Massachusetts
Massachusetts Doctors Warn ‘New Wave’ of COVID Is Possible
A few new COVID-19 subvariants have some Massachusetts well being specialists fearful {that a} “new wave” might impression the Bay State this summer time, ensuing within the return of masks, a minimum of indoors.
The Boston Herald‘s Rick Sobey reported that “Two omicron subvariants are on the rise throughout the area, and new proof concerning the extremely contagious COVID strains means they might spark ‘a brand new wave’ of COVID this summer time.”
https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/06/29/ba-4-ba-5-variants-could-spark-new-wave-of-covid-this-summer-massachusetts-reports-1529-new-cases/
“BA.4, BA.5 Subvariants Now Account for 25% of All COVID Instances In New England,” shouts a headline on NBC 10 Boston’s web site. The station reported the subvariants account for 35 p.c of all circumstances nationally.
The Middle for Rising Infectious Ailments Coverage & Analysis (CEID) at Boston College reprinted a portion of Sobey’s article on the varsity’s web site.
Boston Physician: New COVID Variants Might Carry Again Masks
Dr. David Hamer, a college member of the CEID, stated that “It seems that the variants, generally known as BA.4 and BA.5 are extra transmissible and evade the immune response from prior omicron strains – making pure immunity from previous an infection of vaccine-induced immunity much less efficient.”
NBC 10 Boston spoke with a number of specialists within the subject, and none might say with any certainty whether or not New England will see an considerable uptick in COVID this summer time or whether or not the subvariants will defy the vaccines and booster pictures that almost all Massachusetts residents have obtained.
The Boston Globe has additionally sounded the alarm about BA.4 and BA.5 with a “this is what you have to know” piece.
Sobey quoted Matthew Fox, a Boston College Faculty of Public Well being epidemiologist, who says Massachusetts residents needs to be “ready to take motion,” together with “decreasing contacts and growing masking indoors.”
Might this imply a return to masks mandates in Massachusetts faculties this fall?
Hold a watch out, however do not panic. We have been there, executed that.
Solutions to 25 frequent COVID-19 vaccine questions
Vaccinations for COVID-19 started being administered within the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. The fast rollout got here a bit greater than a 12 months after the virus was first recognized in November 2019. The spectacular velocity with which vaccines have been developed has additionally left lots of people with lots of questions. The questions vary from the sensible—how will I get vaccinated?—to the scientific—how do these vaccines even work?
Hold studying to find solutions to 25 frequent COVID-19 vaccine questions.