Month: July 2021

Los Angeles County has seen a rise in “breakthrough” coronavirus cases as of late, but data continue to show those who are vaccinated for COVID-19 enjoy vigorous protection — even from the contagious Delta variant — and are far less likely to be hospitalized should they become infected. The latest figures underscore how the county’s recent coronavirus surge is different from the pandemic’s earlier spikes, both in terms of who is getting sick and how the virus is spreading countywide. In June, fully vaccinated residents made up 20% of all confirmed coronavirus infections in those 16 and older, according to figures from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. However, that same month, they accounted for only 8% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations. That trend has persist...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says "the war has changed" against COVID-19 and that the agency should acknowledge that in communications, according to an internal presentation by the agency. Data in the document, which was first obtained by The Washington Post, underscores the danger posed by the highly-contagious delta variant of the virus that was first spotted in India. In the presentation, dated July 29, the agency does not estimate that vaccinated Americans are at a significantly greater risk of so-called "breakthrough" infections. In fact, it cites recent unpublished data from several of the CDC's ongoing cohort studies that have scrutinized large groups of Americans suggesting vaccine effectiveness remains high months after their second shot, suggesting the P...

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The delta variant of the coronavirus is here. It’s scary. It seems to spread more easily than any of the variants we’ve seen so far. It’s quickly becoming the dominant strain of the virus, outcompeting other strains. But it may not be the last. Watching the news about delta, I keep wondering: What’s next? How might SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, continue to evolve? After all, the work of evolution is never over. Change is constant. A year from now, might there be an omega variant that’s twice as transmissible as delta? “The big answer to your question is that we don’t really know,” Kari Debbink, a virologist who studies viral evolution at Bowie State University, says. She’s not the only one. I asked several virologists and infectious disease experts how Covi...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altered its mask guidance after a study found the Delta COVID-19 variant appeared to spread as easily as chickenpox, possibly even among the vaccinated, according to internal federal documents — but many critics have argued that the data is weak and not peer-reviewed. An internal CDC presentation, largely based on unpublished research, suggests that the latest strain is almost a completely different virus to the initial outbreak, according to The Washington Post, which first obtained the slides. The variant — now the most dominant one in the US — causes more severe illness and is more transmissible than the viruses that cause Ebola, flu and even the common cold, the sleaked report claims. Despite previous cl...