Nine Pandemic Words That Almost No One Gets Right
By Katherine Wu, The Atlantic
I'll be honest. This is content made for science writers like me. But also, because it covers the words scientists, medical professionals and the rest of us use when we talk about the COVID-19 pandemic, it's an enlightening way to think about how the words we're using have different meanings depending on who is using them. There are words that researchers will use that have a specific meaning in a scientific context that doesn't always fit with our colloquial uses, and the consequences that can have. This story acts as a pandemic glossary, covering words from asymptomatic to vaccine effectiveness, and analyzes how imprecise word use has made understanding the pandemic more challenging.
White House unveils plans to roll out coronavirus vaccines for children ages 5-11
By Amy B Wang, Frances Stead Sellers and Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post
Pfizer sent its request to approve the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5-11 to the FDA earlier this month, and a response is expected in the next couple of weeks. The proposed shots will contain a reduced dose compared to the shots given to those 12 and older. But what happens once the vaccine is approved? The White House laid out a plan on Wednesday that explains how the vaccine will be made available at pediatricians' offices, other medical facilities and additional locations. Parents -- it looks like a plan is coming together, and shots may be available for all school-aged kids by early November.
Vikings were in North America by 1021 CE
By Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica
Because trees in North America captured evidence of a cosmic ray burst that occurred in 993 A.D., researchers were able to get a pretty good estimate of the age of some wood scraps found at an archaeological site in Newfoundland. With some careful work, they traced the scraps to 1021 A.D., confirming that groups of Vikings had reached North America by that time. The story is packed full of details on how the researchers pieced the evidence together, from the marks they found from iron tools to how they used the cosmic ray burst to pin down the date of the wood.
