The unvaccinated world is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, fifteen months after the virus shut down a startled world. Who would have thought we would still at the point of half the world scrambling for vaccines. And that we would still be facing determined surges rolling on like the never-ending ocean. Yet despite this we can see three principles behind the power of variants, that guide the way we should go.
The Three Principles Behind the Power of Variants
1… The Vaccines are Still Beating the Variants
The vaccines still live up to their extraordinary promise despite the variants. The Atlantic points out the Alpha variant was already spreading when the first doses arrived. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and the emerging Novovax still reduce the risk of symptomatic infections by more than 90 percent.
The infections that do still break through are generally milder, shorter, and lower in viral load. Centers for Disease Control reported just 3,907 hospitalizations among fully vaccinated people, and just 750 deaths two weeks ago.
2… The Variants are Pounding Unvaccinated People
The corollary is we are still relatively defenseless without at least one vaccine injection. Those most at risk tend to cluster socially, and geographically the Atlantic warns. And they can seed outbreaks even within highly vaccinated communities.
However, this principle behind the power of variants does not mean we are helpless. We can still control the pace of the surges by taking sensible, protective precautions.
3… We Still Only Have So Much Time to Vaccinate
The Atlantic warns we have only so much time before the first principle falters. As long as the whole world is not fully vaccinated, we still face the possibility of a new variant emerging.
Immune escape would begin if a new variant emerged able to overpower vaccinated immunity. ‘That is unfortunately the direction this is heading,’ says Ravindra Gupta, a clinical microbiologist at University of Cambridge. ‘The more infections are permitted, the more probable immune escape becomes.’
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Preview Image: Number of People Fully Vaccinated
