make COVID-19 less lethal, making it less risky for people to return to in-person work and to their normal lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/01/mercks-antiviral-pill-reduces-hospitalization-of-covid-patients-a-possible-game-changer-for-treatment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first results\u003c/a>, from Merck and Ridgeback Therapeutics, were released in October and will be considered by an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration in December. That could lead to an emergency use authorization in the U.S. by the end of the year. That drug, molnupiravir, reduced hospitalizations by 50% and prevented deaths entirely a large randomized clinical trial when it was given within five days of when symptoms began. The pill is given as a five-day course during which patients take a total of 40 pills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November, Pfizer announced that its COVID pill, Paxlovid, reduced hospitalizations by 89% and also prevented deaths in its own large randomized study. As with the Merck drug, Paxlovid is given as a five-day course. It must be given with a second medicine, a booster, called ritonavir, which is made by AbbVie, another large drug firm. The Pfizer regimen involves taking 30 pills over a five-day period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the topline results are similar, the medicines could have different risks and benefits. The companies have only issued data in press releases, not scientific articles, and doctors need to know a lot more about both. Here is an overview of what we still don’t know about the COVID pills and when we might learn it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Which one works better?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>At the headline level, Pfizer’s pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/11/05/experimental-pfizer-pill-prevents-covid-hospitalizations-and-deaths/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 89%,\u003c/a> while Merck showed \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/01/mercks-antiviral-pill-reduces-hospitalization-of-covid-patients-a-possible-game-changer-for-treatment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a reduction of 50%\u003c/a>. But neither firm has disclosed detailed data from its pivotal studies, and the trials were not identically designed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The studies enrolled similar populations — unvaccinated people with mild to moderate COVID-19 and at least one risk factor for severe disease — but they had slightly different measures of efficacy. Pfizer’s 89% figure comes from patients who started getting its pill, Paxlovid, within three days of their first COVID-19 symptoms. Merck’s 50% applies to patients who began treatment within five days. In the Paxlovid study, patients who started treatment within five days saw an 85% improvement in hospitalization or death versus placebo. Merck has not shared data on patients who got its drug within three days of symptom onset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What the studies had in common was 100% efficacy against death, regardless of when patients started treatment. Merck’s study counted eight deaths among patients on placebo, and Pfizer’s observed 10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the safety side, the rate of side effects in both studies was similar between the treatment groups and placebo groups. In each study, fewer patients in the treatment group left the study due to side effects compared to those in the placebo group. Neither company has disclosed detailed data on the type and severity of side effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each treatment is administered twice a day for five total days, amounting to 10 doses in total. Pfizer’s drug is co-administered with a common antiviral called ritonavir.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Will the antiviral be available for vaccinated patients with breakthrough infections?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Both companies conducted their studies entirely in patients who were at high risk of complications if they caught COVID and who also had not been vaccinated. That leads to a big question for policymakers: Should those who have been vaccinated, but who develop a breakthrough infection of SARS-CoV-2, be given the pills?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now that is a question without data. A third antiviral pill, from the biotech firm Atea and the large drug firm Roche, failed to prove it was effective in its own study, and Wall Street analysts suspect the reason is that the companies included vaccinated patients in the research. For those who have received the vaccine, hospitalization and death are much less likely. This means that it is harder for a drug to show efficacy, because there are fewer infections to prevent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So regulators and public health officials will have to make a judgement on the risks and benefits of the COVID pills for people with breakthrough infections — without direct data in these populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pfizer is running a clinical trial, with results due next year, that does include vaccinated patients, and the company’s executives have expressed confidence based on the results so far that the treatment should work. Both Merck and Pfizer are also running studies to show that the drugs can prevent people from developing symptoms if they take the antivirals after they are exposed to the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Do the drugs work the same way?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>No, not really. While both drugs interfere with the process the coronavirus uses to reproduce itself, each drug interferes at a very different point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Merck’s drug throws a wrench into the works quite early. After someone takes molnupiravir, the drug is transformed into something uncannily similar to one of RNA’s chemical building blocks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The modification is so subtle that not only will the coronavirus use molnupiravir in place of other building blocks when it replicates itself, but coronaviruses’ unusual proofreading mechanism can’t even pick up on the imposter compound. Over time, the drug will encourage the virus to introduce even more mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, this leads to what’s known as error catastrophe. It’s introducing so many different mutations that, eventually, nothing further can happen,” said Katherine Seley-Radtke, a medicinal chemist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “You’ve got this completely mutated RNA.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid, acts at a completely different point in the virus’ reproductive process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s apples and oranges,” said Ronald Swanstrom, a biochemistry professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike molnupiravir, Paxlovid allows the strings of viral RNA to be assembled correctly. It even allows those strings to be used to create viral proteins, which are initially produced in one big chunk. Like a bolt of fabric before it’s cut to a clothing pattern, this protein needs to be chopped down to size before it can work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That cutting is what Paxlovid prohibits. The drug is designed to bind to a particularly important point in an enzyme called a protease which slices up proteins. Without a functioning protease, the virus can’t create functional copies; no working virus, no problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protease inhibitors have been used for decades to create more than a dozen drugs for HIV and hepatitis C; in some cases, they’ve also been used as cancer drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a long history of medicinal chemistry targeting proteases,” said Bryan Dickinson, a chemical biologist at the University of Chicago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paxlovid is designed with a SARS-CoV-2-specific protease in mind, so it works more specifically on this coronavirus than molnupiravir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Paxlovid can’t work as well if it’s taken on its own. The body’s defense mechanisms will get rid of anything that it doesn’t recognize — including drugs, which can be digested by enzymes in a person’s liver. Another drug called ritonavir blocks the liver enzyme that would likely chew up Paxlovid, which gives the latter drug the space it needs to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How do they compare with monoclonal antibodies?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have each won FDA authorization for antibody combination therapies that keep recently diagnosed COVID-19 patients from hospitalization and death. In a Phase 3 study enrolling recently diagnosed patients at high risk for severe disease, Regeneron’s treatment reduced the risk of hospitalization or death \u003ca href=\"https://investor.regeneron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/phase-3-trial-shows-regen-covtm-casirivimab-imdevimab-antibody\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 70%\u003c/a> compared to placebo. In a similar study, Lilly’s therapy showed \u003ca href=\"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lillys-bamlanivimab-and-etesevimab-together-reduced-hospitalizations-and-death-in-phase-3-trial-for-early-covid-19-301243984.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an 87% reduction\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest difference is one of convenience. The antibody treatments are administered intravenously in a one-time, roughly hour-long process (Regeneron’s is authorized for subcutaneous injection when an IV procedure is not feasible). That could make the treatments from Pfizer and Merck, taken orally at home, preferable to patients unable to visit an infusion center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a difference in cost. Regeneron and Lilly have signed deals with the federal government to sell their treatments at about $1,250 per dose. Merck’s agreement with the U.S. works out to about $700 for a five-day course of molnupiravir. Pfizer is still negotiating contracts but is expected to set a similar price for Paxlovid.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How easy will they be to get?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A pill is a huge leap in terms of logistical ease over infused therapies like monoclonal antibodies. For those treatments, not only did people have to make their way to clinics for their infusions, but hospitals and other facilities had to set up places where people who were actively infectious could come get treated without risking others’ health. (The other antiviral authorized to treat COVID-19, Gilead’s remdesivir, is an infusion and approved only for hospitalized patients, but some data indicate that if it were to be given to patients earlier in their infections, it could have a greater effect. If its approval ever covered outpatients, however, it would still run into the same logistical challenges of an infused therapy.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the COVID pills come with a key challenge of their own. They’re most effective when given early in the infection, so people need to be able to get tested and get their prescription rapidly. And the U.S. testing landscape is still limited. PCR tests can take days to return a result, and though the Biden administration has upped its effort to expand the availability of at-home rapid tests, finding one at a store is still hit or miss — success feels like scoring this holiday season’s hottest gift. Any delay in getting diagnosed undercuts the power of these pills; even a day or two has real implications for a treatment meant to clear out an acute infection like COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Will it affect a patient’s DNA?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>This is really a question only for Merck’s molnupiravir, since it works by sneaking subtly corrupted parts into the coronavirus’s RNA sequence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the virus has mutated too much, it can’t work — mission accomplished. But there’s a theoretical chance that molnupiravir could also influence normal human DNA when it replicates, too. If mutations happen during that process, it could spell real trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Merck did some tests during molnupiravir’s development to check this possibility out. In two different types of animal studies using higher and longer doses than are given to humans, Merck’s scientists didn’t see any increased risk of unwanted mutations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very confident in the safety profile of molnupiravir based on our preclinical and clinical data,” executive vice president Dean Li told investors in an October conference call, according to a transcript in the financial database Sentieo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But UNC’s Swanstrom isn’t completely convinced that the tests Merck did were sensitive enough. In August, he and his colleagues \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33961695/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">published a paper in\u003c/a> the Journal of Infectious Diseases showing that a key metabolite of molnupiravir could mutate DNA in animal cells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given these results, Swanstrom said he would be particularly interested in seeing a long-term study of people who took molnupiravir to continue to monitor this potential effect over the next 10 or 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This thing is going to go into thousands of people. And are we just going to ignore the fact that there’s this potential risk?” he said. “The risk could be zero. It could be no worse than going to get a dental X-ray — or it could do something more. But unless we find out, you know, we’re going to learn this lesson the hard way, way later than we should.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What might the new antivirals mean for cancer patients?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Because the new antiviral Pfizer is developing is a protease inhibitor, infectious disease specialists are familiar with how it works. So we already know: These drugs have the potential to interfere with many therapies used to treat cancer, Tobias Hohl, chief of the infectious diseases service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, told STAT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re going to be very helpful [in our] armamentarium, but they will not substitute for prevention or vaccination efforts because these are not medicines that are completely benign and harmless in terms of their drug-drug interactions and toxicity,” he said. “So we’re going to have to be careful and thoughtful about how we use our protease inhibitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/10/winter-is-coming-as-flu-season-nears-americas-window-of-opportunity-to-beat-back-covid-19-is-narrowing/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Matthew Herper, Damian Garde, Kate Sheridan, Adam Feuerstein, Andrew Joseph, and Elizabeth Cooney contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Pregnancy and Climate Change: COP26 Looks at What's at Stake for Women",
"headTitle": "Pregnancy and Climate Change: COP26 Looks at What’s at Stake for Women | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>World leaders turned their focus to gender Tuesday at the U.N. global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Globally, women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men, as they make up a majority of the world’s poor and depend most on natural resources, according to the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In the United States, one subgroup of women are particularly at risk: pregnant women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1977443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>As global temperatures and emissions rise, so does the impact of climate change on public health. More pollutants from automobiles, fossil fuel plants and smoke from wildfires degrades air quality. This means at-risk populations, such as pregnant women and developing fetuses, are more likely to suffer from cardiac disease, respiratory disease and stress on mental health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate-related exacerbation of air pollution and heat exposure significantly increases the risk to maternal, fetal and infant health, according to a 2020 JAMA Network review that assessed more than 32 million U.S. births.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' align='left' citation='Kelly Davis\u003cbr>National Birth Equity Collaborative']‘Pregnancy is a natural stress test. So if folks are already stressed through environmental racism, environmental injustice, their stress is only exacerbated during the very fragile time of pregnancy and childbirth.’[/pullquote] For the first time in the U.S., researchers found consistent evidence that pollution in the air, and heat, affect pregnancy outcomes including stillbirth, low birth weight and preterm delivery rates, said Rupa Basu, head of the air and climate epidemiology section of the California Environmental Protection Agency and co-author of the JAMA study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Microscopic air pollutants have the ability to go deep into a mother’s lungs, Basu said, threatening her pulmonary health. Pollutants can cross into the placenta, leading to inflammation that can cause gestational diabetes or preeclampsia. Extreme heat can stress the mother and trigger reactions from dizziness to cardiac arrest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The review also confirmed that the mothers most threatened are those with asthma and minorities, especially Black women. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pregnancy is a natural stress test. So if folks are already stressed through environmental racism, environmental injustice, their stress is only exacerbated during the very fragile time of pregnancy and childbirth,” said Kelly Davis, chief of birth equity innovation at the National Birth Equity Collaborative, a reproductive justice non-profit. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National and international climate discussions, like the U.N. summit, overlook the immediate needs of marginalized communities, Davis told CBS News. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oftentimes, climate change [goals are] so lofty and all of these things are important, but they erase the emergency and environmental concerns that Black women and pregnant people are facing every day,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black and Indigenous women in the U.S. are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate threats only exacerbate that pre-existing maternal health crisis in the U.S. and yet few people know about the danger, said Skye Wheeler, senior researcher of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is more public information about protecting pets from extreme heat than there is about pregnant women, according to the most recent Human Rights Watch review of 105 official heat safety web pages, climate action plans and sustainability initiatives for 18 major US cities, including the 15 most populous, totaling 32 million people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only two of the reviewed documents — from Chicago and Philadelphia — explicitly addressed the danger heat poses during pregnancy. Since the review was conducted in August 2020, New York City has added the group to a list of vulnerable populations. Concerns about the dangers of heat for pets were found 37 times in the literature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rising temperatures put extra stress on a mother and fetus. A 2020 Harvard study found a link between gestational diabetes and extreme heat. This summer, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued guidance on the link between extreme temperatures and irregular birth outcomes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even a hurricane can put expectant mothers under enough added stress that the weather can lead to higher rates of preterm births. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan includes legislation to address the link between climate threats and pregnancy. Representative Lauren Underwood, a Democrat from Illinois, has introduced legislation that would help educate medical professionals and patients on climate-change related risks for pregnant people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pregnancy-women-fetuses-risks-climate-change/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">story\u003c/a> originally appeared on the website of \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CBS News\u003c/a> and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>World leaders turned their focus to gender Tuesday at the U.N. global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Globally, women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men, as they make up a majority of the world’s poor and depend most on natural resources, according to the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In the United States, one subgroup of women are particularly at risk: pregnant women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1977443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>As global temperatures and emissions rise, so does the impact of climate change on public health. More pollutants from automobiles, fossil fuel plants and smoke from wildfires degrades air quality. This means at-risk populations, such as pregnant women and developing fetuses, are more likely to suffer from cardiac disease, respiratory disease and stress on mental health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate-related exacerbation of air pollution and heat exposure significantly increases the risk to maternal, fetal and infant health, according to a 2020 JAMA Network review that assessed more than 32 million U.S. births.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The review also confirmed that the mothers most threatened are those with asthma and minorities, especially Black women. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pregnancy is a natural stress test. So if folks are already stressed through environmental racism, environmental injustice, their stress is only exacerbated during the very fragile time of pregnancy and childbirth,” said Kelly Davis, chief of birth equity innovation at the National Birth Equity Collaborative, a reproductive justice non-profit. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National and international climate discussions, like the U.N. summit, overlook the immediate needs of marginalized communities, Davis told CBS News. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oftentimes, climate change [goals are] so lofty and all of these things are important, but they erase the emergency and environmental concerns that Black women and pregnant people are facing every day,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black and Indigenous women in the U.S. are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate threats only exacerbate that pre-existing maternal health crisis in the U.S. and yet few people know about the danger, said Skye Wheeler, senior researcher of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is more public information about protecting pets from extreme heat than there is about pregnant women, according to the most recent Human Rights Watch review of 105 official heat safety web pages, climate action plans and sustainability initiatives for 18 major US cities, including the 15 most populous, totaling 32 million people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only two of the reviewed documents — from Chicago and Philadelphia — explicitly addressed the danger heat poses during pregnancy. Since the review was conducted in August 2020, New York City has added the group to a list of vulnerable populations. Concerns about the dangers of heat for pets were found 37 times in the literature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rising temperatures put extra stress on a mother and fetus. A 2020 Harvard study found a link between gestational diabetes and extreme heat. This summer, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued guidance on the link between extreme temperatures and irregular birth outcomes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even a hurricane can put expectant mothers under enough added stress that the weather can lead to higher rates of preterm births. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan includes legislation to address the link between climate threats and pregnancy. Representative Lauren Underwood, a Democrat from Illinois, has introduced legislation that would help educate medical professionals and patients on climate-change related risks for pregnant people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pregnancy-women-fetuses-risks-climate-change/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">story\u003c/a> originally appeared on the website of \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CBS News\u003c/a> and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]\u003cem>A kissing bug gorges on your blood. Then it poops on you. And that poop might contain the parasite that causes Chagas disease, which can be deadly. Without knowing it, millions of people have gotten the parasite in Latin America, where these insects live in many rural homes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the saliva of some kissing bugs in the U.S. can give you a dangerous allergic reaction.