Physician, immunologist, and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Dewey Saunders
An estimated 10 percent of all novel coronavirus patients are predicted to be, or become, long-haulers. Misunderstood by the medical system, long-haulers are sharing the support they themselves are missing and advocating for more research, treatment options, and better care.
Including Derek Farley, an osteopathic physician treating Covid-19 patients.
In April, less than a month after Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic, Dolly Parton donated $1 million to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University. With her help, researchers developed the Moderna vaccine, a Covid-19 vaccine with astonishing efficacy.
As of November, half a million Americans have signed up to participate in Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials, not knowing whether they would get vaccinated or receive a placebo shot. These individuals enabled companies like Pfizer and Moderna to develop effective vaccines in under a year, breaking the previous fastest vaccine development: four years.
Reddit's R/CORONAVIRUS, one of the world's most popular online forums on the topic, began as a "dorky pet project" in December. It's since morphed into a hub of science-backed information with 2.3 million members and counting. It's moderators — students, virologists, nurses, and scientists— filter out misinformation with the goal of helping people stay safe and informed.
Today, masks are common. But months ago, as controversy over masks' effectiveness boiled, pro-mask advocates around the world created social media campaigns encouraging people to mask up. With these grassroots and social media tactics, regular people shifted policy and helped curb the spread of Covid-19.
As the pandemic wrenched control from Covid-19 survivors, they took it back by donating convalescent plasma after beating the virus. While the science behind this therapy isn't ironclad, these donations have been used to effectively treat some Covid-19 patients.
The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer organization launched from The Atlantic, works to collect and publish data to help people better understand the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States. The group has partnered with the Center for Antiracist Research to also collect, publish, and analyze racial pandemic data.
Read more stories about Covid-19 here.