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Provincetown officials have issued a new mask-wearing advisory after a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases at the height of its busy summer tourist season, in which a “vast majority” were detected in vaccinated people, alarming public health experts.
From July 1 through July 16, the town has reported 132 confirmed positive cases to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the advisory said. Of those cases, 89 are Massachusetts residents, 39 of whom live in Barnstable County.
The rise in cases is notable because vaccination rates are high in Provincetown — and on Cape Cod as a whole. Town Manager Alex Morse said 114 percent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated, a number that accounts for vaccination rates among part-time residents. According to state data, 76 percent of eligible Barnstable County residents are fully vaccinated.
Morse said that the town has had “two of the busiest weeks out of the summer over the last 14 days.” The town’s population balloons during the summer from 3,000 people who live there year-round to about 60,000 people.
Vaira Harik, Barnstable County’s deputy director of the Department of Human Services, said 93 percent of the cases were detected in males, and the median age is 35, with cases detected in ages ranging from people 20 to 70 years old. Seventy-three percent of the 132 cases that have been reported through Friday are symptomatic, Harik said, and the majority of the symptoms are mild.
The number of cases among vaccinated people is being investigated, Harik said, but it is “significant” and “more than the 5 percent efficacy rate of the vaccine.” Morse said cases among those who are vaccinated represented the “vast majority.”
Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, said the cluster is “so unexpected” and “not what we’ve really seen anywhere else.”
Doron said she is concerned the situation represents “a hole in our knowledge of the current state and what’s to come,” because “it’s not consistent with what we expect based on the data we’ve been seeing.”
Doron raised the possibility that the increase in cases in Provincetown is due to a new, unidentified variant that is circulating.
“I wouldn’t even be surprised if you told me it was a new variant that might even have more immune-evading capability than the Delta variant,” Doron said. “It’s statistically not likely to be that because we know that the Delta variant is what is now increasing in Massachusetts and taking over, and we don’t know of another variant. But the reason I say that is just because all of the data — from the UK, from Canada — is suggesting that the vaccines are nearly as effective against the Delta variant as they were against prior variants, so don’t expect to see huge amounts of breakthrough infection with the Delta variant.”
Doron said a case-control study needs to be conducted in order to understand the scope of the cluster.
More mixed messaging about the protection that the J&J vaccine offers against the Delta variant. Sorry that I don't have a definitive answer at this juncture. There could be some limitations to this particular study - on the other hand it's possible that information from J&J is biased.
J.&J. Vaccine May Be Less Effective Against Delta, Study Suggests
- A new study looked at blood samples of patients who received the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines against the Indian 'Delta' variant
- Antibody levels in J&J patients were five to seven times lower when exposed to the Delta variant compared to three times lower in Pfizer and Modera patients
- The findings are in line with a study that found the AstraZeneca vaccine, which uses the same technology as J&J, is 33% effective against symptamatic Delta
- Researchers say this suggests the 13 million Americans who received the J&J vaccine will need boosters to protect against variants
- It comes as the CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky revealed the Delta variant now makes up 83% of all new infections
The coronavirus vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is much less effective against the Delta and Lambda variants than against the original virus, according to a new study posted online on Tuesday.
Although troubling, the findings result from experiments conducted with blood samples in a laboratory, and may not reflect the vaccine’s performance in the real world. But the conclusions add to evidence that the 13 million people inoculated with the J.&J. vaccine may need to receive a second dose — ideally of one of the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, the authors said.
“The message that we wanted to give was not that people shouldn’t get the J.&J. vaccine, but we hope that in the future, it will be boosted with either another dose of J.&J. or a boost with Pfizer or Moderna,” said Nathaniel Landau, a virologist at N.Y.U.’s Grossman School of Medicine, who led the study.
Dr. Moore pointed to several studies in monkeys and people that have shown greater efficacy with two doses of the J.&J. vaccine, compared with one dose. He said the new study was particularly credible because it was published by a team with no ties to any of the vaccine manufacturers.
But the data from the new study “do not speak to the full nature of immune protection,” said Seema Kumar, a spokeswoman for J.&J. Studies sponsored by the company indicate that the vaccine “generated strong, persistent activity against the rapidly spreading Delta variant,” she said.
Last edited by wondermint2; 07-20-2021 at 04:29 PM..