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>This kissing bug isn’t going to give you a loving peck when it sticks you with that tucked-away proboscis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It could actually make you really sick, even kill you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It makes its move at night, while you’re sleeping. It likes your warm body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kissing bugs get their name because they often bite near the lips or eyes, but they’ll dig in anywhere you’ve left uncovered. A little anesthetic guarantees you won’t wake up while they feed on you for 10, 20, even 30 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every kissing bug needs several huge meals during the year or two it lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it gulps, its exoskeleton stretches like a balloon, to fit up to 12 times its weight in blood. This pliability is called plasticization. How it started. How it’s going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that hot liquid could stress an insect’s body and stunt its growth. So the kissing bug cools it down – inside its head. Your warm blood flows in. The cool insect blood, called hemolymph, absorbs the heat and releases it through the top of the bug’s long head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this infrared video, you can see the blood cool down by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit before it reaches the bug’s abdomen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the bug is safe. You, on the other hand, are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It injects saliva as it sucks your blood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a scientist squeezing some out. The saliva has proteins that can give people a deadly allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it gets much, much worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OK. This is super gross. After eating – sometimes while it’s eating – the bug poops. And that poop – and urine – might contain the parasite that causes Chagas disease. If the bug’s victim rubs these feces and urine into the bite wound or their eyes, the parasite can infect them. Years later, as many as one third of the people who got the parasite develop heart disease that can kill them, sometimes suddenly. Pregnant women can even pass the parasite onto their babies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Few contract the parasite in the U.S., even though kissing bugs live here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Latin America, millions of people have become infected. There, kissing bugs are known by many different names: chinche besucona … chinche … pito … vinchuca … barbeiro. In rural areas, these kissing bug species live in people’s homes, in the cracks of the walls. And in animal coops. Spraying has helped bring down infections. But hundreds of thousands of people have left their home countries for the U.S., not knowing the bug gave them the parasite. A simple blood test can find it and medications can often kill it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the American Southwest, the bugs live in the nests of wild animals, like this pack rat den in Arizona, where biologists Anita and Chuck Kristensen collect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chuck Kristensen (off camera): Kissing bug, kissing bug! Genuine kissing bug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the most part, they feed on the pack rats. But in late spring and summer, the bugs sometimes travel from these nests into someone’s home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So sealing off your house, with screens on your windows – and even vents – is one way to keep out these stealthy bloodsuckers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>ADDITIONAL RESOURCES\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kissing bugs in the US\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, kissing bugs – also known as conenose bugs – are most prevalent in the foothill areas surrounding the Central Valley and in the foothills and desert areas of Southern California. Find out \u003ca href=\"http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7455.html\">how you can keep kissing bugs out of your house\u003c/a> from the UC Integrated Pest Management Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Entomologists at Texas A&M University have put together a website with photos of kissing bugs and a \u003ca href=\"https://kissingbug.tamu.edu/\">map showing where they live in the U.S.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Testing for Chagas disease\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people with Chagas became infected with the parasite in rural areas of Mexico, Central America and South America. The disease is regularly transmitted in \u003ca href=\"http://www.infochagas.org/en/en-que-paises-hay-chagas\">21 countries\u003c/a>, among them Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Transmission doesn’t occur in the Caribbean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the U.S., where kissing bugs very rarely transmit Chagas, researchers estimate that some 350,000 Latin American immigrants contracted the parasite in their home countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A blood test can find the parasite and two medications, nifurtimox and benznidazole, can often kill it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any immigrants from Latin America should probably be tested at least once,” said Dr. Caryn Bern, who studies Chagas at UCSF. She said that any health care provider can order a screening test through their usual lab system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since pregnant women can pass the parasite onto their babies, women from Latin America or whose own mothers grew up there should get tested. Bern recommended that women test before they become pregnant because these medications can’t be taken during pregnancy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting in 2007, nearly all blood banks in the U.S. started \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/screening.html\">screening blood donations\u003c/a> for the parasite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://chagasus.org/\">Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease at the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center\u003c/a> in Sylmar, near Los Angeles, has additional guidelines on \u003ca href=\"https://chagasus.org/do-i-have-chagas/\">who should be tested for the parasite\u003c/a> and offers care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Pan American Health Organization has information on \u003ca href=\"https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease\">the disease in Latin America\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has information on \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/index.html\">Chagas disease in the U.S. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a list of \u003ca href=\"https://uschagasnetwork.org/providers\">doctors around the U.S. who have experience treating Chagas.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And \u003cstrong>for health care providers\u003c/strong> – and anyone else – who would like to learn more, the CDC offers \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/cme/chagas/course1.html\">an online course.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Health care providers with questions\u003c/strong> can contact the CDC for consultation on all aspects of Chagas disease: Division of Parasitic Diseases Public Inquiries line, 404-718-4745; for emergencies after business hours, 770-488-7100; email parasites@cdc.gov.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mal de Chagas\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>La Organización Panamericana de la Salud creó un video de dos minutos en español sobre \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/KmKoQFMICoU\">cómo se propaga el mal de Chagas en Latinoamérica\u003c/a>. Y también tiene \u003ca href=\"https://www.paho.org/es/temas/enfermedad-chagas\">información sobre la enfermedad. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kissing bug bites can cause anaphylaxis\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent University of Arizona study in Tucson and Bisbee, where kissing bugs commonly enter homes in the summer, found that \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31295438/\">10% of people who had been bitten by the bugs had developed anaphylaxis\u003c/a>, a severe allergic reaction brought on by proteins in the bugs’ saliva. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, which can cause death if the patient isn’t treated right away with medication.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every kissing bug needs several huge meals during the year or two it lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it gulps, its exoskeleton stretches like a balloon, to fit up to 12 times its weight in blood. This pliability is called plasticization. How it started. How it’s going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that hot liquid could stress an insect’s body and stunt its growth. So the kissing bug cools it down – inside its head. Your warm blood flows in. The cool insect blood, called hemolymph, absorbs the heat and releases it through the top of the bug’s long head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this infrared video, you can see the blood cool down by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit before it reaches the bug’s abdomen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the bug is safe. You, on the other hand, are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It injects saliva as it sucks your blood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a scientist squeezing some out. The saliva has proteins that can give people a deadly allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it gets much, much worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OK. This is super gross. After eating – sometimes while it’s eating – the bug poops. And that poop – and urine – might contain the parasite that causes Chagas disease. If the bug’s victim rubs these feces and urine into the bite wound or their eyes, the parasite can infect them. Years later, as many as one third of the people who got the parasite develop heart disease that can kill them, sometimes suddenly. Pregnant women can even pass the parasite onto their babies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Few contract the parasite in the U.S., even though kissing bugs live here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Latin America, millions of people have become infected. There, kissing bugs are known by many different names: chinche besucona … chinche … pito … vinchuca … barbeiro. In rural areas, these kissing bug species live in people’s homes, in the cracks of the walls. And in animal coops. Spraying has helped bring down infections. But hundreds of thousands of people have left their home countries for the U.S., not knowing the bug gave them the parasite. A simple blood test can find it and medications can often kill it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the American Southwest, the bugs live in the nests of wild animals, like this pack rat den in Arizona, where biologists Anita and Chuck Kristensen collect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chuck Kristensen (off camera): Kissing bug, kissing bug! Genuine kissing bug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the most part, they feed on the pack rats. But in late spring and summer, the bugs sometimes travel from these nests into someone’s home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So sealing off your house, with screens on your windows – and even vents – is one way to keep out these stealthy bloodsuckers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>ADDITIONAL RESOURCES\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kissing bugs in the US\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, kissing bugs – also known as conenose bugs – are most prevalent in the foothill areas surrounding the Central Valley and in the foothills and desert areas of Southern California. Find out \u003ca href=\"http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7455.html\">how you can keep kissing bugs out of your house\u003c/a> from the UC Integrated Pest Management Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Entomologists at Texas A&M University have put together a website with photos of kissing bugs and a \u003ca href=\"https://kissingbug.tamu.edu/\">map showing where they live in the U.S.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Testing for Chagas disease\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people with Chagas became infected with the parasite in rural areas of Mexico, Central America and South America. The disease is regularly transmitted in \u003ca href=\"http://www.infochagas.org/en/en-que-paises-hay-chagas\">21 countries\u003c/a>, among them Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Transmission doesn’t occur in the Caribbean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the U.S., where kissing bugs very rarely transmit Chagas, researchers estimate that some 350,000 Latin American immigrants contracted the parasite in their home countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A blood test can find the parasite and two medications, nifurtimox and benznidazole, can often kill it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any immigrants from Latin America should probably be tested at least once,” said Dr. Caryn Bern, who studies Chagas at UCSF. She said that any health care provider can order a screening test through their usual lab system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since pregnant women can pass the parasite onto their babies, women from Latin America or whose own mothers grew up there should get tested. Bern recommended that women test before they become pregnant because these medications can’t be taken during pregnancy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting in 2007, nearly all blood banks in the U.S. started \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/screening.html\">screening blood donations\u003c/a> for the parasite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://chagasus.org/\">Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease at the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center\u003c/a> in Sylmar, near Los Angeles, has additional guidelines on \u003ca href=\"https://chagasus.org/do-i-have-chagas/\">who should be tested for the parasite\u003c/a> and offers care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Pan American Health Organization has information on \u003ca href=\"https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease\">the disease in Latin America\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has information on \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/index.html\">Chagas disease in the U.S. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a list of \u003ca href=\"https://uschagasnetwork.org/providers\">doctors around the U.S. who have experience treating Chagas.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And \u003cstrong>for health care providers\u003c/strong> – and anyone else – who would like to learn more, the CDC offers \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/cme/chagas/course1.html\">an online course.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Health care providers with questions\u003c/strong> can contact the CDC for consultation on all aspects of Chagas disease: Division of Parasitic Diseases Public Inquiries line, 404-718-4745; for emergencies after business hours, 770-488-7100; email parasites@cdc.gov.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mal de Chagas\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>La Organización Panamericana de la Salud creó un video de dos minutos en español sobre \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/KmKoQFMICoU\">cómo se propaga el mal de Chagas en Latinoamérica\u003c/a>. Y también tiene \u003ca href=\"https://www.paho.org/es/temas/enfermedad-chagas\">información sobre la enfermedad. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kissing bug bites can cause anaphylaxis\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"headTitle": "Climate Change Is Here. It’s Bad. Here’s What You Can Do | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Submit a Bay Area climate change question for KQED’s science reporters at the \u003ca href=\"#question\">bottom of this post\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s getting hotter. It’s getting smokier. It’s getting scarier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s extreme droughts, heat waves and wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_North_and_Central_America.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">will likely worsen\u003c/a> in the coming decades and longer if we don’t get our act together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/climate/climate-change-emissions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere\u003c/a> is greater than any time in at least the past \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aav7337\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three million years\u003c/a>, and the world has already warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the 1800s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977323 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows a red line steadily increasing from the year 1880 to 2019, from around 290 parts per million of carbon dioxide to 410. A jagged black line goes up and down but follows the overall trend of the red line, showing an increase in temperature of about 1.1 degree Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As carbon dioxide concentrations increase in the atmosphere, the temperature does as well. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy Climate Central)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People of color are and will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-report-shows-disproportionate-impacts-climate-change-socially-vulnerable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disproportionately affected by the health and environmental impacts of climate change\u003c/a>, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking all this in is overwhelming. But here’s something that makes it easier: there is still time to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rapid, bold emissions reductions, starting now, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">would limit climate change \u003c/a>and its effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1977324 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows temperature warming from 1950 to today, with two diverging lines after that. An orange line depicts temperature rise if there are no cuts to current emissions, showing an average increase in temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. A blue line shows what would happen with substantial cuts in emissions, demonstrating warming would level off around 1.5 degrees Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decide what future we get. The one that will be recognizable to us, with limited warming, would require coordination across communities, states and countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While limiting warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) would be “very difficult, requiring immediate, top-level government attention and effort,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton environmental scientist and editor of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change review, it’s “not impossible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if we don’t meet those goals, Oppenheimer said, “there’s no end-of-the-world point where you give up.” Every tenth of a degree matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where you come in. Climate scientists made it crystal clear in the U.N.’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most recent report\u003c/a> that warming is a “code red for humanity,” according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This piece is for those who want to respond, but don’t know where to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>All of us\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Maybe you think we’re in two camps here in California: those who believe in climate change and those who don’t. But researchers define us with more nuance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication\u003c/a> divides Americans into six groups: from those deeply concerned about global warming and supportive of policies (“Alarmed”), to those who view it as a hoax (“Dismissive”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977322\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 644px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977322 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png 644w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734-160x100.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication divides Americans into six groups in terms of their perceptions of global warming. \u003ccite>(Artwork by Michael Sloan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">More than half of people in the U.S.\u003c/a> fall into the “Alarmed” or “Concerned” categories. This means they’re engaged in this issue and ready to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of these folks don’t know what to do with that worry, though, or how to take meaningful action on climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Let’s feel some feelings\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Longtime Bay Area residents will recall a time when the weather didn’t \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11893922/california-still-deep-in-drought-despite-stormy-weather-capped-by-atmospheric-river\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">whiplash from bone dry to flooded streets\u003c/a>, when skies choked with wildfire smoke were anomalous and average fall temperatures were cooler (\u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/graphic/fastest-warming-seasons-2022?location=San%20Francisco&graphicSet=Seasonal+Warming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 3 degrees Fahrenheit in San Francisco\u003c/a>, to be precise). If you’re a recent Bay Area transplant, I imagine you can think of similar changes wherever you hail from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Facing the climate crisis means grieving the version of the planet we grew up with. That means sitting with painful emotions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sadness, despair, anger and powerlessness are normal, healthy responses to a serious risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are biologically wired to respond with anxiety to real threats,” said Robin Cooper, a San Francisco-based therapist and founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Psychiatry Alliance.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977352 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-800x528.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1536x1014.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A woman sits among a group of dead trees at an installation by artist Maya Lin, titled “Ghost Forest,” in Madison Square Park, New York, on May 14, 2021. Maya Lin installed 49 dead Atlantic white cedar trees in a park in New York City to warn of climate change. \u003ccite>(TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Resisting these feelings is normal too — it’s a means of protecting ourselves. But burying our heads in the sand ultimately leads to the same outcomes as denying the crisis. Take breaks, but face what is happening. At some point it becomes easier to look at the issue than hide from it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, let yourself feel things. There are losses we cannot reverse. There will be more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feeling the hard emotions lets you move through them and forward. That doesn’t mean you’re free of them — you aren’t, but pushing them down won’t help you move into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some ways to process your emotions, since a lot of us are out of practice:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Connect with people. \u003c/b>Talk informally with family or friends, or more formally with a therapist (there are growing networks of \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/climate-aware-therapist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychiatrists\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychology.us/climate-therapists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychologists\u003c/a> with specific training on climate change), or \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">grief\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">groups\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with your body \u003c/strong>through walking, running, yoga, or any exercise you enjoy.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with nature. \u003c/strong>Environmental psychologist Renee Lertzman said getting out in nature is both calming and “reminds me of why we’re doing this. I’m continually amazed by how incredible life is.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>There are plenty of other \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/22/808853706/this-earth-day-is-like-no-other-heres-how-to-grieve-and-stay-engaged\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">articles\u003c/a>, books, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101885372/climate-anxiety-and-how-it-can-lead-to-hopefulness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">podcasts\u003c/a> about processing these heavy emotions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Imagine the future you want\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It’s inspiring to envision a Bay Area less dependent on fossil fuels, with cleaner air, more predictable weather cycles, and a booming green jobs industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air pollution from fossil fuels affects low-income communities and communities of color far more than others, in places close to freeways and industry, like East and West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies from Oxfam show the poorest 50% of Americans are responsible for far less carbon pollution \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">than the average American — about half.\u003c/a> Cleaning up our climate is an act of equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cutting down fossil fuels would save lives. California’s air regulator estimated that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/health-air-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">we see 7,200 premature deaths each year from air pollution\u003c/a>, particularly from pollution related to diesel exhaust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, air pollution from burning fossil fuels is \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121000487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">responsible for 8.7 million deaths annually,\u003c/a> shaking out to more than a tenth of U.S. deaths (deaths from COVID-19 stand at \u003ca href=\"https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nearly 5 million people\u003c/a> globally since the start of the pandemic).