"We're seeing a lot of outbreaks," said Mississippi health officer Thomas Dobbs, MD, recently. "We're seeing a lot of outbreaks in youth. We're seeing a lot of outbreaks in summer activities. We're also seeing a lot of outbreaks in nursing homes, where we have our most vulnerable people."
"We've seen almost an entire takeover in the Delta variant," said Dobbs. The state, which has a low vaccination rate, is advising the elderly to continue to avoid crowds until July 26.
The U.S. population is just a hair shy of 48% fully vaccinated, but the under-vaccination in several states is putting the nation at risk of more grief now that the Delta variation is taking over from the strain we battled last year.
"I'm concerned as this variant becomes more dominant, those select areas of the country that have a very low level of vaccination, like 30% or so, you're going to start seeing mini-surges that are localized to certain regions," Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday.
On Friday, Arkansas reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases for the third straight day on Friday. The state's vaccination rate hovers just under 35%.
Pfizer is working on a booster shot for those who are already fully vaccinated. In the meantime, "It looks like the two doses of the current vaccine are pretty robust against the Delta variant," said Dr. Peter Hotez, of Texas Children's Hospital, on Friday. "So yes, we'll need a booster, but [there's] nothing to worry about right now in terms of vaccination."
Isn't it pretty to think so? But in April, an outdoor wedding outside Houston with 92 guests -- all of whom had to be fully vaccinated to attend -- led to three people coming down with the Delta variation. One guest died. He had come from India, where he had been vaccinated with an alternative drug called Covaxin, and where the Delta variation was first identified.
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Do you have friends and relatives who still resist getting vaccinated? How have you tried to convince them to go? Have any of your vaccine resistors had close friends or relatives who have gotten sick? What else might convince people to go out and get their two shots?
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/562392-arkansas-reports-more-than-1000-covid-19-cases-for-third-straight-day
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/10/health/us-coronavirus-saturday/index.html
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