Vaccine skeptics harden their stance
A science journalist's take on the COVID-19 news for the first week of August 2021
A few headlines, followed by some thoughts I am sharing in response to a few recent questions.
Overcoming vaccine resistance
A new poll finds that many unvaccinated people believe the vaccinations are more dangerous than COVID-19. The Kaiser Family Foundation survey did find a modest (3%) increase in the number of people who say they will get vaccinated.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots could get “full” FDA approval within about a month. The FDA says it is moving as swiftly as possible on review (and presumably approval) of COVID-19 vaccines currently under emergency use authorization. Multiple reports say the agency aims to complete the process for the Pfizer vaccine around Labor Day.
Unlike an EUA, “full” approval requires detailed review of manufacturing and other data, inspection and testing protocols, documentation and the FDA’s own analysis of clinical study data submitted by the sponsoring companies.
“Soft” vaccine mandates may be more persuasive than stricter measures, according to experts quoted by Bloomberg Law.
The FDA extended the expiration date for J&J vaccine doses to six months, after reviewing data showing that extended storage does not impair their potency.
The United States has now shipped over 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to other countries.
Booster shots or third doses?
Americans seeking “booster” COVID-19 vaccination shots before federal guidelines are creating problems for the U.S. healthcare system, STATNews reports.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health is providing “supplemental” vaccine doses when people ask for them, but the agency says it is not recommending the extra shots.
The WHO on Wednesday urged against “booster” shots until more vaccine doses reach countries struggling to vaccinate their populations.
“While hundreds of millions of people are still waiting for their first dose, some rich countries are moving towards booster doses. So far, more than 4 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally. More than 80% have gone to high- and upper-middle income countries, even though they account for less than half of the world’s population.
“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant, but we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a briefing Wednesday.
The study that prompted concerns about waning efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine after six months actually shows that the immunity holds up quite well.
Generally, a vaccine with 60% efficacy is considered good. The Pfizer data shows that the vaccine-induced immunity declined about 6% every two months and was still highly effective against known variants after six months — and several times higher than the immune response after the first dose or natural infection.
In their pre-print study, the researchers say a longer study is needed before recommending additional shots.
My thoughts and observations
Journalists, public health officials, elected officials and all of us ought to step up and consider the community a bit more. I’m sick of hearing anyone claiming that wearing a face covering “infringes on their freedom.”
The refusal of people to get vaccinated or take simple precautions for public health infringes on everyone else. In my home county, we were almost back to “normal.” With 90% vaccination rates, many people were comfortable dining in restaurants, attending events and socializing with friends. Now, because the delta variant so easily finds people to infect, most of the USA now sees high risk for new COVID-19 infections — and hospitals are seeing a lot more severely ill people.
The vaccines work. Even if you get infected with the delta variant after being vaccinated, you can feel confident that you are unlikely to have severe COVID-19. Those who are unvaccinated are much more likely to get severely ill or die. It’s that simple.
Action items
The best ways to protect ourselves from COVID-19 now that the delta variant has changed the game are:
Get vaccinated
Avoid gathering with unvaccinated people
Wear a mask (or two) when near people whose vaccination status is unknown or if you are in an area with a lot of new cases
Use at-home or other COVID-19 tests before visiting vulnerable people, such as older adults or children under 12.
Based on the guidance from multiple, credible public health experts, I am back to wearing a mask when going into a store or other indoor public space. I put on a mask yesterday when briefly traveling in a van with several other people.
When I arrive in a community rated “high risk” for COVID-19 infection later today, I will wear a cloth mask over a clean “surgical” style thin mask when indoors or at any crowded public space. (This combination is almost as good as a less comfortable N95 mask, which some experts now recommend.)
Soon as I get back home, I plan to use a COVID-19 self-test, especially since the virus frequently hitches rides with travelers.
This New York Times article covers the expert advice on all of this. The goal is to keep myself safe and to reduce the possibility that I might inadvertently pass the virus along to another person.
Which test to use? There are many choices now, including several available at your local pharmacy without a prescription. In addition to the “antigen” tests, which are good for screening but aren’t always accurate, there now are highly accurate, rapid molecular tests that can be done at home. Testing was kind of a mess a year ago, but now the results of U.S. government and private investments are seen with convenient tests accessible to most Americans.
Should travel plans change? This depends on how much risk you are willing to take — and where you are going. I would avoid going to Florida, Texas or any other state where leaders are actively preventing public health protective measures, and I probably would avoid any large indoor events in any state, for now. However, if you are vaccinated and wear a mask consistently, the data indicates that you are highly likely to avoid getting sick or contributing to the spread of COVID-19.
Media malpractice
This headline in the Santa Rose Press-Democrat is an egregious example of why so many people are confused about COVID-19.
The headline was over a story about last week’s CDC report showing that vaccinated people can transmit the delta variant. The key message should have been that the delta variant is highly transmissible and that the vaccines do not prevent people from spreading the virus. But the “threat” of severe disease or death is among unvaccinated individuals.
Unfortunately, headlines like this contribute to people like the Huntington Beach, Calif., restaurateur who posted a sign telling vaccinated people to keep out. The headline also likely emboldens people who think the vaccines don’t work or that they aren’t needed.
What are your thoughts or questions?
Disclosure:
This newsletter is funded by my paying subscribers and my own resources, and I am solely responsible for its content. Separately, I am a science communications advisor to a contractor supporting the U.S. government COVID-19 response.