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average life expectancy would increase by \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/116/11/1910/5770885#207231589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more than a year\u003c/a> across a world without fossil fuel emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching out gas appliances like stoves for electric ones significantly \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/5/7/21247602/gas-stove-cooking-indoor-air-pollution-health-risks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improves indoor air quality\u003c/a>, which could lead to lower risk for cardiovascular disease in adults and asthma in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many of us experienced during the pandemic, converting streets into places for communities to gather brought a lot of joy, with “slow streets” and increased outdoor dining. San Francisco voters decided\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/election/article/JFK-Drive-will-remain-car-free-after-S-F-voters-17570182.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to make some of these car-free streets permanent\u003c/a>. Should our cities build out a more walkable and bikeable infrastructure, this could be our norm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977345\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977345 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man walks with his two kids along a street during the San Francisco Bike & Roll to School Day in 2018. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Bicycle Coalition)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Climate action could be a boon for green jobs, like those installing solar panels and restoring wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And climate progress could significantly impact our mental health. That’s because the antidote to climate anxiety is action.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Act\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>You do not need to become anything you are not to take action on climate change. The issue is big, and the good part about that is there are endless ways to plug in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Kim Nicholas says consider where you spend most of your time and where you get the most energy right now. Start there. Ask yourself, “how is it that we as a family, as a business, [or] as a neighborhood, are impacting the climate? What is it that we can do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While climate activists debate whether to push people to organize for systemic change or focus on individual actuals, they tend to agree that both are needed. Systems need transforming and the largest reductions in emissions will be found there. But individual changes — especially in rich countries like the U.S. — are important, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the systems level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find a group that works for you:\u003c/strong> Climate journalist and organizer Bill McKibben says the most powerful thing an individual can do is \u003ca href=\"https://climate-xchange.org/2020/09/16/be-a-little-less-of-an-individual-author-and-activist-bill-mckibben/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be less of an individual.\u003c/a> Your voice will be more powerful with others, and it’s more fun and hopeful to tackle this challenge together. There’s no shortage of groups of people concerned about the climate and taking meaningful action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are groups for \u003ca href=\"https://protectourwinters.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">skiers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://envirn.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nurses\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://artistsandclimatechange.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://republicen.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">political conservatives\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eldersclimateaction.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grandmothers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.conservationhawks.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hunters\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://climateandsecurity.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">people concerned with national security\u003c/a>. See the range? Groups such as these can help guide you to advocate for more change at the systems level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977351\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977351 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-800x507.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-768x487.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children paint waves on paper as they take part in an event to make art for the youth climate strike on September 20, 2019. \u003ccite>(JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vote for climate candidates: \u003c/strong>The rapid policy reform needed to address the climate crisis requires politicians to enact bolder, faster changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/socf.12422\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Research\u003c/a> shows electing representatives that ranked high on the \u003ca href=\"https://scorecard.lcv.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">League of Conservation Voters National Environmental Scorecard\u003c/a> significantly reduced a state’s carbon dioxide emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0176268017304500\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Voting female politicians into office\u003c/a> is linked with stronger climate policies and lower emissions, and could be an underutilized tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Contact your representatives: \u003c/strong>Call your local, state or federal representative to share your concerns. Sure, there are other ways to get in touch too, like email and snail mail, but activists and lawmakers say the best way to grab a staffer’s attention is to call and not email, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/heres-why-you-should-call-not-email-your-legislators.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The New York Times reports\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If your representatives already share your beliefs, thank them for their efforts and ask them to move further or faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the individual level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While the numbers show that minimizing your carbon footprint won’t get us where we need to go on greenhouse gas reductions alone, “If you live in a rich country, and especially the richer you are, your individual actions really matter,” sustainability scientist Kimberly Nicholas writes in her book “\u003ca href=\"https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/665274/under-the-sky-we-make-by-kimberly-nicholas-phd/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Under the Sky We Make.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Personal climate actions like skipping drives and flights matter in both reducing carbon, and in changing the perception of a wealthy American ideal — using excessive carbon — that’s quickly getting exported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When changes become a social norm, it becomes more attractive for politicians and companies to take action. Research shows\u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aas8827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> just 25% of a population is needed to create a norm change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our suggestions reflect actions shown to have the biggest impact, so you can spend your limited time and brain capacity judiciously, though there are plenty of other worthwhile things to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Talk about climate change:\u003c/strong> While the majority of Americans are worried about climate change, most people don’t talk about it, even if they’d like to, says Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale’s climate communication program. He says by avoiding talking about the topic, we fail to signal how much it matters to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe has had thousands of conversations about climate change. She recommends a helpful formula for your discussion: start with what you both care about (like your kids, the beach, birds, etc.), connect that passion with climate change (climate change affects everything, so luckily that’s not hard), and then discuss what’s at stake for what you love, and some solutions that are at work locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also talk about what you’re doing about climate change (no self-righteousness please though, that won’t help your cause). Lots of folks are changing their behavior based on the climate crisis, and sharing that could contribute to societal shifts. There are \u003ca href=\"https://brightaction.app/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tools to help\u003c/a> your community, company, or place of worship collaborate, or even compete with one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yale’s climate change communication program has tips on \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/attaining-meaningful-outcomes-from-conversations-on-climate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how to achieve meaningful conversation outcomes\u003c/a>, and you can hear how conversations between a son and his Republican U.S. representative father converted the latter into a \u003ca href=\"https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/j4hk928/trying-to-talk-to-family-about-climate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">conservative climate champion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Drive less: \u003c/strong>The majority of California’s greenhouse gas emissions \u003ca href=\"https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2019/ghg_inventory_trends_00-19.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">come from transportation\u003c/a>, and for the average U.S. household, gasoline for personal cars \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">is the the biggest source of emissions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most emissions come from long car trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977321 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png\" alt=\"The largest sector is transportation, followed by industrial, electricity, commercial & residential, agriculture, high GWP, and recycling & waste\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1536x863.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-2048x1151.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1920x1079.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">2019 greenhouse gas emissions in California, broken down into sector and subsector. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California Air Resources Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reducing travel in gas cars is one of the biggest things you can do, but can be challenging depending where you live. (This is one place where changing the system comes into play — working for better bus, train, biking and walking routes would make our cities and towns more friendly to ditching cars.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, reductions in emissions from car trips help, whether that means having no car, taking public transit more, or switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, there are plenty of physical and mental benefits to other, familiar options like walking and biking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fly less: \u003c/strong>Only 1% of people cause \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307779\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half of the emissions from air travel\u003c/a>. While carbon dioxide emissions from flights are roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231020305689\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2.4% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally\u003c/a>, if you’re in that select group of people flying, and flying a lot, cutting down on flights will have an outsized impact on reducing carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminate flights that aren’t essential, and if you’re a frequent flyer, set a goal to cut flights in half, or down to a few per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shift away from air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic modeled what less flying can look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Eat a plant-based diet: \u003c/strong>Growing food for us and food to feed animals (that become food for us), plus deforestation (primarily to grow food) accounts for roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">24% of global emissions\u003c/a>. Methane comes from cow, sheep, and goat burps and their manure, and nitrous oxide from using fertilizers. Some carbon dioxide is also released from plowing and razing forests. Globally, deforestation is also \u003ca href=\"https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the main driver of the biodiversity crisis.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977346 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg\" alt=\"Four men smile and inspect lettuce in a greenhouse\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A team of veterans inspects organic produce on their farm in San Jose. The Farmer Veteran Coalition is a national nonprofit non-governmental organization in the United States that mobilizes veterans to feed America and transition from military service to a career in agriculture. \u003ccite>(Meg Haywood Sullivan/Climate Visuals Countdown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beef is more resource intensive than other foods. Producing it requires\u003ca href=\"https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> 22 times more land and emits 62 times more greenhouse gases\u003c/a> per gram of protein than plant proteins like beans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For meat eaters worldwide, cutting back to 1.5 burgers a week would nearly eliminate the need for agricultural expansion, \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even with a global population of 10 billion.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average American \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eats three burgers a week.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Green your home: \u003c/strong>Energy we use in our homes is the \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-biggest source of emissions for the average American\u003c/a>. You can change that by installing solar panels and efficient windows, and improving insulation. And when some of the biggest home energy hogs need replacement, choose a more efficient alternative: swap your natural gas furnace and water heater for electric heat pumps, replace your gas stove with an induction one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of these changes aren’t achievable as a renter, but you can \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/tips-renters-and-rental-property-owners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bring this up with your property owner\u003c/a>, and depending on where you are, there are \u003ca href=\"https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/Low-Income-Weatherization-Program.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">programs\u003c/a> that help with incentives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Your climate Venn diagram: \u003c/strong>In the podcast “How to Save a Planet,” host and marine biologist \u003ca href=\"https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/bio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ayana Elizabeth Johnson\u003c/a> suggests one way to find your space in climate action: a Venn diagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Get out your paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977319 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png\" alt=\"A Venn diagram with three circles: one says "what brings you joy?", another says "What are you good at?" and the third says "What is the work that needs doing?" The convergence of the circles reads "What you should do."\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-800x800.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-768x768.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-2048x2048.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1920x1920.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has created this Venn diagram to help people find their place in climate action. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The All We Can Save Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What are you good at? “What skills, resources, networks, reach, influence are you bringing to the table?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What work needs doing? The crisis is so huge that there are many options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What brings you joy? “What gets you out of bed in the morning? Because this is the work of our lifetime,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Your job is to move forward on what you identify at the center of those circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Active hope: \u003c/strong>Hope for the climate is not about crossing your fingers and going about your daily routine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a practice, say climate activist Joanna Macy and psychologist Dr. Chris Johnstone in their book “Active Hope.” This kind of hope involves taking stock of our painful reality, identifying what changes you want to see, and beginning to make them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing these things brings us closer to others doing the same. The hope and action beget more of the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, climate change is here. Yes, it’s bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there’s hope — contingent on all of us, acting.\u003cbr />\n\u003ca id=\"question\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[hearken src=\"https://modules.wearehearken.com/kqed/embed/8818.js\"]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Submit a Bay Area climate change question for KQED’s science reporters at the \u003ca href=\"#question\">bottom of this post\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s getting hotter. It’s getting smokier. It’s getting scarier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s extreme droughts, heat waves and wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_North_and_Central_America.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">will likely worsen\u003c/a> in the coming decades and longer if we don’t get our act together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/climate/climate-change-emissions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere\u003c/a> is greater than any time in at least the past \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aav7337\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three million years\u003c/a>, and the world has already warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the 1800s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977323 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows a red line steadily increasing from the year 1880 to 2019, from around 290 parts per million of carbon dioxide to 410. A jagged black line goes up and down but follows the overall trend of the red line, showing an increase in temperature of about 1.1 degree Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As carbon dioxide concentrations increase in the atmosphere, the temperature does as well. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy Climate Central)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People of color are and will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-report-shows-disproportionate-impacts-climate-change-socially-vulnerable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disproportionately affected by the health and environmental impacts of climate change\u003c/a>, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking all this in is overwhelming. But here’s something that makes it easier: there is still time to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rapid, bold emissions reductions, starting now, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">would limit climate change \u003c/a>and its effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1977324 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows temperature warming from 1950 to today, with two diverging lines after that. An orange line depicts temperature rise if there are no cuts to current emissions, showing an average increase in temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. A blue line shows what would happen with substantial cuts in emissions, demonstrating warming would level off around 1.5 degrees Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decide what future we get. The one that will be recognizable to us, with limited warming, would require coordination across communities, states and countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While limiting warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) would be “very difficult, requiring immediate, top-level government attention and effort,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton environmental scientist and editor of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change review, it’s “not impossible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if we don’t meet those goals, Oppenheimer said, “there’s no end-of-the-world point where you give up.” Every tenth of a degree matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where you come in. Climate scientists made it crystal clear in the U.N.’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most recent report\u003c/a> that warming is a “code red for humanity,” according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This piece is for those who want to respond, but don’t know where to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>All of us\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Maybe you think we’re in two camps here in California: those who believe in climate change and those who don’t. But researchers define us with more nuance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication\u003c/a> divides Americans into six groups: from those deeply concerned about global warming and supportive of policies (“Alarmed”), to those who view it as a hoax (“Dismissive”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977322\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 644px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977322 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png 644w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734-160x100.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication divides Americans into six groups in terms of their perceptions of global warming. \u003ccite>(Artwork by Michael Sloan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">More than half of people in the U.S.\u003c/a> fall into the “Alarmed” or “Concerned” categories. This means they’re engaged in this issue and ready to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of these folks don’t know what to do with that worry, though, or how to take meaningful action on climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Let’s feel some feelings\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Longtime Bay Area residents will recall a time when the weather didn’t \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11893922/california-still-deep-in-drought-despite-stormy-weather-capped-by-atmospheric-river\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">whiplash from bone dry to flooded streets\u003c/a>, when skies choked with wildfire smoke were anomalous and average fall temperatures were cooler (\u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/graphic/fastest-warming-seasons-2022?location=San%20Francisco&graphicSet=Seasonal+Warming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 3 degrees Fahrenheit in San Francisco\u003c/a>, to be precise). If you’re a recent Bay Area transplant, I imagine you can think of similar changes wherever you hail from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Facing the climate crisis means grieving the version of the planet we grew up with. That means sitting with painful emotions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sadness, despair, anger and powerlessness are normal, healthy responses to a serious risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are biologically wired to respond with anxiety to real threats,” said Robin Cooper, a San Francisco-based therapist and founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Psychiatry Alliance.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977352 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-800x528.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1536x1014.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A woman sits among a group of dead trees at an installation by artist Maya Lin, titled “Ghost Forest,” in Madison Square Park, New York, on May 14, 2021. Maya Lin installed 49 dead Atlantic white cedar trees in a park in New York City to warn of climate change. \u003ccite>(TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Resisting these feelings is normal too — it’s a means of protecting ourselves. But burying our heads in the sand ultimately leads to the same outcomes as denying the crisis. Take breaks, but face what is happening. At some point it becomes easier to look at the issue than hide from it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, let yourself feel things. There are losses we cannot reverse. There will be more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feeling the hard emotions lets you move through them and forward. That doesn’t mean you’re free of them — you aren’t, but pushing them down won’t help you move into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some ways to process your emotions, since a lot of us are out of practice:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Connect with people. \u003c/b>Talk informally with family or friends, or more formally with a therapist (there are growing networks of \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/climate-aware-therapist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychiatrists\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychology.us/climate-therapists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychologists\u003c/a> with specific training on climate change), or \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">grief\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">groups\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with your body \u003c/strong>through walking, running, yoga, or any exercise you enjoy.