What I Read This Week...

The CDC released new guidelines on Friday which bring COVID precautions in-line with those of other respiratory viruses like the flu. This includes staying home until a day has passed with no fever and symptoms begin to improve. While COVID deaths and hospitalizations are still higher than the flu, the gap has narrowed since the early days of the pandemic, and the disease is no longer considered an emergency.
Scientists have recently discovered that a blood test can detect silent damage from Alzheimer’s with surprising accuracy. The development stems from a recent discovery that people with Alzheimer’s have clumps of abnormal proteins growing in their brains for ~15-20 years before their diagnosis. The blood test allows doctors to discover abnormal levels of these proteins much earlier, but it’s not yet clear what they can do with that information to slow or reverse the disease.
The debate over working remotely has turned ugly as companies call employees back to the office and workers resist the loss of a popular perk. Two thirds of the U.S. thinks that the subject has become unnecessarily politicized, and 74% believe that employees need to stop complaining about having to go back in office. Meanwhile, most people see companies as out of touch for focusing so heavily on “back to office” protocols.

Chamath Palihapitiya