Nearly three-quarters of voters support reinstating mask mandates in their area if there is a spike in coronavirus cases, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds.
Seventy-four percent of registered voters in the July 16-17 survey said they support reissuing a mask mandate if their area experiences a rise in cases.
That includes 46 percent who strongly support bringing back mask mandates and 28 percent who somewhat support the idea.
By contrast, 26 percent of respondents said they oppose such a move, including 12 percent who somewhat oppose and 14 percent who strongly oppose.
Ninety-three percent of Democrats said they support reinstating mask mandates if their areas sees an upswing in COVID-19 cases, along with 71 percent of independents and 59 percent of Republicans.
The most recent Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 957 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 3.17 percentage points.
More than 6 in 10 vaccinated Americans now say they would get an additional COVID-19 booster shot if it were available to them, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
The survey of 1,715 U.S. adults, which was conducted from July 13 to 15, found that a full 62 percent of those who’ve been vaccinated would receive another jab if possible, while just 18 percent would decline. Another 20 percent are not sure.
When posing the question to poll respondents, Yahoo News and YouGov noted that the current information on boosters is conflicting and inconclusive, and that “public-health authorities have not recommended” them yet. Nearly two-thirds of vaccinated Americans still say they would get another dose.
J.&J. Vaccine May Be Less Effective Against Delta, Study Suggests
I came across this independent study of the J&J vaccine done in South Africa. The results indicate that protection against disease with one shot is good.
Vast majority of breakthrough infections in vaccinated health workers are mild
Breakthrough infections following the JnJ vaccine are defined as a positive COVID-19 test more than 28 days following vaccination. Some people test positive on routine screening (for example when being admitted to hospital for a non-COVID-19 procedure or following exposure at work) and some following development of symptoms or contact with another person with COVID-19. We track these through daily linkages to national COVID-19 registries of laboratory and hospitalisation data and through reports to the Sisonke desk. These are then passed onto our breakthrough infection team who confirm the infection and timing, make contact with the health worker and if appropriate attending doctor, and establish the severity of the infection. Consistently we are finding that 94% of breakthrough infections are mild, 4% are moderate and only 2% severe.
These findings are in line with other new data suggesting that a single-dose of the JnJ vaccine protects against variants of concern including the delta variant.
Co-principal investigator Professor Glenda Gray notes that “the single dose vaccine, designed for emergency use is safe and easy to use. We have mounting data to suggest that immunity increases over time and that it retains its efficacy against important variants such as beta and delta.”
Co-principal investigator Professor Linda-Gail Bekker adds “keeping individuals out of ICU and off ventilators is an important outcome. I’m very reassured that the vast majority of breakthrough infections in Sisonke are mild. We believe that recommending booster top-ups with another vaccine is premature. We hold in mind that South Africa has only vaccinated 3 of the 41 million people it needs to safeguard its people against severe COVID-19”.
Sen. Rand Paul said he will send a letter to the Department of Justice asking for a criminal investigation of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
"I will be sending a letter to Department of Justice asking for a criminal referral because he has lied to Congress. We have scientists that were lined up by the dozens to say that the research he was funding was gain-of-function," the Kentucky Republican told Sean Hannity of Fauci on Tuesday evening’s "Hannity" program.
"He's doing this because he has a self interest to cover his tracks and to cover his connection to Wuhan lab," Paul continued.
Paul’s interview comes after he and Fauci had another heated exchange during a Senate hearing Tuesday when the two traded accusations of "lying" over gain-of-function research at a Wuhan lab floated as the origin of the coronavirus.
The NIH and NIAID have said they supported grants to research viruses in bats but never funded gain-of-function research of coronaviruses and transmissibility for humans.
For the first time in its history, Tampa Bay is experiencing a unique and unprecedented combination of respiratory illnesses, and people are getting sick across all counties.
The area is battling what physicians call “The Triple Threat”: COVID-19, bronchitis and red tide—and the illnesses are beginning to run rampant.
After lengthy lockdowns at home, followed by months of masking up, viruses are now coming back with a vengeance, and are “waging war” in Tampa Bay, according to doctors.
These three illnesses have never transpired all at once. The combination is a once-in-a-lifetime happenstance, according to experts.
So, how do you tell the difference between the three illnesses?
