Thursday, April 15, 2021

I Don’t Know What It Is

But I know it when I want to see it. 

“When you look at the senior population, for example, more than 70 percent of our seniors have received a vaccine shot, more than 50 percent of those who are 50 to 65 have received a vaccine shot,” Mr. Abbott, a Republican, told Chris Wallace. Mr. Wallace had asked why statewide infection, hospitalization and death rates were more under control than in other states, in spite of Texas reopening many activities and eliminating mask mandates.

The governor added, “I don’t know what herd immunity is, but when you add that to the people who have immunity, it looks like it could be very close to herd immunity.”

Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said, “There is no way on God’s green earth that Texas is anywhere even close to herd immunity.”

Even 50% of the 50-65 population does not mean that population (which is not isolated from the rest of the population) has herd immunity.  And the future that’s so bright the Governor has to wear shades can be seen in Michigan and Minnesota.  

“Look no further than Michigan and Minnesota, which have much higher rates of vaccination than Texas. And we’re already seeing widespread transmission.”

About 19 percent of people in Texas are fully vaccinated, while Michigan has 22 percent and Minnesota has 24 percent. 

Estimates of what it would take to reach herd immunity have edged up since the pandemic began, ranging from requiring immunity in 60 percent to more than 90 percent of the population to halt transmission.

It’s only a matter of time until we catch up, thanks to Gov. Absent and the Texas GOP. 

We are so screwed.

2 comments:

  1. Darwin strikes again, people die. It's like a law of nature.

    We're so far from knowing how this is going to develop except that we know the more people who get infected the more variant mutations can arise, including worse ones.

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    1. Well, you know, we can't harm bidness. This is the state where Dan Patrick said old people should die for the benefit of the young people. And he's still in office.

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