The CDC says Americans can meet indoors if they're vaccinated—is that a good idea?

TR10: Hyper-accurate positioning is rolling out worldwide

Sponsored by Darktrace The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Time to mingle? 03.09.21 Good morning! Today: we look at the CDC's latest guidance for people who have been vaccinated in the US. Also: a close look at the promise of hyper-accurate positioning.  (This is one of our 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2021.) Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. The CDC says Americans can meet indoors once you’re vaccinated—is that a good idea? Fully vaccinated Americans can now gather indoors, maskless and without distancing—as long as it’s with others who’ve received their shots, according to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The advice is a positive signal for those who have had a course of shots. But it shows there’s a lot we still don’t know about how the virus behaves—and leaves plenty of questions. Three things the new CDC guidance says Indoor, maskless, and non-distanced gatherings are okay, as long as individuals have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks.  In public, keep your mask on and continue to distance from others.  Vaccinated and unvaccinated people can gather together, with limitations. If you’re vaccinated, the CDC says you can visit indoors unmasked with unvaccinated people from one other household.  Three things that are still unanswered Whether vaccinated people are still considered a serious transmission risk. We know that vaccinated individuals are much less likely to become infected, and much less likely to transmit the virus. But while the risk of transmission may be decreased, it’s probably not zero. Whether vaccines can prevent long-term effects of covid-19. Even people with relatively minor cases could still battle symptoms for weeks or months.  What your personal risk tolerance should be. The guidelines may say unmasked indoor gatherings are acceptable between a vaccinated person and unvaccinated people from one household, but there’s a big caveat: whether anyone in the unvaccinated household is at an increased risk for severe illness from covid-19. That risk calculation may be especially tricky if you live with some people who are vaccinated but others who aren’t. Read the story. —Mia Sato Hyper-accurate positioning is rolling out worldwide More than ever, we rely on technologies that can determine our location or pinpoint an object’s position. Precision agriculture, drone delivery, logistics, ride-hailing, and air travel all depend on highly accurate position detection from space. Now a series of deployments and upgrades are boosting the accuracy of the world’s most powerful global satellite positioning systems from several meters to a few centimeters. That could mean your phone knows not only which street you’re walking or biking down, but what side of the street you’re on. Someday, that kind of resolution could make it possible for self-driving cars or delivery robots to safely navigate streets and sidewalks. Read the full story from our current print issue. —Ling Xin This story is for subscribers only. It's from the latest issue of MIT Technology Review, which is all about progress. Read the full magazine, and why not subscribe so you get future issues, too? It's just $50 a year. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.) + The artists who make music with ice. + How a dog and a cat became the best of friends. + A zoo tried to pass a rottweiler off as a wolf.  + Stuck in a cooking rut? Jazz things up with these tips. + How Randy Newman saved a struggling musician.  + Can you beat 1024 bytes of chess? Sponsor Message It’s time for AI to take on AI Hosted by MIT Technology Review and presented by Darktrace, Enabling Autonomous Cybersecurity takes you inside the minds of researchers, development teams, and those on the frontline of cyber defense, exploring how Cyber AI protects digital infrastructures and dynamic workforces, keeping pace with the evolving threat landscape. Register now > The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The US has a real “scariants” problem Too many are getting the scary monster treatment. (Wired)   + The hunt is on for the UK’s earliest covid deaths. (Wired UK)   + Our abuse of nature makes pandemics more likely. (New Scientist)   + The village that the pandemic saved. (NYT) 2 Unravelling the mysteries of long covid—and finding treatments  The early successes in the quest to deal with a pervasive problem. (The Atlantic)   + Many long covid patients didn’t have symptoms first, a new study suggests. (NYT) 3 Germany has been slammed for its poor vaccine response It's a bureaucratic nightmare with deadly consequences. (CNN)   + What will life look like after vaccination? (New Yorker) 4 Why did the FBI miss the social media warnings about the Capitol attack? Officials claim there’s confusion about what they are, and aren’t, allowed to monitor. (NBC) 5 The internet doesn’t have to be awful It can just feel like that most days. (The Atlantic) 6 SolarWinds shows how weak the US's defenses are. Here’s how to fix them The firms shouldn't have been left to defend itself. (The Conversation)   + Why retaliation isn't the answer. (Wired) 7 How to build an artificial heart A revolutionary design that could turn back time. (New Yorker) 8 How scientists scrambled to save vital climate data from Trump’s EPA A single email saw researchers spring into action. (The Verge)   + The most climate-safe place in the world. (Earther)   + How climate change will re-shape Silicon Valley. (Wired) 9 Black tech employees have had enough of “diversity theater” Public declarations mean nothing. It’s action that counts. (Wired) 10 Astronomers have spotted a radio signal from the farthest reaches of space No it’s not aliens, sorry. (Vice) Access, not academics. Tap into the collective brain power of MIT when you purchase a subscription today. Quote of the day “It’s been well studied that anticipation is a significant component of joy. These guidelines help each person coming in for a vaccine anticipate future joy. As a physician and vaccinator, I’m thrilled.” Dr. Rebecca Weintraub, an assistant professor of global health and social medicine at the Harvard Medical School talks to the NYT about how the CDC's new guidelines will motivate more people to get vaccinated. Top image credit: AP PHOTO/DAMIAN DOVARGANES Please send cooking advice to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @niallfirth. Thanks for reading! —Niall Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free The age of implementation Join us virtually | March 23–25, 2021 Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.  Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog