Originally Posted by
2in2out
Acquired immunity requires exposure to live or attenuated virus to develop antibodies necessary to combat the virus. Currently, exposure to live virus produces antibody responses that last from 2-4 months in healthy individuals. Numerous factors reduce this ability, including continued exposure to high viral loads. Because you have, or are shedding antibodies post exposure, does not mean you can’t re-acquire the same strain or mutated variety. With regard to a vaccine and herd immunity, the vaccine has a short term of action. Pfizer’s 2-step vaccine has a 90% effectiveness for approximately 1 year against one identified strain. It may reduce the scale of individual response for the dg614 strain, but this has yet to be determined. The new Denmark mink mutation variant hasn’t been around long enough to even venture a guess as to transmission and antibody response. Vaccine acquired herd immunity would require 70-80% of 7.1 billion people vaccinated. Pfizer is estimating being able to produce 4-5 million doses annually which would first be distributed to frontline healthcare workers, key government officials, and first responders. Given the current success rates for the vaccination production, assume first round vaccine distribution for the general population in 1 year or greater.
A mask is like a condom. 98% percent effective if used appropriately. The mask needs to be used once, then washed , exposed to UV-C light for 22 minutes, or disposed of. It needs to be form fitting around the mouth and nose. Wearing the mask below your nose does nothing because the virus has affinity to the ACE2 receptor sites in the nasal mucosa.
Because of the frequency of air passage through the mask, it is a contact surface that is going to have up to 10x the potential for harboring aeresolized virus. Touching your mask is a no-no unless you wash or sanitize your hands before and after adjusting or touching.
Aeresolized virus can also enter through the ocular mucosa. The WHO and CDC are not addressing this route of entry, as it is a difficult path for the virus to make entry. I wear safety glasses and a form fitting mask when out doing the necessary errands.
N95 masks require sizing and fit testing to meet respiratory protection criteria. As with all medical mask types, even PAPR, they are one time use. People getting infected because they are re-using a one time use item, and not utilizing other safeguards such as pre and post mask contact washing or sanitization. People aren’t washing their masks. People are not maintaining social distancing. There is no way to eat in a restaurant, drink a cup of coffee in a cafe, or workout in a gym without a mask on. All of these things increase potential for cross contamination, aeresolization, and increased opportunity for inhaling virus bodies. With asymptomatic transmission, you have no idea who is a carrier.
Here’s the bullet points:
- Masks are effective if used properly
- wash or sanitize your hands before touching any area of your face
- vaccine acquired herd immunity will take years
- we don’t know enough about the primary virus or it’s variants to rule out any point of entry into the body
- misinformation and disinformation are causing significant harm.
Even the experts struggle to communicate the human issues with regard to the virus. They are bombarded daily with new information that may, or may not have been peer reviewed or replicated. At times I think they tap into the humanistic and optimistic information to give hope to people, and that message loses its context once it leaves the sender.
We have to learn to live with the virus and it’s variants. Future challenges that are very similar will occur in our lifetimes. It takes terrible discipline to keep from becoming a victim or making more.
