Health
Delta Variant Surge May Make Unvaccinated Americans Less Likely To Get The Shot, Poll Finds – Forbes
Topline
Public health officials have encouraged Americans to get vaccinated to protect themselves against the highly transmissible Delta variant now surging in the U.S.—but a new Harris poll finds the variant and misplaced concerns over Covid-19 vaccines’ efficacy against it have made a majority of unvaccinated Americans instead question whether they should get the shot.
Key Facts
The Harris poll, conducted July 9-11 among 2,003 U.S. adults, found 62% of unvaccinated respondents believe “the Delta variant makes me second guess whether I should even get vaccinated.”
Those fears appear to be driven by concerns over how well Covid-19 vaccines protect against the variant—even though all three approved vaccines are broadly effective against the Delta strain—and 51% of vaccinated respondents said the variant makes them question the efficacy of their vaccine.
A majority of total respondents (65%) believe vaccination rates will slow down in light of a recent Israeli study, which suggested the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has a much lower degree of protection against infection and symptomatic illness than other studies had.
The poll found unvaccinated Americans are less worried about the variant overall than their vaccinated peers: 53% of unvaccinated respondents said people are “overreacting” about the variant as compared with 40% of those who have received the shot.
Unvaccinated Americans were also more likely to say the Delta variant is no more dangerous than other strains of the coronavirus, with 53% believing that as compared with 42% of vaccinated respondents.
The variant has not made most vaccinated Americans regret their decision to get the shot, with only 33% of vaccinated respondents saying the Delta variant “makes me second guess getting vaccinated in the first place.”
Key Background
Studies indicate the Delta variant is at least moderately resistant to all Covid-19 vaccines in use across the U.S., with a significant drop in protection for those who have had only received one shot. For fully vaccinated people this drop is more modest, though still notable, and there is not yet scientific consensus on an exact figure. Data from Israel’s health ministry noted a particularly dramatic drop in the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which the country has used widely. It found the shot to be just 64% effective at preventing infection and symptomatic illness caused by Delta, down from previous estimates of nearly 90%. The study did not, however, take the steps needed to rule out other explanations for higher case rates among vaccinated people and cannot be taken as conclusive. Though protection against mild illness and infection from Delta may be reduced, the vaccines are still highly effective at their primary task: preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19.
Big Number
55.7%. That’s the percentage of the total U.S. population that’s received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country fell short of President Joe Biden’s goal of 70% of adults receiving at least a first dose by July 4 (67.8% have now been inoculated), and there are still 18 states where less than 50% of residents are even partially vaccinated.
What To Watch For
Over the course of around two months, the Delta variant has gone from causing practically no U.S. cases to being the country’s dominant virus strain, accounting for nearly 90% of cases in some areas. It is more infectious than the previous dominant strain—between 40-60%—though it is not yet clear whether it is capable of causing more serious illness. Covid-19 cases in the U.S. are now on the rise after declining in light of rising vaccinations, and public health officials have warned unvaccinated Americans and areas with lower vaccination rates are at particular risk of the variant’s spread. More states and localities are starting to reimpose restrictions or recommend people take increased caution as the variant gains steam, and the World Health Organization has encouraged even fully vaccinated people to wear masks and social distance. The CDC has maintained it will not change its mask guidance in light of the Delta variant, however, believing fully vaccinated people are still protected against Covid-19 and do not need to wear a mask indoors.
Tangent
Declining vaccine efficacy and a highly contagious variant has prompted countries around the world to consider ways of elevating waning immunity against the coronavirus. Some, including Vietnam and Thailand, are mixing shots made with different technologies in the hopes of provoking a stronger immune response. Others, such as Israel, are administering a third vaccine shot to immunocompromised individuals as a booster. Though manufacturers are working on booster shots for fully vaccinated people in general—going so far as to publicly urge U.S. regulators to authorize them—senior public health officials say there is no data to support their use at the moment.
Further Reading
How Well Does The Pfizer Vaccine Protect Against The Delta Variant? Here’s What We Know (Forbes)
Here Are The Biggest Groups That Are Still Refusing The Covid-19 Vaccine, Poll Finds (Forbes)
Kids Among Most Vulnerable To Infectious Delta Variant — Here’s Why You Should Be More Worried (Forbes)
With the Delta Variant, Do I Need a Covid Booster Shot? (NYT)
How Vaccine Companies Are Battling Covid-19 Variants (Forbes)
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Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.
The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.
Article content
Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.
The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.
Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”
From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.
Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.
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Health
CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture
The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.
Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.
The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.
Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.
As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.
This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.
Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.
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Health
Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star
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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.
By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.
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