Now, look, was it that hard?
Three days ago, he warned that he would not advise vaccinated people to go out to eat or go to the movies, not because it is dangerous for them, but because it is potentially dangerous for the majority of the population who have not yet been vaccinated and with who they will mix in the public spaces. Vaccines * can * still spread the virus, even if they spread it less than a non-vaccinated person.
Certainly, however, in the name of people who have done their duty by jab postponing the misery of pandemic isolation, we can encourage those who have been vaccinated to come along with others who have been immunized. Okay, yes, be careful with strangers, because they may still be vulnerable to infections, but if you know that all participants in an upcoming social engagement have been vaccinated, then why should the engagement not continue?
Fauci agreed in an interview with CNN last night. Why would not it? “Although it is not supported by data,” he said of people who have been safely vaccinated, “it is backed by common sense.” This is true, and also (finally!) The right message to give Americans who are on the fence to get their shots a behavioral incentive to jump. Want to have a dinner party with eight to ten good friends? No problem. You know everything you need to do.
Jump here after 5:30 from the clip and watch:
Dr. Anthony Fauci calls on all Americans to be vaccinated as soon as it is their turn, and promises that it will “benefit socially and personally, and from a public health point of view.” https://t.co/4hzSawki9u pic.twitter.com/FAmROWkwPm
– CNN (@CNN) 26 February 2021
The key piece via the Daily Wire:
“I have been vaccinated, my wife has been vaccinated, my daughters have been vaccinated,” he continued. ‘Before they were vaccinated, they would have to be quarantined for a while, tested, wear a mask if they wanted to visit you. What we are saying now, although it is not supported by data, it is supported by common sense that if you have two people who have been vaccinated and they want to get together, whether they are family members or friends you know, you can be vaccinated if individual people start getting, although the risk is not zero. If you have both parties vaccinated, the risk becomes very low. So we’re going to see people say, ‘Hey, the more people are vaccinated, the more I can have dinner with my family member.’ ‘
It sounds suspicious as Fauci says: “Whatever the CDC finally formally recommends, we know that vaccinated people are going to gather and we know it’s safe.” So there is your unofficial guidance. The experts do not even reduce the vaccine.
Coincidentally, he said that within about 12 hours after the University of Cambridge released new data, showing that even one dose of Pfizer’s vaccine significantly reduced the risk of transmission. We have already had evidence from Israel that a single dose dramatically reduces the chance of symptomatic diseases, but the Cambridge data suggest that it also reduces the chance of an even asymptomatic infection:
The findings from Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge indicate 75 per cent protection against Covid-19.
The results also indicate a fourfold decrease in the risk of asymptomatic Covid infection among healthcare workers vaccinated for more than 12 days. This suggests that the first dose will significantly reduce the spread of the virus.
Dr Mike Weekes, a specialist in infectious diseases at Cambridge University’s Department of Medicine, who co-led the study, described the findings as ‘good news’.
He said: ‘The Pfizer vaccine not only provides protection against SARS-CoV-2, but also also helps prevent infection, and reduces the possibility of the virus being transmitted to others. ”
This is what common sense Fauci means to get people vaccinated with each other. If everyone is mostly protected not only from diseases but also from infections, the benefits of mental well-being that they can resume a degree of normality outweigh the risk of transmission of the encounter.
It’s worth checking out the full interview if you have time, because he would like to answer the point that people should not tolerate the Cadillac vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) as the only one available to Lincoln (Johnson & Johnson) is not. Pfizer and Moderna appear to be slightly more effective than J&J, but in the end, nothing is more effective at preventing infections than herd immunity. The faster we get there, the more lives are saved, which means you need to get a vaccine in as many people as possible as soon as possible, the optimal strategy is to limit the risk of each individual, even if all the vaccines are not so strong not. A public health researcher has built a computer model to test the theory and is confident about it:
Consider an example: Say that the United States was able to get one million people fully vaccinated per day, with a vaccine with 90 percent efficacy (about what has happened so far) and continued until 60 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. At this rate, it will take about six and a half months.
By comparison, consider a scenario where people are vaccinated at a faster rate of 1.5 million per day, with a lower effectiveness of about 70 percent until 60 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. At this faster rate, it will take about four months.
We found that this faster scenario with the vaccine with lower efficacy could end up averaging more than 1.38 million more cases, more than 51,000 more hospitalizations and more than 6,000 deaths than the scenario with a slower vaccination and higher efficacy. It emphasizes the importance of getting as many of the population vaccinated as possible as soon as possible to slow down the spread of the virus.
Anyone who pulls out a Cadillac because he thinks a Lincoln is not quite in the same league is unnecessarily endangering themselves and those around them. The best protection we all have, even against some variants that have yet to develop, is to shut down all transmission vectors as quickly as possible and deny the virus additional opportunities to mutate. Every new vaccine that comes on the market makes it easier. It is a coincidence that the FDA’s outside advisory panel is meeting this afternoon to hopefully give J&J one last thumbs up before the agency is approved this weekend.
By the way, notice what Fauci says at one point about the Johnson & Johnson single-dose shot. This * may eventually become a double dose, especially if a new variant is launched, as one of the strategies to deal with a dangerous new species is to simply “carpet bomb” it with antibodies. Stay tuned.