Two Americas: One Vaccinated, One Unvaccinated (Putting Everyone At Risk)

President Joe Biden set July 4th as the target date for 70% of Americans to have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination shot on the way to herd immunity and “Independence” from COVID-19.

America came up just a little bit short of that goal at 67%, not because of a lack of vaccine or distribution, but because of “vaccine hesitancy,” which is the polite term the media uses for the politicization of COVID-19 vaccines by theMAGA/QAnon personality cult of Donald Trump, the large-scale disinformation campaigns from both foreign and domestic conspiracy trolls, like QAnon, anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers, and Fox News pundits, and a genuine hesitancy among the African-American community from historical experience with government medical experiments, like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. But it is Southern white Evangelical Christians who are among the groups most opposed to vaccination. Southern pastors are scared to promote vaccines as white Evangelicals reject science.

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reports, 20 states reach 70% COVID-19 vaccination goal:

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have met President Joe Biden’s Fourth of July goal of vaccinating 70% or more of adults with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to tracking by the New York Times. Puerto Rico and Guam have also met the goal.

California, Illinois, and New York have all met the goal. Vermont remains the national leader in vaccination.

Fourteen states have vaccinated 60% to 65% of adults, including Florida and Texas,  and 16 states are below 60%. Mississippi has the lowest vaccination rate in the country, at 46%. Almost all states in the South are below 60%.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID Data Tracker shows that 382,283,990 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been delivered in the United States and 328,152,304 have been administered, with 155,884,601 Americans fully vaccinated (66.7% of adults have received at least one dose of vaccine).

Note: The states with the lowest vaccination rates are all “red” states with Republican governors.

The Washington Post reported ahead of the July 4th weekend, Craving freedom from virus, U.S. heads into July 4 with sharply divided risk:

President Biden has pointed to July 4 as the day when Americans can mark independence from the coronavirus. But the United States has not fully snuffed out the threat from the virus — particularly in places where vaccination rates are low — as the delta variant threatens to undo the nation’s progress against it.

More than 2,000 counties representing over half of the American population have not met Biden’s goal of 70 percent of adults receiving at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine by Independence Day, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Those counties are seeing steeper increases in new cases and double the rate of tests coming back positive compared with counties who have met the president’s goal.

Most ominously, the highly transmissible delta variant is on the rise and represents a quarter of confirmed cases, posing a greater risk to pockets of unvaccinated communities than earlier strains of the virus. The White House launched a new initiative to respond to regional flare-ups ignited by the delta variant, including in Mesa County, Colo., and a growing cluster along Missouri’s borders with Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Now the country is staring down two paths: deliver a finishing blow by achieving herd immunity through vaccination, or risk additional and preventable outbreaks from a virus that has grown more threatening. Sixty-four percent of Americans over 12 years old have received at least one vaccine dose, but new infections are starting to tick up again after a steady decline, with 25 states reporting higher seven-day averages and more cases likely undercounted because of lower testing. As of Thursday, 18 states reported increases in the seven-day average of hospitalized covid-19 patients.

“The overarching sense in America is that summer is here, the pandemic is over and the party can begin. But in undervaccinated areas, where ironically a lot of this rhetoric lives and breeds, that’s the farthest thing from the truth,” said Aditi Nerurkar, a global health specialist at Harvard Medical School.

“I worry that the July 4 weekend could become a superspreader event in low vaccinated areas without the necessary precautions,” Nerurkar added, noting that eating and socializing without masks in those places could create a “petri dish for a brewing delta surge.”

President Biden went ahead with his July 4th plans at the White House for “America is coming back together,” but cautioned about the spreading Delta variant and said that getting vaccinated is “the most patriotic thing you can do.”

The New York Times reports, Biden Celebrates Progress Against Virus, but Acknowledges Hurdles Ahead:

On the day that President Biden had long anticipated as a milestone in the fight against the coronavirus, the White House hosted a celebration to both commemorate the July 4 holiday and herald the administration’s progress toward overcoming the pandemic.

In bringing together some 1,000 people for the largest planned event of Mr. Biden’s presidency, the White House has been forced to walk a fine line, striving to signal progress toward restoring normalcy while still acknowledging the dangers of a pandemic that continues to claim hundreds of lives a day.

The president continued that strategy on Sunday, comparing the nation’s fight for independence to the battle against the coronavirus.

“Today, we’re closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus. That’s not to say the battle against Covid-19 is over. We’ve got a lot more work to do.”

[In] addition to Mr. Biden’s speech, the celebration included a barbecue honoring attendees — a group of first responders, essential workers and service members, nearly all of whom were vaccinated and able to go without masks in accordance with guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May. Guests mingled on the South Lawn, enjoying pulled pork and chicken while a live band played throughout the evening.

In his remarks, the president reflected on the more than 600,000 Americans who have died from the virus over the past 16 months.

“This day falls hard on all those who’ve lost a loved one,” Mr. Biden said. “Each day, I carry a card in my pocket with my schedule on it. On the back of that schedule, on that card, I have the number of Americans who’ve lost their lives to Covid.”

