Highlighting topics, reporting on different countries, raising questions
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Notes
Brazil’s indigenous population and COVID-19
So far, the pandemic has claimed nearly 185,000 lives in Brazil. In particular the indigenous minority in the Amazon region has been left very vulnerable. A precarious public health support has aggravated this situation. The troubling story of a population facing multiple threats at the same time.
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Vaccination efficacy: same numbers, different view
Finally, among headlines about record number of COVID-19 cases in too many countries and rising death tolls, there was good
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Dutch COVID-19 data: worrying, and still too positive?
The Netherlands saw a surge of new corona infections in September, At the same Italy received wide acclaim for its handling of the pandemic. A comparison between the 2 countries triggers several questions. Does the Netherlands underreport its death toll? Is the threshold for hospital admission lower in Italy?
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A numbers man’s nightmare
There are those countries deliberately doctoring their COVID-19 data to look better. Other countries had to revise their figures because of unintentional, administrative mistakes. And then there is Belgium.
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The N.B.A. bubble: taking temperature
So far, there has not been a single new COVID-19 case in the NBA-bubble. The league has received universal praise for its approach. But not from Rockets’ forward Danuel House, the first player being expelled from the bubble. Reason? An unauthorized guest with a surprising, yet appropriate job.
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Pandemic-driven podcasts
COVID-19 spawns an avalanche of podcasts. A few of those are little gems. Here, we put the spotlight on Social Distance by The Atlantic.
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How artificial intelligence helps to fight the pandemic, and why it is not the solution
Ever since the first references to a new viral disease, governments have leaned on the technology sector and specifically artificial intelligence (AI) to track and fight the pandemic. How hopeful the preliminary results may be, AI is not the sole solution to COVID-19.
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We need more Burionis now
The corona pandemic has created an infodemic in science. Misinformation, deliberate or not, is all around. The time to address this is now, sociologist Karlijn Roex argues, and she sees promising initiatives.
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Across the border
Looking at June and July, Luxembourg seems to have a 4 to 5 times higher corona incidence rate than Belgium. But how fair is the comparison? A detailed look, with a strange idea.
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