Who will get the booster shot in the US?
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(CNN Business) -
As U.S. government officials prepare to brief people on Covid-19 booster vaccines, there is an emerging consensus coming from influential corners of the national media: the people should anticipate that covid-19 is here to stay.
It is time to adjust expectations accordingly.
While some countries are still pursuing a "zero covid" strategy, the United States clearly is not. The goal should be - in fact, it has to be - risk minimization, not risk elimination. The cover of
The
Atlantic
headed with a headline that made this point Tuesday: "Coronavirus is here forever. This is how we live with it."
The word "endemic" is appearing in coverage with more frequency. Quartz posted an explanation Tuesday. When a virus is no longer new and is a feature of life like the flu, it is endemic. This came when STAT infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell surveyed three dozen experts on their own risk tolerance amid the summer surge. Quoting Johns Hopkins scholar Dr. Amesh Adalja, he wrote that "he (and others) believe that covid will become endemic; we will have to learn to live with it. For fully vaccinated people, Adalja said, the risks of even contracting covid are quite low. "
This reality is also becoming part of corporate calculations. I noticed that Jim Cummings, the director of human resources for CNN's parent company WarnerMedia, mentioned it in an internal memo last week. He said Warner is moving forward with more office reopenings in September despite the outbreak. "Ultimately," he wrote, "the most important question for us, and indeed the entire world, is when and how do we begin to live with covid as an endemic reality. Right now, we believe that the best way to address All of these considerations is moving forward as planned while doing everything we can to mitigate risk, and that, of course, first and foremost requires everyone in the office to be vaccinated. And it also includes the flexibility to work from home. "
This reality should be reflected in the news coverage from top to bottom and from left to right.
"We need to think in terms of RELATIVE RISK REDUCTION," Dr. Celine Gounder wrote in a Twitter thread Tuesday.
Relative risk reduction does not mean that risk is reduced to zero.
With vaccines, for example, it means that the risk of ending up in the hospital is drastically reduced.
"Vaccines are not an immunity on / off switch for people," Gounder wrote.
"Vaccines work additively and synergistically at the population level."
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About those shots ...
Biden will speak about booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The White House covid-19 team will also hold a briefing on the same topic.
The booster vaccine information "will include details on the first data on declining immunity among those vaccinated within the US," reports Dr. Sanjay Gupta, citing a senior federal health official.
"Top health officials have previously said they were closely monitoring this data from Israel and Europe, but had yet to see evidence from the US to support the need for a boost. That is expected to change" on Wednesday. .
Those vaccinated with J&J should not be left out
Oliver Darcy writes:
"In the spring, many Americans listened to public health officials and, frankly, medical analysts on the cable news, and looked for the first available coronavirus vaccine. For millions, that was the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But Since then, those vaccinated with J&J have been left unsure of what to do amid rising delta and the potential for decreased vaccine efficacy.
In the midst of all the talk about a third dose for those who received the mRNA vaccines, little debate has been devoted to what these people should do. It is important that news organizations treat this not as a side issue, but rather as a significant one given the significant number of people received that vaccine. Journalists should represent those vaccinated with J&J who want answers. Government officials should be pressured on this. At a minimum, they should be asked the following: When will the government have guidance for those vaccinated with J&J? This month? Next month? October? November? People deserve an answer ... "
Johnson & Johnson's Coronavirus Vaccine Benefits Still Outweigh Risks, CDC Data Shows
"Finding a new and tolerable way to live with this virus"
That's what this is all about - mask fights, vaccination frustration, focus on ventilation, and so on - ultimately.
"The coronavirus is not something we can avoid forever; we have to prepare for the possibility of all of us being exposed in one way or another," Sarah Zhang wrote in
The Atlantic.
(To back up your point, I suppose I have already been exposed).
"With the flu, we as a society generally agree on the risk that we are willing to tolerate," wrote Zhang. "With covid-19, we still disagree."
The transition to "endemic" covid is psychological in nature.
Phrases like "tested positive" and "case count" have to take on a different meaning, especially among those vaccinated.
Labor obstacles could change the minds of the unvaccinated
"When everyone has some immunity, a covid-19 diagnosis becomes as routine as a strep or flu diagnosis - not good news, but not a particular reason for fear, worry or embarrassment. That means unlearning a year of messages, "he said.
The big conclusion from Zhang's article: "Endemic covid-19 means finding a new and tolerable way to live with this virus. It will feel strange for a while and then not. It will be normal."
Covid-19