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with nature. \u003c/strong>Environmental psychologist Renee Lertzman said getting out in nature is both calming and “reminds me of why we’re doing this. I’m continually amazed by how incredible life is.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>There are plenty of other \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/22/808853706/this-earth-day-is-like-no-other-heres-how-to-grieve-and-stay-engaged\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">articles\u003c/a>, books, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101885372/climate-anxiety-and-how-it-can-lead-to-hopefulness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">podcasts\u003c/a> about processing these heavy emotions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Imagine the future you want\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It’s inspiring to envision a Bay Area less dependent on fossil fuels, with cleaner air, more predictable weather cycles, and a booming green jobs industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air pollution from fossil fuels affects low-income communities and communities of color far more than others, in places close to freeways and industry, like East and West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies from Oxfam show the poorest 50% of Americans are responsible for far less carbon pollution \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">than the average American — about half.\u003c/a> Cleaning up our climate is an act of equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cutting down fossil fuels would save lives. California’s air regulator estimated that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/health-air-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">we see 7,200 premature deaths each year from air pollution\u003c/a>, particularly from pollution related to diesel exhaust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, air pollution from burning fossil fuels is \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121000487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">responsible for 8.7 million deaths annually,\u003c/a> shaking out to more than a tenth of U.S. deaths (deaths from COVID-19 stand at \u003ca href=\"https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nearly 5 million people\u003c/a> globally since the start of the pandemic).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average life expectancy would increase by \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/116/11/1910/5770885#207231589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more than a year\u003c/a> across a world without fossil fuel emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching out gas appliances like stoves for electric ones significantly \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/5/7/21247602/gas-stove-cooking-indoor-air-pollution-health-risks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improves indoor air quality\u003c/a>, which could lead to lower risk for cardiovascular disease in adults and asthma in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many of us experienced during the pandemic, converting streets into places for communities to gather brought a lot of joy, with “slow streets” and increased outdoor dining. San Francisco voters decided\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/election/article/JFK-Drive-will-remain-car-free-after-S-F-voters-17570182.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to make some of these car-free streets permanent\u003c/a>. Should our cities build out a more walkable and bikeable infrastructure, this could be our norm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977345\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977345 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man walks with his two kids along a street during the San Francisco Bike & Roll to School Day in 2018. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Bicycle Coalition)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Climate action could be a boon for green jobs, like those installing solar panels and restoring wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And climate progress could significantly impact our mental health. That’s because the antidote to climate anxiety is action.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Act\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>You do not need to become anything you are not to take action on climate change. The issue is big, and the good part about that is there are endless ways to plug in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Kim Nicholas says consider where you spend most of your time and where you get the most energy right now. Start there. Ask yourself, “how is it that we as a family, as a business, [or] as a neighborhood, are impacting the climate? What is it that we can do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While climate activists debate whether to push people to organize for systemic change or focus on individual actuals, they tend to agree that both are needed. Systems need transforming and the largest reductions in emissions will be found there. But individual changes — especially in rich countries like the U.S. — are important, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the systems level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find a group that works for you:\u003c/strong> Climate journalist and organizer Bill McKibben says the most powerful thing an individual can do is \u003ca href=\"https://climate-xchange.org/2020/09/16/be-a-little-less-of-an-individual-author-and-activist-bill-mckibben/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be less of an individual.\u003c/a> Your voice will be more powerful with others, and it’s more fun and hopeful to tackle this challenge together. There’s no shortage of groups of people concerned about the climate and taking meaningful action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are groups for \u003ca href=\"https://protectourwinters.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">skiers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://envirn.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nurses\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://artistsandclimatechange.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://republicen.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">political conservatives\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eldersclimateaction.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grandmothers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.conservationhawks.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hunters\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://climateandsecurity.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">people concerned with national security\u003c/a>. See the range? Groups such as these can help guide you to advocate for more change at the systems level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977351\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977351 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-800x507.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-768x487.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children paint waves on paper as they take part in an event to make art for the youth climate strike on September 20, 2019. \u003ccite>(JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vote for climate candidates: \u003c/strong>The rapid policy reform needed to address the climate crisis requires politicians to enact bolder, faster changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/socf.12422\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Research\u003c/a> shows electing representatives that ranked high on the \u003ca href=\"https://scorecard.lcv.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">League of Conservation Voters National Environmental Scorecard\u003c/a> significantly reduced a state’s carbon dioxide emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0176268017304500\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Voting female politicians into office\u003c/a> is linked with stronger climate policies and lower emissions, and could be an underutilized tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Contact your representatives: \u003c/strong>Call your local, state or federal representative to share your concerns. Sure, there are other ways to get in touch too, like email and snail mail, but activists and lawmakers say the best way to grab a staffer’s attention is to call and not email, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/heres-why-you-should-call-not-email-your-legislators.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The New York Times reports\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If your representatives already share your beliefs, thank them for their efforts and ask them to move further or faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the individual level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While the numbers show that minimizing your carbon footprint won’t get us where we need to go on greenhouse gas reductions alone, “If you live in a rich country, and especially the richer you are, your individual actions really matter,” sustainability scientist Kimberly Nicholas writes in her book “\u003ca href=\"https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/665274/under-the-sky-we-make-by-kimberly-nicholas-phd/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Under the Sky We Make.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Personal climate actions like skipping drives and flights matter in both reducing carbon, and in changing the perception of a wealthy American ideal — using excessive carbon — that’s quickly getting exported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When changes become a social norm, it becomes more attractive for politicians and companies to take action. Research shows\u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aas8827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> just 25% of a population is needed to create a norm change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our suggestions reflect actions shown to have the biggest impact, so you can spend your limited time and brain capacity judiciously, though there are plenty of other worthwhile things to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Talk about climate change:\u003c/strong> While the majority of Americans are worried about climate change, most people don’t talk about it, even if they’d like to, says Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale’s climate communication program. He says by avoiding talking about the topic, we fail to signal how much it matters to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe has had thousands of conversations about climate change. She recommends a helpful formula for your discussion: start with what you both care about (like your kids, the beach, birds, etc.), connect that passion with climate change (climate change affects everything, so luckily that’s not hard), and then discuss what’s at stake for what you love, and some solutions that are at work locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also talk about what you’re doing about climate change (no self-righteousness please though, that won’t help your cause). Lots of folks are changing their behavior based on the climate crisis, and sharing that could contribute to societal shifts. There are \u003ca href=\"https://brightaction.app/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tools to help\u003c/a> your community, company, or place of worship collaborate, or even compete with one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yale’s climate change communication program has tips on \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/attaining-meaningful-outcomes-from-conversations-on-climate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how to achieve meaningful conversation outcomes\u003c/a>, and you can hear how conversations between a son and his Republican U.S. representative father converted the latter into a \u003ca href=\"https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/j4hk928/trying-to-talk-to-family-about-climate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">conservative climate champion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Drive less: \u003c/strong>The majority of California’s greenhouse gas emissions \u003ca href=\"https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2019/ghg_inventory_trends_00-19.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">come from transportation\u003c/a>, and for the average U.S. household, gasoline for personal cars \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">is the the biggest source of emissions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most emissions come from long car trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977321 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png\" alt=\"The largest sector is transportation, followed by industrial, electricity, commercial & residential, agriculture, high GWP, and recycling & waste\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1536x863.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-2048x1151.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1920x1079.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">2019 greenhouse gas emissions in California, broken down into sector and subsector. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California Air Resources Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reducing travel in gas cars is one of the biggest things you can do, but can be challenging depending where you live. (This is one place where changing the system comes into play — working for better bus, train, biking and walking routes would make our cities and towns more friendly to ditching cars.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, reductions in emissions from car trips help, whether that means having no car, taking public transit more, or switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, there are plenty of physical and mental benefits to other, familiar options like walking and biking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fly less: \u003c/strong>Only 1% of people cause \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307779\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half of the emissions from air travel\u003c/a>. While carbon dioxide emissions from flights are roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231020305689\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2.4% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally\u003c/a>, if you’re in that select group of people flying, and flying a lot, cutting down on flights will have an outsized impact on reducing carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminate flights that aren’t essential, and if you’re a frequent flyer, set a goal to cut flights in half, or down to a few per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shift away from air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic modeled what less flying can look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Eat a plant-based diet: \u003c/strong>Growing food for us and food to feed animals (that become food for us), plus deforestation (primarily to grow food) accounts for roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">24% of global emissions\u003c/a>. Methane comes from cow, sheep, and goat burps and their manure, and nitrous oxide from using fertilizers. Some carbon dioxide is also released from plowing and razing forests. Globally, deforestation is also \u003ca href=\"https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the main driver of the biodiversity crisis.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977346 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg\" alt=\"Four men smile and inspect lettuce in a greenhouse\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A team of veterans inspects organic produce on their farm in San Jose. The Farmer Veteran Coalition is a national nonprofit non-governmental organization in the United States that mobilizes veterans to feed America and transition from military service to a career in agriculture. \u003ccite>(Meg Haywood Sullivan/Climate Visuals Countdown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beef is more resource intensive than other foods. Producing it requires\u003ca href=\"https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> 22 times more land and emits 62 times more greenhouse gases\u003c/a> per gram of protein than plant proteins like beans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For meat eaters worldwide, cutting back to 1.5 burgers a week would nearly eliminate the need for agricultural expansion, \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even with a global population of 10 billion.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average American \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eats three burgers a week.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Green your home: \u003c/strong>Energy we use in our homes is the \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-biggest source of emissions for the average American\u003c/a>. You can change that by installing solar panels and efficient windows, and improving insulation. And when some of the biggest home energy hogs need replacement, choose a more efficient alternative: swap your natural gas furnace and water heater for electric heat pumps, replace your gas stove with an induction one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of these changes aren’t achievable as a renter, but you can \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/tips-renters-and-rental-property-owners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bring this up with your property owner\u003c/a>, and depending on where you are, there are \u003ca href=\"https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/Low-Income-Weatherization-Program.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">programs\u003c/a> that help with incentives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Your climate Venn diagram: \u003c/strong>In the podcast “How to Save a Planet,” host and marine biologist \u003ca href=\"https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/bio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ayana Elizabeth Johnson\u003c/a> suggests one way to find your space in climate action: a Venn diagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Get out your paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977319 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png\" alt=\"A Venn diagram with three circles: one says "what brings you joy?", another says "What are you good at?" and the third says "What is the work that needs doing?" The convergence of the circles reads "What you should do."\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-800x800.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-768x768.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-2048x2048.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1920x1920.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has created this Venn diagram to help people find their place in climate action. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The All We Can Save Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What are you good at? “What skills, resources, networks, reach, influence are you bringing to the table?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What work needs doing? The crisis is so huge that there are many options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What brings you joy? “What gets you out of bed in the morning? Because this is the work of our lifetime,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Your job is to move forward on what you identify at the center of those circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Active hope: \u003c/strong>Hope for the climate is not about crossing your fingers and going about your daily routine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a practice, say climate activist Joanna Macy and psychologist Dr. Chris Johnstone in their book “Active Hope.” This kind of hope involves taking stock of our painful reality, identifying what changes you want to see, and beginning to make them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing these things brings us closer to others doing the same. The hope and action beget more of the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, climate change is here. Yes, it’s bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there’s hope — contingent on all of us, acting.\u003cbr />\n\u003ca id=\"question\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California to Swap New Gas-Powered Landscaping Equipment for Zero Emissions Tools",
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"content": "\u003cp>Those ubiquitous, noisy leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and weed whackers are producing something more than a high-pitched whirring: pollution that’s harmful to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to curb this air pollution and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, California will phase out the new manufacture of common gas-powered versions of landscaping equipment as early as 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1346\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Assembly Bill 1346\u003c/a> into law this month, effectively banning what the state describes as “small off-road engines,” including common landscaping tools, chain saws and even golf carts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also requires new portable, gas-powered generators to be zero emission as soon as 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mostly, these tools are used by people to tidy home lawns and gardens, although commercial landscapers, construction crews and farmers use them, too, at a smaller percentage, \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to the California Air Resources Board\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People can still use the gas-powered equipment they already own, and stores can still sell their older stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Dilbeck works at the air board and helped design the emissions regulations. “[These tools] actually have more smog-forming emissions than light duty passenger cars in California,” Dilbeck said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One hour spent clearing a yard with a leaf blower emits the \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">same amount of smog-forming gases\u003c/a> as driving 1,100 miles in a standard passenger car, according to the air regulator. That would be like driving from Los Angeles to Denver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, the gas-powered engines produce particulate matter and ozone. These machines are not major emitters of planet warming gases, although they do produce some carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple environmental and health organizations supported the bill, while a handful of groups opposed it, including those representing landscapers and equipment manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, co-authored the legislation and said it will particularly benefit workers “who face disproportionate health risks from air pollution.” Those risks include \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/health-effects-ozone-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exacerbating asthma\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-matter-pm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">heart disease, and causing premature death\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz landscaper Brett Graf owns Habitat Gardens. He says he’s already experienced multiple upsides from using zero-emission tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re easier to use. They smell better, they’re not as loud, you’re not breathing in these fumes,” Graf said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graf’s tools are plug-ins or battery powered, and he said his clients are open to him charging his batteries from their outlets while he works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s new law is coupled with $30 million in incentives for people to buy zero-emission equipment, meant to aid an equitable transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some landscape professionals fear that the transition won’t be equitable or smooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Martinez Quiróz owns Martinez Landscape, a three-person outfit in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This quick transition is a huge change for us and it’s catching us by surprise,” Martinez Quiróz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be a bit more difficult for us to compete, because we have to buy new equipment and that will bring our costs up,” he added. “It’s going to have a big impact on contractors, as well as on clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandra Giarde is the executive director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.clca.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Landscape Contractors Association\u003c/a>. She says the group surveyed its members and found that the landscapers who most often use electric equipment service wealthier communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is this [law] going to impact the rest of the communities?” Giarde asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators point to the availability of battery-powered and plug-in alternatives for commonly used landscaping tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those tools will work fine for personal and residential use, Giarde says, but the equipment isn’t up to the job required by commercial landscapers: slogging from site to site for six to eight hours each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to use this equipment,” Giarde said. “It’s not there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Barbose of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsusa.