Compulsory vaccine is the worst thing, says virologist

Compulsory vaccine is the worst thing, says virologist: 50% of people surveyed would certainly get vaccinated, 17% would not, and 33% are in doubt.

What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 10 November

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 10 November: Top stories: The cold chain challenge; Australia considers partial border reopening; new study into COVID's impact on mental health.

Europe confronts the second wave [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Europe confronts the second wave [What Think Tanks are thinking]: This note offers links to recent commentaries, studies and reports from major international think tanks on pandemic related issues.

Portugal: COVID-19 surveillance - a descriptive study on data quality issues

COVID-19 surveillance - a descriptive study on data quality issues: Data entry errors in the updated dataset (DGSAugust)

The age of one patient is probably wrong (134 years old). There were 3 male patients and an older woman (97 years old) registered as pregnant.There was a wrong diagnosis date (50-05-2020) and 19 patients had registered dates of diagnosis before the first official case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in Portugal. There were also two patients with a negative length of stay in hospital.The variable ‘recovery date’ had only three values even though it refers to a 120 days períod -for 6,772 patients the date of recovery was recorded as ‘April 3’, for 1,032 patients ‘May 25’ and for 242 the date of recovery recorded was ‘May 26’.

Biden transition team unveils members of Covid-19 task force

Biden transition team unveils members of Covid-19 task force: Below is the full list of task force members:

David Kessler, co-chair, former FDA commissioner

Marcella Nunez-Smith, co-chair, Yale associate dean for health equity research 

Vivek Murthy, co-chair, former surgeon general 

Luciana Borio, former assistant FDA commissioner 

Rick Bright, former BARDA director 

Zeke Emanuel, former Obama administration health policy adviser

Atul Gawande, Brigham and Women’s hospital professor of surgery 

Celine Gounder, NYU Grossman School of Medicine assistant professor

Dr. Julie Morita, former Chicago public health commissioner 

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota

Loyce Pace, executive director of the Global Health Council

Dr. Robert Rodriguez, UCSF emergency medicine professor 

Eric Goosby, former Ryan White Care Act director

Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is strongly effective, data show

Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is strongly effective, data show: Although it is a bright spot in the battle against the pandemic and a triumph for Pfizer and BioNTech, a German company, key information about the vaccine is not yet available. There is no information yet on whether the vaccine prevents severe cases, the type that can cause hospitalization and death.

Nor is there any information yet on whether it prevents people from carrying the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, without symptoms. 

Without more information, it’s too early to start predicting how much of an impact the vaccine could make, said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy.

“I don’t want to dampen any enthusiasm for this vaccine. I just want us to be realistic,” Osterholm said. “For a vaccine to really have maximal impact, it’s going to have to also reduce severe illness and death. And we just don’t know yet.”

Key facts about the coronavirus pandemic on 9 November

COVID-19: Key facts about the coronavirus pandemic on 9 November: Top stories: global confirmed cases pass 50 million; Biden to launch coronavirus task force; Sydney's famous fireworks to be restricted.