Joshua – Are all athletes participating in the Olympics in Japan required to be fully vaccinated? I heard on the radio this morning that the Japanese are concerned about “Olympic” variants.
I can’t believe they are still holding the games. Do you know if the US is participating
Philip, Olympians are not required to be vaccinated. But apparently 80% either have or will be vaccinated by the time the games begin.
Holding the Olympics in Japan will be difficult. Here’s the issue. It’s not just 15k athletes, it’s the tens of thousands of staff, media, and spectators, as well as families that will be entering a country that is still very susceptible to outbreaks. Very low immunity levels in Japan, in part because they’ve done relatively well to contain the virus (though less so recently), and very low vaccination rates. It’s a very old population as well. There’s legitimate concern that this could turn into a disaster.
Thanks Joshua. Hopefully that 80% will be vaccinated at least. Fingers crossed that doesn’t become a super spreader event.
Discouraging data from the UK: Another large increase in cases today. They have now doubled in two weeks. It’s estimated that 75% of new cases are B.1.617.2. Hospitalizations have increased by 40% over that time period. Deaths have increased by 25%. Note, all three – cases, hospitalizations, deaths – had previously gone down to very low levels in April. But now the UK is quickly catching up to the U.S. in terms of cases per 100,000 people. The UK will overtake the U.S. by Monday. Only two of the past 32 deaths recorded in Britain were of fully vaccinated people. But, at least 10% of hospitalized patients were fully vaccinated; 30% had received one dose. Most were partially or fully vaccinated with Astra Zeneca; some were partially or fully vaccinated with Pfizer.
This isn’t going away with a whimper, even in rich countries. More like a angry howl. The U.S. share of B.1.617.2 cases is increasing. If it follows the path of Britain the `Indian’ variant will be dominant by August. Unfortunately a set of large clusters are already in the Deep South: Florida. From there the virus can easily spread to neighboring states with low vaccination rates. You’ve heard me say this several times since early this month, but I’ll reiterate, my fear is that we in the U.S. get a sunbelt ripple and possibly a regional wave this summer. I strongly disagree with experts like Gottlieb on this. He says we won’t see a wave at all until late fall. I usually defer to him – he is the expert after all – but in this instance I think he’s forgetting what happened last summer across the South and in a few Midwest states. The Northeast wasn’t affected by the sunbelt wave, by the way. So I expect things to be okay here, for now. Let’s hope high vaccination rates and sustained immunity then protect us from problems in the fall and winter
.
Europe’s numbers have improved, as I’ve said before this week. But even so stubbornly high daily new cases, levels of hospitalizations, and recorded deaths continue in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. The good news is the trend is improving, but in the 4 nations mentioned it’s been a rather slow improvement.
Important point of clarification: Of the hospitalized persons who had gotten at least 1 dose of vaccine, most were partially or fully vaccinated with Astra Zeneca; some were partially or fully vaccinated with Pfizer.
C-19 for 5-29 is ready.
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Joshua – Are all athletes participating in the Olympics in Japan required to be fully vaccinated? I heard on the radio this morning that the Japanese are concerned about “Olympic” variants.
I can’t believe they are still holding the games. Do you know if the US is participating
Uganda’s rise in cases may portend an influx of virus into Africa. The rolling rally of virus around the globe can’t be stopped, certainly not without more vaccine equity. https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/uganda-sees-sharp-rise-covid-19-cases
Good thread on the need for vaccine equity. https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1398251639480352769
Philip, Olympians are not required to be vaccinated. But apparently 80% either have or will be vaccinated by the time the games begin.
Holding the Olympics in Japan will be difficult. Here’s the issue. It’s not just 15k athletes, it’s the tens of thousands of staff, media, and spectators, as well as families that will be entering a country that is still very susceptible to outbreaks. Very low immunity levels in Japan, in part because they’ve done relatively well to contain the virus (though less so recently), and very low vaccination rates. It’s a very old population as well. There’s legitimate concern that this could turn into a disaster.
Thanks Joshua. Hopefully that 80% will be vaccinated at least. Fingers crossed that doesn’t become a super spreader event.
Discouraging data from the UK: Another large increase in cases today. They have now doubled in two weeks. It’s estimated that 75% of new cases are B.1.617.2. Hospitalizations have increased by 40% over that time period. Deaths have increased by 25%. Note, all three – cases, hospitalizations, deaths – had previously gone down to very low levels in April. But now the UK is quickly catching up to the U.S. in terms of cases per 100,000 people. The UK will overtake the U.S. by Monday. Only two of the past 32 deaths recorded in Britain were of fully vaccinated people. But, at least 10% of hospitalized patients were fully vaccinated; 30% had received one dose. Most were partially or fully vaccinated with Astra Zeneca; some were partially or fully vaccinated with Pfizer.
This isn’t going away with a whimper, even in rich countries. More like a angry howl. The U.S. share of B.1.617.2 cases is increasing. If it follows the path of Britain the `Indian’ variant will be dominant by August. Unfortunately a set of large clusters are already in the Deep South: Florida. From there the virus can easily spread to neighboring states with low vaccination rates. You’ve heard me say this several times since early this month, but I’ll reiterate, my fear is that we in the U.S. get a sunbelt ripple and possibly a regional wave this summer. I strongly disagree with experts like Gottlieb on this. He says we won’t see a wave at all until late fall. I usually defer to him – he is the expert after all – but in this instance I think he’s forgetting what happened last summer across the South and in a few Midwest states. The Northeast wasn’t affected by the sunbelt wave, by the way. So I expect things to be okay here, for now. Let’s hope high vaccination rates and sustained immunity then protect us from problems in the fall and winter
.
Europe’s numbers have improved, as I’ve said before this week. But even so stubbornly high daily new cases, levels of hospitalizations, and recorded deaths continue in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. The good news is the trend is improving, but in the 4 nations mentioned it’s been a rather slow improvement.
Important point of clarification: Of the hospitalized persons who had gotten at least 1 dose of vaccine, most were partially or fully vaccinated with Astra Zeneca; some were partially or fully vaccinated with Pfizer.
C-19 for 5-29 is ready.