I notice that the more I reflect on the reasons I am thankful, the more appreciation and joy I experience. - Krystal Kuehn,
Our time here on Earth is a learning experience and no one is exempt! - Angela Agranoff,
Science and the CDC Guidelines: The CDC mask guidance has been greeted by scientists and the public alike as confusing, inconsistent, and frankly, unsupported by scientific evidence. Yes, the numbers of positive cases are easing and the number of deaths is slowing but both the positive number of cases and deaths are still significant.
As of May 21, 2021 there were 33,862,288 positive cases in the USA and 603,446 deaths from COVID-19 and its variants in the USA. Compare that with 615,880 U.S. soldiers that died in World War I (116,708), WORLD War II (407,300), the Korean War (33,652) and the Vietnam War (58,200).
The Unites States is only 41% FULLY vaccinated as a NATION and PENNSYLVANIA is now 50% FULLY VACCINATED as a STATE. (Reuters and CDC May 21,2021) This is far short of Dr. Fauci and President Bidens plan of having at least 70% of the country with at least one dose by July 4,2021. This 70% number is the bear minimum we need to begin to achieve herd immunity and thwart a resurgence in the fall as we saw this past fall after numbers dropped with both positive cases and deaths last summer.
To avoid a repeat of this past fall and winter where the numbers got out of control and only recently are getting under control as we move outside once again, we need to get vaccinated. The science and the recent data show that the 3 vaccines do work. There are very few side effects, and any issues/side effects which are few in number science/medicine has a solution for and people do recover.
So please get vaccinated and encourage your friends and family to get vaccinated as well if they have not done so already.
News from the Cleveland Clinic: The vast majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19 at the Cleveland Clinic weren't fully vaccinated, the institution said in a statement.
Among the 4,300 hospital admissions that occurred from Jan. 1 to mid-April, 99% were not fully vaccinated, Eduardo Mireles, MD, director of the clinic's medical intensive care unit, said in a statement.
"It cannot be more clear the message that vaccines work and it's the key action that we need to do to get back to our normal lives as they were before coronavirus," Mireles said in the statement.
Droplets versus aerosol transmission: People infected with COVID-19 emit viral particles during respiratory activities such as breathing, talking, yelling, coughing, sneezing, and singing. But each of these exhalations can produce different amounts and sizes of respiratory particles, based on how loudly someone speaks, the number of deep breaths they take, and the duration of the activity.
Larger, heavier respiratory droplets can travel up to 6 feet, but then they fall to the ground. Smaller, aerosolized particles, however, can get caught in air flows and move throughout a space, infecting people at further distances.
"It's really the size of the droplet nuclei that defines an aerosol-borne infection versus a droplet-borne infection," said Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, an infectious disease expert at the University of California San Francisco. She added that in recognizing the airborne nature of COVID-19, we acknowledge that "it's most effectively transmitted in closed, indoor spaces, and that ventilation is one of the most important things to mitigate the virus."
Small Percentage of Asymptomatic College Students Posed the Highest Risk for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission:
About 2% of asymptomatic college students carried 90% of the COVID-19 viral load levels on a Colorado campus last year, new research reveals. Furthermore, the viral loads in these students were as elevated as those seen in hospitalized patients.
"College campuses were one of the few places where people without any symptoms or suspicions of exposure were being screened for the virus. This allowed us to make some powerful comparisons between symptomatic versus healthy carriers of the virus," senior study author Sara Sawyer, PhD, professor of virology at the University of Colorado Boulder.
A New Entry to the COVID-19 Vaccine Armamentarium Shows Promise: A COVID-19 vaccine created through a partnership between Sanofi and GSK showed promising results in a Phase 2 clinical trial. A recombinant protein vaccine that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, created via insect cells, with an antibody response. The vaccine includes an adjuvant to increase the resultant immune response. The Phase 2 trial showed the vaccine—both one dose and two doses—was effective across all age groups. The high immunity demonstrated after a single dose suggests the Sanofi/GSK vaccine may be well suited as a booster shot among those who have been fully vaccinated. With only refrigeration required, as opposed to the deep freeze needed for the messenger RNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, the new addition to the vaccine armamentarium could be especially beneficial in poor countries with limited access to the currently available immunizations. The Sanofi/GSK vaccine begins Phase 3 trials immediately and may be ready for use by the end of the year.
Fauci: Vaccines Showing Vigor Against COVID Variants: Growing real-world evidence suggests that available COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against known SARS-CoV-2 strains, including those designated as variants of concern by the CDC, according to NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, MD.
In the opening keynote address at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) virtual meeting, Fauci highlighted newly reported vaccine data showing near complete protection against severe disease and death from the U.K. variant (B.1.1.7), now the dominant strain in the U.S., and against the South African variant (B.1.351) as well.
While less is known about their effectiveness against the P.1 variant, first reported in Brazil, and the B.1.617 (India) double mutant variant, which has led to a massive surge of infections in India, the early data are promising, according to Fauci.
"It does not look like at this point -- and this is subject to change -- that the B.1.617 variant is not any more problematic than B.1.351 (South African)," says Fauci.
Surveillance data from late January to early April 2021 of the comprehensive vaccination campaign showed full vaccination to be 95% effective overall against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 97% effective against symptomatic infection, hospitalization for COVID-19, and related death.
Fauci noted that in countries like Israel, Qatar, and the U.S. -- where vaccination campaigns began as outbreaks were occurring and infection rates were rising -- widespread vaccination quickly led to infection declines. "We're seeing that it is very unlikely that a vaccinated person, even if there's a breakthrough infection, would transmit it to someone else," says Fauci.
Until next time. Stay safe, Stay well, wear your Mask wisely and get vaccinated.
James A Vito, D.M.D.