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Union of Concerned Scientists\u003c/a> said that may be true “but that’s sort of the whole point of the regulation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to put standards out there,” he said. “It may not be achievable today, but that the state determines they can be met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the law is an important step for California as it moves away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Those ubiquitous, noisy leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and weed whackers are producing something more than a high-pitched whirring: pollution that’s harmful to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to curb this air pollution and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, California will phase out the new manufacture of common gas-powered versions of landscaping equipment as early as 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1346\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Assembly Bill 1346\u003c/a> into law this month, effectively banning what the state describes as “small off-road engines,” including common landscaping tools, chain saws and even golf carts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also requires new portable, gas-powered generators to be zero emission as soon as 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mostly, these tools are used by people to tidy home lawns and gardens, although commercial landscapers, construction crews and farmers use them, too, at a smaller percentage, \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to the California Air Resources Board\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People can still use the gas-powered equipment they already own, and stores can still sell their older stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Dilbeck works at the air board and helped design the emissions regulations. “[These tools] actually have more smog-forming emissions than light duty passenger cars in California,” Dilbeck said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One hour spent clearing a yard with a leaf blower emits the \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">same amount of smog-forming gases\u003c/a> as driving 1,100 miles in a standard passenger car, according to the air regulator. That would be like driving from Los Angeles to Denver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, the gas-powered engines produce particulate matter and ozone. These machines are not major emitters of planet warming gases, although they do produce some carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple environmental and health organizations supported the bill, while a handful of groups opposed it, including those representing landscapers and equipment manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, co-authored the legislation and said it will particularly benefit workers “who face disproportionate health risks from air pollution.” Those risks include \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/health-effects-ozone-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exacerbating asthma\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-matter-pm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">heart disease, and causing premature death\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz landscaper Brett Graf owns Habitat Gardens. He says he’s already experienced multiple upsides from using zero-emission tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re easier to use. They smell better, they’re not as loud, you’re not breathing in these fumes,” Graf said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graf’s tools are plug-ins or battery powered, and he said his clients are open to him charging his batteries from their outlets while he works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s new law is coupled with $30 million in incentives for people to buy zero-emission equipment, meant to aid an equitable transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some landscape professionals fear that the transition won’t be equitable or smooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Martinez Quiróz owns Martinez Landscape, a three-person outfit in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This quick transition is a huge change for us and it’s catching us by surprise,” Martinez Quiróz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be a bit more difficult for us to compete, because we have to buy new equipment and that will bring our costs up,” he added. “It’s going to have a big impact on contractors, as well as on clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandra Giarde is the executive director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.clca.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Landscape Contractors Association\u003c/a>. She says the group surveyed its members and found that the landscapers who most often use electric equipment service wealthier communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is this [law] going to impact the rest of the communities?” Giarde asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators point to the availability of battery-powered and plug-in alternatives for commonly used landscaping tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those tools will work fine for personal and residential use, Giarde says, but the equipment isn’t up to the job required by commercial landscapers: slogging from site to site for six to eight hours each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to use this equipment,” Giarde said. “It’s not there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Barbose of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsusa.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Union of Concerned Scientists\u003c/a> said that may be true “but that’s sort of the whole point of the regulation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to put standards out there,” he said. “It may not be achievable today, but that the state determines they can be met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the law is an important step for California as it moves away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Mixing and Matching COVID Vaccines: What We Know",
"headTitle": "Mixing and Matching COVID Vaccines: What We Know | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"big-cap-wrap\">\u003cspan class=\"big-cap\">L\u003c/span>\u003c/span>ater this week an expert committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hear about the results of a clinical trial that could influence how COVID-19 vaccines are used in this country at some point in the future. The trial, conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is a so-called mix-and-match trial, testing the vaccines authorized in the U.S. in combinations with each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the trial was to see whether using a different vaccine as a booster shot improves protection. So does getting a dose of Pfizer vaccine after getting a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine trigger production of more antibodies than a second dose of the J&J would? Are the messenger RNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna virtually interchangeable, or does switching produce a broader set of immune responses?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This isn’t theoretical. The booster shot most vaccinated Americans are in the process of getting or booking may not be the last needed. Figuring out how to optimize use of the current generation of COVID-19 vaccines is critical, a number of experts have told STAT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy, said we need to realize that many questions remain to be answered about use of these vaccines. We don’t know the optimal dose. We don’t know the most effective interval between doses. We don’t know how many doses we’re going to need and we don’t know whether we would get more durable protection if we mix up the vaccines each person receives, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of how we use COVID-19 vaccines, we’re in the very early days, Osterholm said, adding that now that we have effective vaccines, we need to start figuring out how best to use them. “We have to start adopting a public health mindset for decision making,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What follows is a primer on what we know about mixing COVID-19 vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Let’s start with the terminology\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you get a booster jab that is of the same brand as your previous jab or jabs, you are getting a \u003cem>homologous \u003c/em>booster. In the United States, most people who have been vaccinated have had homologous vaccine series and homologous boosters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There may be some exceptions. Earlier in the vaccine rollout, when supplies were scarce, the CDC advised that people could be given a second shot of whatever vaccine was on hand if they were due for their second shot of vaccine and no supplies of the brand they were due to get were available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If your original series of vaccines or the booster were from different manufacturers, you have what’s called a \u003cem>heterologous\u003c/em> vaccine series or a heterologous boost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few vaccines are actually designed to capture the benefits of heterologous boosting. For instance, Johnson & Johnson’s Ebola vaccine uses two different types of vaccines — one of which is made using a similar design to the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. Likewise, the Sputnik V vaccine is made up of two doses of similar but not identical vaccines, each made using a different adenovirus that has been modified to carry genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In both cases, the goal was to ensure that the immune response the first dose generated didn’t prevent the second shot from taking effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Necessity is the mother of invention\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As mentioned above, most immunized people in the United States were vaccinated with a homologous series of vaccines. But elsewhere heterologous regimens were used for a couple of different reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early days of the vaccine rollout, some countries opted to use heterologous boosts because they didn’t have adequate supply to be able to give people a matching shot when they were due for their second dose. And after the AstraZeneca vaccine was seen to cause serious clotting problems in some people who received it (a problem later seen with the J&J vaccine too), some countries stopped using it or limited its use to older adults, for whom the risk of a clotting event after vaccination appeared to be lower. Younger adults were offered one of the mRNA vaccines as their second dose instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kathryn Edwards, a vaccines researcher at Vanderbilt University, suggested the United States should probably look at whether specific brands of booster doses should be targeted at certain populations — or more specifically, if certain people should be steered away from certain vaccines when it comes time for them to get boosters. With concerns about myocarditis in young males associated with mRNA vaccines and clotting problems reported mainly with younger women who got one of the viral vectored vaccines, such as the J&J, maybe it’s time to think about who gets which type of COVID-19 vaccine, Edwards said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A natural experiment turns into a border barrier\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Germany that used heterologous vaccine approaches have created a travel conundrum for their citizens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A number of countries — the United States among them — do not consider people who received two different brands of vaccines fully vaccinated, even if the person’s home country does. This means someone who got an mRNA vaccine as a second dose after receiving an AstraZeneca shot as a priming dose is not deemed fully vaccinated and is not eligible to travel to the U.S. or other countries with the same rule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Canada has roughly 4 million people who were vaccinated on a heterologous schedule. The U.S. and its northern neighbor share the world’s longest border and in pre-Covid times, travel across it was brisk. Now many Canadians are in limbo, unsure if or when they will be allowed to cross into the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Figuring out how to deal with a range of vaccines used in a variety of ways around the world is going to be a challenge that the Biden administration and other governments will have to grapple with as international travel increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>All combos may not be created equal\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Is it possible that any combination of vaccine types or brands will work as well — or better — than if the shots were all of a single brand? That’s not yet clear, but it’s possible — even likely — that the combinations and the order in which the vaccines are given will matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A followed by B may not be the same as B followed by A,” explained Bruce Gellin, chief of global public health strategy for the Rockefeller Foundation’s pandemic prevention institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A number of small studies done in Europe have shown that following up AstraZeneca’s adenovirus-vectored vaccine with a Pfizer or a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2110716\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moderna\u003c/a> mRNA booster elicits a greater immune response than what is seen from two doses of the AstraZeneca alone. But an ongoing research effort at Britain’s University of Oxford comparing COVID-19 vaccine combinations called the Com-CoV trials suggests that the inverse may not be true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists conducting the original \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2821%2901694-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Com-CoV trial\u003c/a> gave volunteers two doses apiece of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer, comparing the antibody levels those regimens elicited to AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer or Pfizer followed by AstraZeneca. Pfizer after AstraZeneca generated higher antibody levels than two doses of AstraZeneca alone; but AstraZeneca after Pfizer was not better than two doses of Pfizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The priming event is really important,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/13/barney-graham-leaves-nih-vaccine-research-center/\">Barney Graham\u003c/a>, who was deputy director of the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center until the end of August and who played a critical role in the design of the Moderna and other vaccine prototypes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graham explained that the kind of immune response one gets from COVID-19 vaccines is determined by the first dose. “And so it kind of locks you into a repertoire and a pattern of antibody, T-cell balances that carry on through subsequent boosters,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much remains to be learned about how to effectively mix COVID-19 vaccines — and it will take time to answer these questions, Graham said. “Those are the kind of things that happen over a 12-year development program. We didn’t do that this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Mixed vaccines carry a punch\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In general, COVID-19 vaccines are what’s known as reactogenic; they can carry a wallop. Fevers, sore arms, fatigue, and malaise — a lot of people report feeling kind of crappy in the hours or even day or two after getting a shot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Complaints about reactogenicity were even greater among people who got mixed vaccine brands, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01115-6/fulltext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Com-CoV trial\u003c/a> reported. So, potentially more post-vaccination side effects, but nothing unmanageable. “It is reassuring that all reactogenicity symptoms were short lived,” the Com-CoV researchers said in a short study published in late May in The Lancet.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The challenge ahead\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If evidence continues to amass suggesting that mixing vaccine brands would be of benefit, how do those data get translated into public policy? That won’t be easy, experts warn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Typically, regulators like the Food and Drug Administration act on requests from companies. They review data provided by a manufacturer and decide yes, this vaccine or drug can be given to these people or no, it should not be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when you are talking about a plan that involves combining products from two different companies, things become much more complex. None of these companies have asked to have a rival’s vaccine used as a booster for their COVID-19 shot — and they’re not likely to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Normally the manufacturer puts in an application to do something,” said Glen Nowak, director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “Who then has that responsibility to bring forward a recommendation to mix and match? I think it’s a very good question.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CDC could address the issue, said Norman Baylor, president and CEO of Biologics Consulting and a former head of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines. Its advisory panel, ACIP, could evaluate the data and, if it supports using heterologous boosts, recommend that this is the way the vaccines could be used. Such advice could take the form of what is known as preferential recommendations — effectively not saying that vaccine B must be used after vaccine A, but noting it would be advisable to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could that happen? Possibly. But if it does happen, it will likely affect the way COVID-19 vaccines are used in the future — in people who haven’t yet started to be vaccinated, or if and when people in the country need a fourth dose of vaccine. Because by the time there are enough data to move forward with this type of policy, most Americans who are currently due for a booster jab will likely have had one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">This story was originally published by \u003c/i>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">\u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/12/a-primer-on-what-we-know-about-mixing-and-matching-covid-vaccines/?utm_content=bufferd53a2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=facebook_organic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/10/winter-is-coming-as-flu-season-nears-americas-window-of-opportunity-to-beat-back-covid-19-is-narrowing/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">STAT\u003c/a>\u003c/i>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Later this week an expert committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hear about the results of a clinical trial that could influence how Covid vaccines are used in this country at some point in the future. The trial, conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is a so-called mix-and-match trial, testing the Covid vaccines authorized in the U.S. in combinations with each other.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"big-cap-wrap\">\u003cspan class=\"big-cap\">L\u003c/span>\u003c/span>ater this week an expert committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hear about the results of a clinical trial that could influence how COVID-19 vaccines are used in this country at some point in the future. The trial, conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is a so-called mix-and-match trial, testing the vaccines authorized in the U.S. in combinations with each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the trial was to see whether using a different vaccine as a booster shot improves protection. So does getting a dose of Pfizer vaccine after getting a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine trigger production of more antibodies than a second dose of the J&J would? Are the messenger RNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna virtually interchangeable, or does switching produce a broader set of immune responses?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This isn’t theoretical. The booster shot most vaccinated Americans are in the process of getting or booking may not be the last needed. Figuring out how to optimize use of the current generation of COVID-19 vaccines is critical, a number of experts have told STAT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy, said we need to realize that many questions remain to be answered about use of these vaccines. We don’t know the optimal dose. We don’t know the most effective interval between doses. We don’t know how many doses we’re going to need and we don’t know whether we would get more durable protection if we mix up the vaccines each person receives, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of how we use COVID-19 vaccines, we’re in the very early days, Osterholm said, adding that now that we have effective vaccines, we need to start figuring out how best to use them. “We have to start adopting a public health mindset for decision making,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What follows is a primer on what we know about mixing COVID-19 vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Let’s start with the terminology\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you get a booster jab that is of the same brand as your previous jab or jabs, you are getting a \u003cem>homologous \u003c/em>booster. In the United States, most people who have been vaccinated have had homologous vaccine series and homologous boosters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There may be some exceptions. Earlier in the vaccine rollout, when supplies were scarce, the CDC advised that people could be given a second shot of whatever vaccine was on hand if they were due for their second shot of vaccine and no supplies of the brand they were due to get were available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If your original series of vaccines or the booster were from different manufacturers, you have what’s called a \u003cem>heterologous\u003c/em> vaccine series or a heterologous boost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few vaccines are actually designed to capture the benefits of heterologous boosting. For instance, Johnson & Johnson’s Ebola vaccine uses two different types of vaccines — one of which is made using a similar design to the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. Likewise, the Sputnik V vaccine is made up of two doses of similar but not identical vaccines, each made using a different adenovirus that has been modified to carry genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In both cases, the goal was to ensure that the immune response the first dose generated didn’t prevent the second shot from taking effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Necessity is the mother of invention\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As mentioned above, most immunized people in the United States were vaccinated with a homologous series of vaccines. But elsewhere heterologous regimens were used for a couple of different reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early days of the vaccine rollout, some countries opted to use heterologous boosts because they didn’t have adequate supply to be able to give people a matching shot when they were due for their second dose. And after the AstraZeneca vaccine was seen to cause serious clotting problems in some people who received it (a problem later seen with the J&J vaccine too), some countries stopped using it or limited its use to older adults, for whom the risk of a clotting event after vaccination appeared to be lower. Younger adults were offered one of the mRNA vaccines as their second dose instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kathryn Edwards, a vaccines researcher at Vanderbilt University, suggested the United States should probably look at whether specific brands of booster doses should be targeted at certain populations — or more specifically, if certain people should be steered away from certain vaccines when it comes time for them to get boosters. With concerns about myocarditis in young males associated with mRNA vaccines and clotting problems reported mainly with younger women who got one of the viral vectored vaccines, such as the J&J, maybe it’s time to think about who gets which type of COVID-19 vaccine, Edwards said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A natural experiment turns into a border barrier\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Germany that used heterologous vaccine approaches have created a travel conundrum for their citizens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A number of countries — the United States among them — do not consider people who received two different brands of vaccines fully vaccinated, even if the person’s home country does. This means someone who got an mRNA vaccine as a second dose after receiving an AstraZeneca shot as a priming dose is not deemed fully vaccinated and is not eligible to travel to the U.S. or other countries with the same rule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Canada has roughly 4 million people who were vaccinated on a heterologous schedule. The U.S. and its northern neighbor share the world’s longest border and in pre-Covid times, travel across it was brisk. Now many Canadians are in limbo, unsure if or when they will be allowed to cross into the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Figuring out how to deal with a range of vaccines used in a variety of ways around the world is going to be a challenge that the Biden administration and other governments will have to grapple with as international travel increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>All combos may not be created equal\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Is it possible that any combination of vaccine types or brands will work as well — or better — than if the shots were all of a single brand? That’s not yet clear, but it’s possible — even likely — that the combinations and the order in which the vaccines are given will matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A followed by B may not be the same as B followed by A,” explained Bruce Gellin, chief of global public health strategy for the Rockefeller Foundation’s pandemic prevention institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A number of small studies done in Europe have shown that following up AstraZeneca’s adenovirus-vectored vaccine with a Pfizer or a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2110716\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moderna\u003c/a> mRNA booster elicits a greater immune response than what is seen from two doses of the AstraZeneca alone. But an ongoing research effort at Britain’s University of Oxford comparing COVID-19 vaccine combinations called the Com-CoV trials suggests that the inverse may not be true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists conducting the original \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2821%2901694-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Com-CoV trial\u003c/a> gave volunteers two doses apiece of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer, comparing the antibody levels those regimens elicited to AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer or Pfizer followed by AstraZeneca. Pfizer after AstraZeneca generated higher antibody levels than two doses of AstraZeneca alone; but AstraZeneca after Pfizer was not better than two doses of Pfizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The priming event is really important,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/13/barney-graham-leaves-nih-vaccine-research-center/\">Barney Graham\u003c/a>, who was deputy director of the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center until the end of August and who played a critical role in the design of the Moderna and other vaccine prototypes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graham explained that the kind of immune response one gets from COVID-19 vaccines is determined by the first dose. “And so it kind of locks you into a repertoire and a pattern of antibody, T-cell balances that carry on through subsequent boosters,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much remains to be learned about how to effectively mix COVID-19 vaccines — and it will take time to answer these questions, Graham said. “Those are the kind of things that happen over a 12-year development program. We didn’t do that this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Mixed vaccines carry a punch\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In general, COVID-19 vaccines are what’s known as reactogenic; they can carry a wallop. Fevers, sore arms, fatigue, and malaise — a lot of people report feeling kind of crappy in the hours or even day or two after getting a shot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Complaints about reactogenicity were even greater among people who got mixed vaccine brands, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01115-6/fulltext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Com-CoV trial\u003c/a> reported. So, potentially more post-vaccination side effects, but nothing unmanageable. “It is reassuring that all reactogenicity symptoms were short lived,” the Com-CoV researchers said in a short study published in late May in The Lancet.