Lunchtime pandemic reading.
Standard disclaimer: this is a roundup of informative pieces I've read that interest me on the severity of the crisis and how to manage it. I am not a qualified medical expert in ANY sense; at best I am reasonably well-read laity. ALWAYS prioritize advice from qualified healthcare experts over some person on Facebook.
This is also available as an email newsletter at https://lunchtimepandemic.substack.com if you prefer the update in your inbox.
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Racial disparities in vaccination in the USA. "Progress toward achieving a 70% vaccination rate among those ages 12 and older by July 4, and disparities across race/ethnic groups, would also vary significantly across states. At the current vaccination pace, Asian people are on track to reach 70% of those ages 12 and older with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose in nearly all reporting states (40 of 44), and White people are on track in just over a third of reporting states (18 of 47). Hispanic people are projected to reach this threshold in 13 of 44 reporting states, while Black people are estimated to reach this coverage level in only 5 of 47 reporting states (Figure 2, Tables 1 and 2)."
Source: https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-reaching-covid-19-vaccination-benchmarks-projected-vaccination-rates-by-race-ethnicity-as-of-july-4/
Commentary: Good job, my fellow Asian Americans. Now we just need to get everyone else, especially Black Americans, vaccinated. Each group has its own issues; for Black and Hispanic Americans, the issue is largely about access, the ability to get to vaccinations and the ability to take time off of work for side effects.
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Should you still wear a mask? "In the United States, most adults are now fully vaccinated, and hundreds of thousands more people are getting vaccinated every day. Covid case counts are falling, often dramatically, in communities with high rates of vaccination. The risk-level tracker that our group, Resolve to Save Lives, developed with the New York Times now shows many areas of the country in yellow or green — low or moderate risk of Covid — for the first time since the pandemic started.
People have started traveling again, many businesses, schools, and offices have reopened, and large gatherings are being held. In New York City, the Foo Fighters performed for a full-capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden, the first big indoor concert event in the city since March 2020. Along with crowds at baseball games and bars, a semblance of normality is returning.
But as we resume many pre-pandemic activities we’ve sorely missed over the past year, there’s debate about the speed with which public health measures have been loosened and to what extent some — particularly masking — might still need to be followed in our “new normal.” The rapid spread of dangerous variants such as Delta has made the answers to these questions even more complex.
When the CDC loosened its mask guidance — saying that fully vaccinated people can safely remove masks in most places, including indoors and in large groups — many people heralded the move as the beginning of the end of the pandemic. But for others, it’s been confusing. There are conflicting rules at federal, state, and local levels. CDC still recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks on public transportation and in healthcare facilities. And despite CDC guidance, many businesses still enforce their own mask mandates.
Am I really safe if unmasked and vaccinated? How do I know those around me are all vaccinated? What about the Delta variant? Should I still wear a mask even if the CDC says I don’t have to?
The answer to all of these questions is: It depends. The pandemic is an ongoing threat, and variants remain a risk. Wearing masks significantly reduces spread of Covid, even of variant strains, and different types of masks offer different levels of protection. Here are three factors to consider about masking: who you are, where you are, and what you’re doing."
Source: https://elemental.medium.com/should-i-still-wear-a-mask-c7ae31958fe5
Commentary: Honestly, with the Delta variant floating around and more variants to come, there's no reason to stop wearing a mask in indoor spaces. It costs you nothing, and it provides protection against COVID-19, flu, seasonal colds, allergens, dust, and other environmental hazards. I was talking with a colleague this morning who remarked they didn't have a sinus infection all winter long, nor a cold. To me, that's worth keeping the mask on.
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Elderly more susceptible to variants without a full vaccine regimen. "Although two-dose mRNA vaccination provides excellent protection against SARS-CoV-2, data are scarce on vaccine efficacy against variants of concern (VOC) in individuals above 80 years of age1. Here we analysed immune responses following vaccination with mRNA vaccine BNT162b22 in elderly participants and younger health care workers. Serum neutralisation and binding IgG/IgA after the first vaccine dose diminished with increasing age, with a marked drop in participants over 80 years old. Sera from participants above 80 showed significantly lower neutralisation potency against B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1. variants of concern as compared to wild type and were more likely to lack any neutralisation against VOC following the first dose. However, following the second dose, neutralisation against VOC was detectable regardless of age. Frequency of SARS-CoV-2 Spike specific B-memory cells was higher in elderly responders versus non-responders after first dose. Elderly participants demonstrated clear reduction in somatic hypermutation of class switched cells. SARS-CoV-2 Spike specific T- cell IFNγ and IL-2 responses decreased with increasing age, and both cytokines were secreted primarily by CD4 T cells. We conclude that the elderly are a high risk population that warrant specific measures to boost vaccine responses, particularly where variants of concern are circulating."
