India Is in Denial about the COVID-19 Crisis

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August 25, 2020

Dear Reader, India is now ahead of all other countries in terms of the number of new recorded COVID-19 cases per day—close to 70,000 in mid-August. And the situation could likely get worse because the state government seems more preoccupied with the coming assembly elections than addressing the health crisis. In the U.S., President Trump has called on COVID-19 survivors to donate their blood plasma as a treatment for the disease, saying that "it's had tremendous response so far." But researchers and clinicians around the world are concerned that a push to distribute blood plasma could undermine the clinical trials needed to determine whether it actually works. Moving on to the other side of the world, Australia is responding to a different crisis. Officials say the country plans to redouble their efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef from the effects of global warming. The proposal outlines rehabilitation efforts to be taken out to 2050.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Behavior & Society India Is in Denial about the COVID-19 Crisis The country is headed for disaster as the pandemic devastates health services and livelihoods By Jean Drèze

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Conservation Australia Floats Plan to Better Protect Great Barrier Reef The proposal aims to control water pollution and coastal development that can damage the diverse ecosystem By Nathanial Gronewold,E&E News

Public Health Why Do Some People Weather Coronavirus Infection Unscathed? Some scientists are confident that the immune system's aggressive response is only part of the story By Emily Laber-Warren,Undark

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