COVID-19 vaccine hesitance is often tied to education level The Indianapolis Star
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A week after public health officials in Texas most populous county started handing out $100 cash cards to locals getting their first COVID-19 shot, the number of daily vaccinations has shot up to six times its previous rate, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Tuesday.
We had an inkling that something was going right when I started my announcement [about the incentive] at noon, and by the time I was done, 30 minutes later, there was a line of cars waiting to receive the vaccine, Hidalgo said. We havent seen those lines for months.
To accommodate and encourage the increased demand, the county will be opening an additional mass vaccination site and expanding its mobile vaccine program, Hidalgo said.
You have to be creative, and were seeing the results and were doubling down on it, Hidalgo said.
Harris County officials began the incentive program last Tuesday in a bid to jumpstart stalled vaccinations in Houston and surrounding areas, and to provide relief to the regions stressed hospitals during what health officials say is the worst surge of infections the area has seen since the pandemic began last year.
For the three weeks before the program started, Hidalgo said, Harris County Public Health was administering an average of 431 first doses per day. The day the announcement was made, the number jumped to 914. The next day, 1,596 people sought the first doses from public health providers.
On Saturday, four days into the program, some 2,700 people got their first injection, Hidalgo said.
This is an incredible achievement, she said.
Demand for vaccines began to slow down in April and May in Texas and across the nation because of vaccine hesitancy and many peoples assumption that the pandemic was over as infections and hospitalizations plummeted, health officials said. At the time, less than a quarter of the Texas population was fully vaccinated.
The rapid emergence of the delta variant in the early summer is now fueling a surge that is sending mostly unvaccinated Texans, who make up around 45% of the states population, to hospitals in numbers not seen since January, before the vaccines became widely available.
Experts say that while mask-wearing and social distancing will stem the rush on hospitals in the short term, mass vaccination is the only answer to beating the pandemic in the long term.
To the extent that people get vaccinated, this surge is going to end faster, Hidalgo said.
President Joe Biden has encouraged cities and counties to dip into federal stimulus dollars to pay for $100 incentives like the one Harris County offers. In Texas, Austin Public Health is offering H-E-B grocery store gift cards, while San Antonio is weighing its own similar program and Bexar County recently announced health insurance rebates for employees who get the shot.
Also on Tuesday, Harris County opened a new mass vaccination site in Sheldon ISDs Panther Stadium, about 20 miles northeast of Houston, with the ability to administer 1,500 vaccine doses per day, Hidalgo said.
On Thursday, the county will move its mass vaccination site from Houstons NRG Stadium to Graves Park, where some 2,500 vaccine doses can be administered per day. And the county will also expand its mobile vaccine program to accommodate additional demand. The goal is to vaccinate up to 7,600 people per day through all three efforts, she said.
Harris County officials have set aside $2.3 million for the countys vaccine incentive program enough to put first doses in about 23,000 arms.
The local incentives, combined with the daily drumbeat of grim news about overwhelmed hospitals and climbing infection rates among children and in nursing homes, are being credited for a small upswing in vaccination rates across the state in recent weeks.
As of Sunday, daily vaccines were up by 20,214 doses compared with the 30-day average a month ago. An average 77,047 vaccine doses were reported each day in the last month. Just over 46% of Texans are fully vaccinated.
Texas lowest point for vaccinations came in late July, when the 30-day average hit 52,595 doses per day. The highest point was in April, when the 30-day average peaked at 245,399 doses per day.
State health officials also hope that Mondays full approval of the Pfizer vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will boost demand for the vaccine among those who were hesitant because it had only received authorization for emergency use.
Weve heard from people who said they were waiting until full FDA approval to be vaccinated, said Chris Van Deusen, spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Hopefully, the approval will give people added confidence about what weve seen in the real world: that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe, and they work.
Mandi Cai contributed to this report.
Disclosure: H-E-B has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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Correction, Aug. 24, 2021: A previous version of this story contained an incorrect date in the photo caption. The vaccination in the photo happened in January 2021, not January 2020.
A limited set of exemptions will be approved on a case-by-case basis. Details about the online exemption process will be shared in the coming days
Health-related
An individual can request a health-related exemption through submission of appropriate documentation from their treating health care provider. Any health-related exemptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by Employee Health and Student Health Services.
In addition, those with a history of allergic reactions to other vaccines or medical injections will be considered for exemptions on a case-by-case basis with appropriate documentation of the allergic reaction provided by the individuals treating health care provider.
Individuals with a history of either a documented COVID-19 infection or a history of having received a COVID-19 monoclonal antibody infusion within 90 days prior to the deadline will be eligible for a temporary exemption until after the end of the 90-day period. The individual will then be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccination within 14 days of the end of the exemption.
Personal or Religious
An exemption based on an individuals religious beliefs or practices or based on personal reasons can be requested. Employees must submit a request for religious and personal exemptions. As part of the request, the employee must attest to their reason for exemption and explanation. All religious and personal exemptions will be reviewed by Employee Relations in conjunction with Employee Health.
All Aurora Public School employees will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccination now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer one this week, district officials said Monday.
Superintendent Rico Munn wrote in May and again this monththat the approval would be the tipping point for requiring vaccinations for the entire districts staff. Moderna and Johnson & Johnsons shots have not received the same approval as Pfizer.
The most significant layer to prevent transmission of COVID-19 is for as many people in the APS community to receive the COVID-19 vaccines as possible, Munn wrote Friday.
Then Damon Smith, the districts chief personnel officer, emailed employees Monday noting the FDAs approval and telling staff they must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 7. Those who fail to get the vaccine will face discipline including suspension, leave without pay and possibly termination.
Employees who legitimately cannot be vaccinated will be required to wear masks, socially distance from others and take periodic tests for the virus, Smith wrote.
The district has about 38,000 students and about 6,000 employees, some 2,100 of which are teachers.
The district will join Denver Public Schools in requiring faculty and staff to be vaccinated.
Adams Countys Board of Commissioners headed a different direction Tuesday, following in Douglas County commissioners footsteps by voting 3-2 to opt out of Tri-County Health Departments order requiring masks for children between the ages of 2 and 11, county representative Christa Bruning said in a release.
Adams County said the vote was meant to allow each school district to follow current requirements or create their own.
County Commissioner Eva Henry called Tri-Countys mandate flawed in the release and said local school boards and the Colorado State Board of Education is in the best position to decide what to require for students and their communities.
TOPEKA, (KSNT) With the Pfizer vaccine fully approved by the FDA, some parents may be wondering whether schools will soon require coronavirus vaccinations for students and staff.
In Kansas, the potential of that happening for public K-12 schools and universities doesnt seem likely at the moment.
A spokesperson for the State Board of Education told Kansas Capitol Bureau on Tuesday that they are not aware of any districts having vaccine mandates at this time.
The same goes for some higher education officials in the state. A representative for Pittsburgh State University said the school has no current plans to change vaccine requirements, pointing to a bill passed earlier this year.
The provision in the most recent Kansas budget bill signed by Governor Kelly banning vaccine passports prohibits Pitt State from enforcing a vaccine mandate on our campus. We will carefully watch this throughout the next legislative session, as we do believe in the effectiveness of vaccines in curbing the spread of the virus.
The same goes for Kansas State University, whose spokesperson said the legislation passed in May prohibits the university from requiring students, faculty, and staff to get the coronavirus vaccine.
Other universities that have confirmed with Kansas Capitol Bureau that they have not made plans to require the vaccine, include Washburn University, Emporia State University, and Fort Hays State University.
While some schools may not be changing requirements, there is a strong push to do whats necessary to keep students safe, especially as cases increase and the highly contagious Delta variant spreads.
Marcus Baltzell, a spokesperson for the Kansas National Education Association, said its important for people to get vaccinated, and use proven safety measures to keep students and teachers in the classroom.
Masking, social distancing, hygiene, all of those things work, he said.
According to the CDC, as of Tuesday, 47.4 % of the state has been fully vaccinated.
This comes as hospitalizations are reaching new heights. Cindy Samuelson, a spokesperson for the Kansas Hospital Association, said daily and weekly reports are showing that hospitals are seeing an increasing amount of younger patients coming in.
We are seeing an average age thats younger than weve ever seen before, related to COVID patients, she said.
State health officials and state leaders said there are concerns for students, especially those younger than 12, who arent currently eligible to get the vaccine. Thats why some public school advocates, like Baltzell, said its important for people who can get vaccinated, to get it now.
We want everybody to pull together and to do everything they can, to avoid the individual impact to kids. That means kids can stay in classrooms, with their educators for the long-term.
On Monday, the New England Patriots announced a problem with quarterback Cam Newton. Newton, who the team announced traveled to a Club-approved medical appointment that required him to leave the New England area, was forced into a reentry process due to a misunderstanding about Covid-19 tests.
The problem however, could have easily been avoided if Newton was fully vaccinated - as only those who are not vaccinated must enter the five-day reentry process. Instead, Newton is now sidelined for four days of practice, including the first of two joint practices against the New York Giants.
Meanwhile, the problem has become a major story line in the dog days of training camp. On Tuesday, veteran Matthew Slater provided his insight on the vaccination issue and how a players choice could negatively affect the team.
I think weve already had those conversations leading up to this point, Slater said Tuesday. I dont like the idea of trying to force someone to do something like that, especially when it comes to their health, their body. I dont like the idea of, Hey, youve gotta do this because I said youve gotta do it.
Obviously when youre dealing with grown men, they dont respond well to that sort of thing. So, we had those conversations. Guys are doing what they think is best for them. We have to respect that, and well see how this thing plays itself out. Obviously, we want everyone to stay safe and healthy. We want our football team to be healthy and productive. Were just going to have to take that one day at a time.
Long time captains Slater and McCourty whose wives are both doctors recorded a Patriots-produced PSA earlier this offseason, providing educational information on vaccines:
Look, this is an issue that is obviously a tough one for our community within the football realm but also nationally and worldwide. For me, its just about guys getting educated, Slater answered when asked about the videos message.
Ultimately, I truly believe everyone has a choice to make, and they have to do whats best for them. They have to take the advice of their healthcare providers, their family, their medical history, and make a decision thats best for them.
So, we obviously say that in the video, but I think its good for people to educate themselves. Theres a lot of misinformation out there. If you dont know, ask questions, try to get educated, and then make a decision thats best for you. Im not going to sit here and bang the drum one way or another because I do believe its a personal choice.
When asked about Newton and the vaccination rules Tuesday morning, head coach Bill Belichick did not have anything to add onto in regards of the statement the team released.
The league rules are the league rules, Belichick said. Well be compliant with them. Whatever they are, they are. Every team is dealing with the same situation.
According to NFL Networks Mike Giardi, there has been a level of frustration from the organization with Newtons current situation, and the mistake could have potentially opened a window of opportunity for rookie Mac Jones.
Make sure to follow Brian on Twitter @iambrianhines!
SEATTLE The University of Washington (UW) in Seattle will no longer allow students or personnel to claim a philosophical exemption to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Individuals who claimed a philosophical exemption will be contacted in the near future, UW said.
Inslee's mandate requires state employees, health care workers, K-12 school employees and those in higher education to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18 or face losing their jobs.
Boise, Idaho Governor Brad Little addressed the people of Idaho today in a video message regarding the positive news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its full approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine.
View the Governors video message at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlguYAaeoro
Governor Littles full message to the people of Idaho follows:
The United States of America reached a significant milestone today the FDA announced it fully approved the first COVID-19 vaccine.
Close to 800,000 Idahoans and more than 200 million Americans have received the COVID-19 vaccine safely, and the FDA full approval for the Pfizer vaccine helps impart additional confidence for Idahoans still on the fence about getting the shot.
Experts in science and medicine rigorously evaluated the safety of the vaccine in accordance with very high standards.
President Donald Trump last year boldly moved our country forward with Operation Warp Speed the first-ever public-private partnership of its kind to enable faster approval and production of COVID-19 vaccines during the global pandemic.
Today, we reached the culmination of President Trumps leadership.
It is a proud moment in our nations history.
America is the best country in the world. We are able to offer our citizens a free, convenient, life-saving vaccine. Many people across the globe are not as fortunate.
To our friends and neighbors still waiting to receive the vaccine, the time to get the shot is NOW.
By getting the shot now, you can protect yourself and others and ensure healthcare access remains available for everyone.
By getting the shot now, you can ensure a strong, healthy workforce and continued economic prosperity in our state.
And, importantly, by getting the shot now, you can ensure our students have a productive, successful school year.
Thank you and God Bless.
# # #
A healthcare worker in the Netherlands is given the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on January 6. Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool via AP
Fully vaccinated people who get COVID-19 may be less infectious than unvaccinated people, a study suggests.
Scientists looked at 161 "breakthrough" infections in 24,706 health workers, mostly caused by Delta.
