I don't know what it's like for you, but this March is giving me some hesitant hope. Maybe this has something to do with it:
There are four days left before the book comes out, but today--with a hard copy to clutch--feels like the day the book comes alive (forgive the pun).
If you'd like to hear more about Life's Edge, I have a growing number of talks coming up. Here's the list so far:
March 10, noon PT/ 3 pm ET: The Commonwealth Club. "What It Means To Be Alive." Register here. I'll be in conversation with Rachel Becker of CalMatters. This talk will also be broadcast on C-SPAN. The video will be posted here.
March 11, 7 pm ET: Science Writers of New York. Register here.
March 12, noon MT/ 1 pm ET: Radio West, KUER. Listen live here.
March 17, noon ET: "The Coronavirus Unveiled: What Covid-19 Is Teaching Us About Life." Science Journalist in Residence, University of Florida. Register here.
March 18, 1pm ET: Reddit AMA.
March 25, 7 pm ET: Breakwater Books and the Guilford Free Library. Register here.
And if you'd like to sample some of the book, check out this essay in the Sunday Review in the New York Times, "The Secret Life of a Coronavirus."
There are four days left before the book comes out, but today--with a hard copy to clutch--feels like the day the book comes alive (forgive the pun).
If you'd like to hear more about Life's Edge, I have a growing number of talks coming up. Here's the list so far:
March 10, noon PT/ 3 pm ET: The Commonwealth Club. "What It Means To Be Alive." Register here. I'll be in conversation with Rachel Becker of CalMatters. This talk will also be broadcast on C-SPAN. The video will be posted here.
March 11, 7 pm ET: Science Writers of New York. Register here.
March 12, noon MT/ 1 pm ET: Radio West, KUER. Listen live here.
March 17, noon ET: "The Coronavirus Unveiled: What Covid-19 Is Teaching Us About Life." Science Journalist in Residence, University of Florida. Register here.
March 18, 1pm ET: Reddit AMA.
March 25, 7 pm ET: Breakwater Books and the Guilford Free Library. Register here.
And if you'd like to sample some of the book, check out this essay in the Sunday Review in the New York Times, "The Secret Life of a Coronavirus."
Vaccines Versus Variants
Another reason for my optimism is the accelerating pace vaccination in the United States. I was startled to learn that I will be able to register for a vaccine on March 22. I had mentally prepared myself to hunker down, unvaccinated, till the summer. The Biden administration expects now to have enough vaccines by May to vaccinate all American adults.
Part of the reason for the vaccine surge was the authorization of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine at the end of February. Having followed this particular project from its mouse-and-monkey days, it was astonishing to be able to write up some of the final stories about its journey into people's arms less than a year later. There's been a lot of discussion about the efficacy of the J&J vaccine, which was an opportunity to delve into the nuances of this scientific concept--a concept we all need to get familiar with as more vaccines become available.
Tempering my optimism is the continuing spread of variants. These lineages are just a few months old, and so we're just getting acquainted with them. Some are definitely highly contagious, while some could potentially lower the efficacy of vaccines. Here's a story I wrote about the first deep look at a particularly mysterious variant, called P.1, which devastated a city in Brazil at the start of this year and has since spread to the United States and 23 other countries. Meanwhile, a dominant variant in California has scientists unsure whether it poses a big risk or not. This uncertainty is an inevitable byproduct of the country's improving surveillance of variants. The more we look for more mutations, the more we'll find. But it will take time to figure out which of the new mutations matter.
Science has delivered us Covid-19 vaccines in record time, and it has the potential to solve the problem with variants, too. Vaccines against variants are now in development, and the FDA is setting up guidelines to ensure that they can get authorized speedily without sacrificing safety. Don't be surprised if you need a booster this fall to keep you healthy.
On Thursday's episode of the Daily podcast, I talked with host Michael Barbaro about the complex spring and summer that lie ahead of us. You can listen here.
That's all for now. Stay safe!
You can find information and ordering links for my books here. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and LinkedIn. If someone forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe to it here.
Best wishes, Carl
Part of the reason for the vaccine surge was the authorization of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine at the end of February. Having followed this particular project from its mouse-and-monkey days, it was astonishing to be able to write up some of the final stories about its journey into people's arms less than a year later. There's been a lot of discussion about the efficacy of the J&J vaccine, which was an opportunity to delve into the nuances of this scientific concept--a concept we all need to get familiar with as more vaccines become available.
Tempering my optimism is the continuing spread of variants. These lineages are just a few months old, and so we're just getting acquainted with them. Some are definitely highly contagious, while some could potentially lower the efficacy of vaccines. Here's a story I wrote about the first deep look at a particularly mysterious variant, called P.1, which devastated a city in Brazil at the start of this year and has since spread to the United States and 23 other countries. Meanwhile, a dominant variant in California has scientists unsure whether it poses a big risk or not. This uncertainty is an inevitable byproduct of the country's improving surveillance of variants. The more we look for more mutations, the more we'll find. But it will take time to figure out which of the new mutations matter.
Science has delivered us Covid-19 vaccines in record time, and it has the potential to solve the problem with variants, too. Vaccines against variants are now in development, and the FDA is setting up guidelines to ensure that they can get authorized speedily without sacrificing safety. Don't be surprised if you need a booster this fall to keep you healthy.
On Thursday's episode of the Daily podcast, I talked with host Michael Barbaro about the complex spring and summer that lie ahead of us. You can listen here.
That's all for now. Stay safe!
You can find information and ordering links for my books here. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and LinkedIn. If someone forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe to it here.
Best wishes, Carl
If you'd like to learn more about my books, you can visit my web site
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