"Breakthrough" infections of the fully vaccinated

C.D.C Director Rochelle P. Walensky

Those of us who are fully vaccinated can no longer assume we can't be infected with the virus. 

We probably won't get very sick if we do get infected, but apparently we can still infect others! 

In today's NY Times:

To the Editor:

Vaccine skepticism isn’t our only problem. We need to recognize that so-called breakthrough infections are almost certainly more widespread than we are willing to let people believe. We talk about reaching herd immunity, and vaccination is the more ideal way (rather than letting everyone get infected).

But part of that theory assumes to a great degree that people who are vaccinated serve as a blockade in the spread of the infection. In other words, the more people who are vaccinated, the less likely it is for an unvaccinated person to come into contact with a source of infection.

However, breakthrough infections — if common — throw that theory out the window. 

The fact that we are finding breakthrough infections largely by circumstantial testing strongly suggests we would find far more if we were aggressively testing, which we are no longer doing, particularly in the vaccinated.

So — and most don’t want to hear this — short of the vaccine hesitant getting vaccinated (which they should), the best way to limit the potential breakthrough infections that could threaten them remains universal masking. It’s that simple.

Craig H. Kliger

San Francisco

The writer is a health policy executive.

Later (August 5): From New Guidance for the vaccinated

While new research shows vaccinated people can become infected and carry high levels of the coronavirus, it’s important to remember that those cases are rare, and it’s primarily the unvaccinated who get infected and spread the virus....

See also Will things ever return to normal? It doesn't look that way.

Another old guy killed riding a bike

Former senator Mike Enzi dies after bike accident

Former senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), the onetime chairman of two Senate panels crucial to domestic policy, died Monday after suffering serious injuries in a bicycle accident. He was 77....

Rob's comment:

According to a 2015 Chronicle story about a UC study, Enzi's death is part of a trend: Study: Injury rates for older cyclists skyrocket over past 15 years.

Other fatal cycling "collisions" in San Diego.

A Chronicle columnist stopped riding his bike in San Francisco because he realized that sooner or later he was "going down."

This phenomenon prompted me to create a new topic label: Old Farts on Bikes.

The Centers for Disease Control on cycling:

Bicycle trips account for only 1% of all trips in the United States. However, bicyclists face a higher risk of crash related injury and death than occupants in motor vehicles....In 2015 in the United States, over 1,000 bicyclists died and there were almost 467,000 bicycle-related injuries.

The CDC on the old fart issue:

Adults aged 50 to 59 years have the highest bicycle death rates and Males die 6 times more often and are injured 4 times more often on bicycles than females.

Even more disturbing is the danger children face while cycling:

Children (5-14 years) and adolescents (15-19 years) have the highest rates of nonfatal bicycle-related injuries, accounting for more than one-third of all bicycle-related injuries seen in U.S. emergency departments.

Here in Progressive Land, City Hall has long encouraged parents to get their children on bikes.

See also Bikes and "the illusion of safety" and Vision Zero hits the wall.

The Power of the Fed (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

Big losses ahead for markets? Jeremy Grantham’s terrifying new forecasts:

If you have a 401(k) and you’re of a nervous disposition, you probably don’t want to look at the chart above.

Even by the standards of GMO, the super-cautious money management firm in Boston best known for its famous co-founder, Jeremy Grantham, it’s terrifying.

It shows about the worst medium-term forecasts on record for pretty much all the assets most of us own in our retirement accounts....