New study says vaccines can't stop the delta variant alone

[nitpicker]

https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/565645-new-study-says-vaccines-cant-stop-the-delta

New study says vaccines can't stop the delta variant alone

(snip)
A new study is emphasizing the importance of both vaccinations and mitigation measures such as masks and physical distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus and stop the threat of new variants.

The research published in Nature Scientific Reports warns that vaccines alone will not stop the emergence of new coronavirus strains, and could actually accelerate the evolution of new variants that evade their protection if safety measures like masking are stopped prematurely.

According to the study, the virus will not stop changing until almost everyone has been fully vaccinated.

“We found that a fast rate of vaccination decreases the probability of emergence of a resistant strain,” researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria wrote in the study.

“Counterintuitively, when a relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions happened at a time when most individuals of the population have already been vaccinated, the probability of emergence of a resistant strain was greatly increased,” researchers wrote.

“Our results suggest that policymakers and individuals should consider maintaining non-pharmaceutical interventions and transmission-reducing behaviors throughout the entire vaccination period,” the study says.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. "Ain't no time to wonder why; whoopee, we're all gonna die." NT