The AP Interview: US 'vulnerable' to COVID without new shots

[riversedge]

Source: AP




By ZEKE MILLER 40 minutes ago


WASHINGTON (AP) — White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha issued a dire warning Thursday that the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments.

In an Associated Press interview, Jha said Americans’ immune protection from the virus is waning, the virus is adapting to be more contagious and booster doses for most people will be necessary — with the potential for enhanced protection from a new generation of shots.

His warning came as the White House said there could be up to 100 million infections from the virus later this year — and as President Joe Biden somberly ordered flags to half-staff to mark 1 million deaths.

“As we get to the fall, we are all going to have a lot more vulnerability to a virus that has a lot more immune escape than even it does today and certainly than it did six months ago,” Jha said. “That leaves a lot of us vulnerable.”

Jha predicted that the next generation of vaccines, which are likely to be targeted at the currently prevailing omicron strain, “are going to provide a much, much higher degree of protection against the virus that we will encounter in the fall and winter.” But he warned that the U.S. is at risk of losing its place in line to other countries if Congress doesn’t act in the next several weeks.


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Jha said there is “no viable alternative path” right now than to have the U.S. government take the lead in securing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, rather than allowing the commercial market deal with procurement as with other medical treatments. He cited the global mismatch between supply and demand. ...............................................

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-congress-a05afb7ebfa102992c354c99619fa944

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It is not over folks Stay vigilant.






White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, speaks to The Associated Press, Thursday, May 12, 2022 on the White House complex in Washington. Speaking to the Associated Press, Jha said Americans' immune protection from the virus is waning and the virus is adapting to be more contagious, and that booster doses for most people will be necessary — with the potential for enhanced protection from a new generation of shots. (AP Photo/Nathan Elgren)

[SoCalDavidS]

1. Nobody Cares Anymore

Less than 50% have received ONE Booster shot.

Mark my words, Congress Won't act in the next few weeks. They'll wait until the situation completely falls apart again, and then MAYBE they'll do something.

We deserve what we get.

[Mister Ed]

8. Gloom! Doom! Defeat and Despair!

And the hell of it is, you may be right.

[keep_left]

11. Isn't it more like a third? Not saying that figure is anything to write home about.

But I thought I saw a figure here that 33% of the eligible population hadn't finished their initial doses (in other words, they only received one dose out of two). Which might as well be zero at this point, since anyone who's up to date has typically had two boosters, with the exception of those who got the one-dose J&J.

Maybe I'm interpreting the same figure in a different way. It sure is terrible, no doubt about it. But the way I read it, 67% of the population had received one dose. Of course, that includes some number--not a huge number, but significant--who received the one-dose J&J. So that skews that figure somewhat (it's not quite as terrible as it looks).

[SoCalDavidS]

12. The 50% Figure Are People Who Got The 2 Shots (Or 1 J&J), But Never Got Boosted

Which like you say, might as well be zero at this point, since the vaccine does not last forever.

[keep_left]

13. I edited my post a little while you were responding...

...we're pretty much in agreement, though.

[HUAJIAO]

2. Which side of the aisle is holding things up??

And which house?

[moonshinegnomie]

3. ive had 1 booster

ive been waiting for booster #2 until we start to get a serious uptick in cases. ill get it but on the fence as to timing since we know protection fades as time goes by

[brewens]

9. I was first in line for the second booster. I'll get another even if I have to melt it in a spoon

and fire it up myself! I'm still taking most precautions too.

[oldsoftie]

20. Same here. The "drop" in effectiveness after the 1st boost isn't precipitous quickly.

It takes a good bit of time to wane a large amount. Sometimes the headline writers want the clicks & sensationalize it. Going from 90% effectiveness to 70% isn't a massive drop. For me personally, I finished the initial dose 4/1/21. I got my booster 3/22. I seriously doubt, with what we know today, that I'm getting another shot before fall at the earliest. I donated blood at the end of March & the Red Cross said I have the Reactive+ antibodies. So at SOME point I've had covid. According to the numbers, now I'm most protected; having both vaccine & original antibodies.