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The challenge ahead\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If evidence continues to amass suggesting that mixing vaccine brands would be of benefit, how do those data get translated into public policy? That won’t be easy, experts warn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Typically, regulators like the Food and Drug Administration act on requests from companies. They review data provided by a manufacturer and decide yes, this vaccine or drug can be given to these people or no, it should not be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when you are talking about a plan that involves combining products from two different companies, things become much more complex. None of these companies have asked to have a rival’s vaccine used as a booster for their COVID-19 shot — and they’re not likely to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Normally the manufacturer puts in an application to do something,” said Glen Nowak, director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “Who then has that responsibility to bring forward a recommendation to mix and match? I think it’s a very good question.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CDC could address the issue, said Norman Baylor, president and CEO of Biologics Consulting and a former head of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines. Its advisory panel, ACIP, could evaluate the data and, if it supports using heterologous boosts, recommend that this is the way the vaccines could be used. Such advice could take the form of what is known as preferential recommendations — effectively not saying that vaccine B must be used after vaccine A, but noting it would be advisable to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could that happen? Possibly. But if it does happen, it will likely affect the way COVID-19 vaccines are used in the future — in people who haven’t yet started to be vaccinated, or if and when people in the country need a fourth dose of vaccine. Because by the time there are enough data to move forward with this type of policy, most Americans who are currently due for a booster jab will likely have had one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "COVID Vaccine Safe and Effective for Kids 5 to 11, Pfizer Says",
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"content": "\u003cp>The first results from the highly anticipated trial studying the effectiveness and safety of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 showed promising results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pharmaceutical companies said early results of their trial indicate the vaccine is safe for children and establishes a strong antibody response against the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giving a two-dose regimen of 10 μg (micrograms) administered 21 days apart for children between 5 and 11 years old was well tolerated, according to Pfizer and BioNTech. Side effects were also generally comparable to those of people between the ages of 16 and 25 years old who received the vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This trial used a smaller vaccine dosage, 10 micrograms, rather than the 30 microgram dose used for people 12 and older. The dosage was selected as the preferred dose for safety and effectiveness in young children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>News of the results come as pediatric cases of COVID-19 are increasing amid a nationwide surge of infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S. — underscoring the public health need for vaccination. These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, and we plan to submit them to the FDA and other regulators with urgency,” said Albert Bourla, the chairman and CEO for Pfizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over the past nine months, hundreds of millions of people ages 12 and older from around the world have received our COVID-19 vaccine. We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” Bourla said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the strong results, it will be some time before the general public can see an official rollout of vaccines for children ages 5 to 11. Once analysis of the trial is completed, Pfizer and BioNTech will submit the results “in the near term” to the Food and Drug Administration for review and possible emergency use authorization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if the FDA grants that authorization, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently told NPR that parents and caregivers will likely have to wait until the end of 2021 before a COVID-19 vaccine is fully approved for young children ages 5 to 11.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trial results for children under 5 years of age could come later this year, the pharmaceutical companies said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Already in March 2021, we have started the study to evaluate the immunization of younger children. Our objective was to generate and submit the data for schoolkids to regulatory authorities around the world before the winter season begins,” BioNTech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=COVID+Vaccine+For+Kids+Ages+5+To+11+Is+Safe+And+Effective%2C+Pfizer+Says&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The first results from the highly anticipated trial studying the effectiveness and safety of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 showed promising results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pharmaceutical companies said early results of their trial indicate the vaccine is safe for children and establishes a strong antibody response against the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giving a two-dose regimen of 10 μg (micrograms) administered 21 days apart for children between 5 and 11 years old was well tolerated, according to Pfizer and BioNTech. Side effects were also generally comparable to those of people between the ages of 16 and 25 years old who received the vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This trial used a smaller vaccine dosage, 10 micrograms, rather than the 30 microgram dose used for people 12 and older. The dosage was selected as the preferred dose for safety and effectiveness in young children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>News of the results come as pediatric cases of COVID-19 are increasing amid a nationwide surge of infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S. — underscoring the public health need for vaccination. These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, and we plan to submit them to the FDA and other regulators with urgency,” said Albert Bourla, the chairman and CEO for Pfizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over the past nine months, hundreds of millions of people ages 12 and older from around the world have received our COVID-19 vaccine. We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” Bourla said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the strong results, it will be some time before the general public can see an official rollout of vaccines for children ages 5 to 11. Once analysis of the trial is completed, Pfizer and BioNTech will submit the results “in the near term” to the Food and Drug Administration for review and possible emergency use authorization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if the FDA grants that authorization, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently told NPR that parents and caregivers will likely have to wait until the end of 2021 before a COVID-19 vaccine is fully approved for young children ages 5 to 11.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trial results for children under 5 years of age could come later this year, the pharmaceutical companies said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Already in March 2021, we have started the study to evaluate the immunization of younger children. Our objective was to generate and submit the data for schoolkids to regulatory authorities around the world before the winter season begins,” BioNTech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=COVID+Vaccine+For+Kids+Ages+5+To+11+Is+Safe+And+Effective%2C+Pfizer+Says&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Long COVID and Breakthrough Infections: What We Know Now",
"headTitle": "Long COVID and Breakthrough Infections: What We Know Now | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Like millions of others, Kathleen Hipps thought she was safe from COVID-19 after she got two shots of the Moderna vaccine last spring. So she figured she just had a summer cold when she got the sniffles in July. But then she opened some Vicks VapoRub.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anyone who’s ever smelled Vicks VapoRub knows how pungent of a smell it is. And I couldn’t smell it. And that’s how I knew I had COVID,” says Hipps, 40, a Los Angeles lawyer who has two young sons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And sure enough, Hipps tested positive. “I got very sick. I was very tired, very congested — could barely get out of bed. I couldn’t work at all. I had to find colleagues to cover my work for me. And I just spent the next week basically in bed, completely isolated from my family,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hipps never ran a fever, though, and did not have bad headaches or body aches. She started feeling better after about a week, tested negative and went back to working from home and caring for her family. She thought she was fully recovered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And I was in my mom’s new car and all of a sudden I felt burning. And I thought there was something wrong with her car,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wherever she moved her foot, she could still feel the burning sensation. And then her other foot started burning, too. It felt like she was walking on hot coals, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve learned that this is neuropathy, and this a common symptom of long COVID,” Hipps says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Some patients’ symptoms last for weeks or months\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Long COVID\u003c/a> is a poorly defined, poorly understood condition that occurs when COVID-19 patients’ symptoms won’t go away\u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7992371/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> for weeks or months,\u003c/a> or new ones emerge just when they think they’re all better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than six weeks after it started, Hipps still experiences the burning sensation every day, as well as tingling and numbness in her hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes the numbness is so bad she can’t push her baby’s stroller. Her periods are really heavy. And work tires her out so fast now that she has to take lots of breaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m really scared. I mean I’m really scared that there are things that are going on with me that I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my life,” Hipps says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now it’s really important to stress that the COVID-19 vaccines are still highly effective at protecting people from getting really sick or dying, and are still quite good at keeping most people from even catching the virus or getting mildly ill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But breakthrough infections can happen, especially with the delta variant. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that unvaccinated people can develop long COVID symptoms, even from mild cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen that with the infection itself in the unvaccinated individuals about 30% of those individuals continue to have these long-haul COVID symptoms,” says Dr.\u003ca href=\"https://irp.nih.gov/pi/avindra-nath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Avindra Nath\u003c/a>, who is studying long COVID at the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the concern is whether vaccinated people who get infected may be at risk for long COVID too, Nath says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s a good question,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Studies look for answers about long COVID\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A small\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1021888033\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Israeli study\u003c/a> recently provided the first evidence that breakthrough infections could lead to long COVID symptoms, although the numbers are small. Out of about 1,500 vaccinated health care workers, 39 got infected, and seven reported symptoms that lasted more than six weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a \u003ca href=\"http://www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/vaxeffectiveness.pdf\">large British study\u003c/a> subsequently found about 5% of people who got infected — even though they were fully vaccinated — experienced persistent symptoms, although the study also found that the odds of having symptoms for 28 days or more were halved by having two vaccine doses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a reasonable concern. But it’s too early. I think we need to follow these patients. It’s quite recent that they’ve been recognized. So at the moment we don’t have that answer,” Nath says, adding that if there is a risk, he suspects it’s probably very low.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>But the experts don’t all agree\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some infectious disease experts remain highly skeptical that long COVID from breakthrough infections is a big problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pathophysiologically, it’s quite unlikely to get long COVID from a breakthrough infection,” says Dr.\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/monica.gandhi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Monica Gandhi\u003c/a>, an infectious disease researcher at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the immune response generated by the vaccine would prevent the virus from taking hold in the body or triggering a harmful overreaction by the immune system, Gandhi says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it is absolutely not impossible, but pathophysiologically it is less likely,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other researchers are convinced the problem is real.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Categorically I can say that we have already seen a handful of cases of long COVID from breakthrough infection,” says\u003ca href=\"https://www.putrinolab.net/\"> David Putrino\u003c/a>, who studies long COVID at Mount Sinai.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to behave as though there is the same chance as always of developing long COVID from a mild-to-asymptomatic infection because once you have it you can’t unring that bell and you’re looking at months to years of illness,” Putrino says. Putrino is working with\u003ca href=\"https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/akiko_iwasaki/\"> Akiko Iwasaki\u003c/a>, an immunologist at Yale University, to try to understand how breakthrough infections can lead to persistent symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Iwasaki says some people may experience long COVID because the virus is still hiding in the body. In others, it may be that their immune systems overreact to the virus — a so-called autoimmune response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that the vaccine induces a robust immune response to quickly clear the virus during breakthrough infections,” Iwasaki says. “And that suggests to me that autoimmunity may be the culprit there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if breakthrough infections can lead to long COVID, others say there are also plenty of other reasons vaccinated people should continue to keep being careful to avoid catching the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, my biggest concern honestly is not that I’m going to get long COVID,” says Dr.\u003ca href=\"https://vaccines.emory.edu/faculty-evc/primary-faculty/delrio_carlos.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Carlos del Rio\u003c/a>, an infectious disease researcher at Emory University. “It’s that I’m going to bring COVID and give it to someone else. I mean, I have a young granddaughter. If I get infected, I could give it to her. I’m more concerned that people who are vaccinated can get infected and transmit to others.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For her part, Hipps hopes her symptoms don’t plague her for months or even years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s scary because there’s obviously a lot of things we don’t know about this virus and I’m scared about these long-term implications on my body.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, she is glad she got the vaccine. She knows it probably kept her out of the hospital and kept her alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=What+We+Know+About+Breakthrough+Infections+And+Long+COVID&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Like millions of others, Kathleen Hipps thought she was safe from COVID-19 after she got two shots of the Moderna vaccine last spring. So she figured she just had a summer cold when she got the sniffles in July. But then she opened some Vicks VapoRub.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anyone who’s ever smelled Vicks VapoRub knows how pungent of a smell it is. And I couldn’t smell it. And that’s how I knew I had COVID,” says Hipps, 40, a Los Angeles lawyer who has two young sons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And sure enough, Hipps tested positive. “I got very sick. I was very tired, very congested — could barely get out of bed. I couldn’t work at all. I had to find colleagues to cover my work for me. And I just spent the next week basically in bed, completely isolated from my family,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hipps never ran a fever, though, and did not have bad headaches or body aches. She started feeling better after about a week, tested negative and went back to working from home and caring for her family. She thought she was fully recovered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And I was in my mom’s new car and all of a sudden I felt burning. And I thought there was something wrong with her car,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wherever she moved her foot, she could still feel the burning sensation. And then her other foot started burning, too. It felt like she was walking on hot coals, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve learned that this is neuropathy, and this a common symptom of long COVID,” Hipps says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Some patients’ symptoms last for weeks or months\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Long COVID\u003c/a> is a poorly defined, poorly understood condition that occurs when COVID-19 patients’ symptoms won’t go away\u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7992371/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> for weeks or months,\u003c/a> or new ones emerge just when they think they’re all better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than six weeks after it started, Hipps still experiences the burning sensation every day, as well as tingling and numbness in her hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes the numbness is so bad she can’t push her baby’s stroller. Her periods are really heavy. And work tires her out so fast now that she has to take lots of breaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m really scared. I mean I’m really scared that there are things that are going on with me that I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my life,” Hipps says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now it’s really important to stress that the COVID-19 vaccines are still highly effective at protecting people from getting really sick or dying, and are still quite good at keeping most people from even catching the virus or getting mildly ill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But breakthrough infections can happen, especially with the delta variant. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that unvaccinated people can develop long COVID symptoms, even from mild cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen that with the infection itself in the unvaccinated individuals about 30% of those individuals continue to have these long-haul COVID symptoms,” says Dr.\u003ca href=\"https://irp.nih.gov/pi/avindra-nath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Avindra Nath\u003c/a>, who is studying long COVID at the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the concern is whether vaccinated people who get infected may be at risk for long COVID too, Nath says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s a good question,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Studies look for answers about long COVID\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A small\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1021888033\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Israeli study\u003c/a> recently provided the first evidence that breakthrough infections could lead to long COVID symptoms, although the numbers are small. Out of about 1,500 vaccinated health care workers, 39 got infected, and seven reported symptoms that lasted more than six weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a \u003ca href=\"http://www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/vaxeffectiveness.pdf\">large British study\u003c/a> subsequently found about 5% of people who got infected — even though they were fully vaccinated — experienced persistent symptoms, although the study also found that the odds of having symptoms for 28 days or more were halved by having two vaccine doses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a reasonable concern. But it’s too early. I think we need to follow these patients. It’s quite recent that they’ve been recognized. So at the moment we don’t have that answer,” Nath says, adding that if there is a risk, he suspects it’s probably very low.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>But the experts don’t all agree\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some infectious disease experts remain highly skeptical that long COVID from breakthrough infections is a big problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pathophysiologically, it’s quite unlikely to get long COVID from a breakthrough infection,” says Dr.\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/monica.gandhi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Monica Gandhi\u003c/a>, an infectious disease researcher at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the immune response generated by the vaccine would prevent the virus from taking hold in the body or triggering a harmful overreaction by the immune system, Gandhi says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it is absolutely not impossible, but pathophysiologically it is less likely,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other researchers are convinced the problem is real.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Categorically I can say that we have already seen a handful of cases of long COVID from breakthrough infection,” says\u003ca href=\"https://www.putrinolab.net/\"> David Putrino\u003c/a>, who studies long COVID at Mount Sinai.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to behave as though there is the same chance as always of developing long COVID from a mild-to-asymptomatic infection because once you have it you can’t unring that bell and you’re looking at months to years of illness,” Putrino says. Putrino is working with\u003ca href=\"https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/akiko_iwasaki/\"> Akiko Iwasaki\u003c/a>, an immunologist at Yale University, to try to understand how breakthrough infections can lead to persistent symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Iwasaki says some people may experience long COVID because the virus is still hiding in the body. In others, it may be that their immune systems overreact to the virus — a so-called autoimmune response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that the vaccine induces a robust immune response to quickly clear the virus during breakthrough infections,” Iwasaki says. “And that suggests to me that autoimmunity may be the culprit there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if breakthrough infections can lead to long COVID, others say there are also plenty of other reasons vaccinated people should continue to keep being careful to avoid catching the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, my biggest concern honestly is not that I’m going to get long COVID,” says Dr.\u003ca href=\"https://vaccines.emory.edu/faculty-evc/primary-faculty/delrio_carlos.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Carlos del Rio\u003c/a>, an infectious disease researcher at Emory University. “It’s that I’m going to bring COVID and give it to someone else. I mean, I have a young granddaughter. If I get infected, I could give it to her. I’m more concerned that people who are vaccinated can get infected and transmit to others.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For her part, Hipps hopes her symptoms don’t plague her for months or even years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s scary because there’s obviously a lot of things we don’t know about this virus and I’m scared about these long-term implications on my body.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, she is glad she got the vaccine. She knows it probably kept her out of the hospital and kept her alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=What+We+Know+About+Breakthrough+Infections+And+Long+COVID&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "What I Learned From My 'Mild' Breakthrough Case of COVID",
