Is social distancing unraveling the bonds that keep society together?

  With birthday celebrations being downsized, religious services moving back online, and indoor playdates getting canceled, millions of Americans are having fewer social interactions because of persistently high case numbers and high rates of transmission.

  It’s not just interactions with friends and families that are getting cut. Routine yet beneficial interactions with people at fitness and child care centers and volunteer organizations are also being eliminated.

The neuroscience behind why your brain may need time to adjust to ‘un-social distancing’

  With COVID-19 vaccines working and restrictions lifting across the country, it’s finally time for those now vaccinated who’ve been hunkered down at home to ditch the sweatpants and reemerge from their Netflix caves. But your brain may not be so eager to dive back into your former social life.

  Social distancing measures proved essential for slowing COVID-19’s spread worldwide – preventing upward of an estimated 500 million cases. But, while necessary, 15 months away from each other has taken a toll on people’s mental health.

4 crucial steps to make July 4th an Independence Day with much greater freedom from COVID-19

  President Joe Biden set a goal for the U.S. to have COVID-19 under enough control by summer that Americans can celebrate July 4th with family and friends, at least in small gatherings. Important in achieving this goal is another presidential request: that all U.S. adults be made eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations by May 1.

  We are public health deans who lead a variety of COVID-19 response efforts and are involved in public policy discussions. At a time when the nation is weary of hearing “no, you can’t,” we believe that thinking in terms of harm reduction – offering safer but not necessarily risk-free alternatives – is crucial.

Vaccinated and ready to party? Not so fast, says the CDC, but you can gather with other vaccinated people

  If you’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19, is it safe to gather with friends and loved ones in person? According to guidelines issued March 8 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, yes, fully vaccinated people can gather in small groups with other fully vaccinated people. And you can do that without the encumbrance of a mask or social distancing.

  More than 30 million people in the U.S. are now fully vaccinated against coronavirus, meaning that a fraction of the population is immune to COVID-19. This is because vaccination with the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines offers very high levels of protection against the coronavirus. However, there is still a small risk that vaccinated people could transmit the disease to others.

How to stay safe with a fast-spreading new coronavirus variant on the loose

  A fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has been found in at least 20 states, and people are wondering: How do I protect myself now?

  We saw what the new variant, known as B.1.1.7, can do as it spread quickly through southeastern England in December, causing case numbers to spike and triggering stricter lockdown measures.

  The new variant has been estimated to be 50% more easily transmitted than common variants, though it appears to affect people’s health in the same way. The increased transmissibility is believed to arise from a change in the virus’s spike protein that can allow the virus to more easily enter cells. These and other studies on the new variant were released before peer review to share their findings quickly.

Masks and mandates: How individual rights and government regulation are both necessary for a free society

  I’ve been thinking a lot about the tension between demanding “individual rights” – in the sense of deciding whether or not to wear a mask – and calling for more action on the part of our government to protect us from the coronavirus pandemic.

  I’m a political theorist, which means I study how communities are organized, how power is exercised, and how people relate to one another in and between communities. I’ve realized – through talking to friends and thinking about the protests against COVID-19-related restrictions that have taken place around the country – that many people do not understand that individual rights and state power are not really opposites.

How to host a safe holiday meal during coronavirus – an epidemiologist explains her personal plans

  Like many people in this unusual year, I am adjusting my family’s holiday plans so that we can all be safe during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

  I am an epidemiologist and mother of four with a large extended family. Given the serious nationwide resurgence of COVID-19 infections, gatherings of family and friends over the upcoming holidays have the potential to amplify the spread of the virus. Several recent studies have further confirmed that indoor socializing at home carries a significantly higher risk of viral transmission than outdoor activities. Health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have warned that much of the transmission this fall is happening across all age groups at small indoor gatherings.

Can people spread the coronavirus if they don’t have symptoms?

  Screening for symptoms of COVID-19 and self-quarantine are good at preventing sick people from spreading the coronavirus. But more and more evidence is suggesting that people without symptoms are spreading the virus too. Monica Gandhi, an infectious diseases physician and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, explains what is known about asymptomatic spread and why she thinks it may be a big part of what is driving the pandemic.

What does it mean to be asymptomatic?

  SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – can produce a range of clinical manifestations.

Six things you can do to cope with boredom at a time of social distancing

  More and more of us are staying home in an attempt to slow down the spreading coronavirus. But being stuck at home can lead to boredom.

  Boredom is a signal that we’re not meaningfully engaged with the world. It tells us to stop what we’re doing, and do it better – or to do something else.

What ‘Walden’ can tell us about social distancing and focusing on life’s essentials

  Seeking to bend the coronavirus curve, governors and mayors have told millions of Americans to stay home. If you’re pondering what to read, it’s easy to find lists featuring books about disease outbreaks, solitude, and living a simpler life. But it’s much harder to find a book that combines these themes.

  As the author of three books about essayist, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau, I highly recommend “Walden,” Thoreau’s 1854 account of his time living “alone” in the woods outside Concord, Massachusetts. I qualify “alone” because Thoreau had more company at Walden than in town, and hoed a bean field daily as social theater in full view of passersby on the road.