Delta variant can infect families from exposed children, even vaccinated adults.

[ExFlyBoy5]

This hadn’t been clear to me at all until last week. I still didn’t get definitive info on viral load of vaccinated people infected with delta until today.

I think this is not understood by many. People are still surprised by multiple breakthrough infections in households due to delta and don’t realize the game has completely changed.

I second this. I have been paying pretty close attention and only in the last couple of days has the mention of the asymptomatic infections being a primary cause of the spread really been mentioned by the major media players.

I am very much considering getting a "booster shot" since there are plenty around here that aren't being used. The research sure seems to show that the booster is a significant help with the high viral loads of delta.

 

[tmm99]

I used to feel fairly safe among the fully vaccinated. Not so much anymore... I'm glad that I'm protected enough that I probably won't be hospitalized from COVID if I catch it. (Knock on wood!) I need to be more vigilant around the vulnerable and the unvaccinated...

I would like to get the booster shot sometime in the future, but there's no talk of that yet here in Canada. First, we need to get more people vaccinated and try to kick this thing.

 

[Luvdogs]

That somebody was me. As an update, DW never had anything but a head cold. But it lasted better part of 2 weeks. She’s basically over it all now. I never got it. Even though I was feeling well, I just tested again to be sure and received a negative result. We never distanced from each other. Hugs, kisses, same room most of the time. Guess I had a much better immune reaction to the vaccine than she did. But she must have great protection now with both vaccine and having recovered.

But dang it hurt to have to cancel that Europe trip at the last minute. Have to wait till next year to get another window.

I booked an Icelandic cruise on 6/27--which according to worldmeter was the lowest number of US cases. So I thought I was "safe." Was just waiting for my passport renewal. Got my passport and numbers of course are skyrocketing and I'm supposed to fly in a week. Staying inside except for quick grocery trips. Who knows if I'll happen to test positive. I can cancel my flight but I'll lose all my cruise $$$.

 

[MichaelB]

This hadn’t been clear to me at all until last week. I still didn’t get definitive info on viral load of vaccinated people infected with delta until today.

I think this is not understood by many. People are still surprised by multiple breakthrough infections in households due to delta and don’t realize the game has completely changed.

We haven’t seen anything on viral load, but data coming out of Israel first showed vaccinated people being infected with delta variant a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps my earlier statement was too strong. Infection risk for vaccinated people has been observed and under study for at least a month.

For sure it is not well understood, all the more reason to act with caution. In our area mask usage is picking back up after having fallen off, so people,see, to be responding more quickly than a year ago.

+1@ tmm99 for a booster. Hopefully it will be available soon.

 

[Aerides]

I am very much considering getting a "booster shot" since there are plenty around here that aren't being used. The research sure seems to show that the booster is a significant help with the high viral loads of delta.

I don't think you can just go get one. Not yet anyway.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I don't think you can just go get one. Not yet anyway.

Can't hurt to try, right?

 

[skyking1]

I just heard that Pfizer is releasing data to that effect soon.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/health/pfizer-third-dose-data-bn/index.html

 

[audreyh1]

We haven’t seen anything on viral load, but data coming out of Israel first showed vaccinated people being infected with delta variant a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps my earlier statement was too strong. Infection risk for vaccinated people has been observed and under study for at least a month.

For sure it is not well understood, all the more reason to act with caution. In our area mask usage is picking back up after having fallen off, so people,see, to be responding more quickly than a year ago.

That particular study was quite an outlier as it contradicted several other studies that compared the delta variant and vaccine effectiveness. The study data was not initially released, making analysis difficult. There were also several criticisms of the study and skepticism in the scientific community. I suppose the data must now be released as it's been recently called out for faulty statistical analysis.

So with just one study from Israel contradicting several others, data not initially available and confusion over exactly what they were measuring, I was waiting to see what the real story was. I think the story is still coming out.

 

[gattara]

Audreyh1, I don’t need to watch news reports to learn about the most current studies and analysis on the virus situation … I simply need to read your posts! You do a wonderful job keeping up with it and explaining in simple terms … I just want to thank you for your service in this regard. You have educated me many times.

 

[audreyh1]

Gosh!

I’m not the only one contributing here by any means. I’ve learned a lot from other posters on this topic.

