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U.S. will not lock down despite surge driven by Delta variant, Fauci says
Aug 2 - The United States will not lock down again to curb COVID-19 but "things are going to get worse" as the Delta variant fuels a surge in cases, mostly among the unvaccinated, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.
A sufficient percentage of Americans have now been vaccinated to avoid lockdowns, Fauci said on ABC's "This Week".
"Not enough to crush the outbreak, but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter," he said.
The average number of new coronavirus cases reported nationwide has nearly doubled in the past 10 days, according to a Reuters analysis.
Even if states do not resort to lockdowns again, the spread of the Delta variant could still threaten the economy... more
Aug 2 - The United States will not lock down again to curb COVID-19 but "things are going to get worse" as the Delta variant fuels a surge in cases, mostly among the unvaccinated, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.
A sufficient percentage of Americans have now been vaccinated to avoid lockdowns, Fauci said on ABC's "This Week".
"Not enough to crush the outbreak, but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter," he said.
The average number of new coronavirus cases reported nationwide has nearly doubled in the past 10 days, according to a Reuters analysis.
Even if states do not resort to lockdowns again, the spread of the Delta variant could still threaten the economy... more
What Is A Breakthrough Infection? 6 Questions Answered About Catching COVID-19 After Vaccination
Aug. 2 - ...
What is ‘breakthrough infection?’
No vaccine is 100% effective. Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was 80%-90% effective in preventing paralytic disease. Even for the gold standard measles vaccine, the efficacy was 94% among a highly vaccinated population during large outbreaks.
Comparably, clinical trials found the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were 94%–95% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 – much more protective than initially hoped.
A quick reminder: A vaccine efficacy of 95% does not mean that the shot protects 95% of people while the other 5% will contract the virus. Vaccine efficacy is a measure of relative risk – you need to compare a group of vaccinated people to a group of unvaccinated people under the same exposure conditions. So consider a three-month study period during which 100 out of 10,000 unvaccinated people got COVID-19. You’d expect five vaccinated people to get sick during that same time. That’s 5% of the 100 unvaccinated people who fell ill, not 5% of the whole group of 10,000.
Top ArticlesREAD MOREWhy COVID Cases Are Now Falling In The UK – AndWhat Could Happen NextWhen people get infected after vaccination, scientists call these cases “breakthrough” infections because the virus broke through the protective barrier the vaccine provides... more
Aug. 2 - ...
What is ‘breakthrough infection?’
No vaccine is 100% effective. Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was 80%-90% effective in preventing paralytic disease. Even for the gold standard measles vaccine, the efficacy was 94% among a highly vaccinated population during large outbreaks.
Comparably, clinical trials found the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were 94%–95% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 – much more protective than initially hoped.
A quick reminder: A vaccine efficacy of 95% does not mean that the shot protects 95% of people while the other 5% will contract the virus. Vaccine efficacy is a measure of relative risk – you need to compare a group of vaccinated people to a group of unvaccinated people under the same exposure conditions. So consider a three-month study period during which 100 out of 10,000 unvaccinated people got COVID-19. You’d expect five vaccinated people to get sick during that same time. That’s 5% of the 100 unvaccinated people who fell ill, not 5% of the whole group of 10,000.
Top ArticlesREAD MOREWhy COVID Cases Are Now Falling In The UK – AndWhat Could Happen NextWhen people get infected after vaccination, scientists call these cases “breakthrough” infections because the virus broke through the protective barrier the vaccine provides... more
Citizens line up at a Covid-19 testing site in Yuhuatai district of Nanjing, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on August 2, 2021.
Delta variant challenges China's zero Covid strategy — and raises questions over its vaccine efficacy
Aug. 2 - China's hardline zero Covid strategy is facing a fresh challenge from the rapid spread of the Delta variant, amid concerns over the efficacy of Chinese vaccines against the highly contagious strain.
The Delta variant, which appears to cause more severe illness and spreads as easily as chickenpox according to an internal document from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has wreaked havoc across the world. Now, it is causing China's worst outbreak in months.
China reported 328 local Covid-19 infections in July, close to the total from the previous five months, according to the National Health Commission. Although that's only a fraction of the cases reported in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, it is perceived as a serious threat in China, where authorities attempt to keep local infections at zero.
The latest outbreak started two weeks ago in the eastern city of Nanjing, where nine airport cleaners were found to be infected during a routine test. Since then, the cluster has spread to at least 26 cities across China, including a tourist hot spot in the southern province of Hunan and the capital Beijing... more
Delta variant challenges China's zero Covid strategy — and raises questions over its vaccine efficacy
Aug. 2 - China's hardline zero Covid strategy is facing a fresh challenge from the rapid spread of the Delta variant, amid concerns over the efficacy of Chinese vaccines against the highly contagious strain.
The Delta variant, which appears to cause more severe illness and spreads as easily as chickenpox according to an internal document from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has wreaked havoc across the world. Now, it is causing China's worst outbreak in months.
China reported 328 local Covid-19 infections in July, close to the total from the previous five months, according to the National Health Commission. Although that's only a fraction of the cases reported in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, it is perceived as a serious threat in China, where authorities attempt to keep local infections at zero.
