Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston, Yarmouth, Provincetown: home, schools, shop)

[rach5]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

You know, it would have been so easy for the federal govt to have put some teeth behind the May 14 guidance, by way of a method that could be used by businesses to ensure compliance. Israel did it first, NY did it, CA did it, and now France is requiring it. What? A QR code, or vaccine passport. Simple--scan it at the door to gain admission unmasked. No vax, you must mask.

By leaving it up to the honor system, we've basically let unvaccinated people be even more careless than before. What's happening now could have been foreseen. I don't blame the CDC, it's not their job to ensure compliance.

As I understand it, the CDC guidance of "no masks for the vaccinated" without further qualifications came as a complete surprise to governors (and possibly the federal government), as well as businesses, of course. It's very hard to dial back on something like that (and kudos to CA et al for doing it!).

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Here is a summary from a recent paper published in The Lancet "SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC in Scotland: demographics, risk of hospital admission, and vaccine effectiveness", June 14, 2021

"In summary, we show that the Delta [variant of concern] VOC in Scotland was found mainly in younger, more affluent groups. Risk of COVID-19 hospital admission was approximately doubled in those with the Delta VOC when compared to the Alpha VOC, with risk of admission particularly increased in those with five or more relevant comorbidities. Both the Oxford–AstraZeneca and Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines were effective in reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalisation in people with the Delta VOC, but these effects on infection appeared to be diminished when compared to those with the Alpha VOC."

See:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...358-1/fulltext

Noting this line: "...with risk of admission particularly increased in those with five or more relevant comorbidities."

The majority of articles I've read regarding the Delta variant simply state 'high risk', but papers like this do a much better job of qualify what 'high risk' truly means; i.e., it's not necessarily an otherwise healthy 70yr with two rounds of mRNA.

[rach5]

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local...uster/2435402/
Is this true? All Boston residents who have been in Provincetown since July 1 are asked to isolate for five days and until they get a negative test, regardless of vaccination status?

[ben young]

Originally Posted by rach5

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local...uster/2435402/
Is this true? All Boston residents who have been in Provincetown since July 1 are asked to isolate for five days and until they get a negative test, regardless of vaccination status?

Ha good luck with that. ..Boss I cant come in to work today I spent the weekend in P-town.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by ben young

Ha good luck with that. ..Boss I cant come in to work today I spent the weekend in P-town.

Well it's better than spreading covid around the office isn't it?

More reasons to work from home lol.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by ben young

Ha good luck with that. ..Boss I cant come in to work today I spent the weekend in P-town.

It's been reported that the delta variant can be transmitted from just briefly walking by an infected person when indoors (e.g. at a mall).

Not a joking matter.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by rach5

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local...uster/2435402/
Is this true? All Boston residents who have been in Provincetown since July 1 are asked to isolate for five days and until they get a negative test, regardless of vaccination status?

Channel 10 in Providence is reporting that the vast majority of cases were people who were fully vaccinated.

Boston asks Provincetown visitors to isolate, get virus test

Boston health officials on Tuesday urged recent visitors to Provincetown to self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 after a cluster of cases was linked to the popular Cape Cod tourist town.

At least 35 cases of COVID-19 in Boston have been traced to Provincetown, with the vast majority of cases involving people who were fully vaccinated, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by redplum33

It's been reported that the delta variant can be transmitted from just briefly walking by an infected person when indoors (e.g. at a mall).

Not a joking matter.

Yes, I saw that study from NSW (Australia). But keep in mind, Australia was only 5% vaxxed at the time. I don't buy the fleeing exposure model for a vaxxed person.

[msRB311]

So are we going to have another shut down ?

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by msRB311

So are we going to have another shut down ?

Hopefully not. Certainly if more people would go through the convenient vaccination process that's basically like running 2 errands, then the caseload, ICU load and death tally are a lot smaller and you don't need to use other public health methods that require daily efforts - vaccination is really the ideal solution. The problem at this point is of course vaccine hesitancy. They could also require people to wear masks but not put restrictions on the number of people in stores and restaurants for example - masks are another measure that doesn't require any "shutdown". If things get bad enough though, I expect that a shutdown is on the table alright. It's all very frustrating. We have a fine solution, but many Americans simply refuse to have anything to do with it. So, we're likely to have higher morbidity and mortality, and be subjected to more difficult methods of mitigation.