Vaccinated people cleared the virus quicker than unvaccinated people, they said.
See more stories on Insider's business page.
Fully vaccinated people who catch the Delta variant appear to be less infectious than unvaccinated people who have COVID-19, early research suggests.
A Dutch study led by scientists at Rotterdam's Erasmus Medical Center also found that fully vaccinated people who caught the Delta variant got rid of the virus faster than unvaccinated people who caught a less infectious strain.
Particles of the virus in vaccinated people's noses and throats were less likely to be infectious than in unvaccinated people, the study authors said.
This was despite both groups initially carrying a similar level of virus, the researchers said.
The research adds to a growing body of evidence that vaccines help slow the spread of the Delta variant beyond simply stopping infection. In theory, if you're less infectious for less time, you're less likely to pass on the virus. A multi-centre study from Singapore, posted on July 31, reported similar results.
But there's more work to be done before we can draw firm conclusions on how vaccines impact transmission.
Data shows that vaccines work against the Delta variant, and that "breakthrough infections" - i.e., when a vaccinated person gets COVID-19 - are usually mild.
In the Dutch study, researchers examined the COVID-19 lab tests of 161 breakthrough infections in 24,706 fully-vaccinated health workers between April and July. Delta caused most of the infections.
Roughly 85% of the 161 breakthrough infections were symptomatic, but none required hospital admission, the researchers said.
More than half of those in the vaccinated group, which had an average age of 25, had received Moderna's shot, but the authors said findings were similar in people vaccinated with the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
Story continues
Delta became dominant after most health workers in the country were vaccinated, so for the control group, researchers tested unvaccinated people who caught a less infectious virus strain between April and December 2020.
Read more: Experts explain why the mRNA tech that revolutionized COVID-19 vaccines could be the answer to incurable diseases, heart attacks, and even snake bites: 'The possibilities are endless'
Both the Singapore and Dutch studies measured the number of virus particles, which is considered the best proxy for how infectious somebody is - but it's an imperfect measure that varies from person to person and throughout the course of illness.
Neither study has been scrutinized by other experts in a peer review.
The Dutch scientists cautioned that infectious virus particles were found in 68.6% of breakthrough cases.
The "infectivity of individuals with breakthrough infections should not be neglected," they said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
If evolution is a numbers game, the coronavirus is especially good at playing it. Over the past year and a half, its copied itself quickly and sloppily in hundreds of millions of hosts, and hit upon a glut of genetic jackpots that further facilitate its spread. Delta, the hyper-contagious variant that has swept the globe in recent months, is undoubtedly one of the viruss most daring moves to date. This variant is the product of unfettered transmission, and will thrive further on it; if allowed to, Delta could morph into something even more formidable. Delta is already a really strong competitor, Michal Tal, an immunologist at Stanford University, told me. It could get significantly worse.
We cant precisely predict what worse will look like. There is no playbook for evolution. Delta could continue to ratchet up its rate of spread, or it could be ousted by another super-infectious variant. But the speed that has powered Deltas transmission for months probably cant sustain SARS-CoV-2 forever, at least not on its own. Humanitys collective immunity to the virus is growing, which means the next variants we encounter might be better off taking a tack that relies a lot more on stealth. Theres some sort of tipping point where immune evasion becomes a bigger fitness advantage than transmission, Stephen Goldstein, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Utah, told me. No one yet knows exactly where that tipping point isjust that we will probably, eventually, collide with it.
This transition will mark a new stage in our extended parlay with SARS-CoV-2. Viruses depend intimately on their hostsand the global population no longer looks or acts as it did when this one was a fresh threat. A large fraction of us, especially in vaccine-wealthy countries such as the United States, now have some degree of immunity, simultaneously suppressing the pathogens ability to pass among us and pressuring it to circumvent those shields. Our defenses are upping the ante for the virus. And the virus will likely rise to meet it.
The cyclical nature of this game might sound disheartening. But nothing will ever put us back at square one. Even as the virus evolves away from us, we can give chase. As immunity builds, our dalliances with the virus will trend milder, shorter, and less frequent. With vaccination on our side, were giving the virus fewer turns at the board, and slowing the pace at which the game is played. Although we cant yet trounce SARS-CoV-2 for good, we can buy ourselves time to make our next decisive move.
