I read this after reading that California has lifted its stay at home order and curfew.
IMO, California should have waited considering the ease of the new variants ability to spread.
Everyday activities are more dangerous now that new Covid-19 variants are circulating, expert says
(CNN)Health officials are "extremely" worried about the new Covid-19 variants that have been detected in the US and what they could mean over the coming months, one expert said Monday night.
"We've seen what happens in other countries that have actually had coronavirus under relatively good control, then these variants took over and they had explosive spread of the virus, and then overwhelmed hospitals," emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Officials in Minnesota announced Monday they detected the P.1 variant of the virus in a traveler from Brazil. The variant is one of four being closely watched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and appears to be more easily transmissible. CDC officials have also said another variant -- called B.1.1.7 and first spotted in the UK -- has been detected in more than 20 states.
While the US seems to be heading in the right direction on infection rates -- with 42 states reporting downward trends -- that progress could be erased if variants take hold, Wen said. Preventing that will mean extra vigilance.
"If there is something more contagious among us, if we thought that going to the grocery store before was relatively safe, there's actually a higher likelihood of contracting coronavirus through those every day activities," she said.
"Wearing an even better mask, reducing the number of times that we have to go out shopping, or in indoor crowded settings, all of that will be helpful," Wen added.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC Monday wearing two masks is likely more effective in stopping the spread of the virus.
"If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective," he said.
The good news, Fauci told CNN in a separate interview Monday, is that current Covid-19 vaccines are likely to be effective against the new variants.
"The sobering news," he added, "(is) as you get more and more replication, you can get more and more of evolution of mutants, which means you always got to be a step ahead of it."
Moderna said Monday its vaccine created antibodies that neutralized Covid-19 variants first found in the UK and South Africa. There are concerns the vaccine may have a somewhat decreased efficacy against the strain first spotted in South Africa, and the company is working on a booster shot aimed at fighting it.
But as Covid-19 evolves, it will be important to prove "time and time again" that vaccines provide protection against new strains, Moderna president Dr. Stephen Hoge said during a panel Monday.
Article continued at
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html
IMO, California should have waited considering the ease of the new variants ability to spread.
Everyday activities are more dangerous now that new Covid-19 variants are circulating, expert says
(CNN)Health officials are "extremely" worried about the new Covid-19 variants that have been detected in the US and what they could mean over the coming months, one expert said Monday night.
"We've seen what happens in other countries that have actually had coronavirus under relatively good control, then these variants took over and they had explosive spread of the virus, and then overwhelmed hospitals," emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Officials in Minnesota announced Monday they detected the P.1 variant of the virus in a traveler from Brazil. The variant is one of four being closely watched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and appears to be more easily transmissible. CDC officials have also said another variant -- called B.1.1.7 and first spotted in the UK -- has been detected in more than 20 states.
While the US seems to be heading in the right direction on infection rates -- with 42 states reporting downward trends -- that progress could be erased if variants take hold, Wen said. Preventing that will mean extra vigilance.
"If there is something more contagious among us, if we thought that going to the grocery store before was relatively safe, there's actually a higher likelihood of contracting coronavirus through those every day activities," she said.
"Wearing an even better mask, reducing the number of times that we have to go out shopping, or in indoor crowded settings, all of that will be helpful," Wen added.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC Monday wearing two masks is likely more effective in stopping the spread of the virus.
"If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective," he said.
The good news, Fauci told CNN in a separate interview Monday, is that current Covid-19 vaccines are likely to be effective against the new variants.
"The sobering news," he added, "(is) as you get more and more replication, you can get more and more of evolution of mutants, which means you always got to be a step ahead of it."
Moderna said Monday its vaccine created antibodies that neutralized Covid-19 variants first found in the UK and South Africa. There are concerns the vaccine may have a somewhat decreased efficacy against the strain first spotted in South Africa, and the company is working on a booster shot aimed at fighting it.
But as Covid-19 evolves, it will be important to prove "time and time again" that vaccines provide protection against new strains, Moderna president Dr. Stephen Hoge said during a panel Monday.
Article continued at
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html
. I have continued to have workmen into the house when needed. As long as they stay masked, I think it’s fine. Safer then the grocery store for sure.