Americans Are Isolating Themselves Less, but That Doesn't Mean They Are Abandoning COVID-19 Precautions
Sensible social distancing does not require staying in your house.
Epidemics
What's the Herd Immunity Threshold for the COVID-19 Coronavirus?
Estimates range from 70 to 10 percent.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Says the State's COVID-19 Lockdown Violated the Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers
A seemingly arcane dispute about administrative law has profound implications for the limits of public health authority.
Lockdown Lawsuits Ask How Long a Public Health Emergency Can Last
An Illinois resident obtained a TRO by citing a 30-day limit, while a New Hampshire hair salon owner says the goal of her state's lockdown has been achieved.
Quarantine Fatigue and the Social End to the Coronavirus Pandemic
What might learning to live with COVID-19 look like?
Does Questioning Official COVID-19 Statistics Make This Doctor a 'Denialist'?
If you think much about the epidemic remains uncertain, The New York Times warns, you might be part of "the virus 'truther' movement."
Were the COVID-19 Lockdowns a Mistake?
Andrew I. Friedson says they flattened the curve. Lyman Stone disagrees.
Andrew Cuomo's Morally Grotesque Rationale for Maintaining COVID-19 Lockdowns
Even the president is a better moral philosopher than New York's governor.
Supreme Court Justices in Texas and Pennsylvania Emphasize That COVID-19 Lockdowns Require Judicial Scrutiny
Not everything that states do in the name of protecting public health is consistent with the Constitution.
When Are COVID-19 Control Measures 'Arbitrary' and 'Unreasonable'?
Courts so far have not been inclined to ask that question.
8 Possible Reasons for the Huge International Differences in COVID-19 Deaths
For each plausible theory, there are puzzling counterexamples.
Seemingly Small Differences in the Accuracy of COVID-19 Antibody Tests Can Make a Big Practical Difference
When infection prevalence is low, a test with relatively low specificity can generate highly misleading results.
The Pandemic Has Produced a Radical Experiment in Federalism
Varying state responses will provide the thing we need most right now: information.
What 'Excess Deaths' Do and Don't Tell Us About COVID-19
While official death tolls clearly underestimate the epidemic's impact, total mortality numbers can be misleading.
Miami-Dade Antibody Tests Suggest Local COVID-19 Infections Exceed Confirmed Cases by a Factor of 16
The preliminary results imply an infection fatality rate of 0.2 percent, similar to estimates from two California studies.
Will Summer's Heat, Humidity, and Sunlight Help Us Slow COVID-19?
Lab testing and epidemiology suggest a dog days reprieve could happen.
It's Not Fake News: Trump Did Actually Suggest That Injecting Bleach Could Be a Cure for COVID-19
The president added that the procedure is something "you're going to have to use medical doctors with."
What Explains the Difference Between Estimated COVID-19 Fatality Rates in New York and California?
Are the California numbers wildly off, or is New York different in important ways?
The Attorney General Defends Civil Liberties Against Overreaching COVID-19 Control Measures
While denying Donald Trump's dictatorial impulses, William Barr notes that public health emergencies do not give governments unlimited powers.
Shouldn't COVID-19's Lethality Inform the Response to It?
Evidence that the virus is much less deadly than people feared weakens the case for maintaining lockdowns.
What Do 'Missing Deaths' Imply About the Impact of COVID-19?
A New York Times analysis has little bearing on the infection fatality rate or the number of life-years typically lost to the disease.
If COVID-19 Has a Low Infection Fatality Rate, How Many Will Die?
Rough calculations from two preliminary population screening studies in California.
L.A. County Antibody Tests Suggest the Fatality Rate for COVID-19 Is Much Lower Than People Feared
The tests indicate that the number of infections in the county is around 40 times as high as the number of confirmed cases.
Despite COVID-19 Lockdowns, Licensed Marijuana Sales Continue in the Vast Majority of States With Legal Pot
Massachusetts is the only state that has closed recreational outlets while allowing medical sales to continue.
