Different Takes: Will We Ever Know How Covid Originated?; Some New Covid Variants Appear More Mild

Bloomberg: Where Did Covid Come From? The China Lab Leak Theory Persists 
The possibility that the Covid pandemic started with a lab accident isn’t a conspiracy theory. Nor has science conclusively proven that it started in a Wuhan wet market. (Faye Flam, 11/12)

The Washington Post: Covid Variants BA.5 And BQ.1.1 Show Reassuring Early Signs
A few weeks ago, a new and disturbing wave of covid infections looked possible. Several worrisome new variants capable of evading immunity landed in the United States. (11/13)

Scientific American: The International Community Must Prioritize COVID Treatment And Test Access 
Decades of international collaborative research, much of it funded or conducted by governments including that of the United States, enabled the rapid development of highly effective COVID mRNA vaccines. (Joseph Stiglitz and Lori Wallach, 11/14)

Stat: Lessons From Polio About Vaccinating Kids Against Covid-19 
As pediatricians, epidemiologists, and professors of public health — as well as mothers — we are often asked if we recommend Covid vaccines for children. Those asking are often skeptical about the benefits and make the point that relatively few kids have died from Covid-19. (Lynn R. Goldman and Amanda D. Castel, 11/11)

Stat: Amyloid-PET Scans Won’t Reduce Alzheimer’s Inequities 
At first glance, it might appear that better access to so-called amyloid-PET scans could compensate for some of the racial inequities in Alzheimer’s disease, as Linda Goler Blount called for in a recent First Opinion essay. In theory, such scans should lead to more Black people — who are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s — being screened and having greater access to favorable treatment for their disease. (Poul Hoilund-Carlsen, Abass Alavi and Jorge R. Barrio, 11/14)