The Latest Info on the Delta Variant
Monica Ghandi from UCSF wrote a new Opinion piece in the Washington Post this week and it is worth the time to review some of the main points, since the Delata Variant is now the predominant variant in the US. "The vaccines work against this frightening new variant, and they remain our best, most powerful tool to extinguish the pandemic here and abroad." This variant has increased transmissibility, but there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness. All 3 vaccines in the US produce strong neutralizing antibody responses against it and the mRNA vaccines stimulate creation of memory B and T cells as part of the immune response. Breakthrough cases are also usually mild. See Below
Israel reported a Vaccine Efficacy of 64% with the Pfizer vaccine, but "larger data sets from Singapore, Canada, and Britain demonstrated efficacy against symptomatic infection of 80-90%." The number of cases in the US doubled over the last week, and most are in unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated individuals.
Get vaccinated, get that 2nd shot if necessary, and stay healthy. I hope to review the latest information on the J and J vaccine on Saturday. We returned home from our visit to DC, where we were able to watch the removal of all of the fences and Jersey Barricades from around the Capitol Saturday - a very exciting day for everyone in the neighborhood who spend lots of time on the Capitol grounds.