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Second, the longer this virus continues, the extra variants we’re going to have. We don’t know precisely what varieties a variant, however for positive one issue is immunocompromised individuals who have the virus puttering round longer of their system—not for 17 days like me, however for months. The physique can’t clear the virus fully. You’ve created ultimate circumstances for reassortment, recombination.
One other subject is that we don’t have a great deal with on numbers as a result of we by no means acquired testing, proper?
What if I stated to you that antigens, these speedy at-home checks all of us use now, had been unhealthy for our public well being? It’s silly that antigen checks had been authorized with out the requirement to report optimistic circumstances.
How would you implement that?
By way of expertise. It’s not that onerous to construct the expertise to do computerized reporting. There’s now a category of at-home molecular tests that may already try this. They’re nearly pretty much as good as PCR checks.
Aren’t these dearer?
The one factor that makes them costly is the dearth of scale. Proper now we are able to get antigen checks for as little as $5. When you’re doing a billion molecular checks, you’ll be able to deliver the associated fee down as effectively.
When these molecular checks go to the FDA for approval, they are saying that every one positives ought to be reported. That makes them significantly better than antigen checks, that are nice on the again finish of the illness if you’re attempting to find out for those who’re nonetheless infectious. However they’re horrible for the primary two days, when the speed of false negatives is so excessive. Between the false negatives and the truth that they don’t report into public well being, antigen checks are harmful to the general public well being.
Would you ban them?
I’d regulate them.
On to vaccines. The one we have now works in opposition to the unique model of Covid, which nobody will get any extra. So why didn’t we have now a “warp velocity” effort for a specific vaccine directed towards the newer variants?
We type of did. Each Pfizer and Moderna are about to launch vaccines particular for Omicron. You appear to be asking why we don’t have a warp velocity for BA.5? We name that course of whack-a-mole.
So the brand new vaccine will do a greater job defending us from getting it?
I hope so. You’ll have extra immunity to Omicron. However BA.5 itself doesn’t essentially honor a earlier an infection with Omicron. The vaccine will, although, higher forestall you from being hospitalized or dying. However we should always begin speaking about BA.2.75. It appears to be the subsequent automobile within the prepare. And it’s approaching actually rapidly.
We’re already on to the subsequent one?
It’s already been detected in a number of states. We’re simply getting extra variants.
There’s an issue over whether or not people who find themselves due for a booster ought to take it now or maintain off till this new vaccine exhibits up within the fall.
I’m very cautious. I don’t need anyone to get it within the subsequent two or three months earlier than you may get the brand new vaccine. [Note: White House officials have said that anyone immunocompromised or over the age of 50 should get a second booster if they haven’t done so already.]
When you went again to our first dialog, in March 2020, it appeared unlikely we’d be speaking two and half years later and nonetheless going through large numbers.
Why are you stunned? I wrote an article referred to as “The Forever Virus.”
Will we ever get again to Earlier than Instances? Once we don’t must watch out and we are able to eat indoors and go to a Broadway present with out a masks and really feel secure?
That’s two separate questions. Will we ever get to a degree the place there’ll be no Covid? No. There’ll all the time be Covid.
Will we ever get to a degree the place we go to a Broadway present with out a masks? Sure. We’ve in all probability had coronaviruses infect the world in a pandemic-like method earlier than. After which the virus went into the retirement dwelling for coronaviruses, and we referred to as it a “chilly virus.” And so they sort of rotate. That’s why you may get two or three colds a yr. They really feel the identical to you, however they’re completely different viruses. And that’s as a result of the immunity that they offer you is just good for a couple of yr or two.
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