367: COVID Blame Game

Fear of the Delta variant is driving a wave of mask rollbacks.

Don't blame our leadership class; blame your anti-vax neighbor. The media and politicians chant it's a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

Links

• CDC Confirms That Viral Loads In Vaccinated People With Delta May Be Infectious, So Masks Are Necessary

Walensky cited data from the last few days, still unpublished, taken from 100 samples from vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals with COVID infections. They found that the amount of virus in the noses and throats of vaccinated infected people was nearly "indistinguishable" from what was found in unvaccinated people, confirming what some experts have suspected. The increased viral load associated with the Delta variant appears to make vaccinated people equal spreaders of the virus.

• How Dangerous is the Delta Variant (B.1.617.2)?

Symptoms of Delta tend to be a little different than other strains, but that does not necessarily mean the associated symptoms are more severe. Fever, headache, sore throat and runny nose are common, while cough and loss of smell are not.

• Pfizer data suggest third dose of Covid-19 vaccine 'strongly' boosts protection against Delta variant | CNN
• Google Mandates Vaccines for Workers and Delays Return to Office - The New York Times
• NYC offers $100 cash incentive to get COVID vaccine - New York Daily News
• Duke University to require masks indoors due to surge of delta variant | CBS 17
• Hundreds of San Francisco bars to require vaccination, negative Covid test to drink indoors
• Pfizer vaccine effectiveness drops to 84 percent after six months: data | TheHill
• House physician reinstates mask mandate amid Delta variant spread in the US | CNN
• Florida Doctors Blast Governor Ron DeSantis Over COVID-19 – CBS Miami
• UK Covid cases are falling despite the easing of lockdowns, surprising the experts
• MGM Resorts requiring proof of vaccination from employees — or weekly COVID-19 tests for $15 | KLAS
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