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"content": "\u003cp>The test results that hot day in early August shouldn’t have surprised me — all the symptoms were there. A few days earlier, fatigue had enveloped me like a weighted blanket. I chalked it up to my weekend of travel. Next, a headache clamped down on the back of my skull. Then my eyeballs started to ache. And soon enough, everything tasted like nothing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a reporter who’s covered the coronavirus since the first confirmed U.S. case landed in Seattle, where I live, I should have known what was coming, but there was some part of me that couldn’t quite believe it. I had a breakthrough case of COVID-19 — despite my two shots of the Pfizer vaccine, the second one in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was just one more example of our country’s tug and pull between fantasies of a post-COVID-19 summer and the realities of our still-raging pandemic, where even the vaccinated can get sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only was I sick, but I’d brought the virus home and exposed my 67-year-old father and extended family during my first trip back to the East Coast since the start of the pandemic. It was just the scenario I had tried to avoid for a year and a half. And it definitely was not the summer vacation I had anticipated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where did I get it? Who knows. Like so many Americans, I had loosened up with wearing masks and social distancing after getting fully vaccinated. We had flown across the country, seen friends, stayed at a hotel, eaten indoors and, yes, even went to a long-delayed wedding with other vaccinated people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I ended up in quarantine at my father’s house. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/04/1034281124/more-people-are-relying-on-covid-19-tests-but-experts-say-theyre-not-foolproof\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Two rapid antigen tests \u003c/a>(taken a day apart) came back negative, but I could tell I was starting to feel sick. After my second negative test, the nurse leveled with me. “Don’t hang your hat on this,” she said of the results. Sure enough, a few days later the results of a PCR test for the coronavirus (this one sent to a lab) confirmed what had become obvious by then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a miserable five days. My legs and arms ached, my fever crept up to 103 and every few hours of sleep would leave my sheets drenched in sweat. I’d drop into bed exhausted after a quick trip down to the kitchen. To sum it up, I’d put my breakthrough case of COVID-19 right up there with my worst bouts of flu. Even after my fever cleared up, I spent the next few weeks feeling low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, I am very lucky. I didn’t go up against the virus with a naive immune system, like millions of Americans did until vaccines were widely available. And, in much of the world, vaccines are \u003cem>still \u003c/em>a distant promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You probably would have gotten much sicker if you had not been vaccinated,” \u003ca href=\"https://providers.ucsd.edu/details/11556/infectious-diseases-hiv/aids\">Francesca Torriani\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Diego, explained to me recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I shuffled around my room checking my fever, it was also reassuring to know that my chances of ending up in the hospital were slim, even with the delta variant. And now, about a month later, I’ve made a full recovery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reality is breakthrough cases are becoming more common. Here’s what you should know about getting a breakthrough case — and what I wish I’d known when those first symptoms laid me low:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Is it time for a reality check about what the vaccines can — and can’t do?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The vaccines aren’t a force field that ward off all things COVID-19. They were given the greenlight because they greatly lower your chance of getting seriously ill or dying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it was easy for me — and I’m not the only one — to grab onto the idea that, after so many months of trying not to get COVID-19, that the vaccine was, more or less, the finish line. And that made getting sick from the virus unnerving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, there were reassuring findings\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7013e3.htm\"> earlier this year\u003c/a> that the vaccine was remarkably good at stopping any infection, even mild ones. This was a kind of bonus, we were told. And then in May the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said go ahead and shed your mask if you’re vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was so much initial euphoria about how well these vaccines work,” says \u003ca href=\"https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/about-us/health-officer.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeff Duchin\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician and the public health officer for Seattle and King County. “I think we — in the public health community, in the medical community — facilitated the impression that these vaccines are bulletproof.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to keep dialing up and down your risk calculations. So if you’d hoped to avoid getting sick at all, even slightly, it may be time for a “reset,” Duchin says. This isn’t to be alarmist but to clear away expectations that COVID-19 is out of your life, and keep up your vigilance about common-sense precautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With more people vaccinated, the total number of breakthrough infections will rise, and that’s not unexpected, he says. “I don’t think our goal should be to achieve zero risk, because that’s unrealistic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How high are my chances of getting a breakthrough case these days?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It used to be quite rare, but the rise of delta has changed the odds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a totally different ballgame with this delta phase,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.scripps.edu/faculty/topol/\">Dr. Eric Topol\u003c/a>, a professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, Calif. “I think the chance of having a symptomatic infection has gone up substantially.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he adds, “Quantifying that in the U.S. is very challenging” because our “data is so shoddy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vaccinated still have a considerably lower chance of getting infected than those who aren’t protected that way. Look at data collected from Los Angeles County over the summer as the delta variant started to surge in Southern California: Unvaccinated people were \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e5.htm\">five times more likely to test positive\u003c/a> than those who were vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent research has tried to pin down how well the vaccines are working against preventing any breakthrough cases during the delta surge, but much of that comes from other countries and estimates vary significantly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the U.S., a study published recently in \u003ca href=\"https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2112981\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The New England Journal of Medicine\u003c/em>\u003c/a> concluded that vaccine effectiveness “against any symptomatic disease is considerably lower against the delta variant,” dropping from over 90% earlier in the year before delta was the predominant strain to only about 65% in July. Research on breakthrough infections over the summer in New York found the vaccines were still overall \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e1.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">about 80% effective against any infection\u003c/a>. Each study has its limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to disentangle what’s most responsible for the rise in breakthrough infections this summer — whether it’s the delta variant itself, waning immunity in some people or that much of the U.S. dropped public health precautions such as masking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have good evidence of what’s the cause, but we do know all of these things coming together are associated with more breakthroughs,” says\u003ca href=\"https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/community-safety/people/rachael-piltch-loeb-phd/\"> Rachael Piltch-Loeb\u003c/a>, a public health researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How careful do I need to be if I want to avoid a breakthrough?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Looking back, I wish I’d taken some more precautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And my advice is different now when friends and family tell me they want to avoid having a breakthrough case such as mine: Don’t leave it all up to the vaccine. Wear masks, stay away from big gatherings with unvaccinated people, cut down on travel, at least until things calm down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html\">is averaging more than 130,000\u003c/a> coronavirus infections a day (about twice what it was when I fell sick), hospitals are being crushed and the White House has proposed booster shots. Scientists are still making sense of what’s happening with breakthrough cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s clear is that in many parts of the U.S., we’re all more likely to run into the virus than we were in the spring. “Your risk is going to be different if you are in a place that’s very highly vaccinated, with very low level of community spread,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.uofmhealth.org/profile/922/preeti-n-malani-md\">Preeti Malani\u003c/a>, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Michigan. “The piece that’s important is what’s happening in your community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with delta, the goal is not to go back to a lockdown mindset though, Malani says. “My hope is that people who are fully vaccinated should really feel like this risk is manageable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says, “Feel good about spending time with your friends or having a small dinner party, but make sure everyone is vaccinated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What does a “mild” case of COVID-19 feel like?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In my case, it was worse than expected, but in the parlance of public health, it was “mild,” meaning I didn’t end up in the hospital or require oxygen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This mild category is essentially a catchall, says \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/robert.wachter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. Bob Wachter\u003c/a>, who chairs the Department of Medicine at the UCSF. “Mild” can be “a day of feeling crummy to being completely laid up in bed for a week, all of your bones hurt and your brain isn’t working well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So even if we call them mild cases, as you’ve seen, sometimes these are ones you really don’t want to have if you can avoid it,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s not great data on the details of these mild breakthrough infections, but so far it appears that “you do way better than those who are not vaccinated,” says\u003ca href=\"https://healthcare.utah.edu/fad/mddetail.php?physicianID=u1074771&name=sarang-k-yoon\"> Dr. Sarang Yoon\u003c/a>, an occupational medicine specialist at the University of Utah Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational Environmental Health who was part of a nationwide CDC study on breakthrough infections. “In general, in terms of symptom duration, it’s much shorter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yoon’s study, published in June with data collected before the delta surge, offers some reassurance: The presence of fever was cut in half, and the days spent in bed reduced by 60% among people with breakthrough infections, compared with unvaccinated people who got sick. “These are meaningful decreases,” says \u003ca href=\"https://medicine.utah.edu/faculty/mddetail.php?facultyID=u0067419\">Matt Thiese\u003c/a>, an epidemiologist and colleague of Yoon’s who worked on the study. “It can be the difference between having a fever for almost nine days and having a fever for just under three days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent study from the U.K. also shows that if you’re sick because of a breakthrough case, it’s generally not as bad, and people have fewer symptoms. In fact, the \u003ca href=\"https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/new-top-5-covid-symptoms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">top five symptoms\u003c/a> for people with a breakthrough infection were headache, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat and loss of smell. Notably absent: fever and persistent cough, which are in the top five for unvaccinated people, according to the data compiled by the U.K. researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>If I get a breakthrough infection, how sick could I get?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Even with delta, the chance of getting a case of COVID-19 that’s bad enough to send you to the hospital is still rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re vaccinated, the\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7037e2.htm?s_cid=mm7037e2_w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> risk of being hospitalized is 10 times lower\u003c/a> than if you weren’t vaccinated, according to the latest data from the CDC. Those who get severely and critically ill with a breakthrough case tend to be older — in one study done before delta, \u003ca href=\"https://news.yale.edu/2021/09/07/study-examines-severe-breakthrough-cases-covid-19\">the median age was 80\u003c/a> — with underlying medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I was sick, one thing was in the back of my mind as I monitored my symptoms: Would I have problems catching my breath?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thankfully, when you get exposed, the vaccine has already set you up with antibodies, a first line of defense, that will neutralize parts of the virus that attach to the mucosal surfaces of your upper respiratory tract, says Torriani at UC San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That initial moment when our body is attacked by the virus, that \u003cem>can\u003c/em> lead to some disease,” she says. It’s a bit of a race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The virus may cause you to get a cold, but, in most people, your immune system will “get its act together and thwart that infection from going down into your lungs,” Wachter says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That later stage of COVID-19 also seems to trigger the immune system to get “overly exuberant” and attack your own body, causing severe respiratory problems such as shortness of breath and destructive inflammation. “So if you can prevent that sort of second stage from happening,” Wachter says, “you can prevent a lot of the severe illness from COVID.” Other parts of your immune system, such as T-cells, are also ready to kick into action if you get sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re concerned, you can keep an eye on your oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter. That’s much more important than your temperature or symptoms, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Can I spread it to others, and do I need to isolate?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, you still have COVID-19 and need to act like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though my first two tests were negative, I started wearing a mask at my house and keeping my distance from my vaccinated family members. I’m glad I did: No one else got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delta variant is more than two times as contagious as the original strain of the virus and can build up quickly in your upper respiratory tract, as was shown in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/08/06/1025553638/how-a-gay-community-helped-the-cdc-spot-a-covid-outbreak-and-learn-more-about-de\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a cluster of breakthrough infections linked to Provincetown, Mass\u003c/a>., over the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even in fully vaccinated, asymptomatic individuals, they can have enough virus to transmit it,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/heads-of-laboratories/952-robert-b-darnell/\">Robert Darnell\u003c/a>, a physician scientist at the Rockefeller University. “Delta is very good at replicating, attaching and inserting itself into cells.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The science isn’t settled about just how likely vaccinated people are to spread the virus, and it does appear that \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01316-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the amount of virus in the nose decreases\u003c/a> faster in people who are vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, wearing masks and staying isolated from others if you test positive or have symptoms is absolutely critical, Darnell says. He also advises getting tested if you are exposed to someone who has COVID-19, even if you’ve been vaccinated, “because you could very well get infected or ill, and you want to protect those around you, including all the children who aren’t vaccinated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Could I get long COVID-19 after a breakthrough infection?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The chance I \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects.html\">might go on to develop long COVID-19\u003c/a> was front and center in my mind when I had a breakthrough case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there’s not a lot of data yet, research does show that breakthrough infections can lead to the kind of persistent symptoms that characterize long COVID-19, including brain fog, fatigue and headaches. “Hopefully that number is low. Hopefully it doesn’t last as long and it’s not as severe, but it’s just too early to know these things,” Topol says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent research from the U.K. \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00460-6/fulltext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">suggests that vaccinated people\u003c/a> are about 50% less likely to develop long COVID-19 than those who are unvaccinated. The underlying cause of long COVID-19 is still not yet known, so it complicates the picture for researchers even more, but this early evidence offers some reassurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There may be some symptoms like fatigue [that linger], but studies appear to show that vaccination might also decrease the chances of getting long COVID symptoms,” Torriani says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is not true for everyone, and it’s a compelling reason to avoid getting infected altogether, Wachter says. “Some of those mild cases will go on to be long COVID, so you have to factor that in,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=I+Got+A+%27Mild%27+Breakthrough+Case.+Here%27s+What+I+Wish+I%27d+Known&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The test results that hot day in early August shouldn’t have surprised me — all the symptoms were there. A few days earlier, fatigue had enveloped me like a weighted blanket. I chalked it up to my weekend of travel. Next, a headache clamped down on the back of my skull. Then my eyeballs started to ache. And soon enough, everything tasted like nothing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a reporter who’s covered the coronavirus since the first confirmed U.S. case landed in Seattle, where I live, I should have known what was coming, but there was some part of me that couldn’t quite believe it. I had a breakthrough case of COVID-19 — despite my two shots of the Pfizer vaccine, the second one in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was just one more example of our country’s tug and pull between fantasies of a post-COVID-19 summer and the realities of our still-raging pandemic, where even the vaccinated can get sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only was I sick, but I’d brought the virus home and exposed my 67-year-old father and extended family during my first trip back to the East Coast since the start of the pandemic. It was just the scenario I had tried to avoid for a year and a half. And it definitely was not the summer vacation I had anticipated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where did I get it? Who knows. Like so many Americans, I had loosened up with wearing masks and social distancing after getting fully vaccinated. We had flown across the country, seen friends, stayed at a hotel, eaten indoors and, yes, even went to a long-delayed wedding with other vaccinated people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I ended up in quarantine at my father’s house. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/04/1034281124/more-people-are-relying-on-covid-19-tests-but-experts-say-theyre-not-foolproof\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Two rapid antigen tests \u003c/a>(taken a day apart) came back negative, but I could tell I was starting to feel sick. After my second negative test, the nurse leveled with me. “Don’t hang your hat on this,” she said of the results. Sure enough, a few days later the results of a PCR test for the coronavirus (this one sent to a lab) confirmed what had become obvious by then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a miserable five days. My legs and arms ached, my fever crept up to 103 and every few hours of sleep would leave my sheets drenched in sweat. I’d drop into bed exhausted after a quick trip down to the kitchen. To sum it up, I’d put my breakthrough case of COVID-19 right up there with my worst bouts of flu. Even after my fever cleared up, I spent the next few weeks feeling low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, I am very lucky. I didn’t go up against the virus with a naive immune system, like millions of Americans did until vaccines were widely available. And, in much of the world, vaccines are \u003cem>still \u003c/em>a distant promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You probably would have gotten much sicker if you had not been vaccinated,” \u003ca href=\"https://providers.ucsd.edu/details/11556/infectious-diseases-hiv/aids\">Francesca Torriani\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Diego, explained to me recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I shuffled around my room checking my fever, it was also reassuring to know that my chances of ending up in the hospital were slim, even with the delta variant. And now, about a month later, I’ve made a full recovery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reality is breakthrough cases are becoming more common. Here’s what you should know about getting a breakthrough case — and what I wish I’d known when those first symptoms laid me low:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Is it time for a reality check about what the vaccines can — and can’t do?