Comments by "KesArt" (@kesart8378) on "Gottlieb says coronavirus Delta variant likely to become dominant U.S. strain" video.
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As the late great American baseball legend, Yogi Berra, once said, "It ain't over till it's over."
Unless memory fails me, I recall Dr. Gottlieb expressing a positive attitude but last week about un- masking and reopening America. At the time I wondered, "Given how very mutable this virus has proven, and how the variants that have emerged have proved more transmissible and more potent than the original virus, wouldn't an abundance of caution be more appropriate than adopting a cheerleading stance for the America Reopens campaign."
From the very start of the pandemic certain factions (read: conservative Republicans) in America have let haste be their guide as they dove pell-mell into the race of which state will be first to reopen. And some medical and scientific professionals have, no doubt, felt pressure to put a rosier than truthful gloss on the status of America in the time of COVID, particularly given the restive nature of certain Americans, particularly those enamored of conspiracy theories... And America has not reached the percentage-- which is now calculated as higher than it was pre-variants-- necessary to achieve "herd immunity."
One would be well advised to keep a mask at hand whenever venturing out--especially in regions where anti-masking and anti-vaccine sentiments run high.
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Deat SCHOOLTHEWORLD, First, may I say that as a parent and grandparent I empathize with the instinct to protect one's offspring against unknown, potentially harmful forces.
However, as a retired professor and proud father of a son who is a neurologist, I feel compelled to place a good deal of stock in what the medical and scientific experts say.
At this point in time the experts, given how recently this new corona virus made its debut, cannot say with certainty how long--and how effective--"natural immunity" (i.e.: immunity acquired through exposure to the virus, exposure that prompts the body to generate antibodies to combat the virus) will prove. They need more time and more data.
My kids and grandchild live in the state of Florida and they have not abandoned masking--particularly when indoors amongst people whom they do not know. My four-year old granddaughter wears a mask at preschool and takes a mask to public parks, and is reminded not to crowd too closely to unmasked children in the park. (My kids have a "pod," a group of parents and children who practice the same preventative health measures, which, therefore, makes them safer to socialize with than those who are lax about following health guidelines.)
So given that we care so much about our little ones, we exercise great caution and take with a huge grain of salt the pronouncements of politicians--particularly state governors who wish to claim the title of, "First to reopen."
Perhaps the CDC article about types of immunity (link below) will be of some assistance.
Stay safe and be well.
Cheers
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/immunity-types.htm
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