HOWEVER, anyone who is immunocompromised should certainly keep up with the numbers & decide accordingly.

[TheRealNorth]

4. I was thinking of waiting until September for my 2nd booster (shot #4)

Since I am.under 50, but now I am rethinking that.

[Rebl2]

6. May not

be free by then.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I literally got my 2nd Moderna booster this morning

I wanted to time that 2nd one to about 6 months after the first one (that I had last November).

So far so good - not even getting any injection site pain at all yet (the last booster had that as my only symptom and that came fairly soon after the shot).

[Blues Heron]

7. 146,000 new cases just posted to the CDC- 7 day avg. 84,000/day

Up up up it goes, where it stops nobody knows...

[wnylib]

19. 11 new hospitalizations in my area

since the omicron variants reached us. 7 day average infection rate at 11%.

I got the second booster as soon as it was available because I feared that it would run out or not be covered if I waited too long, and because I knew the pattern of infection spikes in my area from previous variants. Wanted to be fully reboosted when the spike hit us. It's here so I'm glad I didn't wait.

[roamer65]

10. I'll take the 5th jab in October if it's offered.

[IronLionZion]

14. Sounds like he's talking to Congress to pay for it

rather than telling individual people what we have to do about it.

[SergeStorms]

15. I've had four shots so far....

and I'll keep getting them as needed.

I wear a mask whenever I'm in a public place, because I know no one is taking precautions anymore. Morons. This shit will never end because of human stupidity.

[oldsoftie]

22. It will never end till IT dies out. Look at China; TOTAL control doesnt even stop it.

Lockdowns are now a thing of the past. When you look at the total shutdowns in china it shows that those simply don't work. The lockdown ends & covid shows right back up. And people in most other countries are done with it.
Vaccines are the main precaution. Those with none are going to be in trouble.

[NullTuples]

16. Why does the media say "Congress" when it's really "Republicans"?

And also, the previous President invoked emergency powers; think what someone who is really driven to do good could accomplish.

[DanieRains]

17. Got 2nd Booster Yesterday Stay Safe Folks

This old dude wants all the odds in my favor as possible.

Got vaccine asap.

Got booster asap.

Got 2nd booster asap.

I'm not a rocket surgeon, but this isn't that difficult....

[OneCrazyDiamond]

18. Might be a good idea to buy Pfizer and Maderna stock.

[truthisfreedom]

21. More shots please!

Four wasn’t enough! I’m KN95ing it but I need a new booster Pfizer people!

[oldsoftie]

23. There are studies showing CONSTANT boosters are not necessarily a good thing.

You have to give your immune system TIME to build its "memory", so to speak. Getting booster after booster as soon as possible may actually make you LESS protected.
There are plenty of reliable Stories out there about this. Please read up before getting shot #4 just 2 months after shot #3

[RobinA]

24. This Worries Me

I got my first vax the third day they were available (healthcare worker) and got my second booster a month ago because I am travelling to Europe in two weeks. I probably would have waited on the second booster if it weren't for the travel. I don't know if or when I'll get another. I have read that due to this "memory" the shots aren't becoming nearly as ineffective as is often stated. Who knows what is right. I do find it interesting that Scandinavia, where I will be going, has dropped all restrictions since March at the latest and COVID has continued to drop in those countries.

[NH Ethylene]

26. I'm holding off on the second booster.

I'd rather get one that has a new formula geared toward Omicron if it makes it out soon enough.

[oldsoftie]

28. I agree. And that would likely be several months after the 3rd shot.

But if I'm sitting at 70% effectiveness I'm just not going to rush out & get yet another shot just to get back to the 90s. I just don't think its a good idea and some of these studies show it. Along with the opinions of some mainstream scientists.

[Evolve Dammit]

25. It's all around us, most teachers in kids school, neighbors all have it...Dayum. I figured this

happen when everybody acted like it was over. I have to go get some groceries. Be interesting what percentage is masked up. Schools went back to masking yesterday in our area.

[Javaman]

27. in summation: there is a chunk of the US population that are basically fearless morons. nt