The latest outbreak started two weeks ago in the eastern city of Nanjing, where nine airport cleaners were found to be infected during a routine test. Since then, the cluster has spread to at least 26 cities across China, including a tourist hot spot in the southern province of Hunan and the capital Beijing... more
People get off a plane at Nanjing Lukou International Airport, Jiangsu Province, September 19, 2019.
How did COVID-19 Delta variant spread from Nanjing across China?
Date published on July 30, 2021
...The 'patient-zero' of the latest outbreak
Cases in the initial stages of the outbreak were among workers at Nanjing Lukou International Airport.
"The genetic sequence of the virus isolated from the infected cleaning staff was consistent with that of an imported case detected on flight CA910 from Russia on July 10," said Ding Jie, deputy director at the city's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at a press conference.
Previously, the flight had been suspended 10 times due to imported cases. Seven of the suspensions occurred in 2021, including three times in July alone.
The cluster, according to local health officials, resulted from ineffective management and a lack of strict hygiene and sanitation measures in the airport.
A cleaner surnamed Li, who contracted the virus at the airport, told the media that there's no separation of cleaning personnel or tools between domestic and international flights. As the workers come into contact with the garbage on the planes, it's possible to get infected if the litter is contaminated, Li claimed... quoted from
How did COVID-19 Delta variant spread from Nanjing across China?
Date published on July 30, 2021
...The 'patient-zero' of the latest outbreak
Cases in the initial stages of the outbreak were among workers at Nanjing Lukou International Airport.
"The genetic sequence of the virus isolated from the infected cleaning staff was consistent with that of an imported case detected on flight CA910 from Russia on July 10," said Ding Jie, deputy director at the city's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at a press conference.
Previously, the flight had been suspended 10 times due to imported cases. Seven of the suspensions occurred in 2021, including three times in July alone.
The cluster, according to local health officials, resulted from ineffective management and a lack of strict hygiene and sanitation measures in the airport.
A cleaner surnamed Li, who contracted the virus at the airport, told the media that there's no separation of cleaning personnel or tools between domestic and international flights. As the workers come into contact with the garbage on the planes, it's possible to get infected if the litter is contaminated, Li claimed... quoted from
Rubio, Risch, Menendez, Warner Call on POTUS to Pursue Investigation into COVID Origins
Jul 28 - U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jim Risch (R-ID), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking the administration to take three crucial steps to get to the bottom of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Rubio introduced the COVID Act of 2021, which would authorize sanctions and other restrictions if, within 90 days after enactment, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to refuse to allow a credible and comprehensive investigation into the origins of COVID-19 to be conducted at suspect laboratories in Wuhan. Investigating the origins of COVID is crucial to preventing a similar calamity in the future.
“The PRC’s refusal to cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO) investigation into COVID-19 origins, the gag order it imposed on Chinese scientists and medical personnel, and its ongoing obfuscation and disinformation campaign regarding the pandemic have caused severe hardship worldwide,” the senators wrote. “As the United States emerges from the pandemic, we believe that, in addition to addressing gaps in international pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, including within our own government, three crucial steps are necessary to prevent a similar calamity in the future.”
These steps include:
“We expect that Congress will remain fully informed of and consulted on your efforts to reach definitive conclusions regarding the origins of this pandemic, as well as any concrete policy recommendations,” the senators concluded. “We stand ready to work with your administration in a bipartisan manner to seek answers to these important questions.”
Rubio is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
The full text of the letter is below... more
Jul 28 - U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jim Risch (R-ID), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking the administration to take three crucial steps to get to the bottom of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Rubio introduced the COVID Act of 2021, which would authorize sanctions and other restrictions if, within 90 days after enactment, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to refuse to allow a credible and comprehensive investigation into the origins of COVID-19 to be conducted at suspect laboratories in Wuhan. Investigating the origins of COVID is crucial to preventing a similar calamity in the future.
“The PRC’s refusal to cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO) investigation into COVID-19 origins, the gag order it imposed on Chinese scientists and medical personnel, and its ongoing obfuscation and disinformation campaign regarding the pandemic have caused severe hardship worldwide,” the senators wrote. “As the United States emerges from the pandemic, we believe that, in addition to addressing gaps in international pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, including within our own government, three crucial steps are necessary to prevent a similar calamity in the future.”
These steps include:
- Directing the intelligence community to continue prioritizing a thorough investigation into the origins of COVID-19 until there is a conclusion in which the United States has a high degree of confidence;
- Working with allies and partners to use all available resources and tools to pressure Beijing into permitting a transparent forensic investigation in the People’s Republic of China; and
- Completing a thorough review of existing and prior U.S. government support or funding for research collaboration with the PRC related to gain-of-function, synthetic biology, biotechnology, or other research areas that pose dual-use concerns.
“We expect that Congress will remain fully informed of and consulted on your efforts to reach definitive conclusions regarding the origins of this pandemic, as well as any concrete policy recommendations,” the senators concluded. “We stand ready to work with your administration in a bipartisan manner to seek answers to these important questions.”
Rubio is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
The full text of the letter is below... more
NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - August 1st, 2021
Aug 2, 2021
Aug 2, 2021
