HELLO, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU ON SATURDAY BUT…….

HERE WE GO AGAIN:

FROM THE NYT AND LIKELY LOW FOR SMITH AND GREGG COUNTIES:

(NOTE: This information might not make the local newspapers in a timely fashion; let your friends and family know to be more careful — for the next several weeks. J. Harris, MD)

FROM MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY WEEKLY (ALSO CITED BY HOPKINS)

Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings — Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021

”…Among the 469 cases in Massachusetts residents, 346 (74%) occurred in persons who were fully vaccinated; of these, 301 (87%) were male, with a median age of 42 years. Vaccine products received by persons experiencing breakthrough infections were Pfizer-BioNTech (159; 46%), Moderna (131; 38%), and Janssen (56; 16%); among fully vaccinated persons in the Massachusetts general population, 56% had received Pfizer-BioNTech, 38% had received Moderna, and 7% had received Janssen vaccine products. Among persons with breakthrough infection, 274 (79%) reported signs or symptoms, with the most common being cough, headache, sore throat, myalgia, and fever. Among fully vaccinated symptomatic persons, the median interval from completion of ≥14 days after the final vaccine dose to symptom onset was 86 days (range = 6–178 days). Among persons with breakthrough infection, four (1.2%) were hospitalized, and no deaths were reported. Real-time RT-PCR Ct values in specimens from 127 fully vaccinated patients (median = 22.77) were similar to those among 84 patients who were unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown (median = 21.54) (Figure 2).

”…Event organizers and local health jurisdictions should continually assess the need for additional measures, including limiting capacity at gatherings or event postponement, based on current rates of COVID-19 transmission, population vaccination coverage, and other factors.§§§ On July 27, CDC released recommendations that all persons, including those who are fully vaccinated, should wear masks in indoor public settings in areas where COVID-19 transmission is high or substantial. ..Findings from this investigation suggest that even jurisdictions without substantial or high COVID-19 transmission might consider expanding prevention strategies, including masking in indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status, given the potential risk of infection during attendance at large public gatherings that include travelers from many areas with differing levels of transmission….”

FROM HOPKINS:

1. ‘The War has Changed’: Internal CDC Document Urges New Messaging, Warns Delta Infections Likely More Severe (Washington Post) The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal federal health document that argues officials must “acknowledge the war has changed.” The document is an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention slide presentation, shared within the CDC and obtained by The Washington Post. The document strikes an urgent note, revealing the agency knows it must revamp its public messaging to emphasize vaccination as the best defense against a variant so contagious that it acts almost like a different novel virus, leaping from target to target more swiftly than Ebola or the common cold.

2. WHO Doesn’t Recommend Covid Booster Doses Right Now, Citing Lack of Data (CNBC) The World Health Organization doesn’t recommend Covid-19 booster shots …the group’s top vaccine doctor said Wednesday, citing a lack of data on their effectiveness. Dr. Kate O’Brien, the WHO’s director of immunization, vaccines and biologicals, said the organization is still researching whether a booster shot is needed to increase protection against highly contagious mutations of the coronavirus.

(J. Harris: This could be another case where the WHO is mistaken? I plan to take a booster as soon as it is offered, despite the fact that ‘I’m barely over 65 and thin as a rail.’ I also avoid crowds and unvaccinated people, especially in crowds.)

‘I Would Go Tomorrow to Get the Third Shot’

“…Look, it is more contagious than early strains. And so think [about] how contagious that was. It’s at least twice as contagious, maybe three or four times as contagious. Six feet from an unvaccinated person is not protection anymore. I would wear masks. It is [as] contagious as chicken pox, which is highly contagious. It’s less contagious than measles, which is highly, highly contagious. It’s hard to quantitate….”

LAST BUT NOT LEASED WITH APOLOGIES ETC:

From the Charlie Brown Comic Strip —

Although COVID-19 spreads mostly via the mouth and nose, scientists now conclude that the greatest risk comes from assholes.

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