Antibody Tests in Colorado Highlight the Huge Gap Between Confirmed COVID-19 Cases and Total Infections
Clarifying the prevalence and lethality of the virus will require wide testing that goes beyond a single rural county.
Hydroxychloroquine Trial for Treating COVID-19 Disappoints
"The best available evidence does not support the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19."
Researchers Around the Globe Are Racing To Discover and Create COVID-19 'Game Changers'
None have yet emerged that can clearly stem the tide of the ongoing pandemic.
Even in a Pandemic, 'Constitutional Rights Still Exist'
A federal judge defended religious freedom by blocking a misguided ban on drive-in Easter services.
Trump Can Encourage States to Lift Their COVID-19 Lockdowns, but He Can't Decree That Outcome
The president has a history of asserting powers he does not actually have.
Under Pandemic Lockdowns, Bartending Is Illegal. Is This the New Prohibition?
What happens to bars in a world where bars as we've always known them are forbidden?
The 'False Debate' About Reopening the Economy Is the One That Ignores the Enormous Human Cost of Sweeping COVID-19 Control Measures
A New York Times Magazine forum highlights the moral implications of suppressing economic activity.
Official COVID-19 Numbers Represent Just 6% of Total Infections, a New Analysis Suggests
"The true number of infected people worldwide may already have reached several tens of millions," two University of Gottingen researchers say.
Preliminary German Study Shows a COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate of About 0.4 Percent
Good news from a population screening study
As More Death Data Becomes Available, COVID-19 Looks Less and Less Like the Flu
Death data from New York State demonstrates a stark difference between the two contagious viruses
Mass Antibody Testing in This Rural Colorado County Sheds Light on COVID-19's Prevalence and Lethality
The number of Americans who have been infected by the virus, which seems to be much higher than the official tally suggests, is crucial to understanding how deadly it is.
At-Home Coronavirus Testing Kits Might Be the Key to Ending Our House Arrest
Developing them ought to be the top priority right now.
How the CDC and the FDA Wrecked the Economy
The failure to conduct early and wide testing left politicians ignorant of basic facts about the COVID-19 epidemic.
U.S. Fever Trends Suggest COVID-19 Rates Could Soon Decline
"3 to 7 days after a stay-at-home order is enacted, fevers in that community start to drop."
The CDC's Revised Face Mask Advice Is Based on Information That Was Available Months Ago
Surgeon General Jerome Adams wants us to believe the CDC realized the danger posed by asymptomatic carriers only last week.
What Percentage of COVID-19 Patients Are Likely To Die?
A new study in Lancet Infectious Diseases makes a somewhat lower estimate
What We Should Have Learned From Iceland's Response to COVID-19
Early and wide testing helps curtail the epidemic while casting light on the prevalence and lethality of the virus.
Can a Negative COVID-19 Test Be Trusted?
Preliminary research suggests that commonly used procedures frequently fail to detect the virus.
The FDA Is Making It Much, Much Harder for Distilleries To Produce Hand Sanitizer
Rules designed to keep alcohol safe for children are slowing down production of a product that’s in short supply.
Larry David Says People Who Object to COVID-19 Lockdowns Are 'Idiots'
Government-mandated unemployment is "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to "sit on the couch and watch TV," says the wealthy star of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The Trump Administration Presents a False Choice Between Current COVID-19 Control Measures and 'No Intervention'
The real action in the coming months lies between those two extremes.
Will Pandemic Fears Grease the Way for Authoritarian Gun Controls?
Lawmakers are peddling restrictions on self-defense and other rights to a frightened public.
What's Up With All the Contradictory Advice About COVID-19 and Face Masks?
The combination of limited evidence and conflicting priorities has resulted in whipsawing messages from experts.
Will COVID-19 Kill the Constitution?
Politicians and the public are alarmingly willing to violate civil liberties in the name of fighting the epidemic.
