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Summer is over. COVID is here. Delta is driving it (like in India, and 99% in the UK), and that variant is only the current variant. Like a hurricane, COVID mutates and spins off different variants that scientists may or may not have seen under their microscopes as they look for predictions as to what comes next in this pandemic. Delta is breaking through the vaccinations, but the vaccinations seem to be holding it at bay for the most part for the people who vaxed. If you were hitting the snooze button on COVID, this is your wake-up alarm bell.

The Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, told Fox News Sunday (8/15/2021) as quoted by CNN: "That was January, February, that shouldn't be August. But here we are with the Delta variant, which is so contagious, and this heartbreaking situation where 90 million people are still unvaccinated, who are sitting ducks for this virus, and that's the mess we're in."

According to that CNN article on 8/15/2021, “the rate of new hospitalizations among people in their 30s increased by nearly 300% over the past month, according to an analysis of data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Covid-19 hospital admissions among people in their 30s are now the highest since the pandemic began, according to the data.”

On a personal note, in this week alone, every time I call my mom to ask her a question about the weather, she informs me of a new friend of hers who is infected or in the ICU. There are 10 in her acquaintance sphere alone, 3 of whom are in the ICU.

The CDC’s Evolving Guidance

On July 27, 2021, the CDC updated their information to include mask guidance for what to do indoors. In the olden days (June 2021), the guidance was the reward of taking the mask off if you were vaccinated. Turns out that was bad advice, or advice that is bad if only 50% of this country is vaccinated, while most of the world is also not vaccinated, and the virus mutates and essentially causes another tsunami of active cases.

Plus, of those vaccinated, how long the vaccination efficacy lasts before a booster is needed. Which was just announced today, that 3rd shots would be approved 8 months after for those already vaccinated.

Perhaps this vaccination is like an allergy pill? Or cortisone shot? Works for limited time, and then you get it again? The Whooping Cough vaccination works that way, although years are between its doses.

COVID In Dutchess County; Definition of “High Transmission”

Today is August 17, 2021, and on August 14, 2021, ALBB posted a picture in Instagram of what may now be an outdated sign in a business storefront window. The sign read that all employees were vaccinated, and that if you were too, you could be mask-off. This was a positive sign for getting vaccinated, as not all business owners in Beacon are vaccinated, but was a discouraging sign for masks, during a time when Delta is now officially raging.

A reader saw the post, and sounded the alarm. They directed us to this CDC link, which says this about masking: “If you are fully vaccinated, to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.”

The words “substantial or high transmission” are linked to in the definition, and seem to be key words here. People who think very literally may interpret “high transmission” to mean: “a small room with lots of people where the virus could spread shoulder to shoulder.” Turns out, “high transmission” is the equivelent to “Active Cases” on the old-not-old COVID trackers. It means, if a lot of people in your area are infected with new cases of COVID. Dutchess County is one such county that is “high transmission.”

Red indicates areas where there are a lot of Active Cases, aka “High Transmission.” This illustration, from 8/14/2021 show that it is the entire country, minus those little blue dots. Photo Credit: CDC — Red indicates areas where there are a lot of Active Cases, aka “High Transmission.” This illustration, from 8/14/2021 show that it is the entire country, minus those little blue dots.
*Photo Credit: CDC*

You’ve seen the memes and illustrations of the United States being all red, for “high transmission.” It means the country is on fire with new Active Cases. According to the Dutchess County Tracker, as of today, there are 732 Active Cases in Dutchess County, and 31 in Beacon. In the original raging days of COVID-19, 31 in Beacon was kind of a high number. Yesterday it was 27.

The Dashboard does not indicate if these are breakthrough cases, cases with the unvaccinated, or children under 12 years who cannot vaccinate yet.

Dutchess County has not issued a warning or alert. ALBB reached out to the Dutchess County Executive’s Office yesterday for comment, after Sullivan and Orange Counties issued strong mask advisories, but Dutchess County has not responded yet.

Vaccination rates in Dutchess County are 55% for fully vaccinated people, which means, people who have completed the required amount of shots for their vaccine brand. While the county does tout a more impressive rate of 71%, that is for people who have taken at least one dose. Time will tell how these percentages will change once the Boosters become the norm, and dashboards will need to track when people get their 3rd (and 4th, and 5th?) shots.