What we know and don’t know about delta variants and COVID vaccines

“I think this reflects a combination of recent local” surges “in April, May and June. There were many cases … this resulted in more innate immunity after infection and an overall higher vaccination rate. Infections are widespread in these states, “said Dr. Philippe Levy, an assistant professor of emergency medicine, vice president of research, and head of the COVID-19 response team at Wayne State University. increase. “There are many communities in Michigan with immunization rates of 75% or higher, which gives us optimism that if they do occur in the future, they will be less affected and people will not be significantly affected. increase.”

However, Petrie believes that in Michigan, kindergarten-to-high school schools will reopen this month, and many schools don’t require masks, so it could happen like in the South.

“Michigan has a relatively high vaccination rate and schools haven’t started yet, so it’s possible that we’re lagging behind some of the southern states,” Petrie said. “But Michigan is certainly at risk of seeing as high a number of cases as these southern states, especially as schools reopen in the fall.”

But there should be fewer deaths recorded, Levy said.

“COVID-19 deaths continue throughout the United States, but at this stage of the pandemic, the overall lethality is low,” Levy said. “This is mainly because the highest risk groups are very highly vaccinated, so I don’t think we’ll see the dramatic surge in deaths we witnessed here in April 2020. Virtually all people die from COVID-19. They occur in unvaccinated conditions. “

Known: Children under the age of 12 are allowed to be vaccinated

All three experts emphasized the importance of US Food and Drug Administration approval of the COVID vaccine for children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination.

Authorities plan to approve the vaccine in the coming months, but the exact date is not yet known.

“There is an urgent need to do the testing needed to show safety. There is cautious optimism about the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) for Pfizer vaccines aged 5-11 in the coming weeks,” Levy said. rice field.

Moderna is also conducting a large pediatric study to study the efficacy and safety of using the COVID-19 vaccine in children under the age of 12. Johnson & Johnson plans to begin researching vaccines in children up to the age of 12 in the fall.

“I hope parents will understand the importance of vaccination of their children once this (EUA) occurs. If this group is vaccinated, the path to eradication of SARS-CoV2 is much greater. It will be easy. “

According to Chopra, the holdup is that the FDA is requesting four to six months of safety data for children, rather than two months of safety data for adults. Almost all reactions and injuries caused by the vaccine, not just the COVID-19 vaccine, occur within 45 days of administration.

Unknown: Do you need boosters forever?

Biden administration Approved third vaccine booster shotAvailable to all Americans from September 20th. Early studies appear to show that vaccine efficacy begins to decline after 6 months, but there is not enough long-term data on whether boosters are permanent.

“There is a lot of confusion, but people need to remember that we have never faced such a pandemic and science is accumulating as we progress,” Levy said. I did. “Boosters do two things. They” recharge “antibody production and provide an immediate period of protection against infection. This reduces infection, strengthens the cell (T cell) immune response, and ensures that the antibody is infected. Apart you retain strong immunity to the virus. “

Petrie said mutations are also a factor.

“Unvaccinated people are still much more likely to get infected, but vaccinated people seem to be getting more infected,” Petrie said. “This may be because the virus changes enough to escape immunity from the vaccine, or its immunity declines over time. Both of these factors may be working. Boosters can help keep immunity high, especially in the highest-risk groups. “