When it comes to the pandemic, for months we’ve been told vaccines are the answer. The Biden administration deployed an “all-of-government" approach. They ran development, research and production in a non-linear fashion to allow deployment once they were approved.
Across the country COVID-19 surges continue. In Michigan, their positivity numbers were up nearly 20%, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
Nationally, there are now 70,000 new cases per day-- a number not seen since February.
Earlier this week the CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, during a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, said: "I think if we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan we would be disappointed..."
But have they been the ‘game-changer’ they were promised to be?
“I think the vaccines are the way out of this. That's how we eventually get out of this, but right now they are not enough,” Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, the Medical Director at Boston Medical Center, Special Pathogens Unit and an associate professor of Infectious Diseases at Boston University School of Medicine told Track the Vax on this week’s episode.
“You know had we just held on tight for a little bit longer until more of us were vaccinated so that we couldn't be a good host for these viruses, then the B117 would not have had a foothold. You know, it wouldn't have found this vulnerable population that it could really sort of transmit with higher frequency among.”
In this episode they also addressed:
- When can we actually eradicate the virus?
- Why a layering response is still needed, even as more people get their vaccine.
- Why seasons matter when it comes to a pandemic.
Listen along with us on: Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or wherever you listen
