Scapegoat for social gatherings
With Thanksgiving on the horizon, politicians and public health officials have warned of gatherings between family and friends, citing them as the main drivers of new coronavirus infections. And they are right that you should minimize your risk this week.
However, data on infection suggests that the biggest causes of infection are not small gatherings but rather the usual culprits: long-term care facilities, food processing plants, prisons, restaurants and bars.
Why have social gatherings become such a popular destination for politicians? In part because they are the path of least resistance.
For some politicians, it is easier to point out the individual actions of individuals than to enact the politically-burdened public health rules that can actually make a difference, like closing businesses and requiring them to wear masks.
In some states, this separation leads to draconian guidelines that are not backed by science. Vermont, for example, has banned neighbors from meeting for a socially distant and masked walk, but allows them to dine in restaurants before 10 p.m. Minnesota has prevented people from various households from meeting indoors and outdoors, although evidence has consistently shown that outdoor events are relatively safe.
My colleague Apoorva Mandavilli, who covered this story for The Times, said the takeaway shouldn’t be that celebrating Thanksgiving is safe this year.
“What the story says is that social gatherings are not the main source of diffusion,” Apoorva said. “But we can also do our part, and right now that we are in a situation where the virus is everywhere, the safest way to stay home is.”
More good vaccine news
Drug maker AstraZeneca announced that early analysis of late-stage clinical trials showed that its coronavirus vaccine was effective in preventing Covid-19. The results suggest the world may have three effective vaccines soon after Pfizer and Moderna announced a positive result this month.
Scientists at AstraZeneca, which co-developed the vaccine with Oxford University, said there were no serious safety issues with its product – a reassuring sign after studies were briefly interrupted this fall when a participant developed a neurological condition.
Participants in the company’s study received one of two regimens: either half a dose followed by a full dose a month later, or two full doses one month apart. The researchers found that the half-dose regimen was 90 percent effective, while the double full-dose regimen was only 62 percent, which translates into an average effectiveness of 70 percent.
However, it can be difficult to compare how well AstraZeneca’s vaccine works against Pfizer and Moderna’s because the companies have taken different approaches to evaluation. Researchers for AstraZeneca counted infections by wiping participants weekly. That would most likely have resulted in more infections than the studies conducted by Moderna and Pfizer, which only tested people who experienced coronavirus symptoms.
One difference is striking: AstraZeneca’s vaccine costs around $ 4, a fraction of the price of the others, and the company is committed to making it available at cost worldwide by at least July.
Resurgences
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Nine States – Arizona, California, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Vermont – report more than twice as many new cases every day as two weeks ago. Officials warn that if people ignore warnings about travel and gatherings during the holidays, things will only get worse.
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in the new YorkGovernor Andrew Cuomo announced new restrictions and warned gloomily that the state was on its way to another virus resurgence.
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BulgariaAfter a strict lockdown was enforced in the spring and the spread of the virus was largely contained, an increase in infections has now been recorded, which is a burden on an already underfunded health system.
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Seoul is closing nightclubs and banning dining in restaurants until late at night South Korea tighten guidelines to combat a surge in infections.
Here is a summary of the restrictions in all 50 states.
What else are we pursuing
What you are doing
We are unable to travel safely to visit our four grown children on the West Coast or their grandma in Ohio for the holidays. One of the things we plan together is Plant a red amaryllis bulb indoors on Thanksgiving. (We sent them to every house.) We will watch them grow and bloom during these darkest months of the year.
– Malinda Bergamini Chapman, Ticonderoga, NY
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