L.A. County has reinstated masks and social distancing orders for indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status due to the Delta variant.
The CDC, however, still maintains that those fully vaccinated do not have to wear masks or social distance indoors. They still believe that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines provide full protection against the Delta variant.
The WHO says the total opposite, that no current vaccine provides protection against the Delta variant, if I understand correctly.
No, that is not what WHO is saying. WHO is applying the precautionary principle – maintaining some social distancing guidelines in indoor spaces – because: a. Vaccines do not provide 100% protection (it’s more like ~85% for Pfizer and ~65% for AZ, according to the most recent Public Health England study) against the Delta variant, and so breakthrough infections are possible and transmission can then take place. b. There are still many unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people who are vulnerable to infection (greater risk of severe infection if caught).
I’m unsure why CDC is so adamant about the vaccinated ditching masks entirely. It’s just too early for that. I guess in a state like Massachusetts with very low transmission currently ditching masks is fine (though I still wear mine in indoor spaces like pharmacies and grocery stores). But in public indoor spaces that are crowded it’s clearly not a good idea in an expanding number of states, including Missouri, Utah, Florida, Arkansas, Wyoming, etc …
Thanks Joshua, I stand corrected. When I go inside a business, I always put on my mask then see if most employees and customers are wearing them as well. If most are not, then I remove it. If most are, then I leave it on. Sometimes I’ll be direct and ask an employee straight out.
The CDC still insists on masks for all public transportation though. I get the impression that’s not going to be rescinded anytime soon. Oh well.
The headline in today’s Boston Herald:
MODERNA 1, DELTA 0
“Vaccine beats down virulent variant.”
I’d be interested in Joshuas take on this. I can’t read the globe
It’s the Boston Herald. I rarely read the Globe, unless it’s a huge news story like a Boston Championship, etc.
Oops. I meant to say herald. Was at daughters and clearly not paying attention. I can’t read it either
I know Moderna is doing studies on the vaccine’s efficacy versus Delta. It’s a very similar mRNA vaccine to the one Pfizer/BioNTech produces. My guess is the results will be similar. By the way, J&J is also doing a study. I’m very curious to know the results from that study.
For the most accurate recent data I think it’s best to use as a source Public Health England and Public Health Scotland. They’re up to date, they sequence much more than we do, and their results seem to mesh more with reality than what I’ve been hearing from drug manufacturers or U.S. data. Very latest data show that Pfizer protects 83% of fully vaccinated folks. Astra Zeneca (and probably J&J as well – they’re similar vaccines) protects 60% of fully vaccinated folks. A small number of fully vaccinated folks – Pfizer or AZ – who contract the virus get hospitalized. Still, of the hospitalized in Britain 1/3 have had at least 1 dose of vaccine (either AZ or Pfizer).
If we only based our information on what Pfizer fed us, we’d have no deaths at all among the fully vaccinated. Yet, we do have several hundred deaths among the fully vaccinated , in May alone. It’s a very small number overall, but the vaccines aren’t perfect.
I wish our leaders would level with us, and not treat us like children who can’t handle the truth. The vaccines work very well, but they’re far from perfect. It’s why I do believe the precautionary principle should apply, through this year. It’s why Israel is applying this principle, too. This doesn’t mean lockdowns or closing businesses. But it does mean tread cautiously, particularly in public indoor spaces that are cramped.
My local CVS is tiny. It’s on Charles Street. Smallest CVS around. It’s often packed with customers, now almost all maskless. Yet, it has a large number of patients picking up prescriptions and waiting for them (MGH is around the corner). I wear a mask, mostly to protect them, in case I somehow contracted the virus and could pass it on. I know that plenty of these patients are immunocompromised. It’s no skin off my back to protect them. Frankly, I don’t understand how pharmacies like that no longer have a mask and distancing policy.
U.K. cases over 26,000 today. Inexorable rise. About 65% increase every week.
The good news is that there is a decoupling of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. That is, the curves are NOT parallel. The bad news is hospitalizations are increasing by about 15-20% a week. ICU usage has increased by almost 300% in one month. Deaths are also increasing by about 10-15% a week. As lagging indicators these numbers will rise, but they won’t increase in parallel to case growth.
Will the U.S. see this kind of development? Probably not to the degree the U.K. has, because the workhorse vaccines in America – Pfizer and Moderna – are better vaccines than the workhorse vaccine in Britain, Astra Zeneca. This said, Pfizer is the second most used vaccine in Britain, and there are many cases and even hospitalizations occurring among the fully vaccinated (Pfizer) folks.
Delta is beginning its ascent in Europe. Portugal and now Belgium are in steady ascent. I think the other countries will follow suit as this variant is so darn transmissible. My daughter was telling me that she has several fully vaccinated young friends who got Covid (Delta variant) in spite of being careful. One is asymptomatic (good), the other is quite ill (though at home).
At home, in the U.S., I’m seeing signs of an ascent building, especially in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Florida. Even seeing subtle signs of a reemergence of the virus in California, the Midwest, and even the Northeast (albeit very subtle at this point). I think seasonality is just not a thing with Delta. Once it has a solid foothold it spreads quickly like wildfire, especially among the unvaccinated, and to a much lesser degree among the partially and fully vaccinated.
C-19 for 7-1 is ready.
