# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428 "2021-01-01T08:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 90
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1814 "2021-07-23T18:02:55Z")
Louisiana’s still gong up, with a seven-day-average of new case reports that’s 3443 cases, the highest since Jan. 12, and only a little shy of their record high of 3756 on January 9. It’s also going sharply up in Mississippi Oklahoma Arkansas Nevada Hawaii with lesser, but still increasing trends in Texas Tennessee Kentucky Alabama Georgia Kansas North Carolina South Carolina Iowa Indiana Utah California Arizona Missouri Wyoming Oregon Washington Alaska Idaho Florida ought to be in there, too, from al accounts, but something’s messed up with the reporting on the Johns Hopkins site about Florida Most of the other states have rising numbers, too, but they’re not yet appreciable compared to the peaks observed at the beginning of the year. A lot of countries seem to have peaked and are going back down,. but some are still rising sharply Spain Iran France Mexico Thailand Kazakhstan ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1815 "2021-07-23T18:36:53Z")
New Zealand has decided that Oz is simply too untamed at the moment: > **[Asia Today: N Zealand suspends travel bubble with Australia](https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-health-travel-asia-australia-487b98ec9c98e6610324fad84ab25ff2)** > > WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand on Friday suspended its quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia for at least eight weeks due to a growing COVID-19 cluster in Sydney. New Zealand recently imposed quarantine restrictions on travelers... ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1816 "2021-07-23T18:47:25Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > New Zealand has decided that Oz is simply too untamed at the moment: Meanwhile, Canada has decided to open up to United States tourists. All they have to do is show that they have been fully vaccinated, presumably by showing something they printed off their computer the night before. What could possibly go wrong? Louisianna currently has a population adjusted 7 day average covid case rate **more than 250 times larger than Nova Scotia.** But no problem, right? Come on up! This is going to be a shit-show. ---
**Author:** ![Chatterbox1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@Chatterbox1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chatterbox1)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1817 "2021-07-23T18:57:18Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Louisianna currently has a population adjusted 7 day average covid case rate **more than 250 times larger than Nova Scotia.** But no problem, right? Come on up! Is there a lot of travel between Louisiana and Nova Scotia? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1818 "2021-07-23T19:09:39Z")
Well, this is just great: > **[AP-NORC poll: Most unvaccinated Americans don't want shots](https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-science-health-government-and-politics-coronavirus-pandemic-36ea18ee3a3397da7edd5b8249f0e477)** > > A new poll shows that most Americans who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 say they are unlikely to get the shots. > [@](#): > > Among American adults who have not yet received a vaccine, 35% say they probably will not, and 45% say they definitely will not, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 3% say they definitely will get the shots, though another 16% say they probably will. > > What’s more, 64% of unvaccinated Americans have little to no confidence the shots are effective against variants — including the delta variant that officials say is responsible for 83% of new cases in the U.S. — [despite evidence that they offer strong protection](https://apnews.com/article/europe-coronavirus-vaccine-health-coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-f7a991223769d8c98d3fc1d03968f560). In contrast, 86% of those who have already been vaccinated have at least some confidence that the vaccines will work. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1819 "2021-07-23T19:17:27Z")
The [vaccination rate](https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations) has been on a general downward slide since mid April, but now it seems to have leveled off: [![](https://i.imgur.com/wpwcNnM.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/wpwcNnM.jpg) I was wondering if all the Delta bad news would motivate the unvaccinated people, but that doesn’t seem to be the case so far. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1820 "2021-07-23T19:27:00Z")
> [@Chatterbox1](#): > > Is there a lot of travel between Louisiana and Nova Scotia? Yes, that’s exactly the point I was trying to make. Congratulations. I guess I can rest easy now. Oh wait… Washington State has a 7 day average rate of 12.7 cases/day/100k population. Vancouver Island, just across the border (with a large tourist industry and direct car ferry, foot ferry and air connections to Seattle) has a 7 day average rate of 0.22 cases/day/100k population. So only 57 times more. That’s OK then. As long as the tourists pinky swear that they’ve been vaccinated. And sure we’ll request that they mask up when indoors, but they can feel free to tell us to fuck off as they cough on us. ---
**Author:** ![Chatterbox1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@Chatterbox1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chatterbox1)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1821 "2021-07-23T20:12:46Z")
Well, if your point is that infection numbers in the States is higher than Canada, maybe you should have said that rather than grabbing two apparently random states. Have you actually looked into what Canada will require as proof of vaccination? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1822 "2021-07-23T20:24:15Z")
> [@Chatterbox1](#): > > Have you actually looked into what Canada will require as proof of vaccination? Yes, actually I have. There is no clarity or information about what proof will be required. All the [Canadian government has said is:](https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2021/07/government-of-canada-announces-easing-of-border-measures-for-fully-vaccinated-travellers.html) > As a first step, starting August 9, 2021, Canada plans to begin allowing entry to American citizens and permanent residents, who are currently residing in the United States, and have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entering Canada for non-essential travel. There has been no clarification to date on what exactly will constitute proof of vaccination. Of course there are laws in place: > A person who submits false information on vaccination status could be liable to a fine of up to $750,000 or six months imprisonment or both, under the [_Quarantine Act_ ,](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/Q-1.1/) or prosecution under the Criminal Code for forgery. Considering there is nothing now saying what constitutes a valid document of vaccination status, this paragraph has all the validity of a wet mouse fart. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1823 "2021-07-23T20:36:20Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Meanwhile, Canada has decided to open up to United States tourists. All they have to do is show that they have been fully vaccinated, presumably by showing something they printed off their computer the night before. What could possibly go wrong? I’m not sure the Venn diagram between “refuses to vaccinate” and “sophisticated enough to fake proof of vaccination” has a ton of overlap. So that should help! ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1824 "2021-07-23T22:06:46Z")
