This COVID summer won’t be the last summer

This is an edition of Atlantic Daily is a newsletter that guides you through the biggest news of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best culture. sign up here.

“People in the Northern Hemisphere are now getting their heads together in summer travel, as is the coronavirus they have,” says science writer Katherine J. Wu. report Early July. As the summer passes and the coronavirus subvariant BA.5 continues to spread, I checked with Katie on the situation.

But first, here are three new stories from Atlantic.

“Strange Plateau”

Isabel Fatal: Where is the current COVID-19 situation in America?

Catherine J. Wu: Things are not good right now. Based on the pattern of cases we’re seeing, it’s clear we’re at a very high level, probably comparable to what we’ve seen in terms of case numbers this winter — the worst of the pandemic in the number of cases of

It is true that hospitalization and mortality rates are declining, but the more people infected, even the smallest percentage, can lead to unbearable numbers of hospitalizations and deaths. And every infection carries the risk of his COVID in the long run, or of keeping people away from school, work, or family. And what’s disturbing is that we’ve been in this strange plateau in the last few months, in that the number of cases hasn’t really declined or gotten better.

Isabelle: Last week, the Biden administration announced Plans to roll out improved booster shots in September that are expected to offer better protection against BA.5. What was your reaction to that news?

Katie: It sounds promising, but there is still a lot to do before then and that is what worries me.These vaccines are still being manufactured. They are not yet approved. The FDA has not even seen data to indicate whether or how well they are superior to current formulations in humans.

Will it go to high-risk people first? Do you have enough dose? We know that COVID fundraising is a total mess right now. And if dosages are limited, who gets them first? Will there be enough doses for young and healthy people to get them? Will there be enough doses for children? Our youngest kids are still in the primary series.

Technology is not the main concern. The concern is deployment and making sure people get these shots in a fair way and are happy to get them.

Isabelle: What do we currently know about how effective these updated boosters are against BA.5?

Katie: I don’t have much data to turn off, so I’ll keep it interim here. I think you can expect them to improve, but I don’t know if it will be a 5% improvement or a 60% improvement. The other big asterisk on this is what happens in September. Will it still be BA.5, BA.6, or a completely different variant?

The new vaccine will be half the original recipe and half adapted to BA.4/BA.5. And it was, in some ways, a good hedge. It will give us the best of both worlds in terms of expanding our response.

Isabelle: What should the Biden Administration have done in its response to COVID-19 and what it has not?

Katie: I think the main thing is to stop the vaccine paranoia. Don’t get me wrong, this response requires a vaccine, but not enough.It’s strange to see a Biden administration say ‘boost now’ while loosening guidance on rallies, masking and distancing, claiming America can effectively declare independence from viruses. These things don’t match.

Reducing transmission requires multiple approaches. Now it’s getting crazy and this is not a sustainable way to live with this virus. If so, it’s a good idea to think about masking, think about testing more often, and pay attention to who’s up to date. Make sure their vaccine and our approach complement each other. I still have big problems with access to Paxlovid, access to tests, access to everything.

Isabelle: What are your pet’s complaints about the way the pandemic is currently being talked about?

Katie: We still need to be careful, but too much fear-mongering will make people check out. is not (For a long time, COVID has been important to pay attention to, but this is almost certainly not true) Or “this is the worst variant I’ve ever seen” (yes, variants keep evolving, but we also have tools to fight them). Meet where people are and find ways to get them to tune in, but trust them to handle the nuances.

Isabelle: What else should Americans be thinking about now regarding the pandemic?

Katie: With all the news about various outbreaks and viruses, I hope people don’t accept this as normal. This shows that our public health response is failing and underutilizing the resources we have. Left alone, this could become our normal state, but it doesn’t have to.

Related:

news of the day

night reading

his mother’s life was a mystery he had to solve

Renika Cruz

Writing about the dead is a difficult task. Whenever I write about my mother, I struggle to remember. how did she get her coffee What was her music that made her dance? Did she throw her head back like I did when she laughed? My ability to answer these questions—to attempt to create an honest portrait of her on the page—is limited by the five and a half years we spent together before she died. For this purpose, I interviewed family and friends and created an archive of documents and photographs. It’s also a reminder of all the things you don’t have.

Read the full article.

see more Atlantic

culture break

read. new Joyful Cultural History Reveal its dark side.

clock. someone somewhere, the HBO Max show renewed for a second season. As our critic puts it, ‘expect tears of sadness and joy’.

Or try something else from us Watching List of TV Shows to Maintain Short-Term Focus.

Play our daily crossword.

PS

Covering a pandemic isn’t easy, so I asked Katie if she’s found a place to escape. dark vagina“This is a delightful write up of one of the most underappreciated organs in the human body, which under no circumstances should be studied or talked about without shame,” she told me.

— Isabel