Unvaccinated people are "variant factories," infectious diseases expert says

[MightyGiants]

Ed,

You might find this article interesting.  It delves into the topic you brought up and the low vaccination rates in the African American and Latino communities.  This study was done by a Rutgers professor and interviewed people in this area

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781957

[MightyGiants]

Having read the article I posted for Ed, I am struck that perhaps there was a missed opportunity.   Over and over again I hear "the vaccine was rushed".    It certainly didn't help that Donald Trump tried to take all the credit for the rapid development of the vaccine as his reputation for honesty is pretty much non-existent.   I will say that the piles of money operation warp speed threw at the drug companies did help to speed things up.  Only the star of the show was the messenger RNA technology, which is truly a medical marvel.   The technology has been around for some time, but it languished because drug companies didn't see much profit in it and the need for special cold storage infrastructure was a significant obstacle. 


I think if doctors and scientists had gone out to the public and really educated them on this amazing scientific/medical breakthrough (even before the Vaccines were completed) and how it was really responsible for the record speed that these vaccines were developed, I don't think we would have as much vaccination resistance as we have today.  Far too often I am hearing "the vaccine was rushed.  I don't trust it".    Sadly I think if people truly understood or at least understood as best they are able, there would be many more people vaccinated.   Unfortunately, I am not sure at this late date a campaign that people would find credible, can be developed. 

[Bob In PA]

It certainly didn't help that Donald Trump tried to take all the credit for the rapid development of the vaccine as his reputation for honesty is pretty much non-existent. 

Rich: Do you really want to go there?  I've been amassing a lot of ammunition over the past six months (without even trying).  Bob

PS. 

Far too often I am hearing "the vaccine was rushed.  I don't trust it". 

Asked by CNN's Dana Bash whether she would get a vaccine that was approved and distributed before the election, Presidential candidate Kamala Harris replied, "Well, I think that's going to be an issue for all of us.  I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about... I will not take his word for it."  As a man of science, I'd like to hear your scientific explanation of how such statements encouraged people in the African American and Latino communities to get vaccinated.

[Bill Brown]

How is it going to encourage people to get vaccinated when now they are starting to tell vaccinated people that they must start wearing masks again. Talk about dividing the country even more!

Bill

[Bob In PA]

How is it going to encourage people to get vaccinated when now they are starting to tell vaccinated people that they must start wearing masks again. Talk about dividing the country even more!

Bill

Bill: Hypocrisy is a cold mistress, isn't it?  LOL   Bob

[uconnjack8]

How is it going to encourage people to get vaccinated when now they are starting to tell vaccinated people that they must start wearing masks again. Talk about dividing the country even more!

Bill

Whats the big deal about wearing a mask?  How does that cause division? 

[jimmyz]

Whats the big deal about wearing a mask?  How does that cause division?

Some people got their heads up their ass and don't want to wear a mask because they think they have the right not to.  Others have taken this opportunity, with the full backing of left wing morality and the media's approval, to bash on those who wont wear a mask and accuse them of (in the words of this forum's most honest person who would never use hyperbole) "trying to kill their fellow Americans".

Seriously uconn, where have you been?

[Ed Vette]

Too much disrespectful back and forth.

[MightyGiants]

How is it going to encourage people to get vaccinated when now they are starting to tell vaccinated people that they must start wearing masks again. Talk about dividing the country even more!

Bill

Bill,

Here is the thing, public health needs to follow the science and pay attention to what is happening in the country and in the communities.   Covid infections are on the rise, Covid deaths and hospitalizations are on the rise,  and breakthrough infections (where a person who is vaccinated gets infected with Covid) are on the rise.   We are doing everything thing we can to get as many people vaccinated as possible (which is the ultimate solution to the problem).   We have met stiff resistance which will be difficult to overcome and will take time.

So public health needs to look at other measures that can help level out or reverse the bad Covid trends that we are seeing.    Masks are a proven and effective way to reduce the spread of the disease.   Look, I get it, not having to wear a mask is a huge carrot to offer to the unvaccinated (although how big may be subject to debate as the unvacinated were often the first to remove their masks even when there was an honor system).    Still, public health is tasked with saving lives and keeping people healthy.   Telling people to mask up (like they are doing in Israel) may be the most effective way to do that, even if it hurts efforts to reach the unvaccinated. 