Dr. Greene compares red tide side effects to suffering from allergies. The cough is intense, but short-lived after one is exposed to red tide.
“Red tide is quick onset quick resolution,” Dr. Greene explained.
As for COVID-19 and bronchitis, Dr. Greene says it can be tricky to tell them apart since they are so much alike, both causing severe cough, fatigue and headache.
“You can’t really tell them apart, they act similar. But, if you have lost taste or smell, it’s probably COVID,” Greene said.
I just took a look at the CDC web site to see if I can get a hint about how Covid-19 is trending. The percent positivity for both Sarasota & Manatee Counties is continuing to move higher. I suppose one glimmer of good news is it appears that the rate of increase for hospitalizations is slowing down. That's what happened in the UK with hospitalizations (thus far).
We'll get the new updated weekly case numbers from the FDOH on Friday - and then we'll have better idea of what's transpiring with new cases. Meanwhile it's too soon to know if we've reached some kind of plateau yet. I suspect the metrics will keep rising for a while - although the rate of increase will probably slow down a bit.
Through Sunday July 18th in Sarasota County the CDC has the 7-day percent positivity at 13.22% (that's a 4.99 % change over the previous 7-day period). 7-day new hospital admissions are at 57. That's a 29.54% increase in hospitalizations over the 7-day period.
Through Sunday July 18th in Manatee County the CDC has the 7-day percent positivity at 14.52% (that's a 2.64% increase over the previous 7 days) New hospital admissions over the past 7 days are at 34. That's a 88.89% increase in hospitalizations over the 7-day period.
For comparison purposes here was the CDC Covid numbers as of Wednesday, July 14th:
Through Wednesday July 14th in Sarasota County the CDC has the 7-day percent positivity at 10.28%. New hospital admissions are at 55. That's a 150% increase in hospitalizations over the 7-day period.
Through Wednesday July 14th in Manatee County they have the 7-day percent positivity at 13.29%. New hospital admissions are at 30. That's a 400% increase in hospitalizations over the 7-day period.
Most epidemioligists state that within a community the test positivity ratio should be below 5% for two weeks before it's safe to fully reopen without restrictions. Sarasota & Manatee County did indeed meet this threshold several weeks ago - but currently the 7-day test positivity ratio in Sarasota County is 13.22% and Manatee County is 14.52%. This notion of fully opening schools without restrictions - is mired in the thinking that things were OK several weeks ago - and not based on the reality of the recent havoc that the Delta variant is causing.
Suncoast colleges shouldn't rush to drop COVID protocols
Given that Florida has 20% of all new COVID infections nationwide – and is still struggling just to get 50% of Floridians to become fully vaccinated - It’s eyebrow-raising that some colleges in Sarasota and Manatee counties are already removing or relaxing many of the COVID-related restrictions they put in place in response to the pandemic’s impact over the past year.
While the desire to return to “normal” by viewing COVID as a receding concern may be an understandable one, the reality is that full normality continues to elude us when it comes to this virus – and area colleges should be careful not to lower their levels of vigilance too soon and too dramatically.
Ryan McKinnon of the Herald-Tribune recently reported that at least two local colleges – New College of Florida and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee have dropped mask mandates and won’t require students to get vaccinated before returning to their campuses.
In addition McKinnon reported that while two other schools – the State College of Florida and Ringling College of Art and Design – have yet to fully release their COVID protocol plans for the new school year, they are likely to adopt the “no masks, no vaccination required” approach of their local counterparts.
Last edited by wondermint2; 07-22-2021 at 11:33 AM..
The Biden administration is reportedly considering whether to urge vaccinated Americans to once again wear masks in more settings, amid a nationwide spike in COVID-19 cases from the Delta variant.
Top White House aides are in talks with officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has dropped its mask mandate for vaccinated people but is now examining whether to update its guidance, the Washington Post reported, citing a Biden aide and a federal health official.
One idea being mulled would be to ask everyone to mask up when vaccinated and unvaccinated people mix at public venues or indoors, such as at malls or movie theaters, two people familiar with the conversations told the paper.
At Thursday’s White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing, its head Jeff Zeintz declined to answer whether discussions about masking policy were going on in the Biden Administration, saying only, “We will continue to follow the CDC on mask guidance.”
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