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L.A. County has reinstated masks and social distancing orders for indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status due to the Delta variant.
The CDC, however, still maintains that those fully vaccinated do not have to wear masks or social distance indoors. They still believe that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines provide full protection against the Delta variant.
The WHO says the total opposite, that no current vaccine provides protection against the Delta variant, if I understand correctly.
No, that is not what WHO is saying. WHO is applying the precautionary principle – maintaining some social distancing guidelines in indoor spaces – because: a. Vaccines do not provide 100% protection (it’s more like ~85% for Pfizer and ~65% for AZ, according to the most recent Public Health England study) against the Delta variant, and so breakthrough infections are possible and transmission can then take place. b. There are still many unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people who are vulnerable to infection (greater risk of severe infection if caught).
I’m unsure why CDC is so adamant about the vaccinated ditching masks entirely. It’s just too early for that. I guess in a state like Massachusetts with very low transmission currently ditching masks is fine (though I still wear mine in indoor spaces like pharmacies and grocery stores). But in public indoor spaces that are crowded it’s clearly not a good idea in an expanding number of states, including Missouri, Utah, Florida, Arkansas, Wyoming, etc …
Thanks Joshua, I stand corrected. When I go inside a business, I always put on my mask then see if most employees and customers are wearing them as well. If most are not, then I remove it. If most are, then I leave it on. Sometimes I’ll be direct and ask an employee straight out.
The CDC still insists on masks for all public transportation though. I get the impression that’s not going to be rescinded anytime soon. Oh well.
The headline in today’s Boston Herald:
MODERNA 1, DELTA 0
“Vaccine beats down virulent variant.”
I’d be interested in Joshuas take on this. I can’t read the globe
It’s the Boston Herald. I rarely read the Globe, unless it’s a huge news story like a Boston Championship, etc.
Oops. I meant to say herald. Was at daughters and clearly not paying attention. I can’t read it either
I know Moderna is doing studies on the vaccine’s efficacy versus Delta. It’s a very similar mRNA vaccine to the one Pfizer/BioNTech produces. My guess is the results will be similar. By the way, J&J is also doing a study. I’m very curious to know the results from that study.
For the most accurate recent data I think it’s best to use as a source Public Health England and Public Health Scotland. They’re up to date, they sequence much more than we do, and their results seem to mesh more with reality than what I’ve been hearing from drug manufacturers or U.S. data. Very latest data show that Pfizer protects 83% of fully vaccinated folks. Astra Zeneca (and probably J&J as well – they’re similar vaccines) protects 60% of fully vaccinated folks. A small number of fully vaccinated folks – Pfizer or AZ – who contract the virus get hospitalized. Still, of the hospitalized in Britain 1/3 have had at least 1 dose of vaccine (either AZ or Pfizer).
If we only based our information on what Pfizer fed us, we’d have no deaths at all among the fully vaccinated. Yet, we do have several hundred deaths among the fully vaccinated , in May alone. It’s a very small number overall, but the vaccines aren’t perfect.
I wish our leaders would level with us, and not treat us like children who can’t handle the truth. The vaccines work very well, but they’re far from perfect. It’s why I do believe the precautionary principle should apply, through this year. It’s why Israel is applying this principle, too. This doesn’t mean lockdowns or closing businesses. But it does mean tread cautiously, particularly in public indoor spaces that are cramped.
My local CVS is tiny. It’s on Charles Street. Smallest CVS around. It’s often packed with customers, now almost all maskless. Yet, it has a large number of patients picking up prescriptions and waiting for them (MGH is around the corner). I wear a mask, mostly to protect them, in case I somehow contracted the virus and could pass it on. I know that plenty of these patients are immunocompromised. It’s no skin off my back to protect them. Frankly, I don’t understand how pharmacies like that no longer have a mask and distancing policy.
U.K. cases over 26,000 today. Inexorable rise. About 65% increase every week.
The good news is that there is a decoupling of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. That is, the curves are NOT parallel. The bad news is hospitalizations are increasing by about 15-20% a week. ICU usage has increased by almost 300% in one month. Deaths are also increasing by about 10-15% a week. As lagging indicators these numbers will rise, but they won’t increase in parallel to case growth.
Will the U.S. see this kind of development? Probably not to the degree the U.K. has, because the workhorse vaccines in America – Pfizer and Moderna – are better vaccines than the workhorse vaccine in Britain, Astra Zeneca. This said, Pfizer is the second most used vaccine in Britain, and there are many cases and even hospitalizations occurring among the fully vaccinated (Pfizer) folks.
Delta is beginning its ascent in Europe. Portugal and now Belgium are in steady ascent. I think the other countries will follow suit as this variant is so darn transmissible. My daughter was telling me that she has several fully vaccinated young friends who got Covid (Delta variant) in spite of being careful. One is asymptomatic (good), the other is quite ill (though at home).
At home, in the U.S., I’m seeing signs of an ascent building, especially in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Florida. Even seeing subtle signs of a reemergence of the virus in California, the Midwest, and even the Northeast (albeit very subtle at this point). I think seasonality is just not a thing with Delta. Once it has a solid foothold it spreads quickly like wildfire, especially among the unvaccinated, and to a much lesser degree among the partially and fully vaccinated.
C-19 for 7-1 is ready.