In broad strokes, the rules of evolutionary play are simple enough. Researchers still arent sure where, or in whom, most variants arise, but theyre clearly more likely to sprout when the coronavirus is allowed to stick around and make more and more of itself, whether in an individual person or in a whole population. Mutations happen like typos during a viruss messy replication; the majority are inconsequential, even detrimental to the pathogen. But scattered among these genetic glitches will be the occasional windfall, a mistake that helps one version of the virus outcompete its kin. Those proportionally rare events become more absolutely common when given more opportunities to occur. The longer the virus persists, the more opportunities itll have to sample what makes it more fit, Oliver Fregoso, a virologist at UCLA, told me.
SARS-CoV-2s self-xeroxing process isnt particularly error-prone compared with many of the respiratory viruses we regularly tussle with. All else equal, thats great news: In the few short days most infected people need to marshal immune responses and purge the pathogen, the coronavirus has barely enough time to tweak its genome once, if at all. The virus that comes out is going to be basically identical to the virus that goes in, Goldstein told me. And any variants that do arise have little chance to accumulate in high enough numbers to matter. Most mutants never make it past the person whos infected, Siobain Duffy, an evolutionary virologist at Rutgers University, told me. Many that do exit are doomed to extinguish before they can locate their next host.
Read: The coronavirus is here forever. This is how we live with it.
But all bets are off when the bodys barriers start to break down. Since the pandemics start, several independent research groups have uncovered evidence that variants may have an easier time arising in people with weak immune systems, including those taking immunosuppressive drugsmeaning that immunocompromised people probably have a role to play in SARS-CoV-2s evolution, says Ravindra Gupta, a virologist at the University of Cambridge who has been studying this link. Some struggle to clear the virus for months, giving the pathogen time to spawn a menagerie of mutants. Most of the pathogens progeny will still be evolutionary duds. But the more of them that are made, the higher the chance that one will rise above the fray and tumble back out into the world. Though its tough to prove definitively, this may be the origin story of Alpha, Deltas super-transmissible forerunner. Its genome is pockmarked with an unusual number of mutations, the telltale sign that a variant may have been stewing inside a single person.
These prolonged infections cant explain everything. Deltas genome, for instance, is relatively clean. Its roots might lie in a different sort of numeric abundancemany brief infections in rapid succession.
A variants success is also contingent on the specifics of the board its playing on, and which opponent its facing. Consider, for instance, the Beta and Gamma variants, which both carry mutations that make them much less recognizable to antibodies, a trait that likely helps them wriggle their way into well-defended hosts. They appear to have gained traction in South Africa and Brazil, respectively, where a somewhat large fraction of the population may have already been infected by an older version of the virus. Delta, however, seems to have sprouted first in India, which was slammed later in the pandemic, and where far fewer people had seen SARS-CoV-2 before. In that environment, Delta didnt need much covertness to establish itselfjust a penchant for seriously speedy spread. That strategy helped Delta rapidly outstrip several of its wilier but more sluggish competitors and hopscotch across the globe.
A viruss primary objective is to spread, through whatever means it can. So far, Delta has had little reason to switch up its tactics. Although the variant appears to carry at least a couple of mutations that help it evade certain antibodiesa probable perk when it infiltrates someone with immunitymost scientists have been much more concerned about Deltas ability to hack its way quickly and efficiently into cells. The variant is so transmissibly supercharged that it can crest in the body, and probably hop into new hosts, before many of the most potent immune defenses kick into high gear. A virus doesnt need to be invisible if it can get in and out before security has time to spot it.
But the more people Delta and its comrades infect, the more they disadvantage themselves. Delta is leaving behind it people with high antibody titers, Sarah Cobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, told me. Those fast-acting immune fighters stick around and can rapidly purge the variant should it try its luck in the same person again. Humans are also steadily adding to the ranks of the protected with vaccines, which offer even stronger safeguards. To keep itself going, SARS-CoV-2 will need to dodge these defenses.
This, then, is the inevitable push and pull of coexisting with a virus long-term. Immunity shortens and softens infections; virus evolution stretches them back out. Once a large proportion of the population can thwart the virus, SARS-CoV-2 will need to find new ways to stick around a day or two more, Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, told me. The goal is the sameto keep the coronavirus in circulationbut the virus must take a different route to achieve it. That appears to have driven some of the sneaky changes in flu viruses and common-cold coronaviruses that allow them to reinfect old hosts. The more pressure on a pathogen, the more incentive it has to escape.