Ignorance and pandemic fatigue: a lethal combination, I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![Chatterbox1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@Chatterbox1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chatterbox1)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1825 "2021-07-23T22:57:20Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Considering there is nothing now saying what constitutes a valid document of vaccination status, this paragraph has all the validity of a wet mouse fart. Not really. The bit you quoted says submitting false information is punishable. You really think there’ll be a swarm of people willing to lie to border patrol and face criminal charges in a foreign country? It may happen some but I doubt it’ll be much of outbreak concern. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1826 "2021-07-24T00:41:00Z")
> **[Israeli Data Suggests Possible Waning in Effectiveness of Pfizer Vaccine...](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/23/science/covid-vaccine-israel-pfizer.html)** > > The new numbers still show overwhelmingly strong protection against severe disease but diminished effectiveness against infection. > As Israel struggles with a new surge of coronavirus cases, its health ministry reported on Thursday that although effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine remains high against severe illness, its protection against infection by the coronavirus may have diminished significantly compared with this winter and early spring. > > **Analyzing the government’s national health statistics, researchers estimated that the Pfizer shot was just 39 percent effective against preventing infection in the country in late June and early July, compared with 95 percent from January to early April.** In both time periods, however, the shot was more than 90 percent effective in preventing severe disease. > > Israeli scientists cautioned that the new study is much smaller than the first and that it measured cases in a narrower window of time. As a result, a much larger range of uncertainties flank their estimates, which could also be skewed by a variety of other factors. > > Dr. Ran Balicer, the chairman of Israel’s Covid-19 National Expert Advisory Panel, said that the challenges of making accurate estimates of vaccine effectiveness were “immense.” He said that more careful analysis of the raw data was needed to understand what is going on. > > “I think that data should be taken very cautiously because of small numbers,” said Eran Segal, a biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science who is a consultant to the Israeli government on vaccines. > > Nevertheless, the new estimates are raising concern both in Israel and elsewhere, including the United States, that the vaccine might be losing some of its effectiveness. Possible reasons include the rise of the highly contagious Delta variant or a waning of protection from the shots over time. > … I’ve bolded the truly alarming part. Efficacy toward preventing infection dropped from 95% to 39%? 😱 Toward the end there are several disclaimers. Still-- not good news. Anybody have anything else on this? ---
**Author:** ![Chatterbox1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@Chatterbox1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chatterbox1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1827 "2021-07-24T01:00:53Z")
Those are some of the most loudly shouted caveats I’ve seen in a long time. Regardless, hospitalizations and serious illnesses is what we want to stop. If the vaccine protection keeps doing that, we’re pretty good. The body has a short term high alert system that will fade, we also have long term immunity that will kick in slower after infection. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1828 "2021-07-24T01:35:09Z")
Pfizer has been saying that it may be necessary for a booster shot. If the efficacy fades, then a booster would hopefully bump the resistance back up to the higher levels. ---
**Author:** ![Chatterbox1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@Chatterbox1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chatterbox1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1829 "2021-07-24T01:40:11Z")
I’ll wait for doctors to suggest a third booster shot, not Pfizer. Not to get judgy but there are a lot of countries that don’t have their health care workers vaccinated. Should the West keep grabbing? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1830 "2021-07-24T01:43:44Z")
Florida: > **[Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations jump significantly again](https://apnews.com/article/health-florida-coronavirus-pandemic-8dbe1a014c2a69cdd6ac41d07ed85b47)** > > FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida's COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases again jumped significantly this week as the vaccination rate in rural counties where some of the worst outbreaks are occurring remains well below the state and national... > About 5,300 Floridians are now hospitalized with COVID, a 65% jump since last week and nearly a tripling since June 14 when 1,845 were hospitalized, the Florida Hospital Association said. Officials have said more than 95% of those hospitalized were not vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1831 "2021-07-24T03:24:40Z")
I’m as alarmist as they come, but even I question some of the conclusions from the Israeli studies. Israel is absolutely doing a great job of collecting data, but I wonder about some of the more shocking conclusions they’ve drawn in some of their studies. There’s absolutely no indication that I’m aware of that would suggest efficacy is down to 39%; I would expect a much lower drop in preventing severe disease to go along with that. I could believe their original number 65% efficacy in stopping infection. I suspect that the actual efficacy is somewhere between 65 and 90%. But I think 39% is a real stretch if we’re talking about two doses. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1832 "2021-07-24T03:26:19Z")
I suspect the booster is more for people with underlying conditions and seniors. If you’re under the age of 50 and don’t have underlying conditions, I doubt a booster is an urgent need. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1833 "2021-07-24T04:17:37Z")
> [@Chatterbox1](#): > > I’ll wait for doctors to suggest a third booster shot, not Pfizer. Not to get judgy but there are a lot of countries that don’t have their health care workers vaccinated. Should the West keep grabbing? The US is in a weird place with a glut of vaccines distributed to communities that aren’t getting used and can’t realistically be re-shipped to other countries. If the unvaccinated aren’t interested in them, plenty of vaccinated people could get a booster without the US purchasing any new doses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=89) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=91)