Two of the most consistently credible (and cautious) public health experts throughout the pandemic have been Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Leana S. Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore.
In her most recent essay in the Post, Dr. Wen offers her take on the current situation with "The delta variant is surging. How should that change how we live?"
Following are her main points:
* "While delta does change the risk calculus, it doesn’t mean that we have go to back to hunkering down at home. When deciding which activities to engage in, vaccinated people should consider two factors: the medical risk of your household and the value of the activities to you."
* "According to CDC data, the vaccinated are approximately eight times less likely to become infected than the unvaccinated. Even if they contract covid-19, chances are excellent that a vaccinated person will experience symptoms akin to the common cold; after all, the vaccines reduce the chance of severe illness by a whopping 25-fold."
* "The vaccinated constitute a small minority... of total coronavirus cases. Israel, which does much better contact tracing than the United States, reported that 80 percent of those vaccinated did not infect anyone in public spaces. Even if we asked the vaccinated to significantly restrict their activities, it would hardly make a dent in total infections."
* "There may be high-risk events that are worth the possible exposure because of their value to you. If you can’t take precautions during the event, quarantine for at least three days afterward and then get tested.
* "What about people who ... live with unvaccinated or immunocompromised family members? That’s the situation I’m in. My advice for those in our situation is to continue the activities you care about while reducing risk. Eat at a restaurant but dine outdoors. Keep your flight plans but wear a high-quality mask the whole time. Go to the gym but during off-hours when you have more space to yourself."
Wen's is a welcome voice of reason. As she points out, for those of us who are vaccinated the danger from the current Covid variants is miniscule. That doesn't mean we should behave irresponsibly, but it does mean we should resume normal life activities free of guilt and free of fear.
Accordingly, my biggest concern now is terrible toll isolation is taking. Study after study documents the rising rates of addiction, suicide, and other mental illnesses during the pandemic -- especially among the young, though all ages are vulnerable.
Because we don't talk about addiction or suicide to any significant degree compared to the constant panic over Covid, I fear we are avoiding the harsh reality. Four times as many people died from overdoses than from Covid in San Francisco and other cities during the height of the pandemic, which means drug addiction was and is a far worse public health problem than Covid.
And wearing masks, social distancing and remote work are not helping address *that* at all; on the contrary they are making it worse.
New variants of Covid will continue to emerge, of course, thanks to those who remain unvaccinated, with unknown consequences for the rest of us just yet. We may face an awful resurgence at some point. But even so, in all likelihood the updated vaccines will continue to protect us from most of the crap that Covid can throw at us.
The bottom line is that for most of us, Covid is probably going to retreat to the status of the flu -- an annual threat but one largely controlled by vaccinations and sensible social distancing measures when symptomatic.
But addiction and suicide will still be with us. The question is: What will be done about those?
***
THE HEADLINES:
* The delta variant is surging. How should that change how we live? (Leana S. Wen/WP)
* Moderna says its COVID-19 shot 93% effective six months after second dose Reuters)
* Should you cancel travel plans because of the coronavirus’s delta variant? Ask these questions. (WP)
* Serious Cases Remain Rare, But Coronavirus Infections In Children Are On The Rise (NPR)
* How Provincetown, Mass., stress-tested the coronavirus vaccine with summer partying and delta -- Officials from Provincetown to the White House are stressing that July’s outbreak should be a cautionary tale less for the vaccinated than for the millions of Americans in parts of the country far less prepared for the delta variant. (WP)
* Nursing Homes Confront New Covid Outbreaks Amid Calls for Staff Vaccination Mandates -- With the vaccinated elderly susceptible to breakthrough infections, inoculation of workers is becoming more urgent. (NYT)
* China posts first decline in local new COVID-19 cases this week (Reuters)
* Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all active-duty troops in the coming days. The Defense Department had previously said it would likely wait for full FDA approval of the vaccines before making them mandatory, but a renewed surge in coronavirus cases has expedited that timeline. [HuffPost]
* Some Fla. school districts push ahead with mask mandates, defying governor’s threat to cut funds (WP)
* U.S. COVID-19 cases hit six-month high, Florida grapples with surge (Reuters)
* Napa residents, and vintners, try to take wildfire protection into their own hands (SF Chronicle)
* Turkey Battles Worst Blaze in Decades -- Forest fires continued in Turkey after more than a week as the country dealt with an economic crisis and the pandemic. The fires are the worst the country has seen in decades. (AP)
* In the Infrastructure Bill, a Recognition: Climate Change Is a Crisis -- For the first time, both parties have acknowledged — by their actions, if not their words — that the United States is unprepared for global warming and will need huge amounts of cash to cope. (NYT)
* The Greenland ice sheet experienced a massive melting event last week (WP)
* Fire engulfs Northern California town, leveling businesses (AP)
* Biden aims for big boost in electric cars by 2030 (WP)
* Atlantic Ocean currents weaken, signalling big weather changes - study (Reuters)
* In summer of heat, drought and fire, adaptation becomes necessity (WP)
* U.S. officials are seeking to list emperor penguins as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to climate change. An independent study warned that nearly all colonies could be wiped out by 2100. [HuffPost]
* Is Biden serious about fighting for democracy? Egypt will be a decisive test. (Editorial Board/WP)
* U.S. Taps Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Others to Help Fight Ransomware, Cyber Threats (WSJ)
* New legislation from Democratic lawmakers would provide all Americans with an affirmative right to vote and a legal process to secure that right for the first time ― a move that could counter Republican voter suppression efforts around the country. The Right to Vote Act is meant to fill the gap in voters’ ability to challenge voting restrictions. [HuffPost]
* With eviction victory in hand, Democratic lawmakers in Congress turn their attention to student loans -- Temporary freeze on federal student loan payments expires at the end of September, and many Democrats want it extended (WP)
* Turks Wage War on Social Media as Raging Fires Turn Political -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come under a concerted attack by his opponents over his handling of the worst forest fires in decades. (NYT)
* Afghan Air Force Struggles to Stay Aloft as U.S. Leaves and Taliban Advances (WSJ)
* Taliban target provincial Afghan cities in response to U.S. strikes, commanders say (Reuters)
* A Near Press Blackout in Afghanistan -- The war that Americans forgot is ending in chaos and secrecy. (New Yorker)
* Mexico Sues Gun Companies in U.S., Accusing Them of Fueling Violence -- The government accuses gun makers and suppliers of knowingly flooding the market with firearms attractive to drug cartels. (NYT)
* California Gov. Newsom and his allies have raised more than $51 million to fight the recall, more than twice as much as every major Republican candidate and pro-recall committee combined. (LA Times)
* U.S. health-care system ranks last among 11 high-income countries, researchers say (WP)
* Facing Loss of Supporters, Cuomo Gains Attention From Prosecutors -- District attorneys in Manhattan, Nassau, Oswego and Westchester Counties separately announced that they were investigating Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s actions. (NYT)
* A majority of New York state Assembly members support beginning impeachment proceedings against Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he doesn’t resign over investigative findings that he sexually harassed at least 11 women, according to an Associated Press count. Investigators didn't make conclusions about whether he should be criminally charged, leaving the door open for local prosecutors to bring cases. Cuomo denies the allegations. [AP]
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