New Data on COVID-19 Transmission by Vaccinated Individuals
Interview published August 2, 2021, in the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Blog
Recent CDC data from the US shows that vaccinated people infected with the delta variant can carry detectable viral loads similar to those unvaccinated. However for the vaccinated, these levels rapidly diminish. What does this mean in terms of risks? What does this suggest for public health guidance going forward? Amesh Adalja, MD, of the Center for Health Security, answers a few questions about interpreting this data.
Understanding long COVID: a modern medical challenge
Editorial published August 28, 2021, in The Lancet.
Very little is currently known about “long COVID”.With no proven treatments or rehabilitation guidance, it can affect people’s ability to resume normal life and their capacity to work. The article calls for scientific and medical communities across countries to collaborate to understand the pathogenesis of long COVID, estimate the global and regional disease burdens, better delineate who is most at risk, understand how vaccines might affect the condition, and find effective treatments
The WHO is right to call a temporary halt to COVID vaccine boosters
Editorial published August 17, 2021 in Nature
The article comes out in support of WHO’s call for a moratorium on COVID-19 boosters in richer countries until the end of next month, to ensure that at least 10 percent of people in all countries are vaccinated before extra doses are handed out. It says that in a period of vaccine scarcity, giving out additional boosters must be guided by the evidence of benefit, and consideration given to the cost of delaying the delivery of vaccines to vulnerable people and healthcare workers in other countries.