DELTA VIRUS IS OUR LATEST WORRY IN THE US
(J. Harris: Good short summary from Washington Post; we looked at some of this earlier)
“Britain has fully vaccinated more than 41 percent of its population, while more than 60 percent have received at least one shot. But over recent weeks, the number of new cases recorded daily has ticked slowly but surely up, while health authorities confirmed last week the delta variant had come to dominate new infections.What we know about the highly infectious coronavirus delta variant includes…Also known by the scientific name B.1.617, the variant was first identified in Maharashtra, India, in October…Though it is just one of many variants to have arisen during the pandemic, it is considered one of the most alarming… the British government believed that the delta variant was 40 percent more transmissible than the alpha variant, also known as B.1.1.7, which was first detected in Britain…the majority of new cases in the country are among those not yet vaccinated. Nearly all serious cases have been recorded among the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated..The jabs are working…We have to keep coming forward to get them, and that includes vitally that second jab, which we know gives better protection against the delta variant…Relaxation of public health and social measures, increased social mobility, virus variants and inequitable vaccination are a very dangerous combination,” (J. Harris: and the US is at risk.)
FROM HOPKINS CITATIONS:
1. Last week, researchers reported in The Lancet that the Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine elicited a weaker antibody response to the delta variant than to the original wildtype virus, especially among older populations. The data raise the likelihood of a booster shot being needed for some people, although the scientists cautioned that more data are needed to know whether the vaccine would be any less effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization, or death
(J. Harris: The article is unreadable for me; the new Greek alphabet designations were not yet selected for the variants. A booster might be necessary to prevent Delta especially in old, fat people who took the Pfizer vaccine. Uh Oh.)
2. Drop in Convalescent Plasma Use at U.S. Hospitals Linked to Higher COVID-19 Mortality Rate (JHSPH) A new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues suggests a slowdown in the use of convalescent plasma to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients led to a higher COVID-19 mortality during a critical period during this past winter’s surge.
3.China is Vaccinating a Staggering 20 million People a Day (Nature) For more than a week, an average of about 20 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 every day in China. At this rate, the nation would have fully vaccinated the entire UK population in little more than six days. China now accounts for more than half of the 35 million or so people around the world receiving a COVID-19 shot each day.
4. New CDC Study Shows mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Reduce Risk of Infection by 91 Percent Among Fully Vaccinated (Homeland Preparedness News) A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrated continuing good news for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, crediting them with reducing the risk of infection by 91 percent for those fully vaccinated by either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.
NYT TRACKER INDIVIDUALIZED FOR ME LOOKS GOOD FOR OUR AREA:
…
Sinovac says China has approved its vaccine for use in children as young as 3.
In an interview with the state broadcaster China Central Television, Sinovac’s chairman, Yin Weidong, said the company’s clinical trials involving “hundreds” of people had found that its vaccine was just as safe and effective in people ages 3 to 17 as it was in adults.
(J. Harris: Fortunately, there is little need for the US to be in a hurry with this age group at this time.)
Underlying Medical Conditions Associated With Severe COVID-19 Illness Among Children
AND LAST BUT NOT LEASED:
A blonde and her husband are lying in bed
listening to the next-door neighbor’s dog which has been barking in their backyard for hours and hours.
The blonde jumps up out of bed and says,
“I’ve had enough of this”.
She goes downstairs….
The blonde finally comes back up to bed
and her husband says, “The dog is still barking,
what have you been doing?”
The blonde says,
“I put the dog in our backyard,
let’s see how THEY like it!
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