Good wishes for Juneteenth

 

600,000 deaths

On Wednesday, the United States passed 600,000 deaths, due to COVID-19.  There have been 33 1/2 million cases of COVID, in the U.S., since the pandemic began.

There have been, worldwide, more than 3,800,000 COVID-related deaths--and close to 177 million cases.

While the crisis is by no means over--and, indeed, one hopes there will be a change of heart, on the part of those who have declined getting vaccinated--the numbers of U.S. deaths and cases, each day, have, fortunately, dropped significantly. 

The New York Times notes:  "The United States has been averaging fewer than 15,000 cases a day since early June, the lowest totals since testing became widely available."

The Times also notes:  "Around 350 deaths are being reported each day, the fewest since March 2020."

Yet despite the improving statistics, there is much cause for continuing concern. 

There is, for example, this sobering story about vaccinations, from today's USA Today: "Falling rates of COVID-19 across the United States mask a harsh reality – the overwhelming majority of those getting sick and being hospitalized today are unvaccinated, while vaccinated patients are becoming rare."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/06/16/majority-covid-19-hospital-patients-us-now-unvaccinated-younger/7684857002/

Dr. Ashish K. Jha, Dean at the Brown University School of Public Health, writes about the dangers of the "delta variant," and the matter of vaccinations, in The Washington Post.  His essay, which appeared on the Post's website this evening, includes the following:

"In India, the delta variant flattened the health-care system and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. In Britain, it has quickly become the dominant strain and has caused the number of daily infections to triple in just the past month. And it has arrived here. As of Wednesday, the delta variant accounts for 10 percent of U.S. infections and is doubling its share of new cases every two weeks. At this rate, delta will become our dominant strain in the next month to six weeks."

He continues: "For partly vaccinated Americans — those who have had just one shot of Pfizer or Moderna — the delta variant’s tendency to escape an immune response is a problem. While a single shot of these vaccines previously offered 80 to 85 percent protection (and two shots offered 95 percent), a single shot of Pfizer is only 33 percent effective against the delta variant. Thankfully, fully vaccinated individuals — that is, with two shots — get almost 90 percent protection. We don’t know how much immunity gained from prior infections alone will protect people, but it may not be enough."

Dr. Jha writes: "We are entering a time when being unvaccinated is going to become exceedingly more dangerous. Society is open. Distancing is a thing of the past, and mask-wearing is declining. All of the public health protections that kept unvaccinated people safe are disappearing, but the delta variant is gaining momentum."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/06/16/delta-variant-ashish-jha-us-vaccines/