[babywhales]

Thankfully Jonas Salk and his teams Polio vaccine was not politicized back then.

[Bob In PA]

Thankfully Jonas Salk and his teams Polio vaccine was not politicized back then.

Chris: I agree, but there is a difference.  The polio vaccine is a CURE, while the various covid vaccines are not (they represent a "new frontier" in medicine; I pray each night we're not headed down a very dark path).  Bob

[MightyGiants]

Chris: I agree, but there is a difference.  The polio vaccine is a CURE, while the various covid vaccines are not (they represent a "new frontier" in medicine; I pray each night we're not headed down a very dark path).  Bob

Bob,

That is incorrect, the polio vaccine is just that, a vaccine.   There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented  What that vaccine was able to do was eliminate the disease from the western hemisphere.   It's what happens when you achieve the ideal herd immunity.   We could be doing something similar with Covid if we can get enough people vaccinated.  Hopefully, there will be a point where we eradicate it off the planet.

[Bob In PA]

Bob,

That is incorrect, the polio vaccine is just that, a vaccine.   There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented  What that vaccine was able to do was eliminate the disease from the western hemisphere.   It's what happens when you achieve the ideal herd immunity.   We could be doing something similar with Covid if we can get enough people vaccinated.  Hopefully, there will be a point where we eradicate it off the planet.

Rich: I stand corrected in my terminology, but the fact remains that the covid vaccines are a "horse of a different color" with which we have no prior experience.

The technology employed is very new and would have been virtually impossible without the types of computer power we currently possess.

I don't believe planetary eradication will ever happen (at least not without even more technological advancement.  That "other" pandemic virus from 100 years ago is still hanging around somewhere today. 

Bob

PS. By the way, somehow H1M1 generally disappeared without everyone getting vaccinated. I think it's a mistake to assume the only path to "defeating" covid involves vaccinating as many people as possible.

[MightyGiants]

Rich: I stand corrected in my terminology, but the fact remains that the covid vaccines are a "horse of a different color" with which we have no prior experience.

The technology employed is very new and would have been virtually impossible without the types of computer power we currently possess.

I don't believe planetary eradication will ever happen (at least not without even more technological advancement.  That "other" pandemic virus from 100 years ago is still hanging around somewhere today. 

Bob

PS. By the way, somehow H1M1 generally disappeared without everyone getting vaccinated. I think it's a mistake to assume the only path to "defeating" covid involves vaccinating as many people as possible.

Bob,

H1N1 lasted for a few flu seasons before other strains replaced it, as happens with pretty much all the flu strains


I know you think I just repeat political talking points, but as a man of science, I was not exaggerating just how impressive the messenger RNA technology truly is.  It has some really great potential.   That technology has been around for 10 years, drug companies even tried it out on a couple of diseases like rabies and the flu.   The companies just didn't see the advantages the messenger RNA technology had over existing vaccines since time was not of the essence.   However, when you have a deadly worldwide pandemic and free flow of money, the drug companies put this wonderful new technology into action with great results. 

I actually wonder if there were people in the beginning that refused Pennicilin because it was a new drug.   

[Bob In PA]

Bob,

H1N1 lasted for a few flu seasons before other strains replaced it, as happens with pretty much all the flu strains


I know you think I just repeat political talking points, but as a man of science, I was not exaggerating just how impressive the messenger RNA technology truly is.  It has some really great potential.   That technology has been around for 10 years, drug companies even tried it out on a couple of diseases like rabies and the flu.   The companies just didn't see the advantages the messenger RNA technology had over existing vaccines since time was not of the essence.   However, when you have a deadly worldwide pandemic and free flow of money, the drug companies put this wonderful new technology into action with great results. 

I actually wonder if there were people in the beginning that refused Pennicilin because it was a new drug.

Rich: I'm right there with you on the excitement and anticipation of all the good that could follow.

But, maybe because I'm a lot older, I'm also mindful of the possibility (likelihood?) that someone will put it to a less-than-desirable purpose. 

I can think of a few.  We're heading into relatively uncharted territory.

Bob