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Minnesota COVID-19 outreach focuses on vulnerable communities of color

Joey Peters

September 02, 2020 |

Sahan Journal |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minnesota

To extend aid to the Minnesotans most vulnerable to the coronavirus, state and local health departments, backed by $4 million in state funding and by community groups' on-the-ground help, conducted an extensive campaign of culturally appropriate outreach to offer free COVID-19 tests and healthcare advice. The efforts have included one-on-one contacts, email blasts to free-school-lunch recipients, and TV and radio ads on media targeting Black, Latinx, immigrant, and refugee populations. Immigrant communities and people of color have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic.

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What sewage can tell us about the spread of COVID-19

Jane C. Hu

September 02, 2020 |

High Country News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bozeman, Montana

Scientists in Bozeman, Montana are tracking community spread of COVID-19 by studying samples from the city’s wastewater. Although this form of tracking is more tedious and not necessarily as effective as testing individuals via a swab, the wastewater tracking program is able detect the virus and help health officials identify the area where it likely originated from.

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How Philadelphia Has Tried to Address Water Debt

Emily Nonko

September 01, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

An income-based payment structure has alleviated water debt in Philadelphia. Decreasing federal aid to municipal water utilities in conjunction with rising costs associated with climate change has increased the cost of water, making it unaffordable for many. Philadelphia created an income-based program, which caps water bills at three percent of income. The Tiered Assistance Program, or TAP, also provides debt elimination for those who make their minimum payments. Advocates have successfully pushed for similar reforms in Baltimore.

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How the University of Arizona used No. 2 to solve its No. 1 problem

Denise Chow

August 29, 2020 |

NBC News |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

Amongst other efforts, the University of Arizona has begun analyzing sewage to mitigate the spread of coronavirus as students return to campus for the new school year. The practice is known as wastewater-based epidemiology, and university officials have already been able to diagnose and isolate two asymptomatic cases due to this new initiative.

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The mosquito strategy that could eliminate dengue

Ewen Callaway

August 27, 2020 |

Nature |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Yogyakarta

In Indonesia, Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes are transmitting dengue at a much slower rate than those not infected with the bacterium according to a controlled research study that expands on existing experimentation conducted elsewhere in the world. Although the trial was cut short due to the prevalence of COVID-19, the results were substantial enough that researchers are encouraging efforts to scale the technology worldwide.

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Organic fertilizers to lift African farmers out of poverty

Morgane le Cam

August 27, 2020 |

Heidi.news |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Burkina Faso, Koubri

After realizing that chemical fertilizer was doing more harm to the land than good in Burkina Faso, a Burkinese agronomist created a fertilizer from organic waste that has allowed the land to once again become fertile. Although the organic fertilizer promises a much higher increase in yields, chemical fertilizer is still widely used in the region.

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Dengue breakthrough after mosquitoes laced with natural bacteria

Rebecca Ratcliffe

August 27, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Yogyakarta

Injecting mosquito eggs with Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria, is showing promise for reducing the cases of dengue in parts of Indonesia. Although dengue cases have been increasing, in areas of Indonesia where mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia were released, "their capacity to transmit the virus that causes dengue was vastly reduced," as compared to areas with untreated mosquito populations.

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Africa declared free of wild polio in 'milestone'

Naomi Scherbel-Ball

August 25, 2020 |

BBC |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

After decades of trying to contain polio, collaborative efforts have resulted in the eradication of the disease from Africa. Although there is still no known cure, vaccination campaigns and collective action from polio survivors have helped to achieve widespread immunization for children across the country.

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Vaccine Tech 30 Years in the Making Is Getting Put to the Ultimate Test

Emily Mullin

August 21, 2020 |

Medium |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

A key set of entrants in the race to develop an effective COVID-19 vaccine use a genetic approach that has shown promising but preliminary results in human safety trials. Genetic vaccines, which have been in development for 30 years but have never undergone large-scale clinical trials or been used widely, differ from traditional vaccines, which inject a form of an actual pathogen to trigger an immune response. DNA and RNA vaccines can be developed much more quickly by using a small piece of genetic code to instruct a body's response. Initial human safety trials worked enough to move to large-scale tests.

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For Quick Coronavirus Testing, Israel Turns to a Clever Algorithm

David Halbfinger

August 21, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Israel, Beersheba

The Israeli government is preparing to roll out a new form of pooled testing as the count of COVID-19 cases continues to increase. The methodology, which has already shown promise as a successful pilot project, works more efficiently than other pooled-testing efforts by using a combinatorial algorithm that was "developed a decade ago to speed the detection of rare genetic mutations."

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