Thread by @MonicaGandhi9

"Red Covid" - an absolutely fascinating article by the great @DLeonhardt at @nytimes with a notable point prior to getting to current situation (which is that red states have more COVID now) which is that blue states had more COVID before vax. Although
nytimes.com/2021/09/27/bri…

Although good explanation not given, likely in CA due to over-restrictive policies like closing outside during winter which drove people inside (outside so safe). Now with 86% of Democrat voters having received 1 shot compared to 60% of Republicans, deaths/cases are in red states

"Because the vaccines are so effective at preventing serious illness, Covid deaths are also showing a partisan pattern...Some left-leaning communities — like suburbs of NY, SF, & WA, as well as New England — have such high vax rates that even unvax'd protected by low numbers" (of

note, I went to outside play in SF suburb yesterday; they made audience mask/distance!), but comment by German Lopez of Vox that "it didn't have to be this way" was poignant (vox.com/2021/7/6/22554…). To me, shows immunity only way to get through pandemic
sfchronicle.com/opinion/openfo…

History has always shown us immunity is only way to get through pandemic so - since advent of vaccines- so many deaths in the US have been preventable which is extremely sad

Also, in terms of WHAT DEFINES ENDEMICITY FOR COVID? that will be a societal definition. In traditional definitions of infectious disease, an epidemic is defined as a disease (not case) burden that is "higher than expected" for a region. What is "expected"
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…

is not what happened in the US with high hospitalizations when delta hit states with low rates of vaccination? NO ONE can say that is "expected", endemic or acceptable (high hospitalizations). . But if we can't eradicate COVID-19 by its nature

since it is highly transmissible, has animal reservoirs, its clinical manifestations resembles those of other respiratory viruses (so it doesn’t have “pathognomonic” features like smallpox), and spread can occur before symptoms, how do we define when endemic?

When vaccination gets us to a low-level of circulating virus that doesn’t overburden the healthcare system. Every country or region is going to have a different definition of endemicity. Denmark decided at a 74% vaccination rate and low cases (80% for those over 12) and Norway

(who dropped restrictions 9/25) at a 67% full vax rate. The US has an undue burden of COVID-19 hospitalizations in some states and not others in the delta wave based on vax rate & natural immunity bringing cases down now in "red states"; US will have to come up with definition

But President Biden said today when getting his booster that 97-98% of Americans will have to be vaccinated to get past the pandemic - that is not what Denmark (74%), Norway (67%), Iceland, Ireland, etc. calculated & not achievable. So decide what makes sense for your country