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03739-1
Commentary: I think we'll find these findings to be broadly applicable to anyone at higher risk from COVID-19. Whatever vaccines are available, fulfill the full regimen and ask your healthcare provider if boosters are needed, particularly from a different kind of vaccine than the initial treatment.
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Keep unvaccinated people away from each other. "More than 80 teens and adult staffers from a Central Illinois summer camp tested positive for Covid-19 in an outbreak that has impacted people across three states, officials said.
The Crossing Camp in Schuyler County held in mid-June did not check vaccination status for campers or staffers, and masks were not required indoors at the camp, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said in a news release.
The Crossing Camp has not responded to calls, email or Facebook messages left by CNN on Monday and Tuesday.
All campers and staff were eligible for vaccination, although "IDPH is aware of only a handful of campers and staff receiving the vaccine," the department said Monday.
One unvaccinated young adult who tested positive after attending the camp was also hospitalized, according to IDPH."
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/30/us/illinois-summer-camp-coronavirus-outbreak/index.html
Commentary: Under no circumstances would I be sending a child who was unvaccinated to any kind of group activity, period. Kids aren't great at adhering to protocols like proper mask usage to begin with, and the risk levels are just too high. Fully vaccinated kids age 12 and up are fine to go to activities, though I'd still urge them to wear masks. Unvaccinated kids should not be gathering for any reason.
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A reminder of the simple daily habits we should all be taking.
1. Wear the best mask available to you when you'll be around other people, even after you've been vaccinated. Respirators are back in stock at online retailers, too. Wear an N95/FFP2/KN95 that's NIOSH-approved or better mask if you can obtain it. If you can't get an N95 mask, wear a surgical mask with a cloth mask over it.
2. Get vaccinated as soon as you're able to, and fulfill the full vaccine regimen. Remember that you are not vaccinated until everyone you live with is vaccinated. If you received an adenovirus vaccine (J&J/AstraZeneca), consider gettings an mRNA single shot booster (Pfizer/Moderna).
3. Wash/sanitize your hands every time you are in or out of your home.
4. Stay home as much as practical. Minimize your contact with others and avoid indoor places as much as you can; indoor spaces spread the disease through aerosols and distance is less effective at mitigating your risks.
5. Get your personal finances in order now. Cut all unnecessary costs.
6. Replenish your supplies as you use them. Avoid reducing your stores to pre-pandemic levels in case an outbreak causes unexpected supply chain disruptions.
7. Ventilate your home as frequently as weather and circumstances permit, except when you share close airspaces with other residences (like a window less than a meter away from a neighboring window).
8. Masks must fit properly to work. Here's how to properly fit a mask:
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Common misinformation debunked!
There is no basis in fact that COVID-19 vaccines can shed or otherwise harm people around you.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-covid19vaccine-reproductivepro-idUSL1N2MG256
There is no mercury or other heavy metals in the Pfizer mRNA vaccine.
Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/09/1013538/what-are-the-ingredients-of-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine/
There is no basis in fact that COVID-19 vaccines pose additional risks to pregnant women.
Source: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2104983
There is no genomic evidence at all that COVID-19 arrived before 2020 in the United States and therefore no hidden herd immunity:
Source:
There is no evidence SARS-CoV-2 was engineered, nor that it escaped a lab somewhere.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/01/29/experts-debunk-fringe-theory-linking-chinas-coronavirus-weapons-research/
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9
Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/05/anthony-fauci-no-scientific-evidence-the-coronavirus-was-made-in-a-chinese-lab-cvd/
Source: https://www.smh.com.au/national/are-we-ignoring-the-hard-truths-about-the-most-likely-cause-of-covid-19-20210601-p57x4r.html
There is no evidence a flu shot increases your COVID-19 risk.
Source: https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/no-evidence-that-flu-shot-increases-risk-of-covid-19/
Source: https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa626/5842161
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Disclosures and Disclaimers
I declare no competing interests on anything I share related to COVID-19. I am employed by and am a co-owner in TrustInsights.ai, an analytics and management consulting firm. I have no clients and no business interests in anything related to COVID-19, nor do I financially benefit in any way from sharing information about COVID-19.
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A common request I'm asked is who I follow. Here's a public Twitter list of many of the sources I read.
https://twitter.com/i/lists/1260956929205112834
This list is biased by design. It is limited to authors who predominantly post in the English language. It is heavily biased towards individual researchers and away from institutions. It is biased towards those who publish or share research, data, papers, etc. I have made an attempt to follow researchers from different countries, and also to make the list reasonably gender-balanced, because multiple, diverse perspectives on research data are essential.
This is also available as an email newsletter at https://lunchtimepandemic.substack.com if you prefer the update in your inbox.