A Focus on Delta Variant, Masks and Vaccinations

The headlines about the COVID pandemic are filled with news about the so-called Delta strain of the virus.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration told Face the Nation the Delta variant is more contagious than others and said there will be certain pockets of the country which will have very dense outbreaks. But those pockets are in areas where there are low vaccination rates.

The World Health Organization put out word the other day suggesting everyone wear masks because of the Delta variant is spreading.

Another story quotes a doctor at the immunology lab in San Diego that has done a lot of research on COVID as saying if you have had COVID and don’t think you need to get the vaccine…he says you still should, because natural immunity from having had the virus is not as effective against all known strains of the virus as the vaccines are.

But the bottom line came from another health expert who told the L-A Times that those who are fully vaccinated don’t have to worry about the Delta strain, but those who are unvaccinated are the ones still at risk.

And then there was the story over the weekend about a young man in San Diego who told a local TV station that while he had been hesitant to get vaccinated, he finally decided to get the shot because he wanted to go to all the places he likes to go without a mask.

For the two-thirds of people 12 and over in San Diego County who are now fully vaccinated against the virus, they can go pretty much everywhere they want without a mask except for doctors’ offices and medical centers or on buses, trains or planes.

And that’s the kind of good news we all like to hear as we head toward what we all hope will finally be the end of this pandemic in the months ahead.

(Photo Getty Images)