On ‘herd immunity,’ vaccines, and pandemic whiplash

In mid-March, as the British government dragged its feet on implementing strict coronavirus lockdown measures that it would soon impose anyway, Patrick Vallance, the country’s chief scientific adviser, gave a series of interviews and discussed a concept with which many people were not then familiar: “herd immunity,” or the threshold at which enough members of a given population are immune to an infectious disease that the disease’s spread is controlled. Vallance—and, later, other officials—seemed to suggest that the government’s goal was to allow the virus to circulate while shielding only the most vulnerable against it. As The Atlantic’s Ed Yong put it at the time, the message appeared to be: “Keep calm and carry on… and get COVID-19.” That notion met with a swift, fierce backlash, including among sections of the press—it was inhumane, critics charged, as well as being scientifically illiterate. Vallance and his colleagues quickly backtracked, insisting that letting the virus spread in the name of herd immunity wasn’t their plan, but merely a scientific concept; Matt Hancock, Britain’s health minister, insisted as much in an (initially paywalled) article for a right-wing newspaper. More charitable observers criticized the episode as merely a messaging disaster. (As one expert told Yong, “It’s been a case of how not to communicate during an outbreak.”) Others claimed that herd immunity actually was, at one point, Britain’s plan: In late March, the Sunday Times reported... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-10-21 12:30:20 UTC ]
News tagged with: #al jazeera #dangerously close #anthology

Other Publishing stories related to: 'On ‘herd immunity,’ vaccines, and pandemic whiplash'

On ‘herd immunity,’ vaccines, and pandemic whiplash

In mid-March, as the British government dragged its feet on implementing strict coronavirus lockdown measures that it would soon impose anyway, Patrick Vallance, the country’s chief scientific adviser, gave a series of interviews and discussed a concept with which many people were not then... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-10-21 12:30:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #al jazeera #dangerously close #anthology

Why media companies are still hybrid, four years since the pandemic started

Four years since the start of the pandemic, most large digital publishers still have hybrid working models. Is this the new normal? Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2024-03-22 04:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media companies #digital publishers

In the dark days of the pandemic, 36 famous authors found light in a collaborative novel

In 'Fourteen Days,' the Authors Guild shows off its storytellers, including Dave Eggers, Celeste Ng, Scott Turow, Mira Jacob, Tommy Orange, Tess Gerritsen, R. L. Stine, Weike Wang and Ishmael Reed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-06 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #celeste ng #scott turow #mira jacob #tommy orange #tess gerritsen #authors guild

U.S. Book Show 2023: Libraries Confront Post-Pandemic Challenges

The U.S. Book Show kicked off with lively discussions of the recent wave of book bans across the country, how citizens can successfully fight against those who would restrict our freedom to read, and how libraries and publishers can be strategic partners in enabling access to digital content. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recent wave #book bans #digital content #libraries

British independent publishers thrive despite Brexit and Covid pandemic

Small press of the year award shortlists 48 presses that are ‘reaping the rewards from inspirational publishing’, says British book awards chair of judgesSmall presses across the UK and Ireland have had a “year of exceptional sales and profit growth in the face of Brexit and escalating running... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-02-15 09:17:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid pandemic #profit growth #independent presses #coronavirus pandemic #author events #bookshop #british book #small press

The Pandemic Still Made Its Presence Felt in Publishing in 2022

Fluctuating return-to-work policies, supply chain issues, and shifts in consumer spending were some of the ongoing issues publishing faced in 2022. And then there was the fallout from the decision by Judge Florence Pan that blocked Penguin Random House's purchase of Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #consumer spending #simon schuster

How Stoicism Guided Me Through Opening a Small Town Bookstore in the Midst of the Pandemic

There was more than one moment in the depths of the pandemic that the decision to open a small town bookstore seemed like the absolute worst idea in the world—a monument to arrogance and self-indulgence. At first we couldn’t open. Then we didn’t feel right opening. Then a freak storm (and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-07 09:54:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore

J. Drew Lanham on Finding Refuge in His Backyard During the Pandemic Lockdown

Emergence Magazine is an online publication with annual print edition exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-26 08:52:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #emerging stories #finding refuge #pandemic lockdown #emergence magazine #online publication #sacred connection #narrated essays

Frankfurt Aims for 70 Percent of Its Pre-Pandemic Size

In today's German and international news conferences, key elements of Frankfurt Book Fair were spotlighted by organizers. The post Frankfurt Aims for 70 Percent of Its Pre-Pandemic Size appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-08 20:35:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pre-pandemic size #key elements #frankfurt book fair

Are we ready to poke fun at pandemic times? Christopher Buckley is.

Buckley’s “Has Anyone Seen My Toes?,” a novel about a screenwriter who’s gone off the rails, takes aim at pandemic-fueled neuroses. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-04 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #christopher buckley #pandemic times #takes aim

Schoolchildren’s pandemic struggles, made worse by U.S. policies

Alongside heartbreaking snapshots of kids' challenges as schools closed, Anya Kamenetz explains the systemic failures that made so many vulnerable. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-02 10:00:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #schools closed

How decades of greed and bad choices left us vulnerable to a pandemic

Covid-19 deaths are a symptom of many other social ills, including inequality, federalism and factory farms, John Ehrenreich argues. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-29 12:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

After a pandemic hiatus, L.A. book fair LitLit will return to downtown

The Little Literary Fair, which celebrates West Coast publishing, will return to Los Angeles' Arts District for the final weekend of July. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-07-05 16:00:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary fair #book fair

Oni-Lion Forge Pushes Past the Pandemic

Over the past two years, the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group has faced the challenge of merging two independent comics publishers and dealing with the impact of the pandemic. Now its eyes are on what's on the horizon. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Through a Recession and a Pandemic, the Book Business Is Thriving in Buenos Aires

The Argentine capital has always been bookish. When hard times shuttered the big chain shops, book purveyors found a way to keep residents in fresh reading material. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-26 09:00:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #buenos aires #book business

U.S. Book Show: The Pandemic and Publishing: How Has Covid Changed the Industry for Good?

Industry experts discussed the normalization of working from home, the dearth of in-person networking in the age of Covid-19, new expectations among a younger generation of publishing professionals, and more on the second day of the 2022 U.S. Book Show. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing professionals #book show #younger generation

The profiteers of the coronavirus pandemic

When the outbreak started, many saw a chance to make a buck, writes J. David McSwane Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-22 12:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus pandemic

The pandemic showed us that we still need libraries, even with Google

A pandemic might close a library, but it can’t stop librarians. They were still finding new ways to remind us that libraries are about connections and experiences, writes Heidi LM Jacobs. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2022-04-17 08:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries

A peek into Pfizer’s hyper pursuit of a vaccine

In "Moonshot," Pfizer’s chief executive Albert Bourla presents his account of a remarkable scientific advance achieved under extraordinary pressure. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-25 12:19:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this |