Posted on 02/09/2021 5:59:40 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Top members of Biden’s COVID response team are warning internally that the U.S. may not reach herd immunity until Thanksgiving or even the start of winter—months later than originally calculated—according to two senior administration officials.
In an interview with CBS News this week, President Joe Biden hinted at some of these concerns, saying it would be “very difficult” to reach herd immunity—a population-wide resistance to the virus—“much before the end of the summer” with the current daily rate of approximately 1.3 million vaccine doses. Other top officials working on the federal government’s COVID-19 response say the are uneasy about vaccine supply long term and the impact on herd immunity, and have begun to explore ways to expand U.S. manufacturing capacity, potentially through new partnerships with outside pharmaceutical firms.
Beyond supply issues, though, top health officials say they are increasingly worried about the United Kingdom and South African COVID-19 variants, the likelihood that more variants will emerge in the coming months, and the possibility that those variants will evade the vaccines. There is some evidence to suggest that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines protect against the B117 United Kingdom variant, though a recent study shows a new mutation could make the vaccines less effective. Data gathered by the Novavax and Johnson and Johnson clinical trials in South Africa suggest their vaccines are less effective against the variant spreading rapidly in the country. And South Africa recently said it was halting the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine because evidence from clinical trials suggested the vaccine did not work well against the variant.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
That’s not the what the article says.
I’ll pass, but thanks for asking.
If the virus does not have major mutations by Thanksgiving (enough to make current vaccines totally useless) it will be a true shocker.
Best observation of the thread!
Well, ok, it wasn't a very high bar, but, you did clear it by quite a bit. ;-)
Time to stop listening to Fauci and start listening to Vishnu.
Well.... Fauci has been pretty "curb-to-curb" at times (the complaint unfairly and inaccurately hurled at DJT.) But from everything I've read, the Indians themselves are a bit surprised by how well they've reduced COVID-19 fatalities. There seem to be a number of factors at work, not the least of which is a much younger demographic, fewer co-morbidities (such as obesity), almost universal acceptance of masks, HCQ, perhaps herd immunity already reached in the slums via a similar but less lethal "predecessor" Corona virus, and, a lot of the population that would be at risk is already dead of one of the other diseases common in India. Etc.
HCQ is obviously doable, but some of those above are unacceptable alternatives, and some are just impractical. (How do we propose to slim down a minimum of 100 million Americans and get them in shape in a year without truly tyrannical mandates and control?) The best we can do is learn and apply what is practical, such as increasing vaccine supply, and increasing the supply of N95 masks for vulnerable people who want them.
If this drags out that long, I think a lot of the musicians (at least the ones who like to perform live) will rebel.
To make current vaccines useless, COVID-19 would have to mutate more than flu strains do. There is no indication that is likely. The odds of such a mutation depend on the stability of the virus and it’s numbers. It appears it has a disadvantage in the former, but an advantage in the latter. That would seem to be a wash.
Granted, we could just have really bad luck.
Life goes on.
There is no “HERD” immunity (a concept of natural immunity brought on by exposure and survival of the disease) provided by an artificial vaccine. Only induced ‘herd-like” immunity.
See the Merck Press release on why they dropped their vaccine in development. The state that it was determined that catching covid and surviving with antibodies was SUPERIOR to a vaccine’s projected immunity results. This means it IS better for people to catch it, survive and preserve their own immunity.
Does anyone here know why vaccine supply cannot be ramped up by 2x or 3x or more over a few months time? This especially that we’ve known there would be a need, for a year now.
If Moderna can’t do it, could production of the Moderna vaccine, for example, have been licensed out to Merck as soon as it became evident the Merck candidate was not looking good?
Yeah, I know, “intellectual property”. Screw that. Many lives and the health of the country in a bigger sense are at stake. Invoke the Defense Production Act and kick some tush (ZZ Top definition).
I have some experience in the challenges of rapidly increasing industrial production, and I am just stunned by all the stuff that seemingly “can’t be done” by the country that buried the Axis Powers (no production slouches themselves) in war production in WW2. Are we truly this puny?
50% of the world is “obese”
India is #2 for childhood obesity
I hate Zithro. Made me vomit worse than I ever have.
My folks, 70s, would rather do the opposite. They’re prolonging life, but what kind if life is it. TV, televangelists and trips to Walgreens. For almost a year now. I couldn’t do it....
My mom hasn’t been out much but she does get to an occasional restaurant in addition to doctors and physical therapy.
There simply isn’t much daytime live music etc to get to.
And people are discouraged from attending church or participating in live bible study.
Mail ins only.
Many of them.
300 million
It is also an irrelevant number since almost no kids get severely ill with COVID-19 regardless of being overweight or not -- a far cry from what happens if one is older. Once this obesity works its way with time into older populations in India and China, they'll have big problems with it just like we do. (That assumes no draconian crackdowns on diet.)
BTW, the article states "nearly 108 million children and more than 600 million adults had body mass index (BMI) above 30, which is the threshold for obesity.
Even if that number is up to 1 billion total, that's not 50% of the world is "obese".
BTW, I definitely DO think the lockdowns and closures are going to result in a lot more people getting on the track to obesity, and those habits are hard to break. We’ll see that negative expressed in a lot of future fatalities, for sure.
Restaurants just opened up for inside dining I think about two weeks ago now. My mom has been out to shop with me a couple times but neither her nor my dad will hug or be maskless around anyone. Also they’ve been sticklers for church going all my life but are now just fine watching the commercial pastors on TV. I miss playing cards and having dinners.
You are PRECISELY correct! I couldn’t have said it better. Thank you!
and again, and again, and again...
The ONLY person in my extended family and assorted friends to have supposedly to have contracted the covid crap is a sister who is a pathological liar, If this thing were so widespread, so pervasive... I’m pretty sure that I would be seeing more family and friends falling ill and dying. I don’t believe ANY of this BS!
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