Vaccine Well, well, well… you’re probably thinking, ‘what the hell are we going to do about this damn virus?’ I’m thinking the exact same. Anytime we seem to be making progress and winning the war, something comes up and sets us right back. My fear now is this recent set back is one we may not recover from. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but after 562,000 deaths, can you blame me?
Okay, let’s circle back. What is the setback? In case you haven’t heard, there are new variants of the coronavirus. Hooray? In the middle of any pandemic, the last thing any medical doctor wants to hear is that there are new variants; well, actually, the last thing we want to hear is that people are dying, but new variants is just right behind.
The implication of this is simple. The coronavirus is evolving to more resistant or transmissible variants or even both. Let me make it clear. We have gone through the stress of creating a vaccine for the virus, and new variants just pop up. If that sounds scary, you might want to stop reading right now.
According to experts, there is a likelihood that we may return to square 1. I promise I’m not making this up. It sounds horrible, and it really is. All of the battles, the sweat, the perseverance, may all be for nought. That is the setback we are faced with. You see why I was so pessimistic?
But, it’s not all bad news. Despite the number of variants popping up, there hasn’t been one that has been totally unresponsive to the vaccine we have right now. That’s not all good news, too, though. The highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant of the virus from the UK is rapidly increasing in the US, accounting for more than 27 percent of cases in the US today.
The problem with this variant is not that it is unresponsive to vaccines; in fact, lab tests on the variants have shown very promising results; the problem lies in the fact that the more the virus keeps spreading, the higher the chances of having more variants. And having more variants is just terrible news, as it significantly dampens the chance of beating the virus once and for all. A year ago, we had just one common enemy – the coronavirus; now, we have the coronavirus and its lackeys to beat.
There are other variants that are fast spreading through the country, too, like the P.1 variant. This variant causes even more serious disease conditions than the original virus. In the middle of all the uncertainties about new variants, one thing is for sure; we can stop this with increased vaccinations.
You must have heard this story a thousand times, and you probably will continue to hear it until we beat this virus. Vaccinating people make them resistant to the virus and its variants. This will limit the spread of the virus, which will, in turn, reduce the occurrence of new variants.
It, therefore, comes as very little surprise that many states are crying for changes in the vaccine distribution policy. The belief is that it makes more sense to concentrate vaccine efforts in the areas affected by the new variants to curb their spread as soon as possible. And I believe that makes sense too.
Either way, the new variants are calls to wake up. Now is not the time to slack. Now is not the time to neglect social distancing rules. We are not in the endgame yet; apparently, we aren’t even close. We just need to do what we can – vaccinate and social distance. Stay safe. Wear a mask.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
References
· https://www.washington post.com/health/covid-variants-vaccines/2021/04/ 08/a2eed5b8-97ba-11eb-a6d0-13d207aadb78_story. html
