Speaking on ABC News Sunday morning, Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden Dr. Anthony Fauci put to rest growing concerns the soaring case numbers in July could signal the soon return of lockdowns. He stated in no uncertain terms that another lockdown will not be necessary.
The reason? Enough Americans have been vaccinated nationwide for that to not be necessary. That's the good news. The bad news for everyone who continues to chose not to be vaccinated is they have the threat of a surge similar to last winter to look forward to.
As I mentioned in my last two posts, the sight of loved ones being sickened by COVID-19, getting sick and recovering themselves or seeing people they know who are vaccinated test positive but not get sick is starting to convince people getting a vaccinated isn't such a bad idea after all. The pace is obviously not going as fast or in a big in number as many health and government officials would like but the latest data on new vaccination numbers is pretty encouraging.
According to the CDC, at least 700,000 Americans a week either got their first shot (Pfizer or Moderna) or their single shot (Johnson & Johnson) last month and most of those numbers were people who live in areas of the country with low vaccination numbers. We haven't really seen numbers like these since April and the data suggests the numbers will grow even more in the month of August. Most will likely be those who will be getting their second shot of Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine.
The vaccination mandates by some companies, employers and colleges are also sure to be behind the uptick in new vaccinations this month. It's too early to say for sure yet but if the current pace is at least maintained, we might be able to blunt the surge being forecast for the Fall and Winter months.
I do think the nationwide vaccination percentage could reach at least 70% by mid-October if the current vaccination rate holds or increases. That would be good since many Epidemiologists and Virologists around the world are sounding the alarm saying it's only a matter of time before a Variant that can escape currently available vaccines emerges.
Most researchers believe at least 85% of the U.S. will need to be vaccinated for for Pandemic to be considered under control nationwide. Once we reach the 70% benchmark, large pockets of the U.S. will no longer see large numbers of infections or hospitalizations. The will allow resources and manpower to be shifted to areas where they're needed the most.
On Sunday, the Israeli government announced to the world that they have begun offering a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine to fully vaccinated people in the country. A few weeks ago, Israel began to report to the World Health Organization (WHO), the CDC the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine was beginning to fall for those who were vaccinated at the beginning of the year.
It was these reports that reminded well...everyone we still don't know how long the vaccines will keep people protected. Israel reported they have seen a reduction to 39% overall in July for those vaccinated early on and to 16% against the Delta Variant.
This is just for the Pfizer vaccine in particular and that is why the company is now doing clinical trials on a booster or third shot for the fully vaccinated. Early results released by Pfizer last week revealed those who are given a third shot have 5 times the protection from the Delta Variant and 30 times the protection from COVID-19 overall. What this potentially means is if approved, we could head off the next variant to emerge.
Israel didn't want to wait for more data from Pfizer or the CDC--they don't have to since they're a sovereign nation believe it or not--and so they have volunteered to be the live test for giving vaccine boosters to those who are fully vaccinated. The criteria they have set is those who can get a booster shot have to have to have been fully vaccinated at least 5 months ago. Israel has also promised to share the data from this with the CDC and the world.
For those who don't know, yes pregnant women can get vaccinated. For those who also may not know, some of the women who were part of the first clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines last summer became pregnant during their participation in the trials. All were fine and all gave birth to healthy, normal babies.
I mention that last part specifically because of the persisting myth out there that the vaccines cause infertility or miscarriage in women. The CDC encourages everyone who can to get vaccinated but doesn't have specific guidelines for pregnant women other than "talk to your doctor about it".
There is now more data that confims those early reports: Pregnant women can and should get vaccinated as soon as possible. It's safe get vaccinated while pregnant though sample groups studied were 24 weeks or later into their pregnancy when they got vaccinated.
As most people know, a woman's immune system is suppressed during pregnancy. It goes without saying COVID-19 can and usually is pretty devasting to pregnant women. In severe cases it can result in the death of mother, child or both.
New data also confirms pregnant women who get vaccinated do pass on the immunity to their unborn child which is good since there have been confirmed cases of pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 passing it on to their unborn child. Yes, there have been cases of babies born already infected with COVID-19 which they got from their mothers. Very rare be there are confirmed cases.
The FDA is expected to announce a decision on full FDA approval for the COVID-19 vaccines as soon as the end of this month. Most expect approval for kids under 12 to get vaccinated to also happen at the same time. You could say one way to get ahead of the curve is to get vaccinated while pregnant.
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