Read: Will the next variant be more deadly?
In the worst-case scenario, a variant could arise that would make it like the vaccines did not exist, Hanage said. But at the moment, there is no such variant like that. And it would probably be extraordinarily difficult for one to manifest. Even the most evasive variants we know ofthe ones that have stumped certain antibodiesarent fully duping vaccinated bodies, which harbor a slew of other immunological guards. Hanage also pointed out that many peoples immune systems have been trained on different triggersdistinct brands of vaccines, unique variants, or some combination thereof. A new version of SARS-CoV-2 would find skirting all of those blockades at once to be nearly impossible.
Viruses arent infinitely mutable; sometimes, to keep themselves in contention, they must make sacrifices. Several experts told me theyre hopeful that the coronavirus might struggle to max out both transmission and immune evasion at once, requiring some sort of trade-off between the two. Some of the most powerful anti-coronavirus antibodies target SARS-CoV-2s spike protein, which the virus uses to unlock and enter our cells. If the virus altered the protein to sidestep those antibodies, it might make itself less recognizable to the immune system. But it could also hurt its ability to infect us at all.
That might help explain why Beta has, so far, remained only a supporting character in the coronaviruss ensemble cast. Another hint comes from Alpha, which didnt seem to benefit all that much when it acquired an antibody-eluding mutation last spring, despite widespread fears. There is, in other words, probably a limit to just how bad SARS-CoV-2 can get: Even the most careful dog breeders cannot turn a bulldog into a bear.
What lies ahead might, in some ways, feel never-ending, like a series of checks with no checkmate. Vaccine recipes can be tweaked to accommodate new variants, and boosters can refresh fading immune memories. But that doesnt make extra shots enjoyable to take.
Vaccines, however, arent just reactive. They are also proactive interventions that curb the number of times the virus gets to roll the evolutionary dice, cutting down on the number, intensity, and duration of infections, and the chance that theyll pass to others. A more vaccinated world creates a more hostile global environment for SARS-CoV-2. Mutations will still occur, but fewer of them will be of consequence; lineages will still splinter, but theyll do so less often. The overriding effect of vaccination should be to reduce the rate of [virus] adaptation, Cobey told me. Variants, after all, cant adapt when theyre starved of hosts to infect.
Glimmers of early evidence suggest that this slowdown has already begun. One recent study, not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, found that SARS-CoV-2s shape-shifting rate is lower in highly immunized countries, the expected outcome of a virus knocking up against new immune walls. Gupta, of the University of Cambridge, also hopes that well someday cook up vaccines that can stamp out infection and transmission to an even greater degreeor ones that direct immune cells to hit the virus in spots that cant mutate without hamstringing it. That will force the virus into a corner, he told me. Wed need those types of inoculations less often, too. I dont envision a constant cat-and-mouse game.
This is not yet our reality. Billions of people around the world have yet to receive a single inoculation; even the vaccine-rich U.S. is deep in a dire summer surge. Deltas rampant spread is driving more disease, more deathand more opportunities for mutation in the virus. In the absence of vigilant masking and distancing, people are getting battered with gobs of virus, testing the protective limits of even recently inoculated bodies. New variants will continue to appear at unprecedented speeds until we get to the point where the virus is not allowed to replicate this often, or this quickly, Jennifer Dien Bard, a clinical virologist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, told me. Unabated transmission also raises the risk that some people could become viral mixing vessels: Should two variants come to occupy the same cell, they could swap hunks of their genome with each other, birthing hybrids with the nastiness of both parents in tow. Where transmission occurs unabated, that is definitely a risk, Lisa Gralinski, a coronavirologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told me. Viruses dont want things. But if they did, it would be very close to this.
A continued arms race with the virus is inevitable; hitting the immunological tipping point probably is too. How quickly we reach it, and how disadvantaged we are when we do, are not. Masking, distancing, ventilation, and other interventions can limit viral spread, but vaccines remain our most powerful tools: They put some of the controls back in our hands, allowing us to safely accelerate our acquisition of immunity. Anyone who isnt inoculated will eventually become infected, likely within the next few years, creating many of the same immunological hurdles for the virus to clearbut with a devastating public-health cost. Theres no scenario we choose where we dont impose selective pressure on this virus, Goldstein, of the University of Utah, told me. But are we going to do it while we prevent people from dying, or not?
