According to experts, how to stay safe from COVID this summer

More than 2 million people are vaccinated against the coronavirus daily in the United States, but the number of cases is rising again as public health restrictions are beginning to be lifted in some states. Now Americans are looking to the coming warm month and wondering: what will happen to our second summer in the COVID era?

Currently, just over 1 in 6 or 15.8% of the population, Fully vaccinated.Federal Guidance on How to proceed with life after vaccination It is still emerging, but so far it is encouraging that fully vaccinated people can safely meet with other fully vaccinated people without a mask.

Even though researchers are still collecting important data on these vaccines, the promise of protection from any of the three US-approved shots provides the coveted light of hope.A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the Pfizer and Modana mRNA vaccines, found that fully vaccinated people 90% less likely to get infected Use the coronavirus in “real-life situations” like the workplace. However, there are some important questions that have yet to be answered.

It is not clear how long the protection provided by the existing COVID-19 vaccine will last, or whether vaccinated ones can infect those that have not yet been vaccinated. Previous data suggest that these vaccines provide meaningful protection against more infectious variants of the virus, but wear masks and distance from others in public places. Measures such as keeping the virus are important to stop their spread in the first place.

On Monday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said Current state of the pandemic In the United States, hospitalizations and deaths have skyrocketed, with just under 1,000 people dying from COVID-19 every day, which is anxiously similar. Some European countries A few weeks before the spikes if they are looking now.

“We can change the course of this pandemic, but we all need to re-commit to following public health prevention strategies while striving to vaccinate Americans. There is, “Walensky said.

Mitigating these preventive strategies is too early and could undo significant progress made in the country in the last few weeks to control the virus. That’s why the push to return to a version of “normal” life needs to be “dial, not switch,” said Dr. Pretty Marani, chief health officer and professor of medicine at the University of Michigan’s Department of Infectious Diseases. I am. Michigan.

A safer way to engage in socializing in an ongoing pandemic is not to pay attention to the wind, but to risk assessment similar to what many have been exercising since the stay-at-home order was lifted a few months ago. Includes.

Dr. Susan Bailey, President of the American Medical Association, said: “I think we are in much better shape than before, but we haven’t left the forest yet.”

It takes a closer look at some variables that determine how a pandemic will occur in the United States in the coming months, and some tips that you can use when planning your own summer. ..

How to proceed with social life this summer

When deciding whether to attend a rally or spend time with friends and family in the coming months, the CDC recommends that you keep some important guidelines in mind.

Graphics by Megan McGrew / PBS NewsHour

The same rules that were applied last summer apply to this as well. It is much safer to get together with people outdoors than indoors, especially if someone is not vaccinated. This also applies to eating out at restaurants.

According to the CDC guidance, fully vaccinated people can safely remove their masks indoors around one other unvaccinated household, but those people are COVID- Only if the risk of developing 19 severe cases is low. This means that vaccinated grandparents are safer to spend with their unvaccinated children and grandchildren than to see their unvaccinated elders see their vaccinated loved ones.

It’s hard to accept that some of the pre-pandemic life features, such as packed bars and concert venues, are likely not to be a safe option anytime soon. Fortunately, however, it was dangerous a year ago to get together with people outside the family by taking basic safety measures, especially if everyone involved was vaccinated. Deaf Many activities will be much safer.

“Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do,” Marani said. “We can do a lot, but it will be in a smaller group and will require some precautions.”

She added that the presence of more contagious variants means “less room for error” when it comes to measures such as masking and distance. It’s important to wear a mask when you go to a local store where you interact with people you don’t know personally.

These types of precautions become more and more effective as the spread of the virus slows down. Dr. Ottoyan, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, compared efforts to extinguish the fire. Efforts to extinguish a fire are much easier to carry out when the fire is mostly contained, but rather appears in some prominent places. Rather than raging widely over a wide area.

Read more: The COVID-19 vaccine can be adapted to new variants.This is what you need

“In my opinion, the virus needs to be doubled when it’s almost gone or nearing it,” Yang said. “The more pressure you put on it, the more effective it is.”