But the president also addressed the present, imploring unvaccinated Americans to get shots. “It’s the most patriotic thing you can do,” he said.

* * *

For Mr. Biden, the celebrations this year appeared choreographed to signal that Americans could enjoy some degree of normality in coming together, even as he and his own public health officials have continued to stress the importance of maintaining momentum on vaccines.

In the days leading up to the event, the president was careful to reiterate that even amid the vaccination effort, the United States is still averaging hundreds of Covid-19 deaths each day. He urged Americans not to be complacent.

“I am not concerned there is going to be a major outbreak — in other words, that we’re going to have another epidemic nationwide,” Mr. Biden told reporters on Friday. “But I am concerned lives will be lost.”

But despite recent setbacks to his administration’s goals, the president appeared ready to embrace the moment.

“Today, while the virus has not been vanquished, we know this: It no longer controls our lives, it no longer paralyzes our nation,” Mr. Biden told the crowd on Sunday. “And it is within our power to make sure it never does again.”

The New York Times earlier reported, Masks Again? Delta Variant’s Spread Prompts Reconsideration of Precautions.

Throughout the pandemic, masks have ranked among the most contentious public health measures in the United States, symbolizing a bitter partisan divide over the role of government and individual liberties.

Now, with a new variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreading across the globe, masks are again the focus of conflicting views, and fears, about the course of pandemic and the restrictions required to manage it.

The renewed concerns follow the wildfire growth of the Delta variant, a highly infectious form of the virus first detected in India and later identified in at least 85 countries. It now accounts for one in four infections in the United States.

In May, federal health officials said that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to mask up, even indoors. The advice signified a sea change in American life, setting the stage for a national reopening that continues to gain momentum.

But that was before the spread of the Delta variant. Worried by a global surge in cases, the World Health Organization last week reiterated its longstanding recommendation that everyone — including the inoculated — wear masks to stem the spread of the virus.

[H]ealth officials in Los Angeles County followed suit, recommending that “everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as a precautionary measure.”

Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, said the new recommendation was needed because of upticks in infections, a rise in cases due to the worrisome Delta variant, and persistently high numbers of unvaccinated residents, particularly children, Black and Latino residents and essential workers.

[T]he Delta variant’s trajectory outside the United States suggests that concerns are likely to intensify.

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are now reimposing restrictions and stay-at-home orders as the variant drives new surges. Four Australian cites have reimposed lockdowns, and on Monday, the Malaysian government said nationwide stay-at-home orders would be extended indefinitely.

Even Israel — which has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world and is aggressively immunizing younger adolescents and teenagers who qualify — has reinstated masking requirements in public indoor spaces and at large public gatherings outdoors, after hundreds of new Covid-19 cases were detected in recent days, including among people who had received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

[A]mong the variant’s many mutations are some that may help the virus partly dodge the immune system. Several studies have shown that while the current vaccines are effective against Delta, they are slightly less so than against most other variants. For individuals who have received only one dose of a two-dose regimen, protection against the variant is significantly reduced, compared with efficacy against other forms of the virus.

Reuters reported, Pfizer says COVID vaccine is highly effective against Delta variant:

“The data we have today, accumulating from research we are conducting at the lab and including data from those places where the Indian variant, Delta, has replaced the British variant as the common variant, point to our vaccine being very effective, around 90%, in preventing the coronavirus disease, COVID-19,” Alon Rappaport, Pfizer’s medical director in Israel, told local broadcaster Army Radio.

But see, Israel data reportedly shows drop in efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as delta variant spreads:

Israel has recorded a steep drop in the efficacy rate of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE in preventing coronavirus infections, due to the spread of the delta variant and the easing of government restrictions, Ynet news website reported, citing Health Ministry data.

The figures show that between May 2 and June 5, the vaccine had a 94.3% efficacy rate. From June 6, five days after the government canceled coronavirus restrictions, until early July, the rate plunged to 64%. A similar decline was recorded in protection against coronavirus symptoms, the report said.

At the same time, protection against hospitalization and serious illness remained strong. From May 2 to June 5, the efficacy rate in preventing hospitalization was 98.2%, compared with 93% from June 6 to July 3. A similar decline in the rate was recorded for the vaccine’s efficiency in preventing serious illness among people who had been inoculated.

The government is considering reinstating additional coronavirus-related restrictions after restoring a mandate to wear masks indoors in public spaces. Officials are also discussing whether to recommend a third dose of vaccine, the report said.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has said people will “likely” need a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated.

NPR reports, Moderna Says Studies Show Its Vaccine Is Effective Against The Delta Variant:

Moderna said Tuesday that recently completed studies have found the vaccine to have a neutralizing effect against all COVID-19 variants tested, including the beta, delta, eta and kappa variants.

While still highly effective against the delta variant, the study showed the vaccine was less effective against it and certain other variants than against the original strain of the virus.

The antibody response against the delta variant was about two times weaker than against the ancestral strain of the virus.

The news echoes other findings that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are highly effective against the delta variant. A study published this month in Nature found that Pfizer’s vaccine was able to neutralize variants including delta, though at somewhat reduced strength.

“These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants,” Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “These findings highlight the importance of continuing to vaccinate populations with an effective primary series vaccine.”

The New York Times reports, Johnson & Johnson says its vaccine protects against Delta, adding to the arsenal against the variant.

Johnson & Johnson said its Covid vaccine was effective against the highly contagious Delta variant, adding to the growing body of evidence that the most widely available Covid shots offer protection against its most dangerous variants.

Johnson & Johnson said its vaccine showed a small drop in potency against the Delta variant, compared with its effectiveness against the original virus, and a larger drop against the Beta variant first identified in South Africa. That is the same pattern seen with the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

[S]tudies have shown that the Delta and Beta variants slightly lower the efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. For Pfizer, studies show that two doses offer 88 percent protection against the Delta variant, just below the 93 percent protection against Alpha. The Moderna vaccine has performed similarly to Pfizer’s in earlier studies.

Updates on the efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been slow because it was rolled out later than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the United States. The vaccine offered about 72 percent protection against early versions of the virus.

So here’s the real problem:

• One hundred million eligible Americans still haven’t gotten vaccinated the Washington Post reports.
• 15 million people in the U.S. have missed their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, CDC says the Washington Post reports.
• A new Gallup poll finds that only 29% of Americans say that the Covid-19 pandemic is over in the US, with 57% of Republicans saying it is, 35% of independents, and 4% of Democrats agreeing.
• A new Washington Post-ABC News poll showed 74 percent of people who haven’t been vaccinated say they probably or definitely won’t get vaccinated — and that the divide fell sharply along party lines. According to the survey, 86 percent of Democrats have received at least one vaccine shot compared with 45 percent of Republicans. Only 6 percent of Democrats said they are not likely to get vaccinated, compared with 47 percent of Republicans, including 38 percent of Republicans overall who said they definitely will not get the vaccine.

If the Delta variant is not contained, it will mutate again, possibly into a stronger variant that can defeat the efficacy of the current COVID-19 vaccines. The only way to defeat COVID-19 is to get your vaccination and to continue to wear a mask in public.

Some “red” state Republican governors are finally starting to behave more responsibly. ‘We are in a race’: GOP governors implore residents to overcome vaccine hesitancy as delta variant rises:

GOP governors implored their residents on Sunday to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, as polling shows that vaccine hesitancy has been driven by Republicans and as the virus’s new, more contagious delta variant has caused recent upticks in covid-19 cases in areas with low vaccination rates.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday expressed concern about possible “trouble” ahead for Arkansans if the state did not accelerate its vaccination rate. In Arkansas, about 53 percent of adults have at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with about two-thirds of adults nationally. The state has seen a recent spike in covid cases and hospitalizations, driven mostly by the delta variant.

“The solution is the vaccinations,” Hutchinson said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that while many of the state’s senior citizens have gotten vaccinated, the delta variant was now hitting Arkansas’ younger, unvaccinated adults. “It is a great concern.”

Hutchinson avoided saying whether he would reimpose mask mandates if the state’s numbers did not improve and also stopped short of saying Arkansas was about to experience a third wave of covid cases and deaths.

However, he did emphasize that the state would continue to make vaccines accessible — including, for example, offering free shots at the state’s July Fourth “Pops on the River” celebration on Sunday.

“We are in a race,” Hutchinson said. “And if we stopped right here, and we didn’t get greater percent of our population vaccinated, then we’re going to have trouble in the next school year and over the winter. So, we want to get ahead of that curve. Working very hard to do that.”

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) had blunter words Sunday when asked about vaccine hesitancy, particularly among young people, despite the incentives states are offering that include lottery prizes and college scholarships.

“The red states probably have a lot of people that are very, very conservative in their thinking and they think, ‘Well, I don’t have to do that.’ But they’re not thinking right,” Justice said on ABC’s “This Week.” The governor has aggressively urged his residents to get vaccinated for months, and West Virginia has been offering everything from college scholarships to free hunting and fishing licenses as incentives.

“When it really boils right down to it, they’re in a lottery to themselves,” he said. “We have a lottery that says if you’re vaccinated we’re going to give you stuff. Well, you’ve got another lottery for them, and it’s a death lottery.”

Justice added that he thought the only thing that would compel some holdouts to get vaccinated would be the deaths of friends and family.

“What would put them over the edge is an awful lot of people dying,” he said. “The only way it’s really going to happen is a catastrophe that none of us want. We just have to keep trying.”

On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Gov. Spencer Cox (R-Utah) explained that his state’s lower vaccination rate was partly the result of having the country’s youngest population, adding that adults in Utah are getting vaccinated at the same rate as rest of nation. He called the vaccination gap among Republicans “troubling” and said “hopefully reason will rule.”

White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday “The vulnerability is where vaccination rates are lower,” he said. “And that’s just another reason to not only get yourself vaccinated for your own safety, but also for your family and for your community.”

If you are not vaccinated, get your damn vaccination shot and continue to wear a mask in public. No more excuses.