Vaccines and Variants Life in 2021
January 31, 2021
Ricardo Maldonado, M.D.
by Ricardo Maldonado, M.D.
We are at a crossroads in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last 60 days have been strange, if nothing else. Many timelines have crossed paths in the pandemic. Two vaccines are being approved for use and vaccination has started. Plus, we have recognized multiple variants of the virus. And, of course, we are dealing with the worst surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
The latest articles and discussions about the pandemic give us mixed feelings. A few days after I was vaccinated on December 16, several countries reported the first cases of the UK variant (B.1.1.7), a mutated COVID-19 virus strain that appears 30 – 70 percent more contagious. Then, last Friday, an official document from the UK government suggested that there is a realistic probability the virus could be more lethal, but we don’t know that for sure yet.
This variant B.1.1.7 has been reported in over 50 nations, and three cases were reported in Alabama earlier this week. That certainly means there are many more undetected cases in our state. Earlier this month, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that this UK variant could become the predominant virus in the U.S. by March.
A month later, we are discovering many more variants including the one initially reported in South Africa (501Y.V2), the one initially reported in northern Brazil (P.1.), and the one reported last week from California (CAL.20C). This is a situation that is evolving rapidly and the impact on our efforts to end the pandemic are unknown.
While the largest mass vaccination program in our history is underway, we must recognize we are doing it during the worst surge of COVID-19 cases, and while variants are likely widespread.
Current laboratory data suggests that the vaccines being administered right now will likely protect against the variants. However, if it is determined that they do not, or that they provide a weaker immune response, it’s possible that we may have to receive an additional vaccine booster to slow down the transmission or to end the pandemic.
Please know that we cannot afford having a false sense of security about our health just because vaccines are now available. We cannot stop doing what we know it takes to slow down transmission. If we do not wear masks and stop social distancing now, it is like wearing shark repellent and jumping into an ocean filled with great white sharks while you are bleeding.
We need to be smarter and listen carefully to the recommendations being made by scientists and health care experts. Mask wearing outside of your household, and avoiding gatherings and crowds, will continue to save lives until we reach herd immunity through widespread vaccination. But it will take many months until that happens.
Ricardo Maldonado, M.D. is an Infectious Diseases specialist and is the sole practitioner with East Alabama Infectious Disease. He joined the medical staff at EAMC in 2009. Dr. Maldonado is leading the clinical response to COVID-19 at East Alabama Medical Center.
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