That doesn’t mean that Americans should stay in their homes and avoid the coveted time in the sun with their loved ones. But that means that you need to do your own risk assessment when deciding how to socialize safely, both for the well-being of yourself and your neighbors. Stay local and avoid unnecessary long-distance trips — For each CDC recommendation — This is another important choice that can reduce the chances of a variant spreading from one community to another.

Dr. Lina Wen, an emergency physician and former health commissioner in Baltimore, said Told PBS Newshour She hopes the CDC will be proactive about updating guidance for fully vaccinated people. Wen said detailed recommendations are important to help people understand which activities are safe.

“For example, if you can tell people,’Please postpone your trip until you are completely vaccinated. Then — two weeks after you receive it. [your second dose] Two weeks after receiving a single dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson, you can travel at that point … I think it’s much easier to understand. “

Also note that local data on case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths are not very useful in determining which activities are safe. Bailey says the information is a snapshot of the past, not a “weather forecast.” In addition, she emphasized that one contagious person at a particular meeting or venue could infect vulnerable people around her.

That’s why, as Yang said, these next few months are mostly about keeping common sense in mind. When we incorporate pandemic precautions into our social lives, keep others in mind, and get vaccinated when possible, we are in much better shape than last summer.

How do variants affect all of this?

Vaccines are one of the most important tools needed to stop the growth of coronavirus variants, are easy to pass from person to person, and can lead to another surge if not alleviated. ..

The virus is still widespread in many countries, including the United States. As the number of hosts increases, the virus mutates, new variants emerge, and a series of genome adjustments are made to increase the version of coronavirus that behaves differently than its predecessor. , Starts circulation.

RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the coronavirus, are actually less prone to random mutations than other viruses, but the COVID is still relatively new, so the mutation rate is high. It’s not unusual.

“”[Mutation is] It’s perfectly anticipated because the virus has just invaded humans and was previously from another animal host and will undergo a period of time optimized to survive in humans. ” Mr. says.

The comforting rule of virology is that viruses are generally less likely to be fatal because they mutate over time. If the virus kills its host, it kills its only home, Yang said. Fatal infections can also reduce the chance that an infected host will infect others with the virus.

Researchers around the world are monitoring positive tests for new variants and doing research to determine exactly what they are different from. Often, these variants are suspected to be more contagious.

Read more: Why new coronavirus variants emerge and what they mean to you

However, it takes time to do the research. Yang is the first more contagious variant detected in the United Kingdom, B.1.1.7. He said that much of what we know about variants like this is based on how they work in a lab environment.

“The virus may spread cell-to-cell in the laboratory and may be more resistant to antibodies in the laboratory,” Yang said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean what happens to people.”

But the evidence is some Identified variant It certainly emphasizes the need to maintain preventative measures that are more contagious and reduce the likelihood of spread.

Another concern is that the coronavirus can mutate to more efficiently avoid the temporary immunity granted by either natural infection or vaccination. Reinfection and mild illness in vaccinated people can be expected, but it is alarming to see them in large numbers and to see severe cases in them.

“If you start seeing more and more people develop COVID after you’ve already received or been vaccinated, it’s time to turn off all the red warnings,” says Bailey. I did.

However, previous data suggest that the US-approved COVID-19 vaccine provides some protection against various variants. Yang explained that the virus could mutate and resist antibodies produced by people who have previously been infected with COVID-19 or who have been vaccinated. If that happens, he believes that booster vaccines are likely to be able to enhance people’s antibody response.

However, antibodies are only one aspect of the immune response produced by vaccination. According to Yang, T cells also play an important role in protecting against viruses. He added that these cells are unaffected by the mutations researchers have seen in mutants so far.

“T cells examine the body and actually kill the cells in the body that are infected with the virus,” he said. “They do it to wipe out those cells before they produce the virus. That part of the immune response probably explains much of the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing serious illness and death. is.”

Key points from the discussion of vaccines and variants: Vaccines are an important game changer in this pandemic, but vaccines are not the only tool needed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The same measures we have taken for over a year, such as wearing masks, social distance, avoiding large numbers of people, and poorly ventilated indoor spaces, continue to be important as more people are vaccinated.