| A Chinese official admits low vaccine efficacy, new Covid-19 misinformation spreads on Facebook in Arabic, and massive crowds gather in India despite rising cases. Here's what you should know: Headlines Chinese official calls domestic vaccine efficacy into question and touts the benefits of mRNA technology Gao Fu, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, acknowledged on Saturday that China's current vaccines don't have high rates of protection. Gao praised the mRNA shots, despite questioning their safety in the past, and added that Chinese officials are considering giving people doses of more than one vaccine. China currently has five vaccines in use, and it has sent hundreds of millions of domestically made doses to other countries around the world. In a follow-up message on Sunday night, Gao qualified that he had been speaking about the efficacy of "vaccines around the world, not particularly for China." New vaccine conspiracy theories are going viral on Facebook in Arabic Researchers at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue found that new vaccine conspiracy theories are gaining significant traction on Facebook. Between January 1 and February 28, they discovered 18 pages and 10 groups with a combined following of more than 2.4 million people sharing pandemic-related misinformation in Arabic. In response, Facebook said that it has three Arabic fact-checking partnerships and is trying to use AI to detect content that violates its rules. Experts point out that Facebook has had a hard time combating misinformation even in English, and it likely has not made the investment necessary to curb the spread of conspiracy theories in other languages. India's case count is the world's highest, but crowds still gathered for a massive Hindu festival As of today, India has surpassed Brazil to become the second-worst-hit country of the pandemic, and case counts show no signs of decreasing anytime soon. Still, this morning India's Ganges River filled with a million people taking a holy bath as part of Kumbh Mela, a months-long festival. It's estimated that less than 4 percent of India's 1.4 billion people have been vaccinated, and some experts have hypothesized that the country's case count could double in two months. Still, authorities have done little to stop events that could worsen the spread, like this festival and political rallies in states with upcoming elections. Daily Distraction A hundred years ago, a group of surrealists began collaborating on artwork in a game they called "exquisite corpse." On TikTok, a new generation of creators are reinventing the form. Something to Read In December, a number of states and the FTC sued Facebook for not doing enough to protect user privacy. A few months later, Google faced condemnation for getting rid of third-party cookies and doing too much to strengthen privacy. Taken together, these instances beg the question: How will policymakers and companies reconcile privacy law with competition law? Sanity Check Typing out passwords every time you log into a new device can be a hassle. Here are a few of our favorite alternatives. One Question How have pandemic lockdowns impacted air pollution? For scientists studying air pollution, the last year has been a big natural experiment with largely promising results. It's clear that air quality can improve quickly when drastic measures are taken. For example, a study published last month found that during March and May 2020, air pollution decreased significantly in six major Indian metropolises compared to years prior. Other recent studies have shown similar trends elsewhere. But researchers have also observed these numbers going back up as Covid-19 restrictions loosened. Lasting improvement will likely require more permanent changes. Covid-19 Care Package 📦 The Covid-19 virus can linger on objects for as little as a few hours or as long as a couple of days, depending on the surface. Here's a look at the research. 😷 If you're planning to go out in public anytime soon, you're going to need a mask. Here are the best ones you can buy, or how to make one at home. 🧼 It's not just your hands that need washing—your gadgets, clothes, and home need it too. Here's how to properly disinfect your stuff. 💻 Whether or not you're a work-from-home pro, here's how to stay productive without losing your mind. 😔 It's hard not to be anxious about a global pandemic, but here's how you can protect yourself and your family without spiraling and how to not hate the loved ones you're quarantined with. ✂️ It may still be a while before you can see your hairstylist, so here's how to cut your hair at home, plus other ways to keep yourself lookin' fresh. 🦠Read all of our coronavirus coverage here. | 
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