An informed guide to the pandemic, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. |
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 | | Daily reported coronavirus cases in the United States, seven-day average.The New York Times |
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 | | A researcher trying to swab a white-tailed deer.Sergio Flores for The New York Times |
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In July, a U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that 40 percent of the deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania had antibodies to the virus. A later study reported that 60 percent of Iowa's white-tailed deer population was infected. |
My colleague Emily Anthes said that if the deer or other wild animals become a reservoir for the virus, the pathogen could mutate, leading to potentially dangerous new variants. |
"There are many possibilities, but the worst-case scenario is that the virus evolves in a way that either becomes more virulent, which means it causes much more severe disease, or it evolves in a way that it can escape the immune defenses that we've all been building up over the last two years through vaccination or infection," Emily said. "And then it spills back over to humans and circulates, as a new, more dangerous pathogen." |
We know the virus has been introduced multiple times to the deer, which number some 30 million in the U.S., but we're not certain how. It could be infected hunters, sneezing hikers or people hand feeding them in backyards. An intermediate host, such as a cat, might ferry the virus from humans to deer. Transmission could also happen indirectly, through wastewater or discarded food or other human-generated trash. |
Once the virus does get into the deer population, however, it seems to spread easily. Wild deer are social — traveling in herds, frequently nuzzling noses and engaging in polygamy — and unlike humans, they don't have any tools for flattening the curve. |
(If you see a deer wearing an N95 mask, please send us a photo.) |
The problem is also bigger than just one animal. |
"I think deer are probably going to be fine," Emily said, adding that they don't seem to get very sick from the coronavirus. But other species like black-footed ferrets, big cat species like mountain lions or other endangered cervids are much more vulnerable. "It's not just about the risk that these deer might pose to us, but to entire ecosystems," Emily added. |
A deer-optimized version of the virus would not necessarily be more dangerous for people. The virus might adapt in ways that make humans less hospitable hosts. |
"If this became 'Deervid,' then that would be great," said Dr. Tony Goldberg, a veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Hopefully it would stay benign in deer," he added. |
There is also not yet any evidence that deer are infecting people, and for the foreseeable future, experts agreed, humans are far more likely to catch the virus from one another than from anything with hooves. |
"Regardless of what's happening in deer right now, the best way to keep this from becoming a bigger problem at the moment is to get the virus under control in humans," Emily said. "The less we are spreading it to each other, the less we will be spreading it to deer." |
New Jersey ends its school mask rules |
The move follows a similar decision last month by the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania. The governors of New York and Connecticut, also Democrats, said last week that they were re-evaluating school mask mandates that are soon set to expire. |
The debate over mask wearing in schools has been one of the most divisive issues in the pandemic, embroiling parents, teachers and elected officials in caustic clashes over public health and individual choice. |
New Jersey is among 11 states, including many of the country's most populous, Democrat-led regions, that have made mask wearing mandatory for all students. Republican leaders in many states, including Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida, have banned mask mandates in schools, leading to court fights in some districts. The controversy over masks also helped energize Republican voters in last year's governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia. |
Masks protect both the wearer from infection and those nearby from being infected. But prominent doctors, in a flurry of recent opinion essays and news appearances, have begun to question the validity of requiring students to wear masks as virus cases rapidly decline across the country. |
Mourning a virus whistle-blower |
Two years after the death of Li Wenliang, the doctor who tried to warn China about the coronavirus only to succumb to it himself, his memory remains a source of equal parts grief, anger and hope for many Chinese. |
Li, an ophthalmologist from Wuhan, rose to prominence after he warned friends on social media in late December 2019 of a mysterious new virus in his hospital, only to be reprimanded by the local police for spreading rumors. When the government belatedly confirmed that there was an outbreak at hand, Li became a national hero, seen as an embodiment of the importance of free expression. |
After his death from the virus in February 2020, people began to post replies to his last message on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform. In the comments section, they grieve and seek solace. Some call it China's Wailing Wall, a reference to the Western Wall in Jerusalem where people leave written prayers in the cracks. |
 | | The New York Times |
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Are you ready to live with the virus? |
A growing number of governments, politicians and top health officials are saying it's time to start "living with the virus." |
The argument is that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus causes milder illness, which presents less of a threat on an individual level. Additionally, after Omicron, so many people will have some form of immunity — through either vaccination or infection — that subsequent waves may be smaller and more manageable. |
We're asking readers how they feel about being asked to start living with the virus and what that phrase means to them. If you'd like to participate, you can fill out this form here. We may use your response in an upcoming newsletter. |
What else we're following |
I'm 61 years old. I'm done, absolutely finished living in fear. I've been triple vaxxed. My mental health has deteriorated. I've given up almost two years of my life and I'm not giving up any more of that. I get my hip revision surgery soon and I will be vigilant until then, but then I'm getting back to normal. I'm not wearing my mask anymore unless in a health care facility and they can arrest me if they want to. It's time to have a massive uprising against the tyranny. People aren't assessing the risk properly. — Jean Hallagan, Oswego, N.Y. |
Let us know how you're dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
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