Infections but not illness rising amongst fully vaccinated

[AnxiousNoMore]

While results indicated the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were highly effective against COVID-19 infection (76%, 86%, respectively) and hospitalization (85%, 91.6%) the effectiveness against infection dropped by July to 42% and 76%, respectively.

[AnnieBrooke]

If and when they open boosters to people like me (not a cancer patient, not immunocompromised), I'll be there will bells on. I can't control anything else about the pandemic, but I can mask, social distance, and get a shot. Simple as that.

[AnxiousNoMore]

You're lucky you don't have a lot of dental if you can be always distanced. Maskless patients (and yesterday one of their driver's) are in nearby chairs or walk the halls of my dentist's office while I sit open mouthed in the chair.

[AnnieBrooke]

Talk to your dentist about what they have done with vaccinating their staff and themself, and also ask if they have beefed up their ventilation. My dentist is masked and gowned and wears eye protection, as does her staff, patients are nowhere near each other and are required to wait in their car until called in, and they have gone to one-way doors (in the back door and out the front door) so nobody passes in the hall. They also don't allow patients in who haven't been vaccinated unless they have had a test that day.

[Paxiled]

That's interesting.  My dentist only has two patients in there, no more, and they are not near one another.  Everyone must be masked and get a temperature check, which is probably useless but they do it.  Of course, once the dentist works on you, you do have to take off your mask.  My wife and I haven't had any problems and we've had all our regular appointments and some work done and no problems, so far.  As to those studies, I just read more about them in the newspaper and the results are kind of interesting and not being reported this way, but he Pfizer/BioNTech is down to 42% but Moderna is still running over 80% effective.  Don't know sample size or other variables.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and Cambridge-based biotech company nference posted the retrospective study in medrxiv this week, drawing from tens of thousands of PCR tests conducted at the Mayo Clinic and affiliated hospitals across nearly half a dozen states.
The study had its limitations; the sample size wasn’t representative of the U.S. population, and authors said other factors could've impacted the findings regarding reduced vaccine effectiveness (like "waning immunity over time, the dynamic landscape of SARS-CoV-2 variants, or other factors that were not considered here.")

Lots of people of all ages where I live are unmasked now, so are taking lots of chances they couldn't before, so I presume that throws off the numbers too if people would have had breakthrough earlier but weren't exposed. The BC researchers considered that 1/3 of the infected would be vaxxed and asymptomatic, however those people have mainly been vaxxed a shorter time than those in the US due to all Canada vax imported (and not made available for export in great amounts until recently) due to no domestic production.

[specialmom]

I am fully expecting announcements at some point that I'll need a booster for the vaccine I've already had and will be the first in line if they let me!

[AnxiousNoMore]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-just-42-25-effective-against-infection-amid-delta-spread-preprint-suggests/ar-AANf3G0?ocid=uxbndlbing

An epidemiologist has predicted that in Alberta Canada there will be 6k infections per day, 1/3 among fully vaccinated.
"The projections, which assume Alberta will continue with its current level of public-health restrictions moving forward, predict that by Sept. 15 Alberta will see approximately 4,000 daily cases of the novel coronavirus in unvaccinated people alone. That would be almost twice the level of spread seen at the height of Alberta’s third wave. The model suggests about 2,000 immunized people will also be infected with COVID-19 each day by mid-September, but that the majority of these cases would never be detected because they are asymptomatic."  said Caroline Colijn, a mathematics professor at Simon Fraser University who helped develop the projections with the B.C. COVID-19 Modelling Group. The independent group of academics has developed modelling throughout the pandemic.

[Paxiled]

I would only say, the evidence for this isn't in yet, but it's getting there.  We can't say the conditions everywhere are the same in the only two places that have done significant data collection about this, Israel and the UK.  What we do know is that the failure of so many to get vaccinated or mask has created this situation, but it still appears that only a tiny fraction of those who are fully vaccinated are having to be hospitalized or ending up in the ICU or dying.  It does show we will probably need a booster, but that was always predicted.  Everyone must get vaccinated, and right now.  Everyone must still mask and practice social distancing.  Dropping the latter was premature.  The other option is to just let the virus thin the herd.