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Every year when flu season rolls around, I take satisfaction in getting my flu shot and making sure my kids do too. It always feels good to check that box and know that I’m helping keep the spread of seasonal flu at bay by getting vaccinated. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has felt like more than a personal duty to get our shots – it has been nonnegotiable, given the heightened risks and uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus.
The pandemic has also had a profound effect on flu transmission, but in ways that are not always intuitive, explain Mark S. Roberts, an expert in infectious disease modeling, and Richard K. Zimmerman, a vaccine policy specialist – both from the University of Pittsburgh. Their recent modeling research suggests that last year’s dramatic reduction in flu cases – thanks to protective measures against COVID-19 – could lead to a startling comeback of the flu this year.
However, Roberts and Zimmerman’s models also show that people’s individual choices, such as social distancing, mask-wearing and getting their flu shot, will play a big role in determining the outcome.
Also today:
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Amanda Mascarelli
Health and Medicine Editor
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A bad flu year on top of the pandemic could mean trouble for already-stressed hospitals.
George Clerk/E+ Collection via Getty Images
Mark S Roberts, University of Pittsburgh; Richard K Zimmerman, University of Pittsburgh
Recent computer modeling shows the upcoming flu season might see a surge in cases. Coupled with COVID-19’s continued threat, doctors are again urging Americans to get their shots.
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Politics + Society
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Elisa J. Sobo, San Diego State University; Michael Lambert, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Valerie Lambert, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Land acknowledgments state that activities are taking place on land previously owned by Indigenous peoples. They’re popular – but they may harm more than they heal, say three anthropologists.
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Science + Technology
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Mary K. Feeney, Arizona State University
Science fields are improving at being more inclusive. But explicit and implicit barriers still hold women back from advancing in the same numbers as men to the upper reaches of STEM academia.
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Melissa Rice, Western Washington University; Briony Horgan, Purdue University
Perseverance and its helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity, have been on Mars for nearly nine months. The duo have taken rock samples, performed first flights and taken images of the delta in Jezero Crater.
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Ethics + Religion
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Joanne M. Pierce, College of the Holy Cross
Environmentalism may seem like a new mindset, especially in the Church. But care for creation has been woven into Catholicism for centuries.
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Education
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Timothy Poynton, University of Massachusetts Boston
An expert on ‘college knowledge’ suggests strategies to boost your chances of getting into your dream school.
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Podcast 🎙️
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation
Plus, how a team of musicologists and computer scientists completed Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony using AI. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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From our international editions
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Melanie Otto, Trinity College Dublin
Gurnah won the prize for his “uncompromising and compassionate” look at the “effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugees”.
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Sarah A. Son, University of Sheffield
Rising household debt in South Korea is crippling many and Squid Game speaks to this very real horror facing many in the country.
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Tatsuya Amano, The University of Queensland
Many valuable scientific breakthroughs were originally published in a non-English language. New research shows more effort is needed to transcend language barriers to improve conservation science.
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