dance 3 day 92-94

So reality check.

Highlights: 

"The vaccines, though marvels of basic and applied science, do not form an impenetrable shield against SARS-CoV-2. They work as advertised, meaning they usually prevent severe illness and death, but they do not deliver what is known as “sterilizing immunity.”"

“They’re evolving. Even the delta variant, we have two sublineages we are monitoring,” Van Kerkhove said. “Everyone is fixated on the delta, but we should be prepared for more.”"

"This hints at how the pandemic may eventually play out: The virus would become endemic. It would not be eradicated — and would still cause occasional clusters of infection — but it would not ignite runaway outbreaks nor be nearly as lethal as when it emerged into the human population. That drop in lethality will be driven less by changes in the virus itself than by the changed immunological landscape."

"This scenario — call it Scenario A — has been the general assumption or hope of many infectious-disease experts since the start of the pandemic. The dialing down of the lethality of the disease would be an example of history repeating itself: The 1918 influenza pandemic was caused by a virus that never vanished, but instead became the cause of the seasonal flu."

"“That’s not saying you won’t get infected again, it’s saying that you won’t get really sick from it,” she said."

"Janis Orlowski, chief health-care officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges, offers one version of Scenario B: “Delta goes on to epsilon which goes on to lambda, and that becomes another ugly virus. . . . The virus mutates to a strain that we are not effectively vaccinated against — and that leads us into another ugly year.”"

"Orlowski adds, “I think Scenario B is less likely, but is still a concern because we are not vaccinated at the rate we should be.”"

"Even if, through vaccination and prudent behavior, the virus is brought under control, the rattling psychological effects of the pandemic could persist."

"Meanwhile, many people are not scared at all, don’t feel vulnerable, or simply are done — done, done, done — with the pandemic. "