Articles

We Need Global “Maximum Suppression”

At the end of 2020, there was a strong hope that high levels of vaccination would see humanity finally gain the upper hand over SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In an ideal scenario, the virus would then be contained at very low levels without further societal disruption or significant numbers of deaths.

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If you’ve been to a restaurant in the past year, chances are you’ve noticed some changes. Maybe you ordered from a QR code menu, sat at tables separated by plastic barriers, or dined outside midwinter, alongside towering silver heaters to help ward off the cold. While they’re all a product of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are temporary, and some may last much longer.

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• It is "possible" to eliminate Covid in the U.S. but it appears unlikely, Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday.
• "If we want to eradicate it, we need to make different decisions as a society," the former FDA chief said.
• Gottlieb said it would require Americans to exercise "civic virtue" and receive the Covid vaccine.

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We’re only talking about Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough infections because the pandemic is still raging

There have been a few scary-sounding headlines lately when it comes to getting sick with Covid-19 after being vaccinated:

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The novel mRNA vaccines of Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are among the most effective of all the developed vaccines at preventing infection and disease. For that, we are all grateful. But even the best vaccines fail to protect some people some of the time. The clinical trial data from both the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Moderna shows they are around 95% effective, which means that 5% of those fully vaccinated are still at risk for infection even a short time following the complete dose, when the vaccines are thought to be maximally effective.

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Some experts say the world may only have a year or less to stave off a new round of COVID-19 variants that could evade the existing vaccines, according to survey conducted by advocates trying to speed up vaccinations in developing nations.

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A rise in deaths among younger people prompts alarm over P.1 variant, present in more than 20 countries

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil—Brazil is in the throes of a battle against the new Covid-19 variant from the Amazon that threatens to send shock waves across the globe.

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Many people are asking if we will be able to eradicate SARS-CoV-2 through herd immunity. The answer is complicated. Here are a few reasons why.

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The low levels of flu during the Covid-19 pandemic have left experts with a much smaller pool of data used for predicting which flu strains will predominate next winter.

Precautions aimed at tamping down the coronavirus helped nearly eradicate last year’s flu season — but that could backfire by making it harder to develop effective vaccines for next winter’s flu.

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A year after the pandemic shut down the country, a growing number of infectious disease experts, epidemiologists, public health officials and others have started to entertain a notion that has long seemed out of reach: The worst of the pandemic may be over for the United States.

No one thinks that's guaranteed by any means. There are many ways the pandemic could resurge. But many say it's becoming increasingly possible that the end may finally be in sight.

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