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The vaccines aren’t a force field that ward off all things COVID-19. They were given the greenlight because they greatly lower your chance of getting seriously ill or dying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it was easy for me — and I’m not the only one — to grab onto the idea that, after so many months of trying not to get COVID-19, that the vaccine was, more or less, the finish line. And that made getting sick from the virus unnerving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, there were reassuring findings\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7013e3.htm\"> earlier this year\u003c/a> that the vaccine was remarkably good at stopping any infection, even mild ones. This was a kind of bonus, we were told. And then in May the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said go ahead and shed your mask if you’re vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was so much initial euphoria about how well these vaccines work,” says \u003ca href=\"https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/about-us/health-officer.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeff Duchin\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician and the public health officer for Seattle and King County. “I think we — in the public health community, in the medical community — facilitated the impression that these vaccines are bulletproof.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to keep dialing up and down your risk calculations. So if you’d hoped to avoid getting sick at all, even slightly, it may be time for a “reset,” Duchin says. This isn’t to be alarmist but to clear away expectations that COVID-19 is out of your life, and keep up your vigilance about common-sense precautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With more people vaccinated, the total number of breakthrough infections will rise, and that’s not unexpected, he says. “I don’t think our goal should be to achieve zero risk, because that’s unrealistic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How high are my chances of getting a breakthrough case these days?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It used to be quite rare, but the rise of delta has changed the odds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a totally different ballgame with this delta phase,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.scripps.edu/faculty/topol/\">Dr. Eric Topol\u003c/a>, a professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, Calif. “I think the chance of having a symptomatic infection has gone up substantially.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he adds, “Quantifying that in the U.S. is very challenging” because our “data is so shoddy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vaccinated still have a considerably lower chance of getting infected than those who aren’t protected that way. Look at data collected from Los Angeles County over the summer as the delta variant started to surge in Southern California: Unvaccinated people were \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e5.htm\">five times more likely to test positive\u003c/a> than those who were vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent research has tried to pin down how well the vaccines are working against preventing any breakthrough cases during the delta surge, but much of that comes from other countries and estimates vary significantly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the U.S., a study published recently in \u003ca href=\"https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2112981\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The New England Journal of Medicine\u003c/em>\u003c/a> concluded that vaccine effectiveness “against any symptomatic disease is considerably lower against the delta variant,” dropping from over 90% earlier in the year before delta was the predominant strain to only about 65% in July. Research on breakthrough infections over the summer in New York found the vaccines were still overall \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e1.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">about 80% effective against any infection\u003c/a>. Each study has its limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to disentangle what’s most responsible for the rise in breakthrough infections this summer — whether it’s the delta variant itself, waning immunity in some people or that much of the U.S. dropped public health precautions such as masking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have good evidence of what’s the cause, but we do know all of these things coming together are associated with more breakthroughs,” says\u003ca href=\"https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/community-safety/people/rachael-piltch-loeb-phd/\"> Rachael Piltch-Loeb\u003c/a>, a public health researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How careful do I need to be if I want to avoid a breakthrough?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Looking back, I wish I’d taken some more precautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And my advice is different now when friends and family tell me they want to avoid having a breakthrough case such as mine: Don’t leave it all up to the vaccine. Wear masks, stay away from big gatherings with unvaccinated people, cut down on travel, at least until things calm down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html\">is averaging more than 130,000\u003c/a> coronavirus infections a day (about twice what it was when I fell sick), hospitals are being crushed and the White House has proposed booster shots. Scientists are still making sense of what’s happening with breakthrough cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s clear is that in many parts of the U.S., we’re all more likely to run into the virus than we were in the spring. “Your risk is going to be different if you are in a place that’s very highly vaccinated, with very low level of community spread,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.uofmhealth.org/profile/922/preeti-n-malani-md\">Preeti Malani\u003c/a>, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Michigan. “The piece that’s important is what’s happening in your community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with delta, the goal is not to go back to a lockdown mindset though, Malani says. “My hope is that people who are fully vaccinated should really feel like this risk is manageable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says, “Feel good about spending time with your friends or having a small dinner party, but make sure everyone is vaccinated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What does a “mild” case of COVID-19 feel like?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In my case, it was worse than expected, but in the parlance of public health, it was “mild,” meaning I didn’t end up in the hospital or require oxygen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This mild category is essentially a catchall, says \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/robert.wachter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. Bob Wachter\u003c/a>, who chairs the Department of Medicine at the UCSF. “Mild” can be “a day of feeling crummy to being completely laid up in bed for a week, all of your bones hurt and your brain isn’t working well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So even if we call them mild cases, as you’ve seen, sometimes these are ones you really don’t want to have if you can avoid it,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s not great data on the details of these mild breakthrough infections, but so far it appears that “you do way better than those who are not vaccinated,” says\u003ca href=\"https://healthcare.utah.edu/fad/mddetail.php?physicianID=u1074771&name=sarang-k-yoon\"> Dr. Sarang Yoon\u003c/a>, an occupational medicine specialist at the University of Utah Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational Environmental Health who was part of a nationwide CDC study on breakthrough infections. “In general, in terms of symptom duration, it’s much shorter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yoon’s study, published in June with data collected before the delta surge, offers some reassurance: The presence of fever was cut in half, and the days spent in bed reduced by 60% among people with breakthrough infections, compared with unvaccinated people who got sick. “These are meaningful decreases,” says \u003ca href=\"https://medicine.utah.edu/faculty/mddetail.php?facultyID=u0067419\">Matt Thiese\u003c/a>, an epidemiologist and colleague of Yoon’s who worked on the study. “It can be the difference between having a fever for almost nine days and having a fever for just under three days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent study from the U.K. also shows that if you’re sick because of a breakthrough case, it’s generally not as bad, and people have fewer symptoms. In fact, the \u003ca href=\"https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/new-top-5-covid-symptoms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">top five symptoms\u003c/a> for people with a breakthrough infection were headache, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat and loss of smell. Notably absent: fever and persistent cough, which are in the top five for unvaccinated people, according to the data compiled by the U.K. researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>If I get a breakthrough infection, how sick could I get?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Even with delta, the chance of getting a case of COVID-19 that’s bad enough to send you to the hospital is still rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re vaccinated, the\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7037e2.htm?s_cid=mm7037e2_w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> risk of being hospitalized is 10 times lower\u003c/a> than if you weren’t vaccinated, according to the latest data from the CDC. Those who get severely and critically ill with a breakthrough case tend to be older — in one study done before delta, \u003ca href=\"https://news.yale.edu/2021/09/07/study-examines-severe-breakthrough-cases-covid-19\">the median age was 80\u003c/a> — with underlying medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I was sick, one thing was in the back of my mind as I monitored my symptoms: Would I have problems catching my breath?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thankfully, when you get exposed, the vaccine has already set you up with antibodies, a first line of defense, that will neutralize parts of the virus that attach to the mucosal surfaces of your upper respiratory tract, says Torriani at UC San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That initial moment when our body is attacked by the virus, that \u003cem>can\u003c/em> lead to some disease,” she says. It’s a bit of a race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The virus may cause you to get a cold, but, in most people, your immune system will “get its act together and thwart that infection from going down into your lungs,” Wachter says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That later stage of COVID-19 also seems to trigger the immune system to get “overly exuberant” and attack your own body, causing severe respiratory problems such as shortness of breath and destructive inflammation. “So if you can prevent that sort of second stage from happening,” Wachter says, “you can prevent a lot of the severe illness from COVID.” Other parts of your immune system, such as T-cells, are also ready to kick into action if you get sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re concerned, you can keep an eye on your oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter. That’s much more important than your temperature or symptoms, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Can I spread it to others, and do I need to isolate?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, you still have COVID-19 and need to act like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though my first two tests were negative, I started wearing a mask at my house and keeping my distance from my vaccinated family members. I’m glad I did: No one else got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delta variant is more than two times as contagious as the original strain of the virus and can build up quickly in your upper respiratory tract, as was shown in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/08/06/1025553638/how-a-gay-community-helped-the-cdc-spot-a-covid-outbreak-and-learn-more-about-de\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a cluster of breakthrough infections linked to Provincetown, Mass\u003c/a>., over the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even in fully vaccinated, asymptomatic individuals, they can have enough virus to transmit it,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/heads-of-laboratories/952-robert-b-darnell/\">Robert Darnell\u003c/a>, a physician scientist at the Rockefeller University. “Delta is very good at replicating, attaching and inserting itself into cells.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The science isn’t settled about just how likely vaccinated people are to spread the virus, and it does appear that \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01316-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the amount of virus in the nose decreases\u003c/a> faster in people who are vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, wearing masks and staying isolated from others if you test positive or have symptoms is absolutely critical, Darnell says. He also advises getting tested if you are exposed to someone who has COVID-19, even if you’ve been vaccinated, “because you could very well get infected or ill, and you want to protect those around you, including all the children who aren’t vaccinated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Could I get long COVID-19 after a breakthrough infection?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The chance I \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects.html\">might go on to develop long COVID-19\u003c/a> was front and center in my mind when I had a breakthrough case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there’s not a lot of data yet, research does show that breakthrough infections can lead to the kind of persistent symptoms that characterize long COVID-19, including brain fog, fatigue and headaches. “Hopefully that number is low. Hopefully it doesn’t last as long and it’s not as severe, but it’s just too early to know these things,” Topol says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent research from the U.K. \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00460-6/fulltext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">suggests that vaccinated people\u003c/a> are about 50% less likely to develop long COVID-19 than those who are unvaccinated. The underlying cause of long COVID-19 is still not yet known, so it complicates the picture for researchers even more, but this early evidence offers some reassurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There may be some symptoms like fatigue [that linger], but studies appear to show that vaccination might also decrease the chances of getting long COVID symptoms,” Torriani says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is not true for everyone, and it’s a compelling reason to avoid getting infected altogether, Wachter says. “Some of those mild cases will go on to be long COVID, so you have to factor that in,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=I+Got+A+%27Mild%27+Breakthrough+Case.+Here%27s+What+I+Wish+I%27d+Known&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Evaluating the New Mu Variant in California",
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"content": "\u003cp>The delta variant pretty much ruined summer by setting back the pandemic recovery by months. So if the public is feeling wary of any new coronavirus variants, it’s understandable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest new strain, called mu, after the Greek letter, is now present in California, with 348 cases having been identified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Peter Chin-Hong\u003c/strong>, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, joined KQED’s Raquel Maria Dillon this week to discuss this new variant and how much of a risk it is to prolonging the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why are epidemiologists watching mu so closely?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Chin-Hong:\u003c/em> It kind of took over the landscape of viruses in Colombia. In the last month or so, it accounted for up to 40% of cases there and also surrounding countries like Ecuador. And now it may be even higher in Colombia; some estimates are above 90%. Nevertheless, it hasn’t really taken off around the world, making up less than 1% of cases around the world. In fact, in the United States, it’s 0.1-0.2% of the cases sequenced last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When should we start to worry about a new variant?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think about three questions that I ask myself every time there’s a new variant. Is it more transmissible? Is it more vaccine-evading or vaccine resistant? And does it make you sicker compared to the regular COVID? Personally, what I look at is tempo. If you remember with delta, it took us by surprise. It was found to be so transmissible in taking over the landscape at a tempo that was breathtaking. In May, it was 5% of cases in California. The next month, it started to go to 25%, then 50%. We are not really seeing that with mu outside of Colombia at this moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s your personal assessment of mu? And is it here in the Bay Area?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mu is definitely here. It’s in 45 countries and in all of the states in the U.S. It’s here because there’s a lot of travel back and forth between the northern part of South America, where it’s dominant, and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not dispensing with it; it’s something to watch. I’m also not losing sleep over it. These variants may look scary in the lab. But when they come on to the boxing ring that is life, they all play off against each other. And so far, delta is very, very dominant. It’s bullyish. It’s keeping all these other variants in subjugation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Are we going to have to be on guard against new variants forever and ever?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, unfortunately, until more of us get vaccinated. SARS-CoV-2, the virus itself, isn’t very precise; it’s like it’s using a cheap photocopy machine to make copies of itself. Every time it makes a copy, there’s a little bit of an error in it, like a smudge. And that smudge may confer new superpowers — that’s a new variant being created. Every time it makes a copy, there’s that possibility of mutation. In fact, scientists believe every two weeks there’s a new variant somewhere in the world being created, but only a few rise to the rogues gallery of fame, like delta, like mu, like lamda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We’ve heard that viruses generally evolve to be less deadly and more contagious. Is that going to be true with COVID-19?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The virus has to survive in some way; it doesn’t want to die off completely. So some of these superpowers the variants have are probably going to attenuate. These powers of the new variants have been selected for the variants to be prevalent in the community, but not necessarily to be super lethal and kill off all the hosts. So it gets to the point that we want to probably live with COVID, learn to manage it rather than to fear it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Should we jump every time a variant gets an official letter, or should we just chill out?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I definitely think we have to pay attention to each one of them. I think we have to anticipate, be prepared. It’s exhausting, but we have to be in this state of readiness. It reminds us that we’re living with this virus and we need to engage in conversations with folks who haven’t been vaccinated. Really, vaccination is a powerful ally as we battle mu, iota, delta, lambda, the future variants that don’t even have Greek letters yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I like your superpower metaphor, but what I really want is for the vaccines to grant me superpowers …\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know, but the vaccines \u003cem>are\u003c/em> giving us superpowers. So I think we just have to believe in them more as a country overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The delta variant pretty much ruined summer by setting back the pandemic recovery by months. So if the public is feeling wary of any new coronavirus variants, it’s understandable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest new strain, called mu, after the Greek letter, is now present in California, with 348 cases having been identified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Peter Chin-Hong\u003c/strong>, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, joined KQED’s Raquel Maria Dillon this week to discuss this new variant and how much of a risk it is to prolonging the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why are epidemiologists watching mu so closely?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Chin-Hong:\u003c/em> It kind of took over the landscape of viruses in Colombia. In the last month or so, it accounted for up to 40% of cases there and also surrounding countries like Ecuador. And now it may be even higher in Colombia; some estimates are above 90%. Nevertheless, it hasn’t really taken off around the world, making up less than 1% of cases around the world. In fact, in the United States, it’s 0.1-0.2% of the cases sequenced last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When should we start to worry about a new variant?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think about three questions that I ask myself every time there’s a new variant. Is it more transmissible? Is it more vaccine-evading or vaccine resistant? And does it make you sicker compared to the regular COVID? Personally, what I look at is tempo. If you remember with delta, it took us by surprise. It was found to be so transmissible in taking over the landscape at a tempo that was breathtaking. In May, it was 5% of cases in California. The next month, it started to go to 25%, then 50%. We are not really seeing that with mu outside of Colombia at this moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s your personal assessment of mu? And is it here in the Bay Area?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mu is definitely here. It’s in 45 countries and in all of the states in the U.S. It’s here because there’s a lot of travel back and forth between the northern part of South America, where it’s dominant, and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not dispensing with it; it’s something to watch. I’m also not losing sleep over it. These variants may look scary in the lab. But when they come on to the boxing ring that is life, they all play off against each other. And so far, delta is very, very dominant. It’s bullyish. It’s keeping all these other variants in subjugation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Are we going to have to be on guard against new variants forever and ever?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, unfortunately, until more of us get vaccinated. SARS-CoV-2, the virus itself, isn’t very precise; it’s like it’s using a cheap photocopy machine to make copies of itself. Every time it makes a copy, there’s a little bit of an error in it, like a smudge. And that smudge may confer new superpowers — that’s a new variant being created. Every time it makes a copy, there’s that possibility of mutation. In fact, scientists believe every two weeks there’s a new variant somewhere in the world being created, but only a few rise to the rogues gallery of fame, like delta, like mu, like lamda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We’ve heard that viruses generally evolve to be less deadly and more contagious. Is that going to be true with COVID-19?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The virus has to survive in some way; it doesn’t want to die off completely. So some of these superpowers the variants have are probably going to attenuate. These powers of the new variants have been selected for the variants to be prevalent in the community, but not necessarily to be super lethal and kill off all the hosts. So it gets to the point that we want to probably live with COVID, learn to manage it rather than to fear it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Should we jump every time a variant gets an official letter, or should we just chill out?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I definitely think we have to pay attention to each one of them. I think we have to anticipate, be prepared. It’s exhausting, but we have to be in this state of readiness. It reminds us that we’re living with this virus and we need to engage in conversations with folks who haven’t been vaccinated. Really, vaccination is a powerful ally as we battle mu, iota, delta, lambda, the future variants that don’t even have Greek letters yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I like your superpower metaphor, but what I really want is for the vaccines to grant me superpowers …\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know, but the vaccines \u003cem>are\u003c/em> giving us superpowers. So I think we just have to believe in them more as a country overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"soldout": {
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"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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