LA Times: Blah, blah... COVID this and that... we're fucked.

[WarGamer]

California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-02-23/california-homegrown-coronavirus-strain-looks-increasingly-transmissible-and-dangerous

“The devil is already here,” said Dr. Charles Chiu, who led the UCSF team of geneticists, epidemiologists, statisticians and other scientists in a wide-ranging analysis of the new variant, which they call B.1.427/B.1.429. “I wish it were different. But the science is the science.”

"It also opens the door to a “nightmare scenario”: That the two viruses will meet in a single person, swap their mutations, and create an even more dangerous strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

The new evidence that the California variant could make people sicker, and vaccines less effective, should spur more intensive efforts to drive down infections, Chiu said. Those should include both public health measures, such as masking and limits on public activities, and a campaign of rapid vaccinations, he added.



My commentary.

Vaccines are nice, if they work. Get to work HARDER on treatments... and for God's sake...

WEAR YOUR DAMN MASK and wash your hands, keep hand sanitizer in the car and just stay home as much as possible.

THIS.AIN'T.OVER.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

1. Ban all travel from Cali immediately, shut down the airports, block all roads

[SoonerPride]

2. People have been lulled into a very false sense of security

The prevailing mood is that the worst is over and this pandemic is soon to wind down.

I fear that another huge surge is coming.

[WarGamer]

6. We could hit a million in 2021 if this thing goes off the rails.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. People I've talked to seem to think that we're almost done with COVID19.

They see the numbers going down and assume that the vaccinations will end it. I think we're going to be fighting this battle for a long time.

[Pongo]

3. Your commentary is that vaccines are nice if they work? What?

[WarGamer]

5. Did you read the article?

A coronavirus variant that emerged in mid-2020 and surged to become the dominant strain in California not only spreads more readily than its predecessors, but also evades antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccines or prior infection and is associated with severe illness and death, researchers said.

Focus on the part that says "Evades antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccines or prior infection..."

[Phoenix61]

9. Or...

“In the lab, the California strain also revealed itself to be more resistant to neutralizing antibodies generated in response to COVID-19 vaccines as well as by a previous coronavirus infection.” The immune response is composed of more than just antibodies.

“I do anticipate over time it is going to have an effect on vaccination,” Chiu said. Though the magnitude of the effect varied from sample to sample and was less pronounced than with the South Africa strain, “it still is concerning,” he said.“
The Johnson vaccine is 100% effective in preventing severe illness and death so, as Fauci noted, a public health win.

[samnsara]

4. i plan on masking up for awhile yet. I own about 50 yet I leave my house maybe once a week

...so I have a different one for each trip to town for the next year

[dhill926]

8. and spring break is on the horizon...

there goes my week or two of being cautiously optimistic...

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. Keep in mind that as bad as this is,

Covid 19 so far has not made any kind of dent in the population.

[Yavin4]

11. Our only hope is that the vaccines and potential treatments work.

We've gotten as much public compliance with health safety measures that we are going to get. Asking Americans to do more without massive public economic relief is a not going to work.

We do not have enough economic relief in our system to provide the help that everyone needs. Do not be fooled by Zoom meetings. Not everyone can work remotely.