My main sources are Apple News+ searching on topic coronavirus, and recently I joined Twitter to more directly follow several of the virologists and scientists I’ve listened to/read for the past many months.

 

[gattara]

My main sources are Apple News+ searching on topic coronavirus, and recently I joined Twitter to more directly follow several of the virologists and scientists I’ve listened to/read for the past many months.

Twitter - that is a great idea, didn’t think of that. Thanks!

 

[audreyh1]

Well, so many science/public health news stories these days quote Twitter posts I finally decided to go to the source……

 

[tb001]

Yes, the breakthrough infections have been known, but the part that the CDC director said on CDS News was that the new findings from a few days ago show that the fully vaccinated are spreading COVID-19 while they're asymptomatic because even though they're fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, their viral loads are still very high with delta.

Yes, this is new, though I’m not sure why this type of data wasn’t available earlier. It’s concerning enough that DH and I are re-masking because we have kids not yet eligible for vaccination.

 

[tb001]

Yep. Our kids start school - and this time - NO virtual option so our 9 year old will have to go to school unvaccinated. As a bonus - thus far the school district says "masks optional".

I"m sorry, I'm usually never a busybody but things like this make me think that we the human race are just too overrated.

Ugh, I’m sorry. I am so thankful our kids were both in school last year and in a place that was following safer guidelines. We had discussed relocating in ER. I’m glad we stayed here.

 

[Sunset]

..........
I am very much considering getting a "booster shot" since there are plenty around here that aren't being used. The research sure seems to show that the booster is a significant help with the high viral loads of delta.

By "booster shot" , I think you are meaning a 3rd shot as there aren't any real booster shots that I'm aware are available.

I've considered the same thing, they are begging for folks to get a shot, so they are available.
I just read the efficacy of the Pfizer shot drops from mid-90's to 84% in the first 4->6 months.
I think this contributes to why breakthroughs are happening

I am a little concerned about intense side effects from a 3rd shot, and there is the nagging moral issue of needing to lie to get it.

 

[Alan]

The UK is planning booster shots for the over 50s this winter, hopefully at the same time as the flu shot if the trials show no bad interactions. They have ordered another 100m Pfizer doses for the program. (Pfizer was the first vaccine to be rolled out here last December.)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57667987

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, said: "We want to be on the front foot for Covid-19 booster vaccination to keep the probability of loss of vaccine protection, due to waning immunity or variants, as low as possible - especially over the coming autumn and winter."

 

[Aerides]

I am a little concerned about intense side effects from a 3rd shot, and there is the nagging moral issue of needing to lie to get it.

You'd have to fake an identity no? I mean I know I had to give my ID and insurance info to get my first two. And neither of the 2-shot vaccines are approved beyond that...yet. So no doc or pharmacist can administer a third, as it would be not permitted for them legally.

So, not only would you be lying to get it, you'd be compromising a medical professional as well (even if unwittingly).

Things have been moving very quickly around the idea of boosters, so I'm sure that those in the vulnerable groups will get them first, when that's decided. And perhaps the rest of us won't be far behind, if we'd like, soon after, since the production and distribution issues were cleared up months ago.

 

[Montecfo]

Gottlieb predicts a decline in Delta cases

Dr. Scott Gottlieb predicts U.S. Delta variant cases will peak within 2-3 weeks.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/26/dr-scott-gottlieb-says-us-delta-driven-covid-spike-could-peak-in-3-weeks-following-uk-pattern.html

 

[EastWest Gal]

I do not disagree that some kids can get sick and even die. They did with chicken pox and in car accidents. These are relatively remote risks, except the car accidents.



I wonder if having the kids mask around you would mitigate the risk more effectively?

More than 4 million children have been infected with COVID. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported that over 38,600 children were diagnosed with COVID in the last week. CNN reported that Arkansas Children’s Hospital had 24 children in the hospital with COVID.

I took care of children who were deathly ill with chicken pox, before the vaccine, and before acyclovir. According to the CDC, slightly more than 400 children have died from COVID-19. That’s 4 times the death numbers associated with chicken pox.

Masking helps. If all parties mask, it helps more.

 

[harllee]

Regarding the third booster shot. DH is immune compromised so he is very eager to get the 3rd shot. He is on an online forum for people with his medical condition and some people on that forum have already been able to get the third booster shot. They shop around to find a pharmacy where they do not check records too closely and get the third shot. None of the people on his forum have had any severe side effects. DH has not tried to sneak around and get the third shot yet but if things get much worse he said he may try it.

 

[Alan]

Regarding the third booster shot. DH is immune compromised so he is very eager to get the 3rd shot. He is on an online forum for people with his medical condition and some people on that forum have already been able to get the third booster shot. They shop around to find a pharmacy where they do not check records too closely and get the third shot. None of the people on his forum have had any severe side effects. DH has not tried to sneak around and get the third shot yet but if things get much worse he said he may try it.

In the trial my wife and I are in they are mixing Moderna and Pfizer as well as AZ and Moderna. The earlier trial whose results are now published mixed AZ and Pfizer. There were no serious side effects with the AZ and Pfizer mixing and if there had been any serious side effects mixing Moderna and Pfizer they would have released some early data to that effect. We are now 4 months into the trial and with the much earlier trial, because there were some side effects worse than having two doses of the same vaccine, they did release that data very early on. (The side effects were still minor)

 

[ERD50]

My friend's (fully vaccinated) grandson had an injury recently and his Dad took him to the hospital. Hospital did routine Covid tests. ....

Wow, it is surprising to me to hear of this many breakthrough infections (4) in such a scenario. Also amazing - if the child had not been injured, it sounds like none of these folks would have known they tested positive.

I'm not sure what we can make of that. What if we randomly tested for the seasonal flu - how many would test positive w/o symptoms? There probably would be many stories like that.

DW worked in a school, lots of contacts with kids, she hates needles, and despite my pleadings rarely ever got the flu shot, and she never got the flu (that we are aware of) - but I would not draw any conclusions from that. I've convinced her to get the Shingles vaccine, and the COVID vaccine.

At least twice, our DD was diagnosed with Strep Throat during a routine check-up. No symptoms. So that happens as well.

-ERD50

 

[Another Reader]

More than 4 million children have been infected with COVID. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported that over 38,600 children were diagnosed with COVID in the last week. CNN reported that Arkansas Children’s Hospital had 24 children in the hospital with COVID.

I took care of children who were deathly ill with chicken pox, before the vaccine, and before acyclovir. According to the CDC, slightly more than 400 children have died from COVID-19. That’s 4 times the death numbers associated with chicken pox.

Masking helps. If all parties mask, it helps more.

Here's a visual reminder of the damage neuro Covid can cause in children. This is an exercise for measuring function in elderly Alzheimer's patients, drawn by an 11 year old long Covid patient. The instruction was to draw 11:50. What does her future hold?

Source is her mother's post on Twitter.

 

[teetee]

Fresh review from Nature for those who think the lock-and-key binding between viral glycan and the human cell membrane is not the whole story (spoiler alert: you are right):

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02039-y

 

[anethum]

I read some interesting statistics regarding breakthrough cases among the Washington, DC, population. More than 375,000 people in DC are fully vaccinated. There are 200 known breakthrough cases among them.

The following quotes come from a Washington Post article, which is probably behind a paywall:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...2954a6-eaf6-11eb-8950-d73b3e93ff7f_story.html

"Of the 200 breakthrough cases, 57 percent had symptoms, 28.5 percent were asymptomatic. (For 14.5 percent, symptom status was not known.) Thirteen people were hospitalized with covid-19, or 6.5 percent of the breakthrough cases."

"Just 0.05 percent of the people who were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine tested positive, compared with 0.04 percent of those who received the Moderna vaccine and 0.12 percent of those who got the Johnson & Johnson shot."

Presumably there are more asymptomatic cases who were not tested. I'm curious what the testing circumstances were among the asymptomatic folks. There was one detail in the article which sounds dubious. A DC Dept. of Health official said that only 1% of the samples in DC were the Delta variant. It's 83% countrywide. According to CDC data, the mid-Atlantic region has a lower incidence of the Delta variant, but it's still around 66% of covid cases.

There were 4 deaths among the breakthrough cases, and all 4 had "significant medical histories".

I tried unsuccessfully to find the DC government page which has these data.