By L. Parsons According to Dr. Joshua LaBaer, the director of Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, Arizona currently has the highest transmission rate of COVID-19 in the country at this time. During a press conference last week, LaBaer stated, “One would have expected numbers to start decreasing and they really haven’t. That is obviously a bit of a concern.” Not only are numbers climbing, the demographics of people being affected is changing. LaBaer said, “We are seeing younger people in the hospital than we were. That is not a surprise because in Arizona, the older people, for the most part, are vaccinated. The ones who are not vaccinated are being hospitalized and they tend to be a bit on the younger side. There’s a huge difference in terms of vaccination status and who ends up in the hospital.” Navajo County has been experiencing its own influx of cases. According to the County Public Health Department, the week of Oct. 24-30 saw a total of 267 new cases off tribal land. Of those cases, 236 were in unvaccinated individuals. While no deaths occurred among those who are vaccinated, there were 12 deaths reported off of tribal lands in Navajo County that week. LaBaer continued, “There has been a lot of discussion about waning immunity. Over time, the vaccines may not hold up as much. As people are four to six months out, they do start to see more and more infections so there is a loss of immunity over time, which is why there has been a push to do more booster shots. Although the severe infection rate among those who are vaccinated is already very low, the booster helps prevent that even further. So there is a benefit to getting the booster, especially those who are at high risk for having severe infections.” Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) approved vaccines for children aged 5-11. LaBaer said, “It looks like we are going to be able to start vaccinating children with the Pfizer vaccine. The end point there is to reduce symptomatic infections. Vaccinating children could also help prevent what is called ‘long COVID’.” Long COVID refers to individuals who experience symptoms that last beyond the initial phase of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. LaBaer noted that the Delta variant continues to be a threat to Arizonans. “We are seeing the dominant Delta variant, and it is capable of infecting people even if they are vaccinated. So we are seeing breakthrough cases. In the past, the difference in just getting infected was almost 10 fold between vaccinated and unvaccinated it’s now closer to five or six fold with the Delta variant.” However, he explained, “It is not likely we will see a variant come out with a higher rate of raw transmissibility. Because of its high viral load, the Delta variant is very transmissible but it’s not stealthy. It doesn’t avoid the immune system; it just overwhelms it.” He pointed out that older people, those in their 70s or 80s that are vaccinated are succumbing to the virus even if they are vaccinated if they are dealing with underlying health issues. LaBaer recommends the continued wearing of masks in public places and large gatherings. “I am concerned about the fact that Arizona appears to be in a surge right now. The virus is out there. We have not seen an appreciable drop in weeks now. That reminds us that we are really not back to normal yet. If you haven’t been vaccinated, now is the time to do it. It will keep you out of the hospital and keep you from having a severe infection. If you haven’t been vaccinated from the flu, now is a good time to do that too. And then, the same stuff we have been talking about all along. Going out to indoor events without masks is not a good idea, continue to wash your hands and avoid large gatherings.” He concluded, “We are no longer in a pandemic. This is an endemic. I don’t see any opportunity for us to eradicate this virus, we are not back to normal, it’s going to be with us. People should still